Is it summer already?

We have jumped from winter to summer in Wisconsin - it is in the 80's today. I did manage to get some lawn work done this week end and my body is telling me that I did - but it does look better. I raked up with the assistance of a couple of the neighbor kids 6 bags of yard waste. It only cost me an ice cream cone and a popcicle. The neighbor kids all work for popcicles. I really have them trained right.

My card today is my weekly card of encouragement for a special person. Last week - please don't be ashamed of me - I bought a card and mailed it. The card was even a little lame. The great image comes from The Paper Shelter - it is called Cockatoo Rules. The Paper Shelter blog has a challenge this week - anything goes - so that works for a masculine card.

This great paper comes from a company called Simple Stories - it is a new company to me - I will have to go check out their website.

Well I must go and get some more work done.

Easter and Spring

OK - try again - I started this post and realized I was on the wrong blog - so had to start over - and Of course I did not copy what I had written already - I was quite chatty.

I am enjoying the fact that now that spring has arrived you are able to go outside and take pictures of your creations. Of course yesterday it was a challenge because it was windy and I had many pictures with nothing in them because the card blew away on me. I was trying to avoid the shadows from the bow, hurrying so that it did not blow off, and did manage to get a bright spot of sunshine on the card. I am not going to complain - it is so nice to have warmer weather - today it is raining so no open doors to day - I can't wait till we have a 60 degree day - and most likely I will be working that day.

My card today is using an image from The Paper Shelter. On their blog - the challenge is to case someone's card - well I guess I was being lazy - I cased one of my own cards from last week - I liked the design - the colors are entirely different. I did use another handmade flower - this one is made with acrylic paint and coffee filters and some die cuts - I have a box where I am growing a garden of them. This is the small version. My next experiment is to see if I can make a poinsetta. Hopefully I have some dark red paint - if not - paint is cheap to play with.

Well I must go and try to get something accomplished or at least started. Everyone have a wonderful day and I hope you get to spend some time being creative.

Card Details:
Size: 4.5 x 6
Paper: The Paper Studio (Hobby Lobby)
Image: The Paper Shelter
Ribbon: Offray
Sticker: SRM Stickers
Lace trim: Wrights

Bee Happy

Good afternoon - I made a card this morning before I went to run some errands. I am pretty happy with the card - yesterday I was having such a bad mo jo, creativity, mood day that I think today will be much better.

I actually combined 3 challenges into this one card.

1. The challenge on The Paper Shelter blog was to use a flower.

2. The sketch from The Sweet Shop.

3. Bingo from the Shabby Tea Room.

I used a already colored digital image from The Paper Shelter for the focal point on my card. There challenge was to use a flower or flower on your card. I made a little flower which is sitting in the center of my bow. The flower is cut with one size of spellbinders circle and it is made from pattern paper tissue leftover from my sewing days - we probably could make a billon flowers with all the pattern I have in my house that will never be used again. The bow is out of torn strips of muslin which were tea or coffee stained.

The sketch is from The Sweet Shop. Love their sketches - becaue they like layers - like me - unfortunately I don't always get to play along every week.

The Shabby Tea Room is having a challenge called bingo - they have a bingo card so you can choose any 3 items in a row to place on your card. I chose the row that had lace, flower and embossing. The lace and flower are obvious but the dry embossing is on the panel behind the bee.

Add a little sewing and one of those great stickers from SRM and I have a card I am very happy with. I think this card will be mailed to my sister Bonnie Bea.

Everyone enjoy your day.

Card details:
Size: 4.5 x 6
Paper: My Mind's Eye - Stella Rose
Image: The Paper Shelter
SRM Sticker

Part two, Monday, March 21, 2011

Good afternoon - 2nd post of the day - this is not using any oldie moldie paper. Recently The Paper Shelter was featured on Operation Write Home - Stars and Stamps blog - they offered up the prize for a challenge - of course I had to check them out and I think I have fallen in love. They offer images that are both ready for you color and already colored. Today I have chosen to use two of the images that were already colored.

I used "Dressed Up As An Easter Bunny" for a card - this is a shaker card - as you can see hard to take a picture without getting glare from the plastic in the shaker. I never made shaker cards before but with these new premade insets - easy peasy - I did this with my friend Mary yesterday - because after years of teaching - she has all the stuff to put into the shaker. I have flowers, butterflies and easter eggs inside my shaker.

The first card is based on the sketch at Mojo Monday - I have not done one of their sketches for a very long time but it seemed just perfect for the rectangle shape of my Bee Bear. I love this set of papers from Basic Grey. This is a card for my daughter Carrie Bea.

I am entering both cards in the Spring Fling challenge on the Paper Shelter blog weekly challenge.

For my distressing on the Bee card - I used chalk - I normally use ink - but have discovered the ease of using chalk to distress and to also use chalk to color your backgrounds after you have colored an image.

Everyone enjoy the remainder of your day. I am excited that Dancing With the Stars returns tonight - I only recognize the names of two people who are the stars. I think it will be interesting as always.