Catching Up

I have a lot of catching up to do, so here goes...

The photo of this scrapbook page doesn't do it justice (click on photos to view larger images). Actually, I was just playing around with a layout that I might be able to use for swaps at convention. I haven't made an actual scrapbook page in AGES, so this was fun. I used traitor paper all the way around since I was just trying to come up with a layout, but it turned out really cute. Miss Emily is what makes it so stinkin' cute... NOT my scrapbooking abilities!!

This is the same card I posted a few days ago done in different colors. My previous card used "in colors", though, and I can't use those on convention swaps since they'll be retiring. I changed my colors to Tempting Turquoise, More Mustard, and Garden Green. I used the East Coast Prep DSP and Real Red grosgrain ribbon with the "Wild About You" stamp set.

This is another card that I posted last week and changed the colors on. I originally made this one using Soft Sky, but that color will be retiring this year, so I changed it to Blush Blossom. The card base is Basic Gray. I stamped the swirl from Baroque Motifs in Blush Blossom and then stamped the starbursts in Going Gray. I used my two-way glue pen to add Dazzling Diamonds to each starburst. The sentiment was stamped in Blush Blossom and then offset and stamped again in Basic Gray. The ribbon is Basic Gray taffeta from SU!

I'm not that crazy about this card. It sounded like a good idea at the time, but it just didn't turn out quite the way I had it pictured. My card base is Certainly Celery with a layer of Bashful Blue which was embossed with a Cuttlebug embossing folder. A piece of Cutie Pie DSP was matted on a piece of Rose Red CS, which was cut with my Spellbinders Nestabilities. The flower, from "Ginormous Flowers", was stamped with Regal Rose and Rose Red craft ink and heat embossed with Irridescent Ice. I punched a flower out of the Cutie Pie DSP with the 1/2" circle punch and used it on a "Build-A-Brad" for the flower center. The bow was made by knotting a scrap piece of Regal Rose grosgrain ribbon. The sentiment is from "Happy Everything" and was stamped in Basic Black classic ink on So Saffron CS and then matted on Basic Black CS.

This card is for the daughter of one of my BFF's. Amy's daughter, Natalie, is getting ready to turn (you guessed it) 4. This card has absolutely no stamping on it. I used my Cricut for everything .

Unfortunately, I need to send a couple of sympathy cards this week. I love the simplicity and the elegance of this layout. My card base is River Rock. I stamped the image from "Close As A Memory" in River Rock classic ink on Whisper White CS and matted it on Basic Black. The sentiment was stamped in Basic Black classic ink. After matting my image several times, I added a bow at the bottom using the River Rock double-stitched ribbon.

This card was made for an inspiration challenge on Splitcoast Stampers several weeks ago. My card base is Soft Sky. I stamped the image from "Essence of Love" in Soft Sky classic ink on Whisper White CS. I cut the stamped image into four equal strips and then added them to another piece of Soft Sky CS. That piece was then matted on Pink Passion CS. The flower was dry embossed on vellum, using a Sizzix embossing folder. After it was embossed, I used SU! markers and a blender pen to color on the BACK side of the vellum. I THINK this technique is called stained glass, but don't remember for sure. The sentiment was stamped in Blue Bayou classic ink and then I added a piece of traitor ribbon that matched my Pink Passion CS.

On to the Father's Day cards... Both of these cards, obviously, use the same image from "For Father". I stamped them on watercolor paper with Jet Black StazOn ink and then watercolored them using my SU! markers and an AquaPainter. I LOVE, LOVE this technique!! Both cards started with a card base of Chocolate Chip and then I added Outlaw DSP (retired) and coordinating colors. The ribbon is "twill tape" from SU! and has brads added for a little extra manliness (is that a word?). I don't people thinking I make sissy man cards!! :)

This card also uses an image from the "For Father" stamp set. I used the same techniques and paper for this card that I used on

the apple cards above. I added a piece of Chocolate Chip poly-twill ribbon to the center. That is some of the best ribbon I've ever worked with. I don't think I've ever had to re-tie it... it looks good the first time, every time.

This card was made for a sketch challenge on the 2sketches4you blog. I started with a card base of Basic Black. The image was stamped in Really Rust and Old Olive (colored the stamp directly with markers) on Whisper White CS. I rounded the corners and matted that image on Basic Black CS. The next layer is a print from the Fall Flowers DSP, which was also matted on Basic Black after rounding the corners. I removed the guide from my corner rounder punch to create the scallops on the Old Olive CS and then matted that on a piece of Basic Black CS. The sentiment was stamped in Basic Black classic ink. The flowers are from the Pretties Kit and have rhinestone brads added to the centers.

Last, but not least... I found these chipboard letters at JoAnn's the other day. They were already covered in a patterned paper, but they didn't have one bit of bling. I added sequins, felt flowers, rhinestone brads, and Dazzling Diamonds before stringing them together (eyelets were already in the tops of each letter) with some traitor ribbon I also picked up at JoAnn's. Can you guess who this was for?? Lauren loved it and opted to hang it above her closet doors in her room so she could look at it while sitting on her bed. I offered to make one for Branden, but he didn't really like the colors and all that bling.

Sunday Afternoon Creations

This is a little different twist on a card I made last August. I started with a base of Basic Gray. I cut a strip of Soft Sky and added a Whisper White taffeta bow. I stamped the swirl from "Baroque Motifs" in Soft Sky classic ink and the starburst in Basic Gray. I used my glue pen to add Dazzling Diamonds to each starburst. I stamped the sentiment in Soft Sky classic ink on Whisper White CS and then stamped it again, a little offset from the first image, in Basic Gray. The sentiment was matted on Basic Gray, Soft Sky, then Basic Gray again. I like the simple look of this card.
Here, you can see the Dazzling Diamonds a little better. Click on the pictures to view larger images.







For this card, I used the "Doodle This" stamp set to create a poinsettia. My card base is Basic Black and Old Olive. I stamped the swirl from "Doodle" This on the top half of my Old Olive CS. I added a strip of Basic Black and Olive Press DSP across the center. I stamped the large flower from "Doodle This" in gold Encore ink and then heat embossed it with Iridescent Ice. I did this twice and then cut each flower out with my paper snips. Versamark was used to cover a small piece of Old Olive CS and then it was heat embossed with Iridescent Ice. I used the 1/2" circle punch to create a center for my flower and added a vintage brad to the middle. The poinsettia was attached to the card with Stampin' Dimensionals. The sentiment was stamped in Basic Black classic ink and is an image from "Many Merry Messages".
This image gives you a little better view of the dimension.



This card has a Taken With Teal card base. I added a strip of Pumpkin Pie CS and a strip of Bali Breeze DSP. A Pumpkin Pie grosgrain ribbon was tied in a bow across the strip. The image was stamped in Jet Black StazOn ink and colored with SU! markers. It was matted on Taken With Teal and Pumpkin Pie CS and added to the card front.

I'm not that crazy about this. It needs something else, but I can't put my finger on what it is. I thought about adding a flower from the Pretties kit, but the shape of those flowers don't really coordinate with this one. I thought about a bow, but this is a MINI composition book and I just think the bow would be too much. If you think of something that you think might "help" this little notebook, please feel free to leave a comment.

I managed to get some housework, gardening, and some shopping done today, also. I got a new sewing table and got that all set up in my sewing room. Okay... it's really the laundry room, but humor me. It's the only room in our house that had a corner left where I could stash some more crafty stuff! :) Up until today, I've been dragging the sewing machine out and setting it up on the dining room table when I want to sew. The problem with that is the fact that we actually use our dining room table for dining, so I'd have to lug the sewing machine back to the laundry room when we were ready to have a meal. Now that I have a table big enough to sew on, I'll be able to leave it in one place and actually use it without having to move it. I'm SEW excited!!

Hope you enoyed your weekend! I was hoping to get a bicycle ride in this weekend, but the threat of storms kept me from doing that. We have a chance of severe thunderstorms every day for the next seven days. We didn't have any today, but I did hear thunder and it got a little cloudy sometime during the middle of the day. I just don't want to get 10-15 miles into a ride and get stuck in the middle of a thunderstorm. I know... I'm a weiner! :) Toodles!!

A Few More Cards

Well, about the time I got my bicycle tires aired up and the bike loaded in my vehicle, I noticed that the sky was getting pretty black to the north. We had high winds, heavy rain, and hail AGAIN! I'm so sick of rain and storms! I don't think Missouri can take much more water!

Since I didn't get to ride, I made a few more cards.

This card uses the Zoofari stamp set. I stamped the images in Real Red, Brilliant Blue, and Green Galore. Each image is matted on coordinating cardstock. My card base is Basic Black and Yo-Yo Yellow. I cut a strip of Basic Black and used the spiral punch on the edges. The images were then adhered to that strip. I stamped the sentiment from the "Hugs & Wishes" stamp set and cut it out using the Key Tag punch. I cut a piece of Brilliant Blue to 1 3/16" tall (and longer than my sentiment) and used the 1 1/4" circle punch to round the ends. I added silver eyelets to each side and ran a piece of Real Red grosgrain ribbon through.





This stamp set was one I saw at Jo-Ann's the other day in the $1 bin. I needed another stamp set about as badly as I need a hole in my head, but I bought it anyway. I stamped the images in Jet Black StazOn and colored the diaper with a Pretty In Pink marker. It was matted on Pretty In Pink and Close to Cocoa CS. I punched the corners of the Pretty In Pink piece with the Ticket Corner punch and added Pretty In Pink brads to each corner. A strip of Berry Bliss DSP was matted on Close To Cocoa CS and added to the card front with a Purely Pomegranate double-stitched ribbon tied in a knot.

This card has a base of Close to Cocoa and Pretty In Pink. The image was stamped from the "Party Hearty" stamp set (coming out in the next catty) using Choco Chip and Pretty In Pink markers. I used my glue pen and added Dazzling Diamonds for the sprinkles on each cupcake. I added a strip of Berry Bliss DSP and tied a Purely Pomegranate double-stitched ribbon in a knot and trimmed the ends. I used linen thread to tie the tag, which was stamped from the same stamp set and punched out using the small tag punch. I punched a piece of Purely Pomegrante with the large tag punch and matted the sentiment on that piece.

That's all for today! Toodles!

An Ornery Streak? WHOOO... ME???

Owls seem to be one of the latest crazes in the rubber stamping world. I, personally, haven't done any stamping with owls. No particular reason... just haven't had the urge. Today, however, I woke up and had this idea for a card in my head and IT WOULD NOT GO AWAY!! I like to keep the blog rather family friendly, but I find this just a little bit humorous and couldn't resist sharing. I started with a card base of Very Vanilla and then added layers of Choco Chip and "Apple Cider" DSP. I stamped the tree branch from Spring Solitude after coloring the stamp with Choco Chip and Garden Green markers. Since my branch wasn't long enough for two "hooters" to sit on, I extended it by drawing it out longer and coloring it in with my Choco Chip marker. The owls were stamped from the "Just Celebrate" stamp set in Jet Black StazOn. I used my pastels and a blender pen to color them in. Once all that was done, I masked my owls and added clouds using a 1" circle mask, soft sky ink, and a makeup sponge. I stamped the sentiment using "Simple Serif Alphabet & Numbers" and Choco Chip ink. I used my 3/4" circle punch to round the ends and then matted it on Wild Wasabi. I used the 1" circle punch to round the ends of the Wild Wasabi piece. I added a couple of eyelets... one to each end of the sentiment and then ran a piece of poly-twill Choco Chip ribbon through each one. I don't know what compelled me to do this... honestly!!




They grow up so fast, don't they?? It seems just like yesterday when he was a baby. Our little "Tripod" is losing his little white baby spot on the top of his head. It just keeps getting smaller all the time and he just keeps getting bigger. It's very evident that his little leg was, obviously, broken sometime in the past. It sticks out to the side of his body, as you can see fairly clearly in the second photo. He still gets around pretty good for only having three good legs, though.



We hadn't seen any of Tripod's siblings since the night he came to stay with us. I happened to look out in the back yard at just the right time, this morning, though. This one is the same size as Tripod. Well... kind of. Their bone structure is the same size, but this poor little thing must be starving!! Look at how you can see his little shoulder and leg bones sticking out. It' just pitiful! It's OBVIOUSLY not a healthy rabbit like Tripod is! Tripod's siblings, though, aren't quite living the good life like he is... rabbit food he doesn't have to search for including shredded carrots, oatmeal, and hand-picked clover.

Well, I think I'm off for a bicycle ride. Enjoy your day! Toodles!

I'm Stuck...

Yes... I'm having another creative block. Sometimes you've got it, sometimes you don't. Right now, I don't. I'm trying to come up with a card design that will be easy to duplicate so I can make A LOT of them for swaps for this year's Stampin' Up! convention. I may use these two cards, but want to see what kind of response they get first.


This first card uses the "Wild About You" stamp set. My card base is Basic Black with a layer of Bashful Blue cut 1/4" smaller than the black. I put a smaller black panel in the center of the card and added a piece of DSP from the Prints Pack along the bottom. I stamped the elephant in Bashful Blue, the giraffe in Apricot Appeal, and the alligator in Gable Green. I punched each image out using the 1 1/4" square punch. I punched a piece of coordinating CS for each image using the 1 3/8" square punch and matted the images on those pieces. The sentiment was stamped on Whisper White CS and punched out using the Word Window punch. I used my 1/2" circle punch to create a matte for that piece. I tied a Bashful Blue grosgrain ribbon on the front and tied the sentiment to the bow with linen thread. I used a Stampin' Dimensional to make the sentiment stay in one place, but still look like it's floating. Cutie Patootie, huh?


This card uses the "Embrace Life" stamp set. My card base is Bravo Burgundy, which seems to be one of my least used colors. I'm sure it's happy to see sunlight! I added a strip of Old Olive about an inch from the top. Under that, I added a strip of "Olive Press" DSP. I stamped the cherry blossom image with Jet Black StazOn on watercolor paper. I watercolored the image using Old Olive, Bravo Burgundy, and Blush Blossom markers and an AquaPainter. I matted the image on Bravo Burgundy and then Old Olive CS. The sentiment was stamped on Very Vanilla CS in Bravo Burgundy classic ink and added to the front of the card.






This close-up doesn't really show the detail, but I added a little sumpin', sumpin' special to the image. Once the watercoloring was dry, I added Crystal Effects to each blossom. While that was still wet, I sprinkled Dazzling Diamonds on it. I didn't POUR it on... just sprinkled it like fairy dust. It gave the image a little dimension and some bling. I find it quite difficult to make anything without adding bling!

Hope you like the cards. Besides that, I cleaned house, made a batch of cookies, worked in the garden, and "dolled up" a onesie today. Hope you enjoyed your day! Toodles!!

Seriously...

I LOVE this stamp set, have had it for several weeks, and am just now getting around to using it. SERIOUSLY!! I started with a Basic Black card base and added a piece of Pumpkin Pie that was embossed with a Cuttlebug folder. White dots were added with the Signo Gel Pen from SU! The main image was stamped on Whisper White CS in Taken With Teal classic ink. Once that dried, I covered the entire piece of CS with Versamark ink (turn your Versamark ink pad upside down and just blot it all over your CS) and Heat & Stick Powder. I used my heat tool and melted the powder. I immediately added Dazzling Diamonds while the Heat & Stick was still warm and sticky... hence the name. SERIOUSLY!! I "flicked" (that's a technical term) the excess Dazzling Diamonds off and used my heat tool to heat the Heat & Stick and the Dazzling Diamonds again just to set the glitter. While that was still warm, I used a scrap piece of paper, laying it over the top of the image and gently rubbing to make sure the glitter was set firmly. I added my main image and a strip of Taken With Teal to another piece of Basic Black CS and tied a piece of traitor ribbon in a bow. ("Traitor" is any product that DIDN'T come from SU! for you newbies.)
Here's a closeup, at a different angle, so you can see the glitter a little better. These photos still don't do this card justice. SERIOUSLY!! I love, love glitter, so this card was right up my alley! I hope you like it, too! Toodles!

Birth Announcements

I had an order for 10 birth announcements and had to get them done TONIGHT so they can be picked up tomorrow. The card base is Groovy Guava. The center piece is Apricot Appeal stamped with the little flower image (By Ones & By Twos) in the same color. That layer has a piece of Groovy Guava double-stitched ribbon tied around it. I used the DSP from the Simply Scrappin' Special Delivery Girl package. The onesie image was stamped from the 'By Ones & By Twos' set and the "it's a girl!" image is from 'Nursery Necessities'. First, I stamped the images in Basic Black classic ink on Whisper White CS. Then, I stamped the onesie image again on DSP. I cut the image out of the DSP and used a glue pen to adhere it over the image stamped on the Whisper White CS. I stamped the small flower in Groovy Guava classic ink and cut it out, as well. I added it to the front of the onesie with the glue pen. I then layered that piece on a piece of Groovy Guava CS to matte it. I made 10 of these tonight, so I didn't get much else done besides dinner, cleaning the kitchen, and one load of laundry. It feels good to have another project COMPLETE, though!! Toodles!

The Rains Came Down...

The rains came down and I'm pretty sure they washed the spider out. When I got home from work, I hopped on my scooter and drove around taking photos. These pictures are just a SMALL example of the flooding in Springtown today. I don't know exactly how much rain we got, but it was a significant amount over the entire course of the day. These three pictures (about three blocks from our house) were taken around 5 PM today, which was about an hour to an hour and a half after it quit raining. The boy in the photos is about 13 years old and the water was over his knees in places. It was amazing how fast it came down.



This card is for Beate's weekend sketch challenge. I used Soft Sky for my card base and then added a couple layers of Fall Flowers DSP. I stamped the images from 'Together Forever' in Old Olive classic ink on Whisper White CS. The image was matted on Soft Sky and Old Olive, which were cut using my Spellbinders Nestabilities. I added a little jewel (looks like a little rhinestone) to the center of each flower and then tied a bow using Soft Sky double-stitched ribbon.














This card is for this week's color challenge and this week's sketch challenge on Splitcoast Stampers. My card base is Regal Rose. I embossed a piece of Whisper White CS using one of my Cuttlebug embossing folders and then smudged ink on the raised part by dragging my Regal Rose classic ink pad across it. I used a Real Red ink pad to ink the edges. I adhered that piece to my card base. The floral image was stamped from the 'Live Your Dream' stamp set from the Ocassions Mini catalog. I used markers to color the image. The stem was colored with Always Artichoke. The flower centers were colored with So Saffron. The flower was colored with Regal Rose and then I colored the outside edges of the petals with Real Red. I spritzed the stamp with water before stamping the image on Whisper White CS. I LOVE the way this technique turned out with this particular stamp. The image was matted on Real Red and then on a scalloped piece of So Saffron, which was cut with Spellbinders Nestabilities. I used my 1/8" circle punch to punch two holes at the top to run my ribbon through. That's traitor ribbon, by the way, from Hobby Lobby.

With all the rain today, I didn't get to ride my new scooter to work. Thankfully, it quit raining by the time I got home tonight. Otherwise, I would have been sitting on it in the garage revving the engine and pretending to be going somewhere. As far as our neighbors know, we're still VERY normal people.

Tripod is getting stronger and faster every day and I'm torn between keeping him just because he's so darned cute and loveable and turning him loose so he can go live with his siblings. I still worry about dogs in the neighborhood being able to outrun him, so I'm really going to have to think long and hard about this. He's eating rabbit food that I bought at PetsMart VERY well and he gets shredded carrots, dry oatmeal, and freshly picked clover as treats about every other day. He's, actually, getting pretty fat. I don't know WHY he'd want to go back to the life of a wild rabbit... I guess that's something only a wild rabbit can understand.

Well, I'm riding in the Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks annual bicycle ride tomorrow and have to be up bright and early so I can jump in the saddle and hit the road. I suppose I should get to bed so it won't be so difficult getting up early on a Saturday morning. Enjoy your weekend and HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!! I'll have Father's Day cards to post on or after Sunday. I'd post them now, but I don't want anyone peeking!! Toodles!

Just Flittin' 'Round Town

Ain't she cute??? (Click on the pics to see them larger) I'm SICK of putting gas in my SUV only to get 10 miles to the gallon between home and work, SSSSOOOO... today I bought this cute little thang. It's just a little 49CC scooter, but it gets up to 130 miles per gallon. DID YOU HEAR THAT??? UP TO 130 MPG!! The only problem with that is the fact that it's SO much fun to flit around town on. I'll probably drive 10 times as much just because it's so darned fun!! The manufacturer is "Wildfire Motors", so I have "...and she'll be riding Wildfire" stuck in my head. DRAT!! Anyway, I wanted to share my new wheels with you. I'd love to make a card to show you, but I've got some flittin' to do. Toodles!!

Dude...

I took the day off work today so I could clean house and finish preparing for my recipe tin class, which is being held tomorrow. This card has absolutely NOTHING to do with cleaning house OR preparing for my class. This card is a result of addiction. Hi... My name is Jen and I'm a rubber stamp addict. Whew!!! Only 11 steps to go! (Tee-Hee!) On my way from the coffee pot to the shower, I thought it wouldn't hurt to check out some of my favorite blogs. Beate has a super simple sketch challenge this week and I've wanted to use this stamp set (So Cool) for several weeks. I had some scraps of the 'East Coast Prep' DSP left from making Father's Day cards, so I thought I'd try to use those up. More Mustard is NOT one of my favorite colors, but it works with this set and is a coordinating color with 'East Coast Prep'. I added a strip of Tempting Turquoise, which was cut using Fiskars Paper Shapers scissors. I hardly EVER use those scissors anymore, but this set immediately reminded me of the jagged cut this particular pair offers. The dashed lines were added to the Whisper White strip using a Tempting Turquoise SU! marker. The dashes on the "Dude" mattes were added using the Signo Gel Pen. The main image was adhered to the card using Stampin' Dimensionals.

Okay... NOW I'm going to get down to the business of house-cleaning and preparing for my class. Hope you're enjoying your day! TGIF!!!

When I'm Not Cycling I'm Thinking About It

I've been trying to come up with an idea for a thank you card for my MS150 supporters for some time and was having a creative block. A couple of days ago, though, I stumbled upon Laura's and Kazan's blog, '2 Sketches 4 You', and fell in love with their sketches for this week. This card uses Laura's Sketch 1. My main image wound up being much larger and much higher on the card than I had envisioned, but it worked just fine. The card base is Basic Gray. The next layer is a piece of 'Uptown' DSP (retired) layered over a piece of So Saffron. I added a piece of double-stitched Wild Wasabi ribbon down the middle. 'Thank You' was stamped from the 'Spring Solitude' hostess set in Basic Gray and punched out with the 'Word Window' punch. The bicycle image is from 'Time For You' from the Occasions Mini catalog. I colored the image using SU! markers in Almost Amethyst, So Saffron, Basic Gray, and Rose Red.

The final step was adding these little sequins along the bottom. I took a close-up so you could really see the "fabulous-ness" of the bling!! I didn't add glitter, so I HAD to do SOMETHING!! I'm going to use these cards as "thank you's" for my MS150 supporters. That's right... I'm training for the MS150 again this year and this is why...

Every hour of every day, someone is diagnosed with MS. That's why I registered for the MS Bike Ride, and why I'm asking you to support my fund raising efforts with a tax-deductible donation. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society is dedicated to ending the devastating effects of MS but they can't do it without our help. It's faster and easier than ever to support this cause that's so important to me. Simply click here to make your contribution online (This is a secure site). If you prefer, you can contact me for an address and mail your contribution. Any amount, great or small, helps to make a difference in the lives of people with MS. I appreciate your support and look forward to letting you know how I do.P.S. If you would like more information about the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, how proceeds from the MS Bike Ride are used, or the other ways you can get involved in the fight against MS, please visit nationalmssociety.org.

Hope you like the card. It's bedtime for Bonzo (and Ernie, and Smith, and Wesson, and Tripod), so I'll see you later!! Toodles!

A New Card & An Old Card

This is the NEW card. This is a combination of this week's SCS color challenge (Blue Bayou, Soft Sky, & Real Red) and Kazan's Sketch 1. I used the new "Fresh Cuts" stamp set that will be coming out in the next SU! catalog. It doesn't show in the photo, but the bold images in the stamp are covered in Dazzling Diamonds, so this is MUCH prettier in real life. The half-pearls in the centers of the flowers are from the 'Pretties Kit'.










I talked to my mom last night and asked her if she had seen the card I made to match the black and white purses I made a little over a month ago. I was just SURE that I had already uploaded this photo to my blog but, apparently, I only uploaded the photos of the purses. Well, Mom... here it is. I AM going crazy. I guess that will be a short trip, huh?? My cousin, Leslie, had asked to buy a purse from me, which is just CRAZY. She's my cousin, for goodness sake!! Anyway, when I shipped the purse to her I wanted to include a card, too, so this is what I came up with. I thought it looked pretty snazzy with that purse! Leslie loved it and that's all that matters! Love you, Les!! (I'm just checking to see if she reads my blog! ;))

Ernie has been out to potty for the last time tonight and the cats are looking like they're ready for bed. Tripod (our new bunny... remember??) is asleep in the garage and I think I should be getting ready for bed, too. Hope you had a splendiferous day!! Toodles!

Raindrops on Roses & Whiskers on... Bunnies??

This photo was taken last weekend, just off our patio, after a rain shower. I was hoping the raindrops would show up better than this, but what you see is what you get. (Click on the photo for a closer view.)

This little guy is, apparently, the newest addition to our family. Curtis was mowing the lawn last night when he saw this little guy. The bunny wasn't moving very fast and Curt was afraid he'd run over him. He put the dog crate in front of the bunny and he hopped right in. I wasn't home at the time and Curtis really should have known better than to keep him around until I got home. When I got here he said "Do you want a new pet?" I asked him what kind of pet and he just said that it was cute and furry. Now how can I resist cute and furry??? Anyway, when I picked the bunny up, he snuggled right up against me and didn't seem to mind the attention a bit. After checking him over, I discovered that one of his back legs has been broken, in the past, and never healed correctly. He has no mobility in that leg and it kind of sticks out to the side of his body. That would be why he wasn't moving very quickly in an effort to get away from us. Curtis saw three more bunnies who were, obviously, siblings to this one, but they were VERY fast and ran for cover. Normally, I would have sent this one back out to live with the rest of them, but we have a dog as do most of our neighbors. I just think that if I send him back out there I'm just tossing the dogs a snack. I can't do it!! I HAD decided that if he didn't eat very well for the first 24 hours, that I'd send him back to live with his siblings. If he wouldn't eat for me, then he'd probably be better off out on his own. I shredded two baby carrots last night and gave him some dry rolled oats and water. By noon today, all that was gone, SSSSSOOOOO... I made a trip to PetsMart to get a rabbit cage, a dish, and a water bottle. He's snuggled safely in his new little Wabbitat now and seems very content. I took him to work for the second half of the day today and my friend, Christy, called him Tripod (he's only got three good legs). I think that name just might stick.

Grandmother's China

I spent the day with my grandmother yesterday, which might sound strange to some since she passed away in January. Several years ago, when she moved to a senior housing complex, she passed her china down to me. Since then, it has been packed away safely so nothing would happen to it. I’m still trying to figure out why I had it packed away so carefully when that’s not what she would have wanted me to do with it. I remember eating off that very same china as a child, so it's obvious she didn't stow it away safely somewhere just waiting for the "perfect occasion". Every day was the "perfect occasion", which is why she used it and enjoyed it on a daily basis and I finally figured out that that’s exactly what she’d want me to do. That’s why I say I spent the day with my grandmother yesterday. I cleaned out enough space in my kitchen cabinets to put my “new” china away and then I unpacked it and washed it all by hand. I pictured her long fingers, with neatly manicured nails and sparkling rings, washing the very same dishes years before. When I dropped a saucer and it broke, I caught myself thinking “Well, I swanee”, which was one of her favorite sayings. I “talked” to her all day and I could hear her telling me how proud she was of me and how I was “smarter than a whipper-snapper”. I didn’t get to see my grandmother often enough, growing up, because we lived about 350 miles away from her. As I became an adult, life got busier, and I didn’t make as much time as I should have to go see her. She was a super-duper, incredible lady and I miss her tremendously. This picture was taken during my last visit with her in June 2007. I love you, "Big Mama"!!

I managed to get one card made this weekend. Curtis needed a couple of cards for customers. He needed one sympathy card and a ‘get well’ card. I made two of the same design because this card would really work for just about any occasion since it doesn’t have a sentiment on it. I used last week’s SCS color challenge, which was Chocolate Chip, Sage Shadow, and Very Vanilla. The flower is stamped in Sage Shadow classic ink and is from the ‘Heartfelt Thanks’ stamp set. The Sage Shadow panel was embossed using a Cuttlebug embossing folder. The ribbon is wide Chocolate Chip satin ribbon that was available last Christmas from SU!
Hope your week is off to a good start! Toodles!