One more day of school and other random tidbits...

Featuring the DesignBlock Thank You Stamp. Staying in step with the Cards of the Week over at Hero Arts, I made two more thank you cards last night using the DesignBlock Thank You. Other stamps used are Whimsical Messages and Borders and From the Heart Greetings. The border stamp and a note of thanks were stamped on a strip of vellum with Cotton White StazOn. The little blossoms were colored in from the back of the vellum. The A Note of Thanks was stamped again in red dye ink. I use a new Martha Stewart border punch on a second piece of vellum. Adhesive was applied to the back of a red strip of cardstock and both pieces of vellum were attached to it.

For the 'manly' version, I used Heidi Grace paper and buttons.

~Tomorrow is the last day of school. Yippee!!! ...wait, I think??? Seriously, don't we look forward to school ending for the year and within a week we'll be counting down the days until school starts again. LOL Starting next week, the kids and I are going to do a "day camp" of sorts. I have plans for them everyday except Monday. (I'll let them sleep in, watch movies and play video games) Our neighborhood has a pool, so we'll be doing our daily reading by the pool each morning. I've never done anything like this and stuck to it, but I'll take a week at a time and I'll let you know how it goes. Say a prayer for me ok?

~Speaking of prayer, If you have requests you'd like me to add to the prayer list on June 1st, please email them to me now.

~If you read this blog thru a reader, you haven't noticed that I've made some changes to the Card Castle. I'm not a person who can commit to something permanent like wall paper, because I get tired of looking at the same thing and I like to change things up every once in a while. The same feeling goes for the blog. Beth designed the banner for me and I decided to go with a white background as my summer look. What do you think? I love it! Thanks again Beth for sharing your talent with me!

~Bill Pay through your bank is an enormous time saver! If you can get it for free, that's even better. I mentioned this to one of my daughters, who knows absolutely everything, and she said "Duh?? Didn't you see the commercial??"

That's all for today. I have more tidbits to share, but I won't drop them all on you in one day. I'm off to run errands before school get's out.

Pinky/ Happy Birthday

Here is a card for my niece. I'm on target to getting the card in the mail and ON TIME! You are witnessing a miracle! My goal or New Years Resolution was to not only make the cards but actually mail them this year. On time is a bonus. I need to get everyone in the family to sign it, but that's all that's left to do. OK, I'll let you know when it actually makes a connection with a postal worker.

Stamps: Flamingo from a set called Pinky (smARTworks), Happy birthday (Onyx Impressions), tickles you pink (SU)

Background paper is Heidi Grace

Ink: Cameo Coral(SU),Memories Artptint Brown(Stewart Superior),

Other: Ribbon, Prismacolor Pencils.

On a Personal Note:

Today's the day my second daughter comes home for the summer. My oldest daughter and I went out for breakfast this morning. I have enjoyed spending time all week with her. It's just so nice to have everybody home in the nest.

Have a blessed Friday. I'm not sure if I'll be back tomorrow or not, but I probably will. Anyway, If I don't see you, have a blessed weekend!

Heidi Grace Loving You Christmas Cards and more

ETA: I forgot to add the link to the Flip Boards. I learned this in an online class over at The Stamping Studio. See the bottom of this post for that information.

Here are a few more Christmas cards that I made in previous years. Actually, I think these were just last year.




The paper, ribbon, and acrylic pieces are all Heidi Grace. Holiday Blessings is Hero Arts. The stocking is The Stamping Studio.


My youngest son gave this Flip Board to his student teacher for a graduation present. Her last day was this past Wednesday and she graduates tomorrow. It's funny how kids get their minds fixed on something. I use a notebook and clip board from the home office section of Wal-mart.
Here is a link to the instructions. Go to The Stamping Studio, click on classes. Go down to class 16-- Flip Board class. Her projects are very ornate. Mine are plain in comparison.

Periwinkle Poppies

Finished Card Size: 5 1/2 x 4 1/4
Stamps: : I hope you're feeling better (Stampabilities),Poppies (Cornish Heritage),
Printed Paper: Vineyard Jersey Stripe and Vineyard Flowers (Heidi Grace) still my favorite!Ink: Brilliance Victorian Violet and Graphite Black (Tsukenko)
Coloring Medium:Prismacolor Pencils
Other: Ribbon, Tag Corner Punch
This card is for my sil. Her surgery is today.

Finally, there's light...
Resolved:
Today is the first day of school. All three were early this morning. Whew. Remember, the last time I blogged, I decided that Monday was going to be a better day? Well, it didn't start off that way. I found out that there would be yet another delay in both the Driver's license and phone company/electrician sagas. I was so frustrated, because I wanted the kids to get the school year off to a good start. Have you ever been so down that it is even hard to read your Bible or pray?? That's where I was Monday morning. I sat down at my computer playing a game to distract me and to help me think. I think this when I had my second breakdown (yes, I am human). As I sat at the computer, my daughter brought me the mail. There was a very encouraging card in the mail from a sister in Christ (Thanks, Trish). Somehow that reminder that there were others out there praying for me gave me just the amount of strength I needed. I decided to just go to the county school board and convince (beg) them to register them w/o the tag receipt. The lady at check in said nonchalantly,"Oh they give you 30 days to get that". (Argh) I didn't know whether to be happy, or go and hunt down the girl that caused all this stress by telling me I would not be able to register w/o the tag receipt. I decided to wait and save the hunt for another day. I waited over three hours for my turn, but all went well.
I ran into a friend because of all this. We used to be in the same Sunday school class years ago in another town in GA. She was one of the workers who was pulled out of her office to help with registration because of the volume of folks waiting to register their kids. I may not have run into her if I had been there on that day.

Well, my time is up for the day. There is so much to tell... Thanks for the comments and emails.

Prayer of Serenity

I just discovered that I haven't posted a purple card since June 23rd. You probably thought someone else had taken over my body, right??

I'm going to have to box up my computer in a few hours so I thought I would leave you with my favorite paper again (You may be pleased to know that I've used it up... for now) I'll be back online in a week or so. Thanks for all your encouragement and prayers. I really do appreciate it.

About the cards:

Finished Card size: 5 1/2 x 4 1/4
Stamps: Prayer of Serenity(PSX),
Printed Paper: Vineyard Jersey Stripe and Vineyard Flowers (Heidi Grace) still my favorite!
Ink: Brilliance Victorian Violet( Tsukenko)
Other: Ribbon, Corner Punch

Here's a tip: Bonus flower!

Just before I stuck the focal layer to the card front , I realized that I was about to completely cover up one of the beautiful flowers in the paper.


Using a craft knife and mat, I cut out that area, then cut out the flower with micro tip scissors.

And here is the card made as a result of the leftovers I found when cleaning off my desk. The flower accent is from making the first card shown in this post and paper was left over from the 12 x 12 sheet that I've been making cards with over the past month.

Finished Card size: 7 x 5
Stamps: Prayer of Serenity(PSX)
Printed Paper: Vineyard Jersey Stripe and Vineyard Flowers (Heidi Grace) still my favorite!
Ink: Brilliance Victorian Violet ( Tsukenko)
Other: Coluzzle, Fiskars Corkscrew Paper Edgers

About the Prayer of Serenity:
I remember seeing this poem on a plaque or a pillow at my grandmother and aunt's house when I was a little girl. I had it memorized long before I understood the words and many years before I experienced it.
There is very little in our lives that we have control of. I want to make sure I am doing the best I can with those things. With God's help and strength, I can do all things...

And for the things I cannot control, I don't want to waste time whining and complaining about it. I want peace, God's peace as I watch Him take over and handle things. That "wisdom to know the difference" is the key.

Proverbs 6 says : For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

Mommas and Grandmommas don't underestimate what those little eyes see on your refrigerator or in the plaque on the wall. Surround them with Scripture and positive uplifting words. (... and then be sure to model the principles too, with God's help)

One more thing: I've had this stamp for several years and have yet to give someone a card using it. Now that I've made two new cards with it, I still don't know when I'll give it to anyone. Help me out?? What occasion or circumstance would cause you to send a card like this?

And the winner is....

Good Sunday Night! It's time to announce the winner of my contest. Although my original intent was to celebrate with the people who regularly read my blog, I see I've developed some new friends, and that's fine too. Thanks to all of you for playing along and finding the answers to my questions.

Meet my random number generator.



He did not know why he was choosing a number, but he chose "8". The 8th eligible commenter also got the bonus question correct. I'm excited to say that the winner is someone I've known for a few years. We met on the Biblical Impressions bulletin board. She is also one of the few people who regularly reads this blog that I've actually met in person! She is....


dini said...
Blessings on your move to GA...that castle in the basement...and since no one else seems to know...have fun playing with your stamps from Biblical Impressions and the Stamping Studio! purple!*wink*Dina
June 19, 2007 6:03:00 PM EDT

ETA: for some real inspiration go to Dina's stamping blog, or her family blog. She is a missionary in Indonesia. You think I'm busy, I didn't craft as much when I had small children at home. I don't know how she does it.

More Prizes:
I've also decided to send something to each of the remaining 4 people who also got my bonus question correct. They are Jayne Stenstrom, Cheryl KVD, Cathy, and Trish. LMK if you don't get an email from me by Monday.


I'll post pictures of what I'm going to send tomorrow. We celebrated Father's day today because the father wasn't here last weekend.


FYI: I'm going to leave you with the correct answers, and links to the post where I talked about them.

1. Which state am I moving to? Georgia
   
2. On which level of my new home will my craft room, The Card Castle, be located? the basement
   
3. Who makes or designs my current favorite paper? Heidi Grace
   
4. Name at least one of the two companies I have designed stamps for? **this was the bonus question** Biblical Impressions and The Stamping Studio. I don't know if I ever mentioned in this blog that I designed stamps for Biblical Impressions, but I did talk about The Stamping Studio in this post. Several of you thought Blessings Rubber Stamps was one of the companies. Technically, that's incorrect. It isn't a company... yet. It is my line of rubber stamps that I have been working on and I will be producing in the very near future.
5. What is my favorite color? Let's see, purple is the correct answer. Everyone got this one right. I'm so surprised??? I thought for sure that would be a question that would stump everybody. (wink)

True Friends

ETA: to answer questions at the bottom.



A friend of mine, who also moves a lot, mentioned that she'd like to have a card with this quote for the friends she leaves behind when she moves. It's a nice way of saying "So Long" to friends you meet along the way. I have a stamp with this saying, but when I saw this at The Stampbuzz, I knew right away I needed this one. The font and script is much more interesting than the one I already have.



Stamps: True Friends (Stampabilities)
Printed Paper: Vineyard Jersey Stripe and Vineyard Flowers (Heidi Grace) still my favorite!
Ink: Certainly Celery (SU) Brilliance Victorian Violet( Tsukenko)
Other: Flowers (Prima) , Hydrangea Punch (Martha Stewart), Small Flower (unknown), Lavender Ultrafine Pastel Glitter(Stampendous), Ticket punch (SU)

Yes, Flossie it's double stamped if that's what it's called. I stamped the green first and moved the stamp just up and over slightly for the purple ink. and no Dina, I don't have a stampamajig. Yes, purple with green are my Default colors. (smile)
Yes, Energyfree, some friends do leave BIG giant dinosaur footprints. I feel so blessed to have met some of the most terrific people in the world!

You Inspire Me

Artist Pig (Hambo Stamps), Papers and Plastic Frame (Heidi Grace), Prima Flowers, Flower Punch ( Martha Stewart), Circle Punches( EK Success), Cloud Scissors ( Fiskars), Prismacolor Pencils, Square Brads, Button( Bazzill)


I finally finished this card that I started a month ago, maybe?? I had half of the card figured out, but I didn't know what I wanted to do with the right side of the card until I went to Target on Monday. I took my daughter there to find a scrapbook. She wanted to do a book of her Senior year and none of the brand new scrapbooks that I already had here suited her. So I innocently went into Target so that she could look at the scrapbooking supplies because I didn't need to look at scrapbooking stuff, since I have more than I'll use in my lifetime. It was totally for her...are you believing me??(smile)
It looks like the Scrapbooking section had recently been revamped again-- a lot of new stuff since the last time I looked. One thing I did notice was the Prima Flowers. I rarely get to see them in person so, I have been able to avoid buying too many of them to add to my collection.

They had the Got Flowers milk bottles and these cute little paint cans full of flowers. At first we decided to split a can, but couldn't decide on which can, so I bought both. Each can had the smaller magnetized tin of funky chip board buttons connected to the top. It called to me "alter me!".(It would be cute with a picture in it for the fridge or file cabnet) See, I do have specific projects in mind, and that's not the problem for me. The problem is finding time to do it all.
I also made a decision to purchase Teacher Gifts this year. If you know me, that's a big BIG step for me. I've made gifts for the teachers for 14 or 15 years. I have no idea what to get so I figured a gift card would be least stressful for me. Presenting the gift card, would be something easy to work on, right?? I thought about using the paint cans I have already, but they are larger and I would have to fill the can with something so that the Gift Card doesn't look lost in them. These cans are smaller and probably a perfect way to present a gift card.
OK, I think I've sufficiently justified that purchase.
...And to finish this long story, that's where the flowers on this card came from that helped me finish this month long project!

Left Overs

I didn't get any cardmaking done today. Between the graduation announcements, moving projects, and a rescheduled band concert, I've been too busy for stamping therapy. There was a tornado warning the last time the band concert was scheduled, so it was cancelled that night and rescheduled for tonight.

I just realized that I had a couple of "left over" cards. They were made when I was cleaning up from a fairly productive cardmaking week a while back.
I think this was the week I was headed to GA and I knew the house was going to be shown while I was gone. I tried, but I can't just clean my desk. As I began to put things away, I'd come across something that would make a "really quick card". ... which almost never turns out to be really quick because it always leads to more scraps and then more "leftover" cards. Think "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie"

Both cards utilized a simple sketch I doodled with the flowers in mind.

This first one, was made with a Michaels $1 stamp, Martha flowers stickers and 3 sheets of Creative Imaginations paper. (background words, small stripes and large stripe)

My daughter was able to use this card to congratulate her teacher who is pregnant after couple years of trying.

This second one features the Heidi Grace paper from the Just a Note Pig. and circle punches. I didn't add a sentiment at the time. I'll just do that when a need arises.


If I get the announcements in the mail tomorrow, I'll be back in the cardmaking business. I received my SU order from my party last week, so I even have some new stuff to play with.

Be Blessed!

Still loving this Heidi Grace paper

Here is more of my new favorite paper. This time I used more of the stripe and just a little of the floral print. The wedding cake is part of an unmounted set from The Stamping Studio. I think this is my favorite of all my wedding cake stamps. The last time I checked it was on clearance for $ 2.49, so if you like it, it's on page 9 of the close out section.

I don't know if you can tell, but the cake has glitter on it in some parts. I also used clear dimensional glue (Glossy Accents) on the flower buds. Glossy Accents is the best "dimensional embellishment " I've used because it doesn't get clogged in the applicator tip. Others like it that I have personally tried, eventually became useless because of the clogged tip. At least the tip was useless. I even left the cap off the Glossy Accents one day when I left the room for a moment and returned 2 hours later and it was still unclogged.

I'm in love...

with this paper. It's my new favorite! The paper is by Heidi Grace.* The Fiskars name is on the paper, too. I talked to Heidi Grace two years in a row at the Mall of America Scrapfest. She is one of the nicest people I have ever met. I would probably buy her paper even if it were ugly just to support her. (smile) The last time I saw her, I gave her one of my paper wallets purses that I had made for her with her paper. She took down my name and address and had a whole box of goodies sent to me. I liked the paper she had then. I LOVE this paper. The only problem is I want the whole line and I am having trouble finding it. My local scrapbook store only had the two prints I used in this card. Actually, I haven't put a tremendous amount of effort into the search, because I just haven't had time. I'm sure I'll find it in Atlanta, if I can hold out another month!

This card doesn't have a purpose yet. I was so inspired by the paper that I just had to do something with it. The stamp is by Stampa Rosa.

* if you want to see the rest of Heidi's paper, click on her name above and it will take you to her website.

Happy Birthday Bella

Here's another card finished last Friday.
Image by StampingBella . Ribbon and paper by Heidi Grace. Colored with Prismacolor pencils.
I made this for a friend who will have a birthday the week we are planning to move. I think I'll mail it now and stamp "do not open until" on it. :) If I hold on to it, I might lose it for forget to mail it in time....

More Piggies!

Today was a cardmaking therapy day. I had a long list of things to do, but I decided I needed to make cards more. I've been playing with my piggies. No, not my toes, but Hambo's pig stamps! I thought this List Pig went perfectly with the Just a Note (pencil) stamp. The paper is Heidi Grace. I scalloped the circle behind the pig image with some good old fashioned Fiskars Cloud paper edgers (scissors).

One more little Piggie, and then I'm calling it a night!
This Artist Pig has her tools ready to go, but she is looking for inspiration! Notice the clean smock and paintless paint brush! She found her inspiration at Inkerbelle's! Her twin sister over there looks like a painting genius, or at least she was painted by a genius, a very modest genius, I might add.

Create, Inspire, and Artist Pig, are all Hambo Stamps. I dug out my Coluzzle to cut the oval windows, and a corner punch that I haven't used in a while. I used one of the Cuttlebug dies for the first time.

One day soon, I need to have a " put some cards in the mail" day. I have several Thank You's to get mailed. They are made, just not mailed.