Maggie

I think I will call her Maggie. I just love this stamp from Paperdoll pARTs called Bird & Bee. I colored her dress with colored pencils and used a bit of Gamasol for blending. Of course she needed a crown so I used a brad that I cut the shanks off of and then just glued it on. I used a new embossing folder from Darice and then used the Spellbinders Label 4 to create my window frame. I just love the look and depth the frame creates- it is one of my new favorite techniques. The flourish is a die from Memory Box called Elegant Scrollwork. The leaves, flower and sprig of pearls can be found in most bridal sections. You can see a better view below and as always you can click on any of the pictures for a enlarged view.

I am  looking forward to my Florida trip with mixed feelings. These days there is a lot of guilt with anything that is pleasurable, but I know I need this. Right now there isn't anything I can do to change or make the trials in my life better. I will always be a phone call away for support and love, but if I am going to be the rock in all of this, I need to give my soul some time off. As I said, my work doesn't allow me the luxury of a mental hiatus. It is on my mind 24/7 and it is overwhelmingly exhausting and painful. Not to say being in the sun with nothing to do but read and relax is going to help me stop thinking about it but maybe it will give me the recharge I need to stay strong.

~Enjoy

An appreciation thank you

Just wanted to post something for you to look at today. It was Physician Appreciation day last Friday and I made this card for our Cardiologist for all of us to sign. He knows I make cards so he came to me right away and asked me if I made it. He was so thrilled to get something that was hand made. I think I really impressed him with this one. He said he was going to take it home and show his wife. It was really amazing because at that moment he made it seem like his talent of taking care of the human heart was no different than the talent it took to make the card- it's all in the perspective I guess.

 It is hard to see in the pictures, but the Fan Deco square is really a frame. It sits up quite high but the angle of my pictures did not capture it. I used the MS corner and border punch for the frame. The font from Stampin' Up was cut out with a Label 22 Spellbinders die. The border across the bottom was cut with an EK Success Medallion Chain Large Edge punch. A strip of black and silver rhinestones were added over the border and the black background is a 5x7 Holly Ribbons Cuttlebug embossing folder. I thought it was very fitting to use a red doily heart.

~Have fun and enjoy!



Altered Art

I was cleaning out the pantry and there were just a few cashews left in the can. As I started to dump them into the trash (can't eat them due to the continued weight loss), I contemplated whether or not to add the empty can to my goodie stash. I decided this can deserved to be much more than just a cashew can and rather than just add it to the stock pile I altered it immediately. Right now I have no idea what I am going to use it for, but I am sure it will come in handy some day ( my motto for never throwing anything away). Maybe it would make a nice birthday package with a little something inside.





The butterfly and roses are pre-made. The butterfly was a " I can't find anything else to buy with my 40% off coupon" and the manufacturer is Ashland- Classic Traditions.  The roses were from a dollar store. I think Dollar Circus and they are made by TRICO. I must have too much if I wonder around Michaels with a coupon and can't find anything I want- let alone need. The DS paper is Making Memories Navy Stripe Brocade and the white is pearl card stock from JoAnns. The punch I used is a MS deep edge called Embroidery and I believe it is one of her newer ones. The navy card stock was punched with EK Success Acanthus Leaf. A few pearls and rhinestones for the added bling.

We received some rather upsetting news this week. My oldest son was just diagnosed with a rare form or cancer called Synovial Sarcoma involving his shoulder. The high grade stage 3 mass is entangled around the nerves and connective tissue in the shoulder and they have already told him to start learning to do everything with his left arm because after they do surgery he will be disabled with his right arm. This is a young 31 year old who does construction as a living and is a single father. His wife passed away 4 1/2 years ago from breast cancer. The prognosis is very poor- only a 30% chance of making it past 5 years. If it spreads the prognosis is typically 1 to 1 1/2 years. He will have a port put in tomorrow and then chemo two days a week for 3 months to try and keep it from spreading. After that is it surgery and then radiation. It just tears me apart when I hear him say "mom, it's not IF it spreads, it's When it spreads" is highly likely.

It still hasn't sunk in and I feel like someone is just telling me these things. As all bad news we usually can't believe it is real and it certainly isn't happening to us. I wish I could bury myself in my work to keep from thinking about it, but in my line of work I am around it all day long. I may not be up to posting every week as time goes on but then again that may just be what gets me through this. I came across a quote the other day that seems so fitting.

"You never know how strong you are until Strong is the only choice you have"



Tattered Floral Flowers

 Mother Nature is teasing us here in Michigan this past week. It has been in the 70's which is unseasonably wrong. I'm not saying I don't enjoy it but I am fearing she is playing with us and will slap us upside the head with our usual weather. You all know how much I love the sun and warm weather so this would be the perfect way to "get my goat". LOL like she is only out to get me.

To play along with her, I thought I would make a card that represents summer. I used Tim Holtz's Tattered Florals to make my flowers with my Big Shot. Then I sprayed them with Turquoise Blue and Suede Glimmer Mist. I have the older bottles and I keep my fingers crossed every time I use them, hoping that they aren't plugged up.

I used Stampin' Up Soft Suede card stock and for the life of me I don't remember who makes the DS paper I used because it was a scrap piece. The border was created with the MS deep edge punch called Floral Vine. The verse is from River City Rubber Works on a Spellbinders Label Eleven. The butterflies are from a MS punch as well. The leaves were created from with a Sizzix Sizzlits and then some Peacock seam binding and teal rhinestones tied it all together.

Below is a close up of the flowers so you can get a better view of the metallic in the Glimmer Mist. The flowers are very easy to make. I used two layers of each size. On the large flower the outer  petals were curled under with a wooden skewer after they were sprayed. The spray really firms up the petals

I am getting ready to make my flight reservations for my trip to Florida the end of April. This warm weather is certainly getting me excited. I just hope it is still nice when I get back. I really don't want to come back to cold weather. Every time I talk to Carol she tells me how nice it is sitting by the pool in 85 degree sunshine- I can't wait!

~Have fun and enjoy!

A pretty lamp

Today I wanted to show you a lamp that is in my stamp studio. I actually have two of them- one is at the die cutting area and the other one is at my Cricut area. These were really cheap bedside/dresser lamps that I got at Walmart a year ago on clearance for $4 each. Of course I couldn't use them just as they were so I had to fancy them up to fit the Paris Chic theme I have going on in the room. They were just plain cream lamps so I added the black braid around the top and bottom with hot glue. The velvet ribbon has a rhinestone buckle and then I added the black rose.

The rhinestone circle really glistens in the light. I wish it would have photographed better so you could appreciate it's bling factor. I just love the soft light they put off. It makes it so cozy in the evenings especially when it is raining.

Have you heard of Pineterest? I am hooked on it, but the images of all the desserts are really putting my diet to the test. I have learned not to go there until after dinner. I was amazed when I saw that someone had pinned my studio as a room on their "dream home" board. Maybe they will like my lamps well enough to pin those also.

My baby who is 22, had his tonsils out this week. I was expecting the worse but he has done wonderful. I think the pain he has been in with all the sore throats since September was much worse than this. The first night he steamed carrots and mashed them up to eat. He isn't one for sweets so he was having a hard time with all the Popsicles, ice cream, jello and pudding. The second night he ate macaroni and cheese and then some meatloaf. When this kid is hungry nothing is going to stop him, not even surgery. I love having him home, even if it is under these circumstances.

~Have fun and enjoy!

Fit for a Queen

My stamping friends know how much I love crowns almost as much I as love the Eiffel Tower. I used the frame technique for this 6" square card and the SU set Artistic Etchings. The colors are all from Stampin' Up- White, Positively Pink, Pink Pirouette and Certainly Celery. I used Spellbinders Square dies to create the frame. This can be done with any shape as long as you use two different sizes and some pop dots. I also used the Spellbinders Fleur De Lis as the top frame. The flowers were made with three different punches and I punched two of each. Notice the dimension that is created by using a different punch for each layer. The largest petals were made using the SU 5 Petal Flower punch . The next layer was made with an EK Success 6 petal punch and the smallest layer was made with a retired punch from SU called Punch Artwork. I added more texture by running the paper through my Cuttlebug with the Swiss Dot embossing folder before I punched the flowers. The leaves were created with Sizzix Branch with Leaves. You can click on the image above for a more detailed look or check out the image below.

I encourage you all to try making these flowers with any combination of punches that you currently own. They do not have to look exactly like mine. Many of the manufacturers have some form of flower that has 5 or 6 petals. If your punch is more of a scallop, then use your scissors and cut in between each petal toward the center but don't cut all the way. Remember- it is only paper.

We had some wicked weather last night. It was unbelievable that the high winds continued until this morning. I swear I dreamt of flying monkeys all night and when I got up my ruby slippers were gone. But seriously, we were very fortunate that there was no damage like some suffered down south. I can't even imagine what they woke up to this morning.

~Have fun and enjoy!


I Love Paris

As you all know by now, I have taken on a Paris theme to my new stamp room and as a result I have collected or been gifted several Paris items. This Paris stamp is one of my favorites because of it's size. It covers almost the entire card. With all the Paris paraphernalia, maybe I will feel like I really know Paris if I ever get there. (My spell check isn't working, so please fogive any mispellings)

This stamp is from Stampendous and it is called "I love Paris". I used Stampin' Up (SU) River Rock, Vintage Violet (retired) for the flowers and Perfect Plum. The image was stamped with Vintage Violet. I ran the Perfect Plum panel through the Cuttlebug using the SU Square Lattice embossing folder. The stamped image actually has flowers under the flowers I made. To make the flowers I used a Marth Stewert (MS) Hydreanga punch and layered the petals. I used two of the larger and one small petal for the large flowers and then just two small petals for the small ones. I put a rhinestone in the center of all of them. The leaves were made using The MS Frond Medium punch on SU Certainly Celery and the other larger single leaves were cut free hand out of SU River Rock (I know I surprised myself with how well they turned out because I don't consider myself to be a master of scissors). I created a vein in them with the smaller end of an embossing stylus tool and using the larger end I rubbed them while on a sponge mat until they curled a bit. This helps to give the project dimension. You may think something that is 3D creates the dimention and you are correct, but it is also texture as I did with the larger leaves and the Square Lattice background.

The image below gives you a better picture of the flowers and the leaves. I wish I had corrected the color of the top image so you could see the true color as in the image below.

Well as Michigander's we missed the big winter storm of 2012. They were predicting 6-10 inches in our area and we only got 2. There are areas around the bottom of all the trees that are still bare. It still amazes me how riled up the weather forcasters can get everone and still be wrong. I believe it is the only job where you can make so many mistakes and still keep your job.

I want to thank all of you who have left such nice comments about my new stamp room. I better think about building a new house for all of you who said they want to come and live with me.The number of visits to my blog has skyrocketed. I was floored when I recently found a picture of my room on Pinterest. Someone had pinned it as a room in her dream house and I was told there was a picture of my paper cabinet posted but I haven't seen that one yet. I am flattered beyond belief and happy that so many of you are enjoying the pictures and that I have inspired you to get organized. I always thought of myself as a somewhat organinzed person, but you all have put me on a pedestal. I was hesitant at first to upload the images because I didn't want it to look like I was bragging or rubbing it in anyone's face. I truely know how fortunate I am and I certainly don't take it for granted. I have been waiting a very long time for a long time for a room like this and I am very appreciative every time I step foot in it. I am overwhelmed with joy that my intentions of sharing some storage ideas is what it has been all about. I just wish I had received the last drawer front and mounted it before I had posted the pictures. I never believed it would have gone so viral. Thanks again and I hope to keep inspriring you either with your creativity or your organizational and decorating skills.

~Have fun and enjoy!