Score...

...or lack thereof. Now I think this is funny. You may not, but from the moment that I thought of this, and then made it, I've been cracking myself up. DH has a colleague/friend who teaches out at Santa Clara University. She is an alumni of Gonzaga University, however, and is still a fan of their sports teams. This year, the "Zags" mens basketball team has gone undefeated. Until yesterday. They didn't "score" enough points to win their game against BYU. When I found that out this afternoon, I said to DH, "I should make her a sympathy card." Then the most giant of pings went off in my brain.... Wait till you see....

This (crack-me-up) card is off to play along with CASology, where the cue card is:

 

Or in this case, as previously mentioned, the lack thereof...

Really, they're the Gonzaga Bulldogs. Hence the cut file found in the Silhouette store. Some Jeni Bowlin for Ranger blue ink on a HA stamp complete this very tongue in cheek CAS card. Now maybe I'm just weird (ok, ok, no maybe about it), but I'm still laughing. Do you get it? Let me know...

Now, if the DT doesn't think this qualifies, it should come down, but I'll still laugh at it. As always, 

One Plus One

My plans to get some deep house cleaning done today were shot to h-e-double-hockey-sticks at 4:45 this morning. I woke up with a migraine, and in the hopes that I was just dreaming, or should I say having a nightmare, I went back to sleep. Until 5:18. Ugh. Hauled my rather large booty out of bed and grabbed my rescue meds. Between my body fighting to feel better, and the draining effects of the meds, I have practically zero energy. Only enough to craft a bit. It's a good thing that DH has some leftover steak (a rare treat) from supper last night, so I don't even have to try to cook something without burning it, lol. On to the cards...

I have two cards to share today. I hope I had enough focus to make them look decent, but you'll have to tell me if they're alright. My brain is still fuzzy. For this first one, I will be playing along at the City Crafters Blog, as well as Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge. It's "A Few Stitches" at CCB, and "Anything Goes" at SSSWC.

My card:

The stitches came with the Wonky die from MFT. The image is a stencil created with a cut file from Silhouette. Lots and lots of inks. One red scrap adhered to the base. The way the stitches look, they remind me of crepe-paper twisted and hung, don't they? Or is my brain still waaay too fuzzy?!

The next one is your fault. It's a watercolored card. I'll be playing along at Muse, Inkspirational Challenge, and Happy Little Stampers. 

For this card, I tried my hand at partial die cutting. Probably not the best day to be doing that, but I did. So you can see that my flower is still connected to the watercolored panel. Jenni at Muse has a lovely rose for us to use as our inspiration, but the roses I have are a bit small (must correct that!), so I went with the peony again. And I did use several dies on this, so I guess I'm twisting along with HLS!

Are you ready? Ok.

Another rut for me... the Wonky Stitched die from MFT. Along with their stitched rectangle. The 'birthday' die is one I played surgeon with and cut it apart from the 'happy' and its frame; it's from Impress. The bitty tag is from Studio Calico, and the peony is from Altenew. Watercolored with Zigs. The 'wishes' stamp is from Newton's Nook. I hope I got all the ingredients... My brain isn't getting any less fuzzy as the day goes on. At least it doesn't hurt right now, lol! Probably a good time for me to stop. I'm headed off to comment land, and if you get one that doesn't make sense, just chalk it up to the medication ; )  And as always...

Let the Games Begin!

You must be wondering what the Post Title means. No games to be found on my blog. Nope. Today the first game of the Spring Training Season begins in Major League Baseball. I've been waiting to watch baseball since the Cubbies won the World Series way back last year. DH is a Yankees fan, and they're playing at noon today. Will we be planted in our chairs, watching and cheering the fact that baseball is back??!! Nope. We'll be on the road to a couple of doctors' appointments for him today. Just rechecks, but right at first pitch time. Fortunately, there are many months of baseball ahead, so we're really not going to miss much! Here in the States, and maybe more for the fans, Spring Training seems to herald the start of Spring. Longer days, warmer weather, and the sound of "batter up," mean that the winter coats and boots can get put back in the closet, the snow shovels can be hung up in the garage, and sandal weather is just around the corner! Life is good, isn't it?! And this is a silly way to start a post, lol! I will take a second here and say 'thank you' for all your kind comments about my last post with the watercolored flowers. Because we live in a democracy, and because majority rules, I will keep the watercolors out and see if I can make a few more. You're wonderful, you know that?!!

Oh yeah...This blog is mostly about card making, isn't it?! Guess I'd better get to it and share a card today, then, hadn't I?! Just one. I'm still debating about the second card I made yesterday, and I'm not sure if I like it enough. Do you ever do that? Make it, and go "hmmmmm..... Not sure if I want to post that...," or am I the only one who does that? Well maybe I will tomorrow. If it sucks bad, then I can always wait to post it on April Fool's Day. The effervescent, darling of the blog world, and your friend and mine, Darnell, is having a little hop-ti-doodle. Click here for reference. (Unless I'm wrong, she's having it...). Oh pooh. This paragraph was supposed to introduce my card.... Too much talkie, not enough cardie.... Coming right up. I promise.

Leigh Penner has a fun sketch up at CAS(E) This Sketch. Had to play!

Mine:

Three inks (Fresh Ink), three circle stamps, one sentiment (PTI), and one die (RC) make this card. And a little fun foam to pop this up a bit. EZPZ lemon squeezy. All that chatty nonsense to see one card...I'm such a goof. But there you have it. Have a great weekend and as always...

Watercolored Flowers

I seem to be in a bit of a rut. Watercoloring flowery images. I've done several, but won't bore you with all of them. I sent one off to my sister Lisa for her birthday, and we'll save that one for a later post. There's something calming about doing a bit of fussy watercoloring, isn't there? But after today, I'm going to put them away for a while and break out something else. I have enjoyed them, though.

First I thought I'd play in a new-to-me challenge, The Flower Challenge. Therese from Lost In Paper is the Guest Designer and her card is so lovely I thought I'd give it a go.

I was inspired by her colors and the raised sentiment. Mine is a similar but different:

I used the Altenew Peony and heat embossed it before using my Zigs to watercolor. On a scrap of watercolor paper, I ran some pink color and cut out the 'happy' with an MFT die. I added the 'birthday wishes,' which are from two different Uniko sentiments. A few pretty sequins (thanks Ardyth) and done. That flower, in real life, is so pretty if I do say so myself. My daughter Cathy happened to see it laying on my desk, and fell in love with it. It will go into her box of cards at Christmas.

Next I thought I'd play along with the Essentials by Ellen Pin-sights Challenge. More watercoloring...

*sigh* I love this color scheme. Calming. Serene. And gorgeous. The image and sentiment were stamped while spending time at the Lake House. Thought it was time to pull it out and actually use it. My Zigs aqua was a bit too dark, so I used tons of water and added a bit of light green in to get a more aqua-y color. I think it worked pretty well. Added some Stickles and some glitter to the centers. Nothing fancy here. This will go to a friend whose dad passed last week. I'll stop now, and get to some commenting before starting dinner. As always...

A First For Me

So remember I'd had a cold a couple of weeks ago? It seemed to be getting better, but something felt wrong in my ears. The left side wasn't too bad, the right side, however, felt really weird...like my brain was trying to give birth to a baseball through my ear canal. Went into the walk-in clinic and for the first time ever in my life I find that I have double ear infections. Isn't that something that babies and little kids get? Maybe I'm aging backwards! Yeah! That's the ticket! The antibiotics are working well, and I can actually hear again, lol! What a week. Think I'll pass on doing that again though. Took DH for his BIG doctor's appointment, and he was given a pretty clean bill of health. At least as far as the Neuro team was concerned. Thanks for your prayers on that. While he'll never shoot baskets again, or play tag with the little kids, he is making small strides toward his new normal health levels. Whew!

This morning I have a couple of cards to share. For the first card, I'm playing along at CASEing the DT at the Coffee Loving Cardmakers blog, and also at the CAS Mix Up Challenge. My second card is for Muse.

Let's have a little look-see:

For my corrugated cardboard, I turned a Starbucks coffee sleeve inside out and popped it on a scrap of pinky-peachy cardstock. I used an EH set, which I stamped, and then watercolored the coffee cup with my Zigs. It looks prettier in real life...*sigh*

 Next card:

It's a pretty close CASE of Tracey's adorable card. I used the PTI coffee set on a panel and used Copics to color the sleeves, and added a computer generated sentiment. EZPZ lemon squeezy! And if I'm going to get anything else done today, I'd better run. As always....

Happy Birthday, Anita!!!!!

I wish you all could spend time with Anita, she of My Papercraft World fame. Anita is one of those beautiful people in the world; the kind of person everyone wants for a friend. It's her birthday today and the perfect time for me to tell her how blessed I am to have her in my life. I'm going to encourage you to stop over at her blog, or drop her an email and wish her the happiest birthday ever. I wanted to share a few thoughts that come to mind when I think of Anita. Her faith shines. I have seen her trust in God and how it is a focus in her life; I love that! She's kind. In both actions and words, Anita showers kindness on those around her. It doesn't matter if you're her friend or a clerk in a store; she's wonderful to everyone. And funny, too! Anita is a stitch even when she's jet-lagged. A make-you-laugh-until-you-cry person! You should see her eyes. They really, truly sparkle! Honest! Oh, I suppose I could go on and on, but I don't want her to spend her birthday blushing, so I'll stop now and just say that if you're lucky enough to know her, you're lucky enough.

Did I make a card for her? Well....yes I did. And if it hasn't reached her by today, it should soon.

Made a little watercolored floral wreath for her. Used my new MB stamp set, and my Ziggies. (If you have any questions regarding supplies, please shoot me an email...)

Soft and sweet, just like our birthday girl! 

Anita, I'm sorry there's no 'party' this year for your birthday, but I'll try to get back on track for next year. Maybe by then, I will have won that lottery, and we can have that craft island for realsies! I often think of our time together at the Lake House and it always brings a smile to my face. Sure hope you're celebrating your birthday with cake, champagne, and friends and family today. I send birthday hugs, blessings, and the most sincere of wishes to you. xoxo

(Playing along at SSS Wednesday Challenge: Fantastic Florals, and SSS Work It Wednesday: New Product. My 'new' is my stamp set.)

Only Three Days...

It only took me three days to make this card. Three Days. Somewhere along the line, I picked up the nasty-wasty cold virus that's been going around, and it knocked me off my feet. Yikes. You should see my nose...I put Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer to shame. Finally, I found the right cold medicine, and the continual dripping has nearly stopped and my energy levels have almost returned. Poor DH has had to put up with fast, easy dinners, and no clean laundry (though he said he's got enough clean clothes to last a while, bless his heart). Well, today that's all changing. I don't care if I fall asleep during the Badgers' Game tonight, I'm getting things done today. Starting with this card.

Have you seen Anita's card over at Muse? You haven't?? Well, I'll show you so you'll be inspired by all those bright colors (and you'll notice I didn't use any red on mine, lol) and then you can join me in the gallery!

Isn't this just a happy, and fun card?! It made me smile, and I knew I had to play along. Pretty sure you'll see what inspired me...

I don't know why I don't use this camouflage technique more often; it's so easy and adds so much interest to cards. The leave are all from Stamplorations, and the little flower is from Studio Calico. Those little flower centers in black are from Reverse Confetti. Mama Elephant, Studio G, Colorbox, and Versafine inks. The 'happy' die is from MFT. And now I'm going hit post, so I can wander around blogland and see what you've all created. As always...

Gorgeous

Happy Friday everyone on this gorgeous Winter morning. It's cold here, but the skies are that indescribable blue, and the sun is shining. When the skies look like this, I can stand the cold.  I wish you could come for a walk with me today along the shores of the big Lake. While it might be a bit chilly, the views are spectacular!!

Don't you love it when a challenge really, really inspires you, and a card in its complete form pops into your brain?! All you have to do is put it together! That's exactly what happened when I saw the inspiration photo from The Heart Desires Challenge #9. My granddaughter's birthday is coming up and I wanted something special for her. She calls herself, "the Queen of Craft," and she'll only be nine next week! Between the two of us, and my sister and her little granddaughter, I'm pretty sure we could craft 24 hours straight. That sounds like fun, doesn't it?! Anyway.... Here is the photo that inspired me:

I blew up the photo a little so your eyes could wander all around. Fabulous, isn't it?! I concentrated on the lower right hand corner. If you look in the pillow's pocket, you'll see a little book. It's a "Lilly" book, and my sweet little 'Queen of Craft' is also named Lily. Had to go with it! 

Yes! And the little card comes out too:

The flowered paper is from American Crafts. Scraps of everything else. Ardyth sent that bunny a few years back, and I knew I'd hoarded saved it for a reason. The hearts are RC dies. The scalloped frame is a PPP die cut twice and split so that the pocket opens. "Lily" is stamped with Altenew's alphabet, and the little flowers are AE. A bit of bling just to make her smile when she pulls out the little card. And the lovely green ink is from Fresh Ink. So there you have it. I had so much fun making this card, and that's part of the enjoyment of cardmaking, isn't it?!

Thanks for all your kind comments about my new blog look. I'm still in awe of Loll's talent, and adore the way this turned out! Have a great weekend, and...

Welcome to the New Happy Dance!!!

I'm so glad you could make it! There are refreshments on the dining room table, and I've brought out the good china in honor of your visit! Welcome to the new Happy Dance! I hope you're "ooohing and aaahing" over all this gorgeousness that's happening here; I know I am! The incredibly sweet and amazingly talented Loll Thompson created this beautiful, new look, and I am thrilled beyond all measure of space and time! Thank you so much, Loll! I couldn't be more delighted!!

Loll created some beautiful headers and combined them with fun fonts. I fell madly in love with a pretty pink flower one, the first of many she made. I kept going back to it, and it made me happy. Then she popped this one in the mix, and my first thought was, "orange??, no way." After she set it as an example at the top of a test page, my tune changed.... It just felt right, you know what I mean?! Both the poppies and the font just dance across the top of my blog, don't they??!! The more I looked at it, the more I loved it. This feels like me.

So, welcome! Have some more coffee and blueberry coffee cake, and stay a while! 

I do have a card for today. The first one in my new 'home!' It's for Darnell's NBUS#10, where the theme is 'bubble wrap.' Or bubbles, or wrap, or just use your NBUS. Go check it out. Play along. It'll be fun, I promise!! And because I liked and used the theme over at City Crafters, I'm going to play along there as well.

 

Since I didn't have any bubble wrap handy (it's wrapped around all those fragile Christmas ornaments and decorations), I used an embossing folder to mimic the look.

I think the "bubbly" part turned out pretty well. Scraps of black and white cardstock, and a Cuttlebug ef. All the stamps are from PTI, and while the spray and die aren't NBUS, the sentiment is. A little Copic coloring on the leaves, and some Stickles on the berries finish this. EZPZ. I may make more of these in different colors; they'd make good additions to the assortment I give the kids/grandkids for Christmas. 

Delighted you stopped by! And I hope you'll do so again soon. Have a wonderful day, and...