Goodbye 2010, Bring on 2011

It is noon on Dec 31st.   Wow, where did the year go.    I was with my family over Christmas and I can't believe how fast my niece and nephews are growing up.    Moriah is 9 1/2, Luke is 11 1/2, and Noah will be 3 at the end of January.   Here are some pictures from the weekend. 

As I am sitting here at work waiting for the slow/boring work day to be over, I am enjoying a cup of French Vanilla Cappuccino and realizing how blessed I am.   I have a good job, great family, wonderful friends, and a Heavenly Father who loved us enough to send His son to earth as a baby to save us all.     

My cup of cappuccino reminded me of this card I made a few weeks ago.   I get lots of requests for generic cards with no sentiments, so thought this stamp set from CTMH would work.    It is a retired set.  The paper is from the local scrapbook store.  (I am typing this from work, so don't have the name of the paper with me.)   The metal embellishment is also from CTMH.  

I look forward to what new things are to come in the new year.   Welcome 2011.

Little Birdie

I was excited to get this digital stamp from Designed2Delight last Friday as part of their weekly challenage, but then I was gone all weekend, so when I got home Monday night, I couldn't remember what I was going to do with the cute Cardinal.   But then a different idea came to me.    I decided it made a great birthday card for winter time, but not necessarily a Christmas Card. 

I colored the digital stamp with Copics, the card base is Bazzill Smoothies cardstock, and the patterened paper is a retired paper pack from CTMH.  The sentiment was printed on the computer on Georgia Pacific cardstock. 

Stylish Blogger Award

Wow, this was a surprise.   Kari from her blog Pigtail1's Paper Patch is passing on an award she got.   It is the Stylish Blogger Award.   My humble blog is thankful.  I am trying each week to make it better.    Thank you very much Kari.

According to the rules, I must list 8 things about myself and I want to pass on the award to another blog that I follow.  Here are my little facts:

1) I like mice.  Not real ones, but cute adorable pictures, stamps, & figurines of them 
2) I grew up 3 miles from the Canadian border in Hockey Town USA
3) I separate my M&M's by color before I eat them
4) I love hockey, but don't know any of the rules
5) My niece and nephews are adopted
6) My parents went to college with the Christian comedian, Ken Davis
7) I can not drive a stick shift
8) When I was a kid, my dream was to marry Richard Dean Anderson and own a horse ranch

I pass on the Stylish Blogger Award to:
Christine - Christine's-Creative Therapy

Thinking of You

I just love this stamp set.   I first say it when I was in a "Christmas in July" card swap at my bestest friend, Christine's house!!    Another friend, Lisa had it there and I loved it.   It is a current stamp set from Stampin' Up and is still out of my budget, but I was able to borrow Lisa's set recently and made this card.  

The kraft cardstock was from a closed local scrapbook store.   The brown cardstock is from TAC.  I used the Herringbone Cuttlebug embossing folder.  The tag was cut on the Cricut with George & Basic Shapes and the ribbon is from CTMH.   

Sympathy Card

A card with no digital stamps on it.  Wow, that hasn't happened in a long time.  I am out of sympathy cards so got this one done a week or so ago.    I didn't want the card to be gloomy, but not too happy either.

The patterned paper is by Stampin' Up, I think it is called Blueberry Swirl.   The dark matting on the pieces is Outdoor Denim from CTMH, I know it looks black in the picture.   The floral stamp is by TAC, and it can be found here.    I bought the sentiment stamp used, and the brand name of it was taken off, so don't know where it is from. 

I heart you

This digital image was a little bit of a stretch for me.   I love snowman, but I'm not a heart person, but I liked the challenage.    The image is from Designed2Delight, they have a weekly challenage, that you can find here. 

The cardbase is Bazzill, and the rest is just scraps.   I colored the image with Copics, the hearts were cut on my Cricut with the George and Basic Shapes cartrige, and the sentiment is by TAC.   (Don't know if it is a current set or not.)

No Hunting

I found the "No Hunting" brads at my local scrapbook store (Rochester Scrapbooking Company) and I had to have them for a card.   I didn't realize it would take me weeks to figure out what to do with them.   It wasn't until I got the Animal Kingdom Cricut cartridge.    The little deer is from there and the trees are from the Doodlecharms cartridge.  The paper is by Moxie, from the "A Fish Tale" collection.   That paper is 2-sided, so I used the cool designs on the back. 

Get Well Card

My friend Christine always has great card challenges.  The harder I think the card sketch or challenge is, the faster I get the card made.   The rules for this card were: cardstock only, colored ink on the card somewhere, and only 1 embellishment.   Here is my card.

Got Snow??

If you live in Minnesota you do.   Especially central to southeastern Minnesota.  10 to 20 inches of snow.    The town where I live got 12 inches and the wind left more in my backyard.  As of right now (6:44pm) I am still not plowed out.   Which is fine since I don't work on Mondays and don't have anywhere I need to go.   The Twin Cities got around 20 inches and it caused the roof of the Metrodome to collaspe.  

This digital image is from Designed2Delight and it is very fitting right now.   :o)   It is from their weekly challenage.   Everyone who particiates get a free digital stamp each week they post a card.  You can find them on their website.

The image was colored with Copics.   The base cardstock is Bazzill and the patterened paper is a paper packet by K & Company, I got it a Michaels.   The white cardstock is Georgia Pacific.  

Poinsettia Card

A while ago I discovered card sketches on a website called Splitcoast Stampers.  And there was one sketch that I really wanted to do, but I never seemed to have the right paper.   During a recent trip to Michael's I got a packet of Christmas paper and when I sat down to make this card, this sketch came to mind.  (I can't remember the name of the paper, I'll check later.)   The sketch can be found here.  If you aren't a member of their website, you can sign up for free and take advantage of all the cool people and information on there.

The image is a digital stamp from Designed2Delight.    It is a freebie until Thursday night.  You can find them here.   I colored the stamp with Copics. 

Hot Cocoa

It is the season for hot cocoa, French Vanilla cappuccino, or coffee.  This image is a digital stamp by Designed2Delight.   You can check out their other images and their weekly challanges here. 

The stamp was colored with Copics and the paper was a retired paper packet from Close to My Heart.   The sentiment is also by Close to My Heart.

A new way to emboss

Well, I got my 5 day weekend, boss gave me the Friday after Thanksgiving off, but I didn't get much done.   Nothing worth taking pictures of.   

I did however get an early Christmas present.  My dad bought me a flat screen TV for my craft room!!     I did a little online shopping on Friday and Saturday.   Then tired to buy a few things on Cyber Monday, but that didn't work, so went to Best Buy with dad to get his new TV and mine.  

Before the holidays I did get this card made.   I had seen a YouTube tutorial on embossing cardstock and leaving part of it blank (not embossed).    After finding a wooden mat on clearance at a scrapbook store, I played around with it.   This is how it turned out.  The paper is Georgia Pacific, so not very thick, otherwise I think the embossing would show more.   The stamp is by TAC, it was a special for October.  It is part of the mini-me set that goes with Wonder and Joy.   You can check out The Angel Company here.  The blue and purple cardstock is Bazzill and the ribbon is from either Wal-Mart or Michaels. 

5 Days to Craft!!!

Happy Thanksgiving.   I was lucky enough to get Friday off work also, so I have a 5 day weekend!!   I am going to lock myself in my craft room and create all weekend.   I might leave long enough to sleep and eat, but that is it.  No shopping for me.   Except from my computer.    I don't like crowds.  The deals aren't low enough for me to venture into that madness. 

I got this card done today.   The adorable penguin is a digital image by Designed2Delight.  You can see their products here.   He is part of this week's challenage that ends tonight.  Everyone who plays gets a free digital stamp.

The image was colored with Copics.  The patterened paper is by Carolee's Creations.  I picked it up at a garage sale, so don't know where that person got it.  The "gray" paper is actually silver glimmer paper.  I got that from a store years ago, don't know the name.   The white snowflake is a long retired button from CTMH. 

Craft Room Withdrawals

I have not been in my craft room in about 7 days.  I was gone over the weekend, so didn't get any crafting done, but had a great time with my niece and nephews.   (Ask me sometime about Noah and the lemon pie.)    I hope to get in the room tonight.   Saturday I will be making cards with a great group of ladies at my friend Christine's house, so that will definately give me my fix of crafting!!  I can't wait.   After that I won't have time again until Thanksgiving.    (I hope my boss gives me that Friday off too.)

Today I was looking through some poems I had written back in high school for a Creative Writing class my senior year.   I loved that class.  It was so easy to sit down and whip out a poem or 2.   Can't do that now, I can barely write on my blog without errors and many many rewrites.  (So far this post has taken me over 9 minutes to write.)

Here are some of the poems I came across today.    Enjoy.

Raindrops on the window

Lonely nights, alone with my memories of friends passed on and of dreams forgotten.
Sitting in the dark watching the raindrops on the window.
How could I have gotten through those years without my family and the mercy of the Lord.
Helping me with struggles that seemed beyond my control.
And I know that if my family is gone, the Lord will always be there when the rain drops on the window.

 
 
School

We’re all excited to start,
when we’re young and not torn apart.


We love riding the big yellow bus,
not caring if anyone is staring at us.


Then we get to junior high,
wishing the years would really fly by.


We worry about who’s cute and who’s not,
thinking the weather wasn’t that hot.


Finally on to the senior year,
dreaming of life and a successful career.


Only to discover that it was joke,
life is so bad it will make you choke!
(I got an A+ on this one. lol)


Pieces of Humanity

Sometimes unnoticed, they play a part in life, untouched by any words.


They fall from the face of a mother as she cradles her child.

They glisten in the eyes of a bride as she walks down the aisle.


They stream down the cheeks of a widow long forgotten.


They roll from the eyes of a young man as he heads off to war.


They are the framework of the world, and remain a symbol of humanity.

 
 
 
Here is one my teacher did.
 
I climbed onto a glazed doughnut

I climbed onto a glazed doughnut,
       To taste its sweetness
My appetite was larger than my stomach
I took three bites
           Lost my foothold
           Fell through the hole
           Broke my leg
So much for love.


-- Written by Bernard Gerzevske, Creative Writing Teacher, Plainview High School 1991

Many Flowers

This digital stamp is by Tiffany, it is one of her freebies found on her blog.   I think is one of her images that she makes digital from a photograph.  

I sat down and colored the orange flower in first and although it looked nice, it wasn't want I was picturing in my head.   So the next flower I colored that one blue.   Then I got an idea.   So I colored each flower a different color.    Once I got more black ribbon, I was able to finish the cards last night.   I like how they turned out.   The cardstock is either from CTMH or Bazzill.   Colored with Copics. 

My Cricut strikes again

After spending the day on Saturday at my friend's house (Hi, Christine) making cards and helping her get ready for upcoming card classes, I was kind of lost when I got back to my house.  But I found my mojo and got to work.  

I made a Christmas card and just realized now, that I didn't get a picture of it.  Oops.   Some of my fellow crafters are getting this card, so I'll probably wait to post it.

I have some flower cards started and will post, but I ran out of ribbon mid way through the project.  Will put them up when I get more ribbon.   They are cool if I do say so myself.  :o)

Then I got my Cricut out again along with my favorite cartridge, Create-a-Critter.   I had an idea to make the barn on there into a card.  But after an hour working with it on Design Studio and wasting a lot of white cardstock, I decided to go a different way.    It is still a card, but the barn is not the whole card.  I just love the animals!!!

The barn is 4.25" tall and 5.5" wide.  The cow is 1.25" tall and the horse is 1.50".

Create-A-Critter Rocks

I love my Cricut.   And I love the Create-A-Critter cartridge.   The animals on there are so cute and there are so many extras that can be used without the animals. 

Here are a couple cards I made recently using the cartridge.  I have so many more ideas, so check back for more cards with cute cuddly animals.

The log of wood with the Beaver is his (or her) "accessory".   But the other item that comes with the Beaver is a wagon.   Okay, I understand using a wagon to haul wood, but have you ever seen a beaver pulling a wagon full of wood?   I haven't yet.  :o)    So I used the little red wagon with the dog.    Isn't he cute?

Happy Thanksgiving Card

I just love this stamp from The Angel Company.  It is a hostess stamp called "One of a Kind".  The leaves were cut from the scarecrow stamp from the "Filled with Blessings" set.  And the sentiment is from the "Trendy Greetings" stamp set.  You can check out TAC here.

The brown cardstock is from TAC, the yellowish paper is a retired color from Stampin' Up, and the leaf patterned paper is from . . . . shoot, I didn't keep the part of the paper that says where it is from.   Sorry.    The tag on the card was cut on my Cricut from the George and Basic Shapes cartridge.   I colored the image in with Copics.

I just love how card turned out.  Cutting out those little leaves was a lot of work, but TOTALLY worth it. 

Very sweet Love You card

Isn't this cat cute?    I do, but I love cats.   I made this card to send to Operation Write Home.   I hear the soldiers are asking for "I Love You" and "I Miss You" cards.   So I thought this kitty cat was perfect for that.  

The image is a digital stamp by Motivet.   They can be found here.   The patterned paper is from my stash from a million years ago, but I think it is My Mind's Eye.   The gray cardstock and the flower are from CTMH.  The pink cardstock is from Hobby Lobby.  And the white is Georgia Pacific.   The sentiment is from TAC.

If you want to learn more about Operation Write Home, check out their link to the right of this blog.

Primary colors birthday card

My plan for this digital image started off in a different place, but this is where it ended up.  I liked out it turned out.  It seems like my "kid cards" end up being square cards.  Not sure why.  

The image is by Designed2Delight.  I purchased it here.   The paper is from a paper packet form Michael's.  Colored in with Copics. 

Boys Will be Boys

I have been in my craft room all day today, but why do the creative juices wait until 5:30pm to kick in?   I could have gotten 4 cards done today, but no I had to wait until the end of the day to get 1 done.    But it is a great card, so it is all good.   :o)

This adorable little guy is by The Angel Company, he is part of a new stamp set called "Boys Will Be Boys".    I think my cousin, Peter, tried this when he was a kid, but instead of a fan, he used the roof of their house and a giant snowbank underneath.  (kids don't try this at home)  You can see this cute stamp and all the rest of the great products that TAC carries, at my awesome friend, Christine's website.

(I wish I could take better pictures.)

I got the kraft paper from a store in my town that closed last winter, so don't know the name of it.   The blue cardstock is Stampin' Up.   The white paper that the image is on, is Caboodle by TAC, the other white is Georgia Pacific, and the patterned paper is by 3BugsinaRug.    Isn't that a great name!!   I colored with Copics

Just like winning the lottery!!

Sorry, I haven't posted anything in a week.   Been busy working on a new card.   A few weeks ago I was in a blog hop that The Angel Company did.   I posted a card and then drooled over the other cards that everyone did.   I didn't know that blog candy was involved.   So I was surprised when I got an email this week Monday that I won (in the customer division).    My blog candy arrived at my humble home last night.  I was so excited when I opened it.  So many things that I love and have wanted!!!  Below is a picture of some of it.

There is another blog hop with The Angel Company on October 30th.  The theme is fall.  I have been busy all week working on a new card.   I'm not going to show you yet.  I want the suspence to build.   lol    I don't expect to win again, I just love to make cards and play along with other great card makers.    You can see details of the next blog hop here.



I will post some cards however.   A few weeks ago, I got a request to make some guy birthday cards.   It was a very specific request: "guy" colors, no images, and only say Happy Birthday.    Do you know how hard that is?   I had to resist the urge to use my fishing stamps, no cars, and no sports!!    But I got them done and they were exactly what my customer was looking for.   

Can you tell what my favorite color is?   LOL!!!  

Encouragement Card

I just love Dustin Pike's digital stamps.  I think I have over 300 of his.   So, why aren't there over 300 cards in my blog with his stamps on them?  Well umm. . . . you see it is like this. . . . well, my dog ate my cardstock and . . . . . oh who am I kidding, I don't have a dog.   There is no excuse as to why I don't have more cards done with Dustin's stamps.    I'm making them as fast as my little hands can work.    You can check out his talent here.

I had this image colored in and pop dotted for awhile now, just waiting for the right card and sentiment to come along.   (Yes the bear butt and tail are pop dotted, just hard to see).   This sentiment came to me last night as I was staring at my piles of paper trying to find the right one to use with this image.   I'm slowing learning to color the image after I find the paper, not the other way around. 

The cardbase is brown by The Angel Company, the green is Old Olive by Stampin' Up and I don't remember where the patterned paper came from.    I bet you can't guess what the image was colored in with.   lol    The sentiment was computer generated.   The button came from my mom's sewing basket.  Shhh, don't tell her.  :o)

Finally a card

I was able to get into my craft room last night but only got one card made.  Be happy for small victories, right.   lol

This card was inspired by Christine's sketch from last week. See her blog here.  I didn't know what I was going to do for an image, as I don't have stamps that go that direction.   Then the light bulb came on.   Use the same digital stamp several times on the same card.    Okay, now I know this isn't a new idea, but it was to me last night.   The digital stamp is by Designed2Delight, they have a weekly challenage where you get a new free digital stamp each time you play.   They can be found here.

The cardbase is Stampin' Up.   It is actually recently retired cardstock that I got for a steal during their clearance sale.   (You can see their products here.)   I don't remember where I got the black and kraft cardstock from.   The ribbon is from Michael's.   The flowers were colored with Copics and the sentiment was computer generated.

Fall weather calls for beautiful warm blankets

I haven't been able to get cards done recently so that is why there hasn't been a post in the last few days.   I am hoping to get back to my craft room soon.   This working away from home sure cuts into my crafting time.   lol

I wanted to show some blankets my brother made.   Yep, you read that right, my brother made them.   Now if you knew him, you would be laughing so hard you would have tears rolling down your face.    My brother is not the crocheting type, let alone to sit still that long.  But it gave him something to do while he was in prison (for something he didn't do).    He is home now and retired his crochet hook, but here are 3 of the 30 or so blankets he made.

(my brother is the one on the right side of the picture)

If Friends were Flowers. . .

I just love this stamp.  It is a hostess stamp from The Angel Company.   Just have a $100 or more party and this stamp is yours.    Check out my friend, Christine's website here.   

The card was made using one of Christine's weekly sketches on her blog.   The paper packet is from The Angel Company, it is one of their new papers called Maggie.   The cardstock is Bazzill, and the stamp was colored in with Copics.   The sentiment stamp is by Close to My Heart. 

Pair of Apples

It is hard to make a non-fall card with apples.  I have nothing against fall cards, but I'm ready to make something else.  So this card with a digital image from Designed2Delight, is a "Just Because" card.   It is kind of simple, but simple is nice now and then. 

The cardstock for the base is Bazzill, the red cardstock is from Michael's and the patterned paper is from Hobby Lobby.    Copics were used to color the image.  The sentiment is by The Angel Company.  

I've been tied up!!

This card started off as a Get Well card then it turned into a Belated Birthday card.   I made it using the Sketch from Christine, that she posted last Wednesday.   See her here.   When I was done with the card, it also worked for the "Bring in the Brown" challenage on Splitcoast Stampers for World Card Making Day challenages from Saturday, Oct 2nd.  

The mouse is a digital image from Dustin Pike, Doodle Dragon Studios.  LOVE his stuff.   The paper is from CTMH.  The sentiments were computer generated. 

(Wow, my pictures are horrible, someone needs to show me how to use my fancy camera.)

Sympathy Card

I think this was the first digital stamp, or any stamp for that matter than took me about 2 seconds to color.   lol    The digital image is from Designed2Delight as part of their weekly freebie challenage, and Faith said that this is a shamrock flower.  I looked them up and they are mainly white with a green center.   So I took my C1 Copic marker and outlined the image just as my friend Christine showed me how, then colored in the centers and stems.  Done.   Cutting out the paper and assembling the card took the longest.  I decided to put the sentiment on the inside only. 

Holiday Candles

These are for an upcoming craft sale.   They are so fun and easy to make.   (Thanks Christine for showing me how.)   I would like to try colored candles too, but can't find any that are inexpensive.   I do have a nice stash of Partylite candles (used to sell them), but I think they would be too fancy to use.   lol

Happy Birthday Mom!!!

Today is my mom's birthday.  She is ____ today.   lol.  I'm not going to say how old she is, but I will say the year that she turned 50, I was 25 and all day long I reminded her that I was half her age.  I am surprised that I didn't get disowned that day.   :)

I thought I would share a few pictures of her. 

This is her and her younger brother, Bob.   I don't know when this was taken. 

Mom and Bob about to leave for school.  

This is mom and dad's 30th Anniversary (several years ago).   Dad got that figurine for her.    They both love eagles.   We were visiting mom's parents for Christmas.  Their anniversary is December 27th.

A current picture.  Well, a year ago.   This is grandson Noah.  I don't have a picture of her with all 3 grandchildren, so this one will have to do.