Featured Stamper Rox, Way to Rock!!!

Hi, Happy Sunday afternoon!

Today is Featured Stamper on SCS, and one of my favorite stampers was chosen, Rox71!!

Rox has been submitting sketches each Wednesday for as long as I can remember, and her sketches are just mind-boggling! But today, her gallery was featured...what fun to spend hours on a nothing else to do lazy day...than find a card to CASE.

I will try a link, but am having technical (brain) difficulties getting Rox's card to show up: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/1051678?cat=500&ppuser=23790

I kept the lighthouse theme, and the overall layout, but switched out the colors and didn't add the scenery. Instead, I stamped the words in this set by Our Daily Bread Designs, Keep My Lamp Burning, on a separate sheet of white, highlighted the word, LORD, in red, and cut it out, mounting it with dimensionals separately. I love this set, and have had so much fun using this gift!

I am sending this to my Dad, who is having a difficult recuperation at home following knee surgery. He takes care of my Mom full time and is battling exhaustion! So I want to remind him of God's strength in times of distress.

Thanks for stopping by today!!

Late to the Tea Party!!!

It's time to get silly over on SCS...my friend, Cindy, (Mothermark) is hosting her Teapot Tuesday challenge. This week's was a sweet lil teapot scene...I don't know how to post the picture of her teapot, but please visit here to see :
http://http//www.mothermark.blogspot.com/


The cupcakes are chocolate, of course, and the liners were colored with copics to match the paper, the cupcakes themselves are cute stickers that are 3 dimensional...so neat!!
I colored my house mouse image with copics, and then cut him out, used some purty glitter a friend gave me on the hat and pom pom along with this cute polka dotted ribbon that another friend, Joanne (JoJot) included in a gift...and this is what I came up with! It's silly and fun, just like all the tea parties!! Thanks to my friends, I have new goodies to add to my cards...now I just need a birthday to send this to...
Have a wonderful day!

Time to Bloom

This is a day planner that I did an extreme makeover with...hee...that's my way of saying I "altered" it...I like the makeover better....

My daughter is in a sorority and about 2 weeks ago, was struggling to keep up with her day planner...she would have herself booked on the same day at the same time. When asked why, she seemed a little confused, and said she had been using a 2008 calendar, and what was the big deal? Well, I gently reminded her that the calendar rotates from year to year (that is after I stopped laughing)...and told her she might want to buy a new planner with the current year.

So, she did, and I made it over with this pretty paper from Basic Grey's Euphoria collection. The flower center was watercolored with reinkers, then the stamen was traced very lightly in silver pen. The ourside was shaded with a copic marker to blend the blues from the paper into the flower. The flower was mounted on a Labels 2 Nestabilities.

Now, the balance of this layout is not what I had initially planned...the plan did not include the silver "dream" on the top. That came after a major "boo-boo" where I tried every which way to make a big smeared ink blot disappear...but it wasn't going to. So I plopped some of the same paper under the hardware and used a "Dream" rub-on...and that was my fast fix. I think she will like it.

Recipe: One 2009 day planner

Stamps: Embrace Life, Time to Bloom

Paper: Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, Basic Grey's Euphoria , Watercolor paper

Ink: Black Versafine Onyx, reinkers, copic blue marker for highlighting flower

Accessories: Labels 2 Nestabilities, Watercoloring Pen, Making Memories striped ribbon (Passport), Hodge Podge Sylized Silver Hardware, Martha Stewart Pearls, Sakura Gel Pen (silver)

Glitter Glitter Everywhere!!!

Glitter Glitter Everywhere...

At our lil retreat in the mountains last weekend, one of my dear friends, Peggysue, introduced four of us to a new "technique" glitter on acetate. The first card is her beautiful rainbow fish, remember that children's book, Rainbow Fish? That's what her card reminded me of, the colors were bright and bold, and I loved the background swirly paper the acetate is mounted on, it made it look like the fishies were in a pool of crystal blue water! Her technique involved stamping in stazon ink on acetate, then applying special Art Institue Dries Clear Glue in one area at a time, sprinkled liberally with glitter, and then allowing 15 minutes drying time between each color of glitter.

So, when I got home, I tried out this technique on this round circle "Bee Happy" card...I used some very pretty glitter that Peggysue had given me, and had a blast. The only problem is, I didn't have the correct glue, crystal effects ran a bit and so made my polka dotted bees get a little blobby...must have been all that chocolate they ate at Steamboat!! Just wanted to share one of our projects with you and hey, I tried!! I will share some others in the next couple of days. Thanks for coming by today!

Oh, and if you want to know about the glitter everywhere...just ask Joanne (JoJot.) !! :)

Today was Inspiration Challenge on SCS. I rarely have time to do the inspiration, but these little "odd forest purses" really caught my attention!
http://www.forestprints.com/itemprofile.aspx?itemcode=B1216
This verse was a gift given to me in a set from Our Daily Bread Stamps. I love the font on these stamps, and combined this with a flower from Petal Pushers.
The verse means a lot to me, as in my own personal life, I have been facing a lot of trials and transitions in life. I'd like to say I can handle all of these with the grace and ease of a seasoned traveler through life, but really I don't! If it weren't for the friend I have in Christ, and the strength that only He can give, I think I'd be struggling much more than I do! I am so thankful that I have a saviour and friend I can turn to that doesn't turn the lights off at night and go to sleep, that is there in all the mayhem called "Life" and is able, more than able, to be my strength.

"Mangy Moose" is Loose!!

So the headlines read, "Mangy Moose is Loose!!!" after I spotted this moose on our drive to Steamboat. My passengers, Lois and Peggysue , insisted I turn the car around to get a good shot...but what they didn't see the first time is "Mrs. Moose" getting all flirty with her moose lips all covered in red lipstick and her big bow trying to win over Mr. Moose. Now I feel kinda bad, because we all said, outloud, for the moose to hear, that this guy didn't look as handsome as most moose we had seen (mounted in some moose lodge or restaurant)...and in fact, I slipped and called him "mangy." I think he overheard and was an indignant moose, because this appeared, like I said, in the next day's "Moosely News. " So I think I need to write the editor in a formal apology!!

So, this moose card is my submission for the dork sisters' blog challenge, which had a series of lips on it, ( a make-up advertisement for Avon.) When I saw this flirty Mrs. Moose, I knew I wanted to use her in my card! Hope it gives you a giggle!

Stampin' Friends in Steamboat!!

Okay, so we had all weekend, and got a lot of pictures sitting around my little dining room table staring at glitter..it was mesmerizing in all it's varied color hues...but not that exciting for a picture to post! So this was taken as a last shot on the way out of town! We did not find one single bear to take our picture, can you believe it? So a kind unsuspecting man in the parking lot had to suffice...

Left to right are Peggysue (Jeanne), Lois, (Minister's Wife), Traci (tracim), Cindy (Mothermark,

and Joanne (JoJot.)

Most of our time was spent stamping and each of these talented ladies brought a make n take type project (or 2 or 3) all ready to go. I hope to post those tomorrow or very soon, but let's just say each project was so fun and I learned some really cool techniques!

When we weren't stamping, we were gathered around the back deck enjoying the sounds of the rushing creek, or going out to eat! We all had a lot of fun, made new friends, and great memories.

Thanks for coming and sharing my special place with me!!

Memories from Steamboat

This photo was taken in downtown Steamboat Springs. Pictured left to right was me, (Traci, or Tracim on SCS) Cindy (Mothermark) and Joanne, (JoJot).

None of us like our picture taken, and no one ran for cover..how's that for cooperation?. We had beautiful weather and fun times! We took a little break from stamping to head to historic downtown and do a little souvenir shopping! I did not find any moose boxer shorts, although Lois found a cute sleepshirt with moose on it. Peggysue found a cute little bracelet for her daughter...not sure if anybody else bought anything!

The pictures below are where I gather inspiration to stamp and in my personal life.
As you know, this past weekend was Mother's Day and my youngest daughter sent me a beautiful mixed boquet! Although she said the flowers weren't at all what she ordered, the colors were perfect for me, and the tulips with their deep throated orange-red and yellow tipped, along with gerber daisys inspired me to try these tumbled tiles coasters.
I had seen these, but wasn't sure how to attempt them on my own, until I saw a tutorial on Gina K's StampTV...what a huge help that was!!
Erin is pictured in the first post, she is thriving at her first year of college, and she astounds me with her inner and outer beauty, and I am so proud of her...so she and her older sister are where I gather inspiration first~~
The second picture is the boquet, and the third is the tumbled tile coasters. The tiles were stamped first with the Flourishes "gratitude" stamp in green, then the tulip in black stazon. The colors were filled in with the sponge daubers and more of the same stazon ink in blazing red, and mustard. The leaves and stem were filled in with the olive stazon. Felt pads were added to the bottom of the tiles to keep them from scratching wood surfaces.
Thanks for looking...and thanks Erin for the beautiful flowers!

My Inspirations

Oh, you mean you want to see the card?? Oops, I forgot to add the image, well here it is!

Today's challenge card on SCS was to make a bandana background using a white gel pen and two tones of the same color (lighter and darker) to create the look of a bandana.
I used this old but loved set, Garden Collage. The image was colored with copics and aged slightly with Tim Holtz distressed inks in tea dye. It was then mounted on a square purple and corner highlights were made with the piercing tool and template.
The background was stamped and then the dots and some of the leaves were highlighted with the signo white gel pen. Tiny silver brads were added to the corners, and a sheer organdy lavendar bow with polka dots is secured across the center.
I hope you like my card today, I was trying to veer away from my beloved pinks and settle down with a nice stately purple!
Have a great day, and thanks so much for stopping by!

Happy Mother's Day!!

Just wanted to pop in and wish my stamping friends a Happy Mother's Day!

I decided to participate in the challenge card on SCS for the featured stamper, and oh happy day! she had simple layouts...so here is what I came up with!

I wanted to try out this flower soft product on this new stamp set, Thoughts and Prayers...and I loved the look. You just have to smoosh the flowers in a bit to get them to stay put. I used a different sentiment thinking how well it went with the flower blooms, and had a birthday or graduation in mind.

Happy Mother's Day, and thanks for taking a peek!

http://media.photobucket.com/image/strawberries/thehouseofdreams/strawberriesS.jpg?o=10

If it's strawberry season where you live, here is a quick and delicious recipe to try out for a refreshing dessert.

Strawberries Romanoff

Marinate 4 cups of whole, rinsed, hulled strawberries in 1/3 cup of orange-flavored liquer for about an hour. Puree half of them in a blender.

Whip 1 cup of heavy whipping cream with 1/3 cup of powdered sugar, fold in puree. Serve the cream over the whole berries in a sherbet or tall wine glass for an elegant easy dessert!

Note: I use Grand Marnier for the liquer You can find this in little tiny bottles at the Liquor Store

I have had this recipe since the 1987, it was on a handout from a local berry farm in Tualatin, Oregon. We lived there for 7 years after we were first married. I loved having local berry farms just down the street and would go and sometimes take our daughter to help pick strawberries off the vines. They were the plumpest juiciest berries I have ever tasted!
Here was another recipe on the little sheet of paper, for Strawberry Jam.
It read: Buy powdered or liquid pectin and follow directions.
Now how's that for a simple recipe?
Happy Saturday, and let me know if you give this a try, what you think. Or if you have a favorite strawberry recipe and want to share it here, I would love to see it!!

Strawberry Pickin' Time

There was a challenge today on one of my favorite places to be, Splitcoast Stamper's...and it was to make a card in honor of a holiday in May! Do you know how many holidays there are in May, just google it and you'll be amazed! Besides Mother's Day, Memorial Day, May 10th is "Clean Your Room" Day...and the entire month is designated as Strawberry Month!
I really should be cleaning my room that is, my stamp room, but I wanted to use some of this sweet paper in my little supply stash! The sketch is this week's Mojo Monday sketch, check my sdie bar for the link to those...
I have a hard time with sketches, especially if the measurements aren't there...and I spent a lot longer getting this cut right before I just glued it all together. But I am pretty okay with the outcome, the little strawberry on top is cut out from the paper, then carefully added crystal effects, and with surgeon's precision, laid that on top of the cupcake!
When I was little, I always made my Mom birthday or Mother's Day cakes, and they always had to be pink! And that usually meant a strawberry or cherry cake...so this one is pink in the inside, just in case you were wondering!
Thanks for stopping in today...and tomorrow I am going to share a yummy and easy strawberry recipe...but for now it's time to eat dinner.

Mother's Day Poem

Hi! I wanted to include a Mother's Day poem that was featured on Ellen Hutson's site that is perfect for Mother's Day!
The author of this poem is unknown. I copied the poem on Word Processing and framed it out for the inside insert of my cards in the previous post.
Let me know what you think of it, it touched my heart so much I just had to pass it along!

My Mother's Garden

My mother kept a garden

A garden of the heart,

She planted all the good things

That gave my life its' start.

She turned me to the sunshine

And encouraged me to dream,

Fostering and nurturing

The seeds of self-esteem...

And when the winds and rain came

She protected me enough-

But not too much because she knew

I'd need to stand up strong and tough.

Her constant example

Always taught me right from wrong-

Markers for my pathway

That will last a lifetime long.

I am my mother's garden.

I am her legacy-

And I hope today she feels the love

Reflected back to me.

~Author Unknown

Mother's Day cards

I talked to my Mom today. She is in a nursing home awaiting the time she can go home and be with her doggies and my Dad.

I want to share more of a tribute to my Mom tomorrow, but for now, I am showing you a before and after card that I used for today's SCS sketch challenge. The card to the left was a set of quick note cards I tried (unsuccessfully) putting togeter as a git set for a friend.

These cards are even plain for a "plain and simple" card, which is what I normally prefer. Today's sketch was perfect for this image, though, so I pulled one flower off, and transformed it into this card. I was able to use several new punches that I didn't even own back when I made this set. The left side of the flower is accented by Martha Stewart's arch lattice punch, the little corners are a punch from EK success, and the butterfly is another Martha Stewart punch. The butterfly was accented with tiny pearls, as well as the little corner punches. Today I was "popping pearls" all over the place!!

I found a poem that was shared by Ellen Hutson, and I just loved it, so I copied it for the inside sentiment and wanted to share it in my next post!

Happy Sunday afternoon!

Today is Featured Stamper's Challenge over on Splitcoast Stamping, and I decided to play along. The featured stamper had several Magnolia Tilda's in her gallery, which had me grabbing my copics and this sunny paper!

I don't know about you, but the idea of frolicking in the water is fine with me, as long as I can see my toes, and I don't have to squeeze into one of those Spandex Miracle Suits! This little girl's outfit I could handle, it reminds me of innocent days gone by when I would splash in the creek as a little girl. I know I didn't have a swimsuit, I just played in my little sundresses!

So, I'm sparing you the swimsuits, but this water is warm, won't you come and play with me?