Whooos ready?

Of course, a cousin's birthday is tomorrow. Of course, I was madly working on his card before heading out for an appointment this morning. Hence the wonky sentiment that used the word "Celebrate" from Paper Smooches (PS) Sentiment Sampler and was partly hand crafted with letter stamps from Alphadots and a new alphabet coming down the pike on Aug 1st. The tree, cloud, flowers and little bird are from Summer Groves. A cute set to use as a background for all the animals that PS has ever come out with. (Am I gushing? Lol.) Then, that owl. If you remember cards that I made about a year ago, I like owls. This one hails from another new set coming out in Aug. I paperpieced most of the card but I liked coloring him instead.

I'm hoping that the good ol' USPS will speed the card to him by tomorrow. I always reason, though, that there's no time limit for good wishes.

I'm off to a Creating Keepsakes Convention in Lancaster, PA tomorrow. Scrambling to get kits ready for the crop and some of the classes that I'm taking. I hope to bring back new inspiration to use on future cards and scrapbook layouts. Have a great rest of the week and thanks for dropping by!

*smile*

Sunrise, sunset...

We were in college when dh's cousin's daughter was born. She was this adorable pink squiggly thing that I was afraid to hold. I remember visiting them while I was studying for finals and she, a toddler by then, came up to where I was studying and made a mess of my papers. Lol. Dh remembers visiting them one weekend to help do some painting. He woke up to find her sitting next to his bed with a book in her lap waiting for him to wake up so he could make good on a promise to read to her. Through the years, I made sure to send her special birthday cards. She surprised me when, as a pre-teen, she came over to me during a visit, sat down with a shoe box and proceeded to show me all the cards I'd sent her over the years. *sniff* I only started making my own cards in the last 10 years but you can bet she got handmade ones for special occasions since then. The most recent being a Congrats card on the birth of her first child last month. (I posted it on June 30th.)

Now I feel that her parents should get a Congrats card. This is their first grandchild after all and now the fun will begin all over again. So, I perused OWH's sketch library and decided to use Sketch #52. Then, out came the Paper Smooches stamps again. I used A Little Lovin' and Simply Said. The papers all came from a DCWV stack called Nana's Nursery. I would never have thought to put Stampin' Up's Mint Melody (retired) and Pumpkin Pie together on a card but I followed the lead of the color scheme on the top panel of the card and they worked well as a result.

So, I'll put the baby's birthday on my perennial calendar and make sure to send a handmade card each year. Who knows? Maybe she'll approach a grayer me one day with a shoe box and the chance to peer inside it with her.... *smile*

Thanks for dropping by....

Sorry, Lamby....

Friends invited us over for dinner last Saturday night. Our host served salad greens from his garden, grilled leg of lamb seasoned with his own garlic and a yummy mint jelly made from his own mint. A physician by day and a gardener by night. The free flowing wine complimented a deliciously lovely evening.

For that reason, I wanted to come up with a card of thanks and humor. Our host has a great laugh so I wanted the card to amuse.

I went with Sketch #20 from Operation Write Home's free library and three Paper Smooches sets: Party Posse, Alfresco and Simply Said. The paper is Domestic Goddess from Stampin Up.

To participate in Julia's What's on Your Workspace Wednesday, I must show my chaotic desk. (As soon as I focus on working on another baby book, that pile on the left will be addressed. :-)

Now for the card....

On the inside, I wrote a note of thanks and ended with "the lamb was delicious."

Sorry, members of PETA. But, in my defense, no lambs were hurt in the making of this card....

*smile*

ConGRADulations....

This past weekend, my oldest attended his best friend's little brother's graduation party. I asked him later if he'd remembered to take a gift card. The answer was no. He didn't feel he had to. Besides, one of his other friend's probably didn't take anything either. I told him that that didn't make it right. Forget the fact that there were sirens going off in this card maker's head. Didn't take a card? I informed him that I would make a simple card for him to sign and tuck a gift card in. Then we'd mail it off. Because according to some etiquette book, I'm sure it's never too late.

One of the latest Paper Smooches stamp sets I received was Smarty Pants. All school and graduate related. First, I used the mortarboard stamp (which I realized could not be colored in with a black marker because the detail would virtually disappear so I chose a warm gray Copic color.) I stamped it three times on a scrap of white thinking that I'd fussy cut them but then realized that I could achieve that thrown-up-in-the-air look without cutting them out. I just tamed the whiteness of the square with a marker drawn border and mat. I put the cute sentiment on white and matted it for a little more white balance. The mini star in the set added just the right zing to the scene, too. The background papers were scraps from a lovely pad by My Minds Eye called Academy (all glittery school themed papers). I was inspired by Operation Write Home's Sketch #2. Simple, easy. The inside of the card has a notebook-paper-style panel for writing on.

I feel better now. This card will be a pleasant, although belated, surprise for a kid about to embark on a new journey. That makes me smile.

*smile*

What I Think of Dust Bunnies....

When I saw the latest Picture Perfect Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge (which ends tonight, yikes), I thought of pesky partying dust bunnies. Yeah, I'm a little crazy.... but I couldn't help it... one of the new stamp sets this month has these adorable prancing dust bunnies. So you see my inspiration? *smile*

Sets used were: Squeaky Clean (for the bunnies and the vacuum cleaner), Vogue Abode (for the lamp and chair), Sunny Side Up (for the cloud representing a moving vacuum cleaner, lol) and Alphadot (for the custom sentiment.) I hope this gave you a chuckle.

Party now, dust bunnies, I'm coming for you tomorrow....

*smile*