Stamping - how I have missed you

OH - I have missed stamping! I colored this frog last week and put the card together this evening. I colored him with copics and sakura glitter pens. The paper is k & co. I used chocolate chip, wild wasabi and an unknown lemony colored yello. The sentiment - dedicated to my future prince charming, wherever he may be - was printed on the computer and punched with two sized oval punches and a label punch. The background for my prince was done with my nesties. The flowers are paper studio, ribbon unknown and charm unknown.

Another new stamp from Dog Gone Dogs!

That's right - it all started out with a few sketches of pups, but Dog Gone Dogs has more than just dogs. This beautiful stamp was just released. I stamped it with black ink and colored it with primas for a change - it just seemed to cry out for a lighter touch. I wish you could see the glitter on the wings! The card base is pirouette pink layered with wild wasabi and another layer of pirouette pink, stamped with a script background stamp. The flower girl is mounted on a curvy rectangle that I inked with a meadow scene, layered with wild wasabi and purely pomegranite. I stamped all of the flowers with the same script background and added a center of dew drops.

Bring on the Spring!

I love this little girl. My "little" girl, who is about to turn 16, used to wear pigtails and hulahoop! This is one of my new stamps from doggonestamps.com. I used some previously hoarded su dp with wild wasabi, bashful blue, only orange and real red. The flower is a silk flower that I disassembled and paired with a polkadot prima. The eyelet is from We are Memory Keepers. It was kind of a muted orangey color, so I colored over it with an orange copic - just one of the great things about alcohol based markers. The eyelet says "You are my Sunshine". My dad used to sing when he shaved in the mornings and he often sang this song. The quote is part of the dp set and is by Ghandi. Come back soon and check out more of the cute new stamps I'm going to be creating with over the next few days!

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.