Saturday, August 27, 2016

Had a Day

Had a day to get back in the old craftroom. We've been 'doctoring,' partying, and had four delightful little visitors for four days (lucky grandma!!). I've only been able to sneak in here once in a while, peek at what you all are making/doing, leave the very, very occasional comment, and wish I'd had time to craft. Yesterday I finally had the time and energy to hunt for Mr. Mojo, and once I'd found him, I had to squeeze creativity out of him. He only partially cooperated...Little brat!

If you're interested in the 'wordy' section of this post, keep reading. If you're pressed for time, you can skip the chatter and head straight for the cards below. Our darling, darling granddaughter Lizzy graduated from high school in June, and waited to have her party until last Friday; one of her sisters had been out of town all summer, and she wanted Melissa to celebrate with her, hence the 'late' party. We'd continued the tradition of having the parties for the kids here, as our house and yard is more conducive to crowds. That meant keeping things looking green, weeding, trimming & pruning, cleaning out the garage, and all the things that go along with party prep. Then there was the cooking, setting up, and me at the grill for several hours day of the party. Our daughter and sil, and the kids were fantastic at helping to finish those last minute cleaning duties, decorating, and making enough food to feed an army. It went well, and beautiful Lizzy had a wonderful party. Those left at the end of the night cleaned up the yard, garage, and I'm pretty sure everyone had a turn in the dishwater! DH and I spent last Saturday in veg mode... Sunday a new adventure would begin. We hopped in the car, and left to meet our youngest son. We took his van filled with the most adorable little children and headed off to my sister's house; there's a fantastic park complete with a FREE splash pad near her, and her grandson was there to play with his cousins. I'd brought some of the leftover graduation party food for lunch, and we had a great time. Sue, DH, and I laughed at those kids, and enjoyed the day. DH and I had three more days of fun with them, and I'm hoping to do it again next summer!  We played at our waterpark, went birthday present shopping, baked cake and cookies, played bean bag toss, went to the museum, went out to lunch and dinner, and completely and wonderfully exhausted grandma! According to my son, the kids had a blast. We met up with their dad (he MADE me give them back...) Wednesday after our pancake supper. In order to get their gear all packed up, do their laundry, and give Avery a nap, we stayed here that afternoon. Tried to get them to do a round-robin story with me after cookie baking, but they got a little too wild, so grandma started telling them a story. It must have been a good one, as it went on for nearly four hours in between cooking, packing, and tricky parts of the freeway.  Might write it down for them... DH and I spent Thursday in recovery mode. We were worn out in the most wonderful way! By yesterday, I started the clean up, and hit the craftroom. And since you've been so kindly patient with me, I won't make the rest of this post a "four hour" story. Let's get to the cards, shall we?!

First up is a card for Miss Darnell's NBUS Challenge! Hooray! You know her, you love her, and you know you want to play along too! This card features a new die; 'congrats.' It will also visit Essentials By Ellen Pin-Sights August Challenge.



AugustPinsights

Here 'tis:


We've got an overcast, rainy day here, so the photos don't do this justice; it's a beautiful soft pink scrap that I found and embossed in gold with Ellen's fabulous Bohemian Garden set. I. Love. Them. The NBUS die is from Studio Calico cut from another scrap, and a scrap of green vellum with some gold trim. I think this will make a pretty wedding card.

Next is a card for City Crafter's Challenge, and Color Throwdown

City Crafter Challenge Blog


The colors and the "you" are there.


Did you know that Gina K. opened a store in the suburbs of Milwaukee?! Naturally I had to pay a little visit a few weeks ago. Found the dp there...love it! That's an AE rectangle die, and C&9th  stamps. I punched out the 'world' so I could use green on the continents. And a smattering of yellow enamel dots. Might have to send this one to the little kids....

And last (are you fast asleep yet?), I have a tag for Tag You're It. Michelle Short created this beauty to inspire us.


Mine looks like this:


The scrap folders in my credenza are soooo stuffed that I can barely pull out a scrap. I've decided to try and use as many as I can. All the papers here are scraps (yay!). Found that little striped chunk, added some ME Ocean ink, and cut out the tag and topper with RC tag dies. The flower is from Altenew done on a scrap of dp, and colored up just a bit with inks and Copics. The banner is from that cute pineapple set by C&9th (thanks Lynn!), and the sentiment is an oldie but goodie from HA. A bit of twine, and a sprinkle of black bling finishes this. Are you finished too?!

Monday is DH's BIG doctor's appointment. Not sure what to pray for, just trusting in God, that in whichever direction He wants us to go, we'll happily follow. And speaking of 'happy', Happy Dances everyone.



Monday, August 8, 2016

Oh, Hello

Hello everyone. I've got boatloads of stuff to get done before I even get to making dinner, so will keep this short. Hope all is well with you, and we are hanging in there.

I have two cards for today, and thought I would share really quick. "Commenting coming right after dinner (provided DH isn't monopolizing me....)," she said with fingers crossed. First up is a card for CTS. Miss America, aka, Darnell is GD there this week, so I knew I had to play along.

Awesome Sketch:


Here's my QAEZPZ card:


The stamps are from a sweet Studio Calico set. Some PTI ink, and a bit of very hoarded Stampin' Up Baja Breeze card stock. (Jen Mitchell knows what I mean...) You can almost see the WoS on those bowties.

Next I wanted to play along at The Heart Desires Challenge. Check out this inspiration photo:


I picked up on the stripes, metallics, the pink and the green from those gorgeous plants:


The gold striped vellum was a gift from Geri G. The plants are from a kit by MME, called On Trend 2. A scrap of green card stock, some gold die cut with an MB die, and that's about it. Gotta run, need to check on DH. Have a great week, and do a few happy dances just because you can. 


Friday, August 5, 2016

Breakfast of Champions

The other day, DH had to have an MRI up at Froedtert Hospital. He had a great breakfast before his scan that day... A cup of coffee and a valium. Now that's what I call a breakfast of champions! The results of the scan were what we'd expected and I will let you know what the plan is once we see the doctor at the end of the month. Hurry up and wait.... *sigh*

Got a couple of cards for today, as he slept in, which gave me time to play in the craft room. Up first is a card for the current Muse Challenge. I haven't played there for a while and thought I should remedy that. Anita Bowden has made a beautiful card, and it truly was an inspiration for me.


I stayed with pinks, shaker, and a popped-up panel. Just gave it my own twist:


Grandchildren Rachel, Grant, and Carter all turn 10 this year. Where in the heck did that time go??? They're getting the same-ish card except in different colors. I wish you could see this in person as it's so pretty, and I know Miss Rachel is going to love this. An MFT die created the rectangle. A couple of SC number dies with some ME Bubble Gum ink, and a bunch of sequins and beads make it shake. Kept the sentiment on the inside so Rach could just enjoy the shaking part.

I also have a card for City Crafter Challenge. This week's theme is, "I gained a stone," and it's all about baking. I 'baked' up some cookies...


Speaking of baking, I have a confession... I watch The Great British Baking Show. It's my guilty pleasure TV show.... Given the chance, I'd watch the reruns too. Do you have any guilty pleasure TV shows? Come on....you know you do....

And onto the card.


Pretty much all NBUS stuff here. MFT frame die, WPlus9 stamps and dies, RC tag die, and Gina K. gingham ribbon. The flat red sequins came from a friend. The sentiment is LF. Now. I normally don't gush too much over a product, but I gotta tell you that the Gina K. ribbon is some of the easiest to work with ever, and I've worked with tons of ribbon (retiring scrapbooker). I love it, and will buy more. I won't keep you any longer today. Enjoy your weekend, and happy dances everyone.