So tiny, yet so big

I just love these little paper roses that have been popping up everywhere. I got these from Michael's and I think they are Recollections brand. I also found some white, pink and blue in the dollar bin and a few weeks later they were half off. They aren't very big, in fact they are about the size of a dime but they can make a big impact. I like them because they are small enough to incorporate into any project without covering up the main images. If you purchased the cream or white ones you could very easily color them any color you need. Copic markers would do a very nice job on these as would some of the glimmer mists.

Don't you just love the little bunny. She is my favorite little figurine and I think she gives off a sassy image like "I'm here and what are you going to do about it". Anyway she just makes me smile every time I look at her.

Unfortunately I needed another sympathy card. I love this SU embossing folder Framed Tulips- not too overstated but again just enough. I really wanted the sentiment from River City Rubber Works to be the main focus of this card. The tag is a pre-made that was in a package with several other designs. I can't find the package right now to tell you who makes them-sorry. The border on the inside of the card was created with the MS Monarch Butterflies punch.

I just purchased a nice supply of the new Tim Holtz Distress Stains. I hope to get into them soon so I can post some different projects.

~Have fun and enjoy!

How about some purple today

I only have one set of dies for my Grand Calibur but it is my most favorite- Label Four. I don't know if it is the shape as much as the unique type of card it creates. I am not a big fan of purple because I find it hard to get the right hues that go together. I always thought as long as it was some shade of purple it would match but I have found that isn't so. Maybe it just happened to be the hue of purples that I have. Anyway here is a card with the grand label four and it is folded in half. It is one down from the largest in the set. I don't use a full design for the second layer because I am frugal with my paper and I don't see the need to have the designer or textured paper on the back, but that's just me. If you find that you have an unlimited amount of paper then by all means have at it. I guess that's the hoarder in me because I do actually have more paper than anyone has the right to, and I have always said that if our house ever did catch fire it would burn for hours for the amount of paper and rubber that is in this room.

I used a Sizzix embossing folder and a Tattered Angels tag as the main images. There is a bit of pearl Glimmer Mist on the tag but it doesn't show up in this photo. The purple rose below was originally cream but I sprayed it with deep plum Glimmer Mist and you can see a bit of the iridescence there. A few other embellishments and there you have it. I have a few other cards created with this die and I will be showing you them over the next few weeks. Hopefully Santa will bring me another die for Christmas so you all won't get board seeing the same design.

It has been a gorgeous weekend so far. I took yesterday off to bask in the sun and get a head start on the outdoor winter duties. My DH is having brain surgery on the 18th and he won't feel up to the outdoor tasks before it starts to get too cold, so we started this weekend while we are having 78 degree weather. I am one of those people who gets a bit crazy when things don't get done. His parents are coming for the surgery and to help out. I will take a week off work while he is in the hospital and then they will still be here to help him out after I go back. As far as In-laws go they are the best. They are always there when you need them and they have never interfered. They stay involved in all the grand kid's festivities which is quite amazing since the kids are spread out across the country. They are really wonderful people and I don't tell them how lucky I am to have them and how much I appreciate them as much as I should. I will make sure I do that next week while they are here.

Say an extra prayer for us. I am very optimistic that everything will go fine but with my DH's history of having a stroke it is still worrisome.

~Have fun and enjoy!

Friends

Friends, what would we do without them. Friends are the ones we know we can be ourselves when we are with them. They enrich our lives when they make us laugh and they share their shoulders when we need to cry. They give us an honest answer even if it isn't what we want to hear and they are someone who would share their last piece of card stock with you. But most of all a friend is someone who makes us a better person just for knowing them.

I made this card for one of my best friends from high school. We don't keep in touch as much as we should, but when we get together it seems as though we were never apart. She is so easy to be around and she really knows where I'm coming from and understands me. Not that my other friends don't do the same. It's just that this friend has known me for 35 years and we went through the milestones of growing up together. Happy Birthday Foster.

I used all SU for this card except for the bling and the ribbon. The stamp set is Vintage Vouge and I stamped the images in Early Espresso. The card stock is actually Baja Breeze although it looks a bit darker in the photo. I embossed the background with Elegant Bouquet.

I am all bundled up tonight due to the cold damp temperatures we are having here in Michigan. Just to let you know how cold it is- I am still bundled after 30 minutes. Even with my own internal thermostat set on high I can still manage the extra layers. Oh wait a minute. I think I spoke too soon... Ok that feels better- one less layer and no socks. Gee I can't wait for this to be over! I bought a new blanket for our bed and I just dreaded putting it on. I almost thought about buying a twin and putting it on only half of the bed- his side. I guess I'll call it part of my exercise kick boxing routine when I continue to kick the covers off. I ought to have the thinnest legs around pretty soon.

~Have fun and enjoy!

A paper bag book

Today I wanted to share with you a paper bag book that I recently taught at our stamp club. I thought the sentiment on the front was very fitting for the theme of the book. It was my imagination that filled the pages inside. The paper bags are sandwiched between two pieces of ruler with bolts.

For this book you need a yardstick or ruler, 5 small paper bags, 1/2" long bolts and nuts. If you purchase a ruler, try to get the ones without the metal edge. I had a difficult time finding yard sticks that didn't have the store's logo printed on it. This is a book that I made awhile back and I had an old yardstick laying around the house that was logo free. The paper bags that I used are 5 1/2" x 3"-the tiny size that would hold penny candy (remember those days of penny candy). You can probably find these on line. I purchased mine from a local supply store that has all kinds of products for businesses.

I cut the yard stick to 4" and drilled the holes about 6/8" from each end- you will need two of them. I then punched holes in my bags 1/2 inch from each side. Notice the yard stick is slightly longer than the bags. You might want to lay one of the rulers that has already been cut and drilled on to one of the bags and then mark where the holes should be punched. Just make sure you are an even distance from the top and bottom of the bag. I stamped and embellished the pages prior to putting the book together.

I sponged ink onto some of the pages and on others I used some acrylic metallic paint. I didn't cover the pages with any printed paper because I wanted the paper bag color to be clearly visible and the main visual of the book. After all it is a paper bag book. Take a look below and make your book your own creation. You can click on any of the images below to get a closer look at the pages.

I hope you enjoyed today's idea. I've got some straitening up to do in my studio (some new goodies need a place to call home) and I still want to get the living room carpet cleaned. Just where does the day go?

~Have fun and enjoy!

Plastic wrap and a dab of paint...

Just plain plastic wrap and a bit of metallic paint is what I used to create a background for this card. Glossy card stock works the best for this technique. If you click on the image below you can get a better view. I crinkled up a wad of plastic wrap and then lightly tapped it into a small amount of pearl and light gold metallic ink that I put on a paper plate. I then tapped it "off" onto the plate before I stamped it lightly onto the card. I sort of bounced it here and there around on the card stock.

The black medallion is from Stampin' Up and is one of my favorite background stamps. I put some dabs of gold Liquid Pearls on the medallion. I used two of Martha's border punches at the bottom. Some ribbon, a flower and a few rhinestones gave this card a finishing touch.

I have been in an organization mode since my mind has been toying with moving into the bonus room up over the 3 car garage. Right now it is my son Elliot's room, but he is hardly ever there. He is away at college but stayed this past summer to work. I have a feeling there was more having fun than working, but that is the life of a 22 year old. The rent was cheaper during the school months if he signed a 12 month lease. So as he says "it is like the rent was free". I don't think he has heard the old adage- nothing is free. This boy has a lot to learn. Anyway I don't want to move my studio up there until he finishes college and gets his own apartment- just in case! We'll see how things go.

Not a whole lot to talk about today. Summer is coming to a close and the nights are getting much cooler. The DH is having brain surgery next month to remove a meningioma that is getting quite large. It was an incidental finding on the Cat Scans and MRI he had 6 years ago when he had his stroke. It has really started to grow this year and the neurosurgeon said it is time to take it out. I was getting concerned about his increasing deficit on the left side and this meningioma seems to be causing it. I'm not looking forward to this and I am sure he feels the same way. The good news is that we bought an iPad2 so I will have something to entertain myself while he is in the hospital. That thing is truly awesome. I am blown away by what this thin tablet can do. I love the face to face video chat (as long as I look half way decent and my hair is combed). We just got it today so we have a few things to learn.

~Have fun and enjoy!

All because of an extra coupon...

It all started with a 40% coupon. I mentioned to the DH that I had an extra coupon to Hobby Lobby if he wanted it. We were out shopping that night and he said alright that he would be my "coupon mule". That is his term for being used to get an extra item with a coupon. Any way, I had to return some candles and while I was in line waiting, he asked me if I wanted him to use his coupon on a Spellbinders Grand Callibur. I about fell over. He said he might as well buy it now for my birthday (which is in November) while he had the coupon and then his shopping for a gift would be done. I ran as fast as I could to the Spellbinders isle and there at the end of the isle that beautiful pink machine was saying "I'm all yours". Not much courting or yearning with this one. I had only recently mentioned how much I liked my friend's and said I wouldn't mind getting one for my birthday. I think DH has forgotten that I have already received my birthday gifts well into 2025 at least. Oh well who am I to remind him of his absentmindedness. The dies just happened to be 40% off that night so he also had me pick out one. Silly me said he is going to have to put it away since my birthday isn't until November. He said he would hide it in my stamping room. He isn't good at hiding because you can see I already made a card with it.

Next Friday is my daughter's wedding anniversary and since I am sending a box I thought I would make a card that doesn't have to fit the parameters of being sent through the mail. I used the largest Grand Label 4 and then the next size down for the DS paper. The burgundy rosettes were made with the Bigz Sizzix Flower 3-D die. I just love that die and I can see me getting a lot of use out of this one. The cream flower is Prima and the butterfly was punched with a MS punch on vellum. I then added some stickles to the edges of the wings. The ribbon is actually a closer match to burgundy than what shows in the picture. It isn't really that red. The sentiment is from SU as are the punches.

I will be teaching our stamping club members how to make a book with small paper bags. They are the really small ones that would be used to hold penny candy. The spine is two pieces of a ruler and 2 bolts go through to hold it altogether. I better get cutting. I have sixty 4" pieces to cut and then drill two holes through each piece- yikes!


~Have fun and enjoy!

Tags

I hope you all had a relaxing Labor Day. Now that I type that it seems rather conflicting doesn't it? Anyway I hope you enjoyed it. I did a little stamping, made some banana bread and then went out to lunch and shopping with some stamping buddies. Best day ever because we had 50% & 40% coupons.

Today's card was very simple. The only stamping was the sentiment. That's right and the sentiment is a dollar stamp. Everything else was embellishments. The tag was from the $1 bin at JoAnns by Studio 112. There are 24 tags with 12 different designs. Such an easy way to dress up a card. The designer paper is from the DCWV Mariposa stack. The cream flowers are bridal confetti from Michaels and they come in a few different colors. It is amazing the embellishments you can find in the bridal isle. You will need to share them because there are over 100 in a package.

I have been busy changing the color in our bedroom. I went from gold/burnt orange and dark olive to robins egg blue and chocolate. I am surprised the DH went for it. He couldn't quite figure out the Euro pillows and then sham pillows over our sleeping pillows. Along with the two small decorative pillows there are 8 pillows on the bed. Plan on going to bed 15 minutes earlier than planned by the time you are able to find the sheets. Oh well I told him it is a good workout and the bedroom looks fabulous. Just remember to fold the comforter back before you crawl in. How he lives with my craziness I will never know.

~Have fun and enjoy!