A resisted doily

 

Today I have a different kind of doily and it's not a paper one. This card is using the "resist" technique. For those of you who aren't familiar with this technique it is created by resisting the ink. Sorry to bore the ones who know what this is but I am going to explain the process. After all my intention with my blog when I started it was to inspire and help those who are not as familiar with stamping.  I stamped SU Hello Doily with Versamark onto glossy card stock. Then I poured clear embossing powder over the image and went to town with my heat gun. You will now see a glossy image on the glossy card stock- does that make sense? If it doesn't it will in a minute. Next I used the following SU inks and with a sponge I just started rubbing on the color- Marina Mist, Bermuda Bay, Vintage Violet and Indigo Island. It is important to keep rubbing until the colors are blended well. Now the doily pops right out and it looks like it was done with white ink or white embossing powder when in fact it is just the white glossy card stock showing through. Magic, right!

 

 

 

 

I used Spellbinders Decorative Labels Twenty Two and then I layered Labels One on top with a sentiment from the Justrite set Signs of Life. The design around the sentiment is from the same set. It has several different circle designs and sentiments that can be interchanged. Speaking of Spellbinders, have you seen the sneak peaks this week on their blog. The one nice thing is these new dies are add-ons meaning they will wok with other dies to enhance the ones we already own. Check them out and get ready with a pen and paper to make your wish list (a big piece of paper).

 

Winner winner chicken dinner. The card in my last post was entered into a challenge and I won a background stamp from Justrite as a random drawing. I usually don't have the time to enter these challenges but over the 4th of July weekend I had the house to myself and I spent a good amount of time in my studio. I chose a lace background and as soon as I get it I will post a card with it. In fact it would be a gorgeous stamp for this technique.

I am flying to San Antonio on Monday for work. Being a Michigan girl I am not looking forward to the heat. Right now they are having a cold spell in the low 80's as their high. It came a week too early for my liking. Anyway the seminar is at a 5 star resort with several restaurants within the compound and several pools and waterfalls. I think I might be able to handle it and I am sure the conference rooms will be well air conditioned. From the reviews, this place caters to your every whim. Looking forward to a week of luxury. If I don't get a chance to post something new for next week you'll know why.

~have fun and enjoy (I know I will)!

 

A doily challenge

 I didn't plan on posting again so soon but I did this card for a JustRite challenge and I needed to link my submission back to my blog. The challenge required a doily to be incorporated. I used a silver cupcake doily and then I cut out the sentiment with Labels Eighteen. The sentiment is from the JustRite set Hugs to You. I embossed the background with a 5x7 CuttleBug folder by Anna Griffin called Rosa. The flowers are from one of the dollar stores and the leaves were punched out with a MS punch called Frond.

I must say today was one of those perfect days. I have the house to myself and you all know how much I enjoy that. I sat out on the deck with my coffee and the newspaper and a couple of candles to start the day. Then I got into the garden and did some trimming of my rose bushes and I still had a few flowers that had to be put in the flower beds to add a bit of color here and there. All of that before noon. Then I spent some time on one of my favorite sites- Pinterest. Absolutely addicted. I came across a pin on how to clean your washer so I got up and headed to the laundry room. A cycle of hot bleach water followed by a cycle of hot vinegar water and I now have a sparkling clean washer. I can hardly wait to do the laundry now- not! I can hardly wait to see what tomorrow brings.

 

~Have fun and enjoy

Paper doll

I didn't think this would be my kind of stamping but it was rather fun. It is called paper piecing and these Prima doll stamps designed by Julie Nutting are perfect for it. I couldn't fine a name for this stamp. I will just call her "Sally". I stamped the doll onto pink paper so I wouldn't have to color her skin. I have seen her body stamped onto word/text paper which gives a whole different look. Next I stamped her onto the paisley paper for her dress and then cut it out. I then stamped her one more time onto green paper for her pockets and headband. I did add some glossy accents to her shoes to make them look like patent leather but it isn't showing up in the picture. The border is from Spellbinders and the ribbon is from SU.

I wasn't that crazy about her not having a face so I drew some eyelashes and gave her some rosey cheeks. OMG- I just noticed that I forgot to color her bangs. I colored the rest of her hair with a Copic marker E37. Luckily I haven't sent this card out yet so I can go back and finish her bangs. Sometimes I wonder how I make it through the day.

 

 

This weekend I want to try a few more of these cards. I only have this one stamp but the nice thing is you can get her to look so different just by the different paper you use. I guess there are several samples on Pinterest so I will have to take a peak. I've heard they even put leggings on her which is a very cute idea.

Found some super buys on Sizzix this morning. I only went there because I received an email of their big sale and wanted to see what was new. Every die and embossing folder that came out before 2013 is 75% off with the code from their site. I can't wait for that package to arrive. I picked out several of Tim Holtz's dies, a few embossing folders and a few other odds and ends that I couldn't live without. It took a long time for the order to process (25 minutes and it says not to hit the back button). After waiting an unreasonably amount of time I ended the process and re-entered only to get two confirmation emails that my "orders" were confirmed. Great! I better make a phone call tomorrow because I don't need two of everything I ordered.

~Have fun and enjoy

 

Happy 4th of July

 

Happy 4th of July

 

This card was actually made for a birthday that happens to be on the 4th of July. It will also work as a thank you for their kindness to my elderly in-laws. This birthday girl lives across the street from them and her and her husband keep my in laws driveway cleared from all the snow that falls in the UP. So you can only imagine how appreciative we are as that is quite a job. I thought it would be only fitting to make the card red, white and blue.

 

The background is the same Anna Griffin embossing folder "Rosa" that I used in my previous post for the anniversary card. It is a 5x7 and I really like working with this size folder. I used Spellbinders Decorative labels Twenty-Two for the tag and a few rhinestones for the bling to represent the stars. Keeping with the theme of the 4th, I kept the rhinestones in stripes rather than just the typical trio I would use. The sentiment is from Stampin' Up.

 

 

 

Not much new is happening here. Laying low and quiet for the 4th. So far it looks like rain the first part of the week. We'll see what the end of the week brings for the holiday. I can hardly believe the end of June is here already. The weeks have been passing quickly and I am afraid summer will be over before we know it. Better enjoy it while we can!

 

 

~Have fun and enjoy!

 



A 65th wedding anniversary

 

Happy Anniversary to a wonderful couple. This is a wedding picture of my in-laws who just celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary. We are fortunate enough to have this 8x10 picture of them on their wedding day so I decided to scan it and use it on their card. They are going to celebrate the occasion the week of the 4th when all of their children will be home. The 4th of July is a huge celebration in Munising and several members of the family head home each year during that time. It ends up being like a big reunion not only for family but with their school classmates as well. Unfortunately I won't be going this year as I have used up my vacation time with my Hawaii and Florida trips. They have 6 children all married and 7 of the grandchildren will be there so I don't think I will be missed. In October they will be going to Hawaii themselves to celebrate again. My husband and his sister are also going to help them since they are in their 80's. I am glad to see the DH can experience Hawaii for himself (and not from the 900 pictures I took when I was there). Then I won't feel guilty about going this past spring. He said I shouldn't because he had no desire to go on that trip. He said he wouldn't have lasted more than 2 days with my sister and was surprised I could spend more than 3 (it was difficult to say the least but I managed- after all it was Hawaii). She is known to be the type of person people can only take in little bits- but she is family no matter what and I made the best of it. I actually began to wonder if we were raised in the same family. I was amazed how many people have commented to me lately that there always seems to be one in the family like that. Gee, and I thought it was just mine.

 

 

 

For the card I used pearlized cream paper with one on the new Cuttlebug folders from Anna Griffin called Rosa. I kept it rather simple and formal. The scroll was cut from a Memory Box die and the border is a Spellbinders. The black embellishments are actually glittered to add a hint of sparkle.

It has turned out to be a wonderful weekend despite the forecast. I was able to tackle some of those chores that nag at you when they don't get done, like straightening out the basement. I also had some things that needed to be put away and some cards that had to be made by this week. And all of that was accomplished yesterday with some time spent sitting in the sun and cooking great steaks on the grill. We finished the night out with margaritas- skinny girl of course. My oh my what am I going to do today?

~Have fun and enjoy!

 

My Dad

Happy Father's Day to my dear dad. This is one of my favorite pictures of my father holding me because he looks so young and he is a new dad of only 4 weeks. I was born in Madrid, Spain while he was stationed there in the Air Force. Yes I have to admit I was the First born- Favorite child, but don't tell my siblings that. It looks like my dad is posing with a baby doll because I had such a full head of dark hair that I don't look like a typical newborn. My mother must have loved having a baby girl with all that dark hair. Luckily it is still as lush and thick now that I am...older. Of course I have several more pictures of him and I (you know how it is with the first born) but this one touches my heart because he looks so proud. I remember seeing the same look on his face when he came to the hospital after my first child was born.

I was fortunate enough that my father took several home movies but once again there are very few of my siblings. I do have a brother that came along 12 years later and we do have several pictures of him so I ought not to feel too guilty. I think I might have mentioned it in a previous post but for Christmas this past year I had the home movies put onto DVD for my dad. He told me there wasn't a gift out there that anyone could have given him that he loved and enjoyed more. It was such fun to watch them with my own children. They loved watching me as I was just learning to walk and they really liked seeing grandma Barb again. I knew what the gift was going to mean to him because my mother was in several of the movies. She passed away 9 years ago and he misses her terribly, as do I.

Recently I started picking out gifts for dad that had meaning. In the past I started getting him gift cards to one of his favorite family restaurants because he doesn't like to cook (or should I say doesn't know how to cook) to make his life easier, but then others started to do the same because they saw what it meant to him. So I let them keep buying the gift cards (because they can't think for themselves as to what to buy) which still serves it purpose and I buy something that he cherishes. This year I bought him a book called "My Dad, My Hero" that I found while I was in Hawaii. The book is a collection of quotes from famous people about what makes their dad their hero. The last two pages were blank and it was the perfect spot to write all the reasons he is my hero. He was very touched and said he was so overwhelmed that he had to put it down a couple of times before he could finish it. Those are the gifts I enjoy giving my dad- the ones he will really remember.

Because I didn't post anything on Mother's Day of my mother, I included the picture below that was taken on the same day as the one above. I have these two pictures in frames in my living room that has a lot of my favorite things on display. I look a bit bigger with my mother holding me because she was a small woman herself. She was probably all of 100 lbs when she delivered me. She was a wonderful mother and even though she is no longer with me, I just think back to the last day of her life and it gives me peace. I had gone home to take care of her knowing that she was dying. Just her my father and myself were at the house. I sat by her side the entire night as she took her last breaths and I will always cherish that time because I was the last one she saw and said "I love you" to as she closed her eyes. My father was too upset to watch her die so he was in and out of the room. I found it fitting that she brought me into this world with an overwhelming amount of love and I was there to help her leave it with the same tenderness. Those moments will mean more to me than any of her possessions that are handed down. I do have some things of hers that bring a smile to my face when I see them, but not like the happiness and the feeling of love I get when I think back to that day.

I find it strange when people pass away how the family fights over the possessions. I have even seen some who think the possession can replace the love they never gave or received. They just don't get that the greatest gifts are the times we shared with them. We can loose the jewelry or break the dishes and figurines but nothing can happen to the memories. If you don't have those, no possession can take it's place.

~Have fun and enjoy your dad's!

 

 

Rhinestone Ribbon

Wow, did this week ever fly by. I hadn't worked a 5 day week in some time due to my vacation in Florida and then the holiday. I thought for sure the week would have drug on. What a pleasant surprise to the start of a nice weekend.

Today's post is a card I made using a ribbon of rhinestones that was a great find and some beautiful lace. The rhinestone ribbon came on a bolt of 10 yards for $12 but I was able to use a 50% coupon. I can see all kinds of ways to use this trim. From vases to mirrors my imagination will be blinged. The designer paper is from KaiserCraft called Needle & Thread. There are a few buttons here and there but one that was certainly standing out was in the upper right corner and looked out of place. I added the flower embellishment to cover it up and the person who receives this card will be none the wiser. The card stock is from SU and they are retired colors but I still love them. They are Soft Sky and Mellow Moss. The tags are Spellbinders Decorative labels Twenty Two and the sentiment is from a KaiserCraft clear set called On This Day.

 

I had my eyes examined this morning for new glasses which included dilating them. It wasn't until early this evening that they finally are back to normal. I had a few things I wanted to get done this afternoon but my vision was a bit blurry to be working on cards and the sun was too bright to work outside so I decided to take a nice nap- oh darn! I am looking at putting a 3 light lamp post out on the patio but where I want to put it is going to mean some major under ground wiring. Wasn't expecting this to be such a major project. I am surprised the DH isn't recommending that I just sit out there with 3 flashlights instead of all this. It will look nice when it is done and he will be happy we (he) did it- fingers crossed.

 

~Have fun and enjoy!