Springy Day

So this is not the best picture, but I'm too lazy to take another picture. I used some SU! incentive stamps. I was feeling like Spring today now that I'm on the downward slope of my sickness. I got the flu about 9 days ago, got really sick and thought I was going to die (such the drama queen I can be), and then got a bad sinus infection that made me feel like I had 10 rotten molars. Only for the past two days have I been able to do more than shower and feed the kids.

And today I felt like stamping. It's been too long. The darker green paper is textured--which never seems to stick to anything. So I tried Alene's tacky glue and it seems to have worked. I colored using blender pens and ink pads. I used dimensionals to make the little chick and flower images pop. The flowers and umbrella and boots are glazed with glitter. It makes me smile. Hopefully it will make someone else smile when I figure out who to give it to.

Another Update

Sorry my posts have been sparse lately. I've been busy with freelance editing, reading Jane Austen for the first time, and I finally succumbed to the head cold that's been going around. And I don't get to take any good medicine. My youngest has been sick for three weeks--so I'm hoping that this one passes quickly. BTW, I get my first ultrasound on Thursday, and I met my new OB last week. He seems great. Let's hope the baby isn't being modest so we can get a peak to see if it's a boy or girl!

Edit added Feb 29th: My ultrasound went well. I am NOT carrying twins (big sigh of relief). Just one little fetus. Because the baby was still so small, the doctor wasn't 100% sure, but made an educated guess that it's another girl. And she wasn't being the least bit modest. So I guess I'm taking after my mom. She had five girls in a row.

My two little girls both got some bad flu bug--not what I have. Their fevers don't respond well to medicine, so I've been rubbing tea tree oil on them. Poor sick little girls just want to lie around and watch Barbie movies.

Mini Ice Cream Cones

I love these colors with the ice cream cones. It makes me hungry. I want some mint chocolate chip right NOW! Oh the cravings. (Lately I've been craving V8 and salads with Walmart's Great Value Zesty Italian dressing--wierd, huh?)

Anyways, this card used two textured cardstock layers, thus the eyelets. Not that eyelets aren't fun and cute, but I was forced into it. By the way, I wrapped some SU! cardstock with the sentiment "Happy Birthday" around the bottom of the textured red paper--it's hard to tell.

And aren't those little ties around the cones fun?

Recipe
Stamp Set: CTMH Birthday Party
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Gable Green, Real Red, Whisper White, DCWV textured Red and Gable Green
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Real Red, Basic Black, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Gable Green eyelets, dimensionals, linen thread

Last-Minute Anything Card

This one was fun to make. It only measures about 4" by 3-1/2" and would be perfect for those last minute birthday/congratulations gifts. I am using up my DCWV textured cardstock that I've had for two years--I like the colors and texture and it doesn't fade like my SU! papers, but it is so annoying to try to adhere to anything. The color is perfect for this card though.

How do you adhere textured paper? I have tried mono adhesive, glue stick, glue dots all without luck. The only things that work for me are dimensionals or metal fasteners: staples, brads, eyelets. Please share your secrets.

Recipe
Stamp Set: CTMH Birthday Party
Cardstock: Pretty in Pink, Gable Green, Whisper White, DCWV textured in a shade like Gable Green
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Real Red, Chocolate Chip, Basic Black
Accessories: Gable Green eyelets, Green Galore button, linen thread, aquapainter

Off-Topic: Pregnancy Update

I don't mean to leave you all wondering what has happened to me. Pregnancy is going well. My morning sickness has subsided significantly. Still some queasy moments if I try to drink water as soon as I wake up (I'm always SOO thirsty). I'm 13 weeks, measuring 18 or so. Pretty sure I'm not having twins, we just have over-excited uteruses (uteri is also an acceptable plural form, but it sounds creepy) in my family. I haven't gotten an ultrasound yet, but hopefully soon.

We will be finding out the sex of the baby as soon as we can. The Braxton-Hicks contractions have already started, as usual. I need about 8-9 hours of sleep each night or I "pass out" during the afternoon. But if I nap, I can't fall asleep at night. And I would stamp, but I have no energy. Curses.

I usually crave tomatoes during my first trimesters, and this is no exception. I've been drinking large amounts of V8 on a daily basis and eating yummy salads. Salads are a rare treat at my house. My DH is allergic to lettuce, so the closest we get is spinach--which isn't my favorite.

I don't like staying up past 10 pm because then I feel snacky... and then chubby the next day. I'm reading baby name books. My mother's intuition, which has been wrong 100% of the time in the past, says that this is a boy. We'll see. Hope you're all doing well!

Another Valentine

Here's another feeble attempt at a Valentine's card that would be good for someone with whom you are not close or romantically involved. It uses unisex colors. I like this set, but the truth is that the bubblegum image is so huge that you can barely make it fit on a card without it taking up the whole thing. It is fun to stamp the pieces-parts inside it though.

Recipe
Stamp Set: Treat Yourself
Cardstock: Ballet Blue, Black, Bashful Blue, Whisper White, DCWV textured red (hate trying to adhere this to anything)
Ink: Black, Real Red, Ballet Blue
Accessories: Hemp, Aquapainter and Blender Pen, Red staples (to hold the darned DCWV textured cardstock to the card--all four corners)

Love Card for a Guy

The past few weeks I've been so busy that I'm too worn out to do stamping. Very sad. I did finish my taxes (finally) and completed two freelance editing gigs, so I can't really complain.

Given that Valentine's day is less than 48 hours away, I thought I had better come up with a manly Valentine's card for my hubby and quick. These are good colors for my man, and I think the hemp-wrapped edges are perfect. I know it's not terribly mushy or lovey-dovey, but it totally works, I think.








Recipe
Stamp Set: A is for Adorable (Hostess set from 2 years ago)
Cardstock: Ballet Blue, Real Red, Brilliant Blue, Whisper White
Ink: Ballet Blue
Accessories: Hemp twine, hot glue gun (to secure the edges of the twine), dimensionals, red staples

Another Cupcake

I made another cupcake card--this time a 3-1/2" square card. It was so much fun. I used some scrap DP paper that I bought at Joanns or someplace and wish that I had 10 more sheets of it.

I want to spruce it up a little, but I need some ideas. Should I have done a background stamp on the textured green? Please help.

Recipe
Stamp Set: Treat Yourself
Cardstock: Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink, Gable Green, cheap kraft, and DCWV textured (color resembles Green Galore)
Ink: Green Galore, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Silver brads, white gel pen, gold glitter pen, glitter, dimensionals

Sparkly Cupcakes

I am so sorry for not having posted sooner. So much has been going on, and I've been doing a lot of non-craft (therefore, non-fun) projects--like cleaning out the 2nd half of the garage so that I can park my car in there, too. Cleaning behind the stove. Confiscating all the toys that have littered my house for a week straight. Thinking about doing my taxes. Doing homeschool-preschool. Teaching my girls how to make a cake. Anyways, I'm trying to get back into my groove.

I went over to my friend's house Wed. night and stamped the cupcake parts and watercolored them. Today I cut them out and created a simple Birthday card. It's not fabulous, but it's a start in the right direction. I used the white gel pen to color the candle and the sprinkles, if you can't tell.

I hope you're all doing well!

Recipe
Stamp Set: Treat Yourself
Cardstock: Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink, Gable Green, some cheap kraft, and Chocolate Chip.
Ink: Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink, Gable Green, Chocolate Chip
Assessories: Glue & Glitter, dimensionals, white gel pen, gold glitter pen (for flame)

PS: For SBS1, Niki is withdrawing from the group. So you can remove her link from your sidebar. Let's all wish her a friendly farewell, too.

Sew Thankful

I have a few friends who have helped me out recently that I needed to make Thank You cards for. I think these monochromatic cards will work great.

The photos are a little washed out, but if you look closely you can see that I machine-stitched my first two cards ever! I loved it. It adds such a nice touch. The first card is zigzagged and the second has a straight stitch, both with thread that matches my cardstock.

I also sponged Cool Caribbean around the edges of the cards and the cut-out flowers.

Recipe
Stamps: Delight in Life, Much Appreciated
CS: Cool Caribbean, Taken with Teal, and CS from my LCS
Ink: Cool Caribbean, Craft White
Accessories: Circle Cutter, White Gel Pen, Sewing Machine, Antique Copper Brad

Recipe
Stamps: Delight in Life, Much Appreciated
CS: Cool Caribbean, Taken with Teal, and CS from my LCS
Ink: Cool Caribbean, Craft White
Accessories: Circle Cutter, White Gel Pen, Sewing Machine, Antique Copper Brads, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter

PS I'm still sick, but I force myself to do a few things each day, like shovel the driveway, post on my blog, and take a prenatal vitamin. I have heartburn so bad I feel like someone has their hand around my neck. So I just tell myself that there will eventually be an end to this, right?

Cute Scrapbook

During the fun New Year's Eve party I attended, I was able to "buy" this cute scrapbook from the auction with my fake money. It's purple with rub on letters and a few ribbons, and it's own paper and clear sheet protectors. I totally scored. My friend gave away so many gifts; I'm wondering how much she spent on that party. BTW, for the white elephant gift, I got a jar of home-canned raspberry jam and a "Monkey Farts" scented candle (it smells like bananas, LOL. To order: parma_mom@yahoo.com). It was a blast!

Now for the confession...I have never scrapbooked! Not even one page; not even a layout. I don't think I have printed more than two dozen pictures in the past seven years. I bought photopaper for my home printer, but the image quality stunk. So I just did nothing. That needs to change. The problem is that I need a new digital camera since mine won't communicate with my iMac anymore. Jerky thing.

So one of my goals this year is to make a tiny scrapbook of my two little girls, since they are best friends. I'll post the pages as I make progress. Feel free to ask if I've worked on it down the road to re-motivate me.

Another goal I have is to get my stamp line launched! It may take a while, but I'm leaning toward rubber cling because I'm not sold on the clear stamps yet. Perhaps the ones I bought are too cheap?

Lee Geluk Book: Windstorm Wonders

I try not to post non-craft related items, but if you have a minute, visit my personal blog to see what the windstorm did to our neighborhood. You will be stupefied. Lee Geluk Book: Windstorm Wonders