My first card in a LONG while

I haven't made a card for fun (rather than work) in a long time. I got this SU set - Hit the Road, just shortly after the Spring/Summer catty came out. But, I haven't had a chance to ink it up until now. What better way to spend a snow day than making a snow day card? The papers are baha breeze, red ridinghood and white. I stamped the baha circle with a swirl bg stamp (haven't used one of those in a long time either). I added some liquid applique snow and my pup had the perfect place to try out his 4 wheel drive (something I wish I'd had this morning, maybe I could have gotten out of my driveway and gone to church). I embossed the white with my cuttlebug. The snowman strip is from a piece of KI memories dp I've been hoarding. It's shimmery, so there is a little bit of a glare. The snowman is a metal tag...no idea where it came from. I have a bunch of them that I found when looking for an embellishment today. Ok, well, my son is ringing the bell, which means I'm supposed to be out there helping him clear the drive...hope you enjoyed the card!

Snowed in

So much for spring! Actually, I've kind of enjoyed it. The kids have gone outside several times (for about 5-10 minutes each, the wimps). I imagine if they head out today, they'll stay out longer because it's not blowing and it's not as cold as yesterday. I've really been trying to get some things done around the house - the laundry is totally caught up. Or at least it was until the boys went out and got wet 3 times! But, to me, a snow day just cries out for one to be lazy. I have enjoyed cooking. I was going to make cookies and decided we didn't really need them. So, I'm going to make ham loaf. When I did a freezer inventory the other day, I realized I had a lot of leftover ham. The ham is thawing and I brought the grinder attachments to the KitchenAid mixer up from the pantry and have washed them all. I'm going to try the asian sauce I made the other night with shrimp with beef tonight. Unfortunately, Gage has drunk all of the orange juice. But, I have some clementines, which will work nicely - so sweet!

And, now - brace yourselves. I have set the boys up with a movie and I'm going to make a card! I know, hard to believe, it's been so long. I'm excited and a little nervous, actually - it's been so long, I'm afraid now that I actually have time, I won't be able to think of anything to do! So, wish me luck and come back soon to see what I did.

WOW - it's been a long time!

Things have been absolutely crazy at work lately. I was tired when I got home several nights in a row and got nothing done. Now I'm trying to get caught up on housework. I did get most of my laundry caught up last night. We've invited the church youth pastor for dinner on Monday, so we have a deadline and have to get the house cleaned up!
I tried a new recipe last night - sort of. I made lo mein and then made shrimp cooked in garlic, orange juice, hoisin sauce and a little cayenne pepper. The sauce, while simple, was really good, but I think it lends itself better to beef. So, I think next time I'll dredge some thin beef in cornstarch and cook it in oil. The cornstarch might thicken the sauce just a little and I think it will taste great! I also think it would be better with rice. Throw in some crab rangoon or potstickers with broccoli and we'll be good to go! I'm getting better with Asian cuisine, although my crab rangoon isn't as pretty as what you normally see in a restaurant.

Birthday hound!

Birthday Betsy has come to town! This is another amazing stamp from http://doggonestamps.com/ I colored Betsy with copics and cut her out. I LOVE to cut out my images - want a tip on cutting? I use cutterbee scissors - keep them SHARP! Put your thumb in the thumb hole and your middle finger in the other whole. This will give you more control over the scissors. It takes a little getting used to, but is very helpful. Finally, move your paper, turn the paper, not the scissors when you cut for a smoother line. Anyway, this is for the sketch challenge over at http://www.papercraftplanet.com/group/doggonestamps I used basic grey dp, pumpkin pie and pacific point.

Homage to star wars

I loved this frog from the minute I saw him! Maybe it's because he's green, maybe it's the wisdom he exudes, but he reminds me of Yoda. Hence, the quote. I loved the asian-like print of the basic grey. All papers are basic grey except the card base, which is buckaroo blue. I colored the image with copics and for the first time, really got into using the blending marker. Love it now - expect to see it a lot more in the future. I colored the primas to match with copics as well. So, in the spirit of the Lenton season, I hope that you will be inspired by this to do or not do.

That's all folks!

Another adorable stamp from doggonestamps.com! I knew when I saw this little piggy, for some reason, I wanted to make a very cartoony back drop for him. So, here he is in his cartoon meadow. I found the quote and it just felt right. I really like the cartoon feel of the picture paired with the elegance of the quote and the lines of the curvy rectangle nesties - it just feels like a story book. This is for the challenge on papercraftplanet.com in the doggonestamps forum. The challenge was to make a purple card. Well, I'm not much of a purple kind of gal. But, I do like almost amethyst. So, I paired it with certainly celery and so saffron. Then I threw in some black to ground all of those pastels a little bit. I'm not sure where I got the ribbon, but it matched well. And now a message to spellbinders - PLEASE make another set of the curvy rectangles! Everytime I use these I have to cut the second layer by hand because the next size up just seems too big to me. I promise -if you make them, I will be the first in line to snap them up!

Sweet giraffe

Isn't this giraffe a cutie? I colored him with copics and cut him out. He is mounted on nestie ovals, layered with nestie labels. The card base is sunshine yellow, chocolate chip, and k& co. dp. The nesties are done in red and choclate with the same dp. I embossed the red layer. The giraffe ribbon has a sparkley ribbon slide. The flowers are prima and paper studio set off with a rhinestone brad.