Ring and Run

I live in a great neighborhood. Mostly adult couples with a few smatterings of children, but mostly grown-ups. Right next door to the west lives Michael. He's just about the best neighbor anyone could ever have. You should see his yard...nearly perfect lawn, and gorgeous flower beds with a beautiful variety of Spring to Fall bloomers. He gives me a hand with some of my yard projects, okay...it was all his doing, trimming the low-hanging and dead branches from the evergreen tree in the front, but I pulled them, piled them, helped to cut them down to size, and bagged them. We laughed and talked the whole time. The two of us often laugh and talk over the split-rail fence between our backyards. So yesterday my friend Mary and I went for a walk along the Lake, and when we were done, we decided to sit on our front steps and visit. We got to talking about Michael, and I got this brilliant idea to play a prank on him. Mary laughed and said I was naughty. True, but I convinced her to come with me and hide behind his Jeep while I did a ring and run. So I tiptoe over and push his doorbell about 10 times and hightail it back to the Jeep. Nothing. We wait a few more seconds, still nothing. I figured the doorbell wasn't working, so I sneak back and pound on the door. And run. I make it to the Jeep and Mary and I couldn't stop laughing. He comes to the door in his stocking feet holding a wine glass. And we laugh even louder. Michael said he knew right away who had done it as soon as no one was at his door! Then the three of us visited in his driveway for about a half hour. I hope your neighbors and your neighborhood are as wonderful as mine. Sometime soon, Michael, me and DH, and the neighbors to the east, Tom and Martha, are going to have appetizers and drinky-poohs on the patio and spend a summer evening just being neighbors. Wanna join us?!

Now to the cards...I actually have a couple of those made. First up is one I've made for The Card Concept 38, with this as an inspiration photo...dreamy...

And it's also going to play along at Uniko, where the theme is Anything Goes with the optional twist of a Masculine card. Mine has no twist, unless you count the grays as 'manly,' lol. 

All the papers, except the Michaels white base, are scraps! Yippee!!! Even the large yellow cardstock panel. For the polkie dots, I used my newish, but NBUS AE Finished Frames die; love that die since it was first released. But the NBUS are the stamps from Verve which I won from the CLBH (thanks Amy!!!). Stamped with black Versafine and ME Smoke. A few gray sequins, *sigh*, and that's it. A bit of a happy card, if you ask me.

Next up is a card I'm popping into a couple of places, and it honors fellow BABE, Kim Heggins from Cupcakes, Cards and Kim. Every now and then, I want to CASE a friend's card, and put it into my BTYB page. You can click on the tab at the top and see a few more, and I will try to get more of you special people in there as time allows. And being retired, you'd think I'd have all the time in the world to do that, but I feel like I'm busier now than I was when I was working. Go figure... Anyway....Miss Kim is one amazing person, and an incredible card maker. She's on several DTs, and did you know she sews? Her craft room is something to behold, decorated with The Mouse and Lucy. I had the privilege of spending an entire week with her at the Lake House, and let me tell you, a sweeter, more gentle person you'll never meet. I just think the world of Kim. You will too. Go visit her blog, you'll see exactly what I mean! 

The card that honors Kim will also go and play at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge, where it's anything goes. There's still lots of time to play, so I encourage you all to join me in the gallery there.  First I'll show you Kim's card, which I CASEd:

Extra-extra special, don't you think? And my card looks like this:

Michaels white for everything. RC flower stamps and dies. NBUS Verve sentiment (LOVE that font!). Fancy Pants sequin mix. AE Finished Frame die. WPlus9 Circle die. And a scrap of ribbon. Nothing more fun than a shaker card, is there?! And since I've kept you here, reading and reading, I'll shut up now. Have a great weekend and happy dances everyone!

Getting Things Done

Finally. Summer has arrived. And it's about time...I've never seen such an odd Spring, I swear! It's the perfect temperature today, at about 72 degrees, with little fluffy, white clouds interrupting a pretty blue sky. A gentle breeze makes it a perfect day. Spent most of the morning out working on my credenza. Sanding, washing, and painting. I need at least 5 days of 'no rain' weather in order to get the base out of the garage and get paint on it. Won't be happening this week. And I really need to get the darn thing painted too. In just a few weeks, the City is going to tear up our street and put down new asphalt...You know what a mess that's going to be! Since I've got the new computer up and running, I'd like to finish that credenza and get my craft room back in order.

Now to the card. And there's only one on tap today. Maybe more for tomorrow...We'll see. I'm playing along at WPlus9's Throwback Thursday. Pretty sure you all know what that means. I pulled out my Fresh Cut Florals (raise your hand if you love it as much as I do), because it's still one of my ultra favorite sets. I'll show you one of the cards that Maureen made, and from which I took my inspiration. Warning...It's gorgeous....

Swoon... Yeah, like that. You really need to go over and check out the other cards she's got posted, you'll want to join in the fun.

This is my version:

White on white on white. Base, panel, vellum. As mentioned before, I've used all WPlus9's Fresh Cut Floral stamps, and various inks. I stamped the wreath and the sentiment on the main panel, and stamped the flowers on the vellum. I added a few flat, silver sequins, three PTI rainstones, and a bit of silver thread on my white ribbon. That's about it. I think this will make a nice wedding card. Let me know if you think this is a "hit" or "miss."  Time for another coat of paint on my credenza, so happy dances on this Tuesday. 

Just One Today

Just one card today. I don't have much time for crafting, as I've spent the morning working in the yard, and we've got a birthday party to get to later this afternoon. So I'll get right to the card. Haven't played along at CASology for a bit, and I had this idea when I saw the cue card for this week. "Kids." I like the way it turned out. Hope you do as well. Still trying to master some of the lesser workings of my new computer, so please bear with me until I can wrap my brain around them. You're the best!

  

Believe me when I say this was definitely CAS to create...

Still learning how to shift photos from one app to this blog...*sigh* I'll get it down pat before too long. Anyhoo....Looks like I used the ME scalloped frame, doesn't it? Well, I sort of did. I cut one out of scrap paper and then sponged on some orange AE ink to create a one-layer frame. The sweet little girl is a cut file from my Silhouette. She comes with a wand, but I wanted to use the wand from a NN set, along with the sentiment. She reminds me of my neighbor's granddaughter, Izzy.  I am getting a kick out of this card. Well, onto other chores (blech!), then off to party! Happy Saturday and happy dances everyone.

Something New...

Besides three new cards, I have something else brand spanking new in my craftroom today. Before I tell you what it is, I'll tell you how it came to be... So Tuesday, after I'd posted my latest, I was perusing FB. Saw that Silhouette had this update thingy, and that it was supposed to be uploaded by the 23rd of June, or I'm pretty sure that the world would end, or something equally catastrophic would happen. So I went to the site and began the process. I watched as it removed all the old Silhouette program files, and began the installation. Then...to my horror, it gave me an error message. The dreaded error message that I had hoped would wait... It read something like "Unable to proceed. Windows 7.1 or later necessary to complete reinstallation." Oh. My. Gosh! My poor sweet baby dinosaur was only running XP. And now I had no Silhouette files.... Only one solution. I went to Best Buy and bought me an iMac. So my poor little PC now sits, waiting for my computer geek to come and erase its hard drive, then it's off to Goodwill. Do I like my iMac? So far I do. Having worked with them at my former Museum job, and having an iPhone and iPad, it's not totally foreign territory for me. Just need to tweak a few things, and get used to some of the differences. I adore this giant screen! It's not the 27" Retinal display one, but it's that same size. And fast....blows my dearly departed PC all to bits! So that's what now taking up (less) space in here. Come on over and take a peek! I'll do some photos of my craft room once I get that credenza finished (once again it's too windy to paint...).

So. I really do have some cards to share today. Let's get to it, shall we?! First up is a card for the current one-layer challenge at Less Is More. With the theme of "Home" for us to work with. A dear friend and her family are on vacation and I thought it would be nice if they came home to some happy mail. 

Now. My card is one layer, but...I did cut out the center panel and then replaced it, so technically it is still a one layer. However, if the DT decides that it doesn't qualify, then they should remove it.

All stamps are from NN, and were stamped in Versafine black and colored with Copics. The die is MFT.

Next, is a card that I'll be putting into City Crafter Challenge, and we're to use a gold die cut. 

Golden goodness!

Definitely gold. Definitely gold die-cuts. The center white panel is some of that linen-like paper from the fabulous Miss Anita. Love it! And some SC punchinella vellum set on an angle. WPlus9 'thanks' die. MFT stitched rectangle die, and a smattering of gold sequins. Looks cool irl.

And lastly, a card for the Little Tangles sketch challenge. 

Here's my take on the sketch:

A smidgen liberal, but you can still see the sketch, I think. All N&T stamps colored with Copics. Some BoBunny pearls, and a bit of WoS, which, of course you can't see... More of that sweet linen paper, with a bit of blue cardstock going down either side. That's it...at least I think it is. My apologies if this post looks wonky. Still working on my iMac skills, but over time I'm sure I'll become proficient. Happy Dances everyone!

Glorious Morning

It is a glorious morning! We have sunshine and nice, cool breezes; the sky looks like God took the "sky blue" crayon out of the box of 64s, and colored my world! A daddy robin was teaching his fledgling how to find worms, and the squirrels are playing tag. And the cacophony of birdsong is just wonderful. I think everyone is celebrating the sunshine this morning! I'm pretty sure we here in the Midwest would gladly send several days of our rain to California in exchange for a few more sun filled days like this!

Before I get to my cards, I want to say thank you to Amy Tsuruta for orchestrating an amazing Summer Coffee Lovers Bloghop. If you haven't heard of it, or want to join in next time, and yes, there will be a next time, click on the above link for more information. Amazing cards, amazing sponsors, and above all, an amazing Amy.

Onto the cards. Three of them to be exact. And a few challenges, of course. Let's start out with my card for Retro Sketches. This one is for my grandson Christopher. As fine a young man as you'll ever meet. Wish you all could. Nice, handsome, hard working, fun, and just a wonderful young man. I'd like him even if he weren't my grandson.

Thought this would work well for a more masculine card.

Lots of dies here. Michaels white base, and I've used it for the flags too. MFT, WPlus9, PPP, MB dies. AE and SC stamps, scraps of dp, SC star sequins, and Doodlebug enamel dots. Had a blast making this one. Thanks to Jeni and Arielle over at RS for the inspiration.

Next up is a card for The Challenge. Wait till you see the inspiration photo. So many possibilities to be found in it!

I need that dresser! It would so match in my bedroom!! Anyway, here's what my brain came up with.

My chalkboard technique is horrid, so I went with the vertical lines of the "mirror", and concentrated on the leaves and the pinks in the photo. RC and AE dies. AE sentiment stamp in ME Smoke ink. AE flowers stamped in SG ink, and colored with Copics. I made a stencil with an old Sizzix die, and used PTI and SG inks to fill. A scrap of pinky vellum. I think that's all... Pretty EZ and super fast. 

And last, but not least is a card for As You See It, and a new to me challenge where good friend Darnell is Guest Designer; Retro Rubber Challenge - Tie It On. Had to give this a shot.

My card will be sent to granddaughter Haylee, who went to prom in last month. Her dress was in this color family. The little sweetie sent grandpa some photos, and he wanted a special card to write back to her and say thanks. Dang! Those kids grow up so fast...Anyway, here's what I made:

My 'hello' stamp is from TT, and is about a year or so old. Love the font on this! I used the AE die again after joining the two papers together, and the bottom one is a scrap, so I can't tell you who made it. The top one is from a 6x6 pad from Fancy Pants. Could you hear the screams? I tore the legs off this MME brad and used a pop dot to mount it. Some random sequins, which matched really well, and the very last piece of SU seam binding (sniff, sniff) and done. I left the bow all messy, as it seemed to call for it. My brain works that way sometimes...

And since I've held you captive long enough, I'll stop now. Happy dances everyone!!

CLBH Card Two

So. Been an interesting week. In between migraines and Mr. Mojo refusing to cooperate, I'd only made one card for the Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop. And I'm not even close to finishing commenting on all your fabulous cards, but don't worry, I'll get there! This morning, I did manage to make a second card for the hop though, and since you'd rather look at the beauties in the gallery, I won't keep you with my prattling.

Do you like ice cream? I wish I didn't (God Bless Skinny Cow brand...), but I do! Mint chocolate chip makes me a happy camper. I haven't had any since granddaughter's birthday party in April, however. You might be asking what in the heck does this have to do with a card??? Have a look. See if the colors don't just remind you of Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream.

Now in real life, this really shows up a nice minty green color, and paired with the brown, makes a nice combination. The base is a Michaels white, and the cardstock came out of my scrapbox. I have a couple of coffee bean stamps, but for what ever reason, they refused to stamp nicely. So I said "to heck with that nonsense," and made a stencil out of one of my Silhouette's cut files. A little Ranger Potting Soil ink, and there they are. A PPP flag die, WPlus9 circles, MFT pennant die, and an RC label die with an RC sentiment. And a few PTI rainstones, which have picked up that brown color nicely (at least irl...). And now I'll stop writing and let you get back to the hop. Have a great week, and happy dances everyone.

Hop Hop

It's a Double Hop for me today! Two cards, two hops! And you know you wanna too!!! Tried to get these cards done the other day, but somehow my week got in the way. The Queen of Coffee and Cardmaking, Amy Tsuruta, is hosting the Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop and if you've not heard of it, do click on the links and check it out. It's fun, it's fantastic, and full of fabulous prizes. "...don't miss it, don't even be late!" (can you name that tune?)

Here's a little peek at a few of the Sponsors...

And my summery-colored coffee card:

Huh. Seems even coffee is taking selfies these days...who knew?!

Except for the Michaels white base, all papers are scraps (yay!). A TE polaroid die, and PTI coffee cup stamp and die. The letters are from Fancy Pants, and the sun was cut with my Silhouette. A random tropical flower sticker, and done. 

Next I'm hopping along with the Pretty Pink Posh Watercolor Blog Hop. Sweet Miss Paulina has once again created a fun hop. And who doesn't like watercoloring?! I'll admit I'm not very good at it, but I did come up with something that is eye pleasing (to me at least). Head on over and hop along! 

And check out her sponsors...

And my little card:

I LOVE PPP's Stitched Banner Duo. Really and truly I duo (sorry, couldn't resist). Knew I wanted to use it here. Took some watercolor paper and painted pink stripes which I then cut with my scallop punch. Die cut the main panel and attached the watercolored strips, added some fat gold thread, and a few gold sequins. Stampabilities gold ink with a PTI stamp. Very girly. Fairly CAS. I like the way it turned out. A different approach to watercoloring! 

Get along now. Check out the amazing Hostesses, their sponsors, and join in the fun. Hope to see you there! Happy Dances everyone!

And Here It Is. June.

Already. Each day brings us closer to Summer, at least that's what the calendar says, but it still feels like early Spring to me. The trees' leaves have burst their confines, baby birds are keeping their parents busy with feedings and songs, some flowers are blooming, but the temperatures are still a bit on the chilly side. Now, I don't mind cold or cool weather. But!, and I'm sure you can relate to this, I want to wear my sandals. I want to wear my sandals without fearing my feet will turn blue due to the crispy temps! I want to put on capri pants (I don't wear shorts anymore), slide into my favorite brown sandals and take a walk down by the lake shore. *Sigh* It is supposed to start warming up by the end of the week, so I guess I'll bide my time here in the craft room and wait patiently for warmer days.

I did manage to get some cards made this morning. One for AEI{heart}U Challenge and one for The Card Concept Challenge. First will be the AEI{heart}U card.

I'm not terribly good with rainbows. Not like Ardyth is. And I have several attempts in the recycle bin to emphasize that. Right after tossing the uglies, I went right into the bathroom and washed my mouth out with soap - I cussed. But not one to give up completely, I came up with this:

All the colors of the rainbow are represented in my stars. The dies and the sentiment are all AE. A bit of Versafine black ink and some Michaels white for the panel and the base. 

My second card almost didn't get made. Thought the inspiration would be too hard for me. One more little ping, a little sleep, and whammo, here it is! Have a peek at the inspiration photo first...

See the shadowy gray in the top leftish? That was part of my inspiration. As was the green and white. And I'm happy with the way it turned out. Clean and Layered, I'm thinking...

A Michaels white base, and then a panel of a scrap of dp cut with my NBUS AE die. A little white vellum onto which I placed my sentiment. A scrap of gray and an MFT die created it. I do like this one. Hope you do too. And now I must run. Hope you all have happy dances this week.