A fashionista in the making...

I don't know if this is true of toddlers in general, or just my toddler, but my son is a little obsessed with shoes. My shoes in particular, women's shoes in general. I'm not sure whether to be concerned by this or not. He's actually given me fashion advice on my footwear (which has turned out to be impeccably correct every time). He's fond of his own shoes, to be sure, but he really likes putting mine on and taking them for a spin. So it shouldn't have come as a surprise to me that he wanted to try on my sister's Betty Boop heels when we were visiting my parents a few weeks ago. He did pretty well in them, despite the height! Well, in any case, his (hopefully passing) interest has provided plenty of blackmail material for the future!

I should add that he doesn't particularly get into my husband's shoes that much. Occasionally he will try them on as we are putting on shoes at the door, but mostly he goes for my shoes instead. I guess shiny bronze flats beat out boring black Rockports any day! (Either that, or my son is basically just a magpie in disguise).

I made this card in a hurry for a friend who had her birthday this past month. It is an easy layout that I've taken to using--I just changed up the color combinations a few times. It is such an easy card to customize--just change the sentiment, or color scheme, and it looks quite different! I'm pretty pleased with how this one came out. I've started remembering to stamp the envelopes too, so even the outside was purty! This is another great example of how to make great cards with just paper, stamps and ink!

Supplies:
Bravo Burgundy, More Mustard, Old Olive cs
Elements of Style stamp set
Bravo Burgundy, More Mustard, Old Olive inks

Simple Thanks

I'm off to IHOP in about 20 minutes with the baby to have breakfast and grown-up conversation with a friend (what a novel concept!), so this post will be short. After the Deep Thoughts of three days ago, I don't have much else running around in my sleep-deprived brain.

This simple card uses the Razzle Dazzle set, which I confess has been a tough set for me to get into. I like how this card came out and the simplicity works. I made 10 of these for some friends at seminary. It was while making this card that I made the unfortunate discovery that my Riding Hood Red ink had gone mouldy! It is just over a year old, so I was a little put out. I called Stampin' Up! and they replaced the whole ink pad! Thanks, SU! This card is a great example of how to make beautiful cards using just paper, stamps and ink. All the other stuff is just frosting! (Although if you ask my mother, there's no point to cake without frosting, but that is a whole other discussion...)

Supplies:
So Saffron, Baja Breeze, Whisper White cs
Riding Hood Red, Baja Breeze inks
Thank You Kindly, Razzle Dazzle stamp sets

On C.S. Lewis

Forgive me a digression into Deep Thoughts. I promise there is a card at the end of it, so if you don't want to read it all, just scroll on down to the end. Here's a sneak peek just so you know it is there:

When I was 18, I had to read Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis for a required Theology 101 class in college (yes, I went to the kind of college that required theology). My brash 18 year-old self hated the book and dismissed Lewis as a bumbling idiot. I discarded it and vowed never to read anything else by him again. (I had never gotten into the Chronicles of Narnia as a child, preferring Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys to Lewis' fantasy world of Narnia). A few years after college, after my conversion to Orthodoxy and a lot of hard knocks had broken down the formerly brash version of myself, I took a job in Moscow and moved to Russia for what I thought was going to be a long time. It was there that I rediscovered Lewis.

I borrowed the first book in the space trilogy from a work colleague who had a large English-language library and devoured it. I quickly read the next two, hardly able to wrap my mind around the deeper philosophy of the fiction. Out of the Silent Planet whetted my appetite for more of Lewis. I read The Problem of Pain next, and found myself writing down a lot of excerpts from the book in my quote book. I read a few more books by Lewis during my time in Moscow and have continued to ruminate on them in the years since.

Now that I'm in my early thirties, I think about Lewis from time to time. I struggle often with the purpose of prayer. I sometimes think that there is no point to prayer because what is going to happen will happen, regardless of my praying about it. I admit that I don't take nearly enough time to pray and when I do, it is usually rushed, distracted, and hardly mindful. I've read many a mommy blog that tells me I should be using my middle-of-the-night vigils with the baby to pray. I do think of it when I'm up with the baby (or the toddler, for that matter) in the middle of the night, but in truth, I'm just so enraged at the loss of sleep and the realities of modern motherhood that I can't pray then.

So when I found myself woken at 4 a.m. this morning by a cranky baby who refused to go back to sleep after being fed and changed, I raged inside my head. I think most of us have an inner toddler who occasionally wants to have rolling-on-the-floor-foot-kicking-screaming tantrums, but being mature adults, we squelch the impulse. At 4 a.m., when the baby has had me up past midnight and my husband is away on business, I was having a harder time suppressing my inner toddler. I lay in bed and listened to Boo fuss and squirm in his crib as five minutes became 15 and 15 became 30 and then an hour and then two. I got up every 5-10 minutes to put in a paci, or rub his back, soothe him, rock him, swaddle him, etc., but inside, I raged at the injustice of it. I had woken up with a sore throat and still felt the vestiges of fever clinging to me and I just wanted to go back to sleep for a few more hours before my toddler was up for the day. I wanted to scream out loud as the fussing turned into full fledged wailing and I feared the crying would wake up my toddler who would then be up for the day. At that point, I brought the baby in bed with me and put up with his pummeling me before settling somewhat, during which time I started thinking about Lewis again. I raged in my head about the uselessness of prayer--hadn't I been begging God to put the baby back to sleep so that I could get some more rest? Hadn't I argued with God that I was recovering from an illness and that I was single parenting for a few days and needed my sleep? Hadn't I beseeched Him to let me sleep so I could have more patience with my toddler today?

Telling secrets.

Then I remembered what Lewis wrote about prayer: "I pray because I can't help myself. I pray because I'm helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping. It doesn't change God; it changes me." As I thought about that, my rage ebbed, and my inner toddler quieted. The more I thought about it, I became aware that my inner monologue had transformed into a dialogue of prayer. And felt some small change. So when my toddler woke up earlier than usual this morning because his diaper had leaked (and a bit cranky to boot), I sighed a bit with resignation and pushed myself out of bed to take care of it, but I didn't have an angry tirade in my head. I am desperately tired today, but I'm hoping it is nothing a little caffeine and sugar can't help. My throat is still sore, and I still feel the mild effects of a low-grade fever, but I will make it through this day. Not because God answered my prayer, but because I was somehow changed by it. Which is not to say that I'm not going to have this conversation again the next time I'm woken in the night, but I'll try to remind myself to pray, not because it changes God, but because it changes me.

Thank you to those who bore with me to this point. Today's card uses the Mercy Kerin Tuesday sketch, which I used as a rough guide. I flipped the main elements and left out one, but I think it captures the spirit of it. I like this color combination, but I'm not sure how well it works with this card. I got a little pearl happy on this one--I kept thinking it needed something and kept adding; I hope I didn't overdo it. I'm still not sure on the verdict for this card. I stamped the floral from Elements of Style in Melon Mambo and then used a blender pen to swirl the ink from the stamped image around, which is why it is so light. I added a little Daffodil Delight to the centers of the flowers, colored the leaves in Wild Wasabi and added some Daffodil Delight sponging on the background to warm it up a bit. The trick with adhering the pearls is to pick them up between the blades of your paper snips or on the tip of your paper piercer--it keeps the adhesive back on the pearl instead of on your finger! Between my family and my husband's family, there are five birthdays, a few feastdays and one anniversary in October, so this card will definitely come in handy!

Supplies:
Melon Mambo, Tempting Turquoise, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White cs
Elements of Style stamp set
Melon Mambo, Tempting Turquoise, Daffodil Delight inks
Jewels: Pearls
Paper snips
dimensionals
circles #2 die, Perfect Details texturz plates (borrowed)
Melon Mambo grosgrain ribbon
scallop edge punch
1 3/4" circle punch

Happiness is a die cast car

Toddlers are fairly simple people. They want to be fed at pretty regular intervals, cuddled occasionally, given baths once in a while, kept on a regular sleeping schedule and have access to toys. I think it is nearly universal phenomenon that little boys love cars. My little boy is no exception.

Every time we go into a Rite Aid, he makes a bee line for the die cast cars display and happily plays with the cars while I do my shopping (while checking on him every 30 seconds or so). I've never bought him one because he has other cars at home, and technically the die cast ones are for age three and up. But today was different. I'm still a bit feverish, but not as run-down, so we did a few errands in the neighborhood this morning, which included a Rite Aid run. Piglet asked me to go play with the cars after we'd picked up his Zyrtec and I was looking for a large envelope. I said yes and he was happy for the next 10 minutes. We were getting ready to leave and I noticed a yellow Mini Cooper on the display. My sister just bought a yellow Mini Cooper and I thought it would be a fun gift for her. But I didn't think it would be fair to buy one for her and not for Piglet--he wouldn't understand it. Plus he is getting pretty close to three by now. I let him pick out the one he wanted (white VW Beetle with red markings on it like a soccer ball) and we paid for both of them and he has been happy as a clam playing with the cars since we got home. Brilliant. He asked to play with the yellow Mini too, and I said it was okay for today, but that he had to keep it nice for Auntie B so we could mail it tomorrow.

Today's card is another birthday card I made two weeks ago for a kid in our church. Well, he is in jr. high, so I guess technically, he isn't a kid anymore, but he seems very young to me. (Or maybe I'm just getting older). I got this color combo from the always fabulous Color Coach. Have I mentioned how much I love this tool?
(Okay, maybe I have, just a time or two).

Supplies:
More Mustard, Cajun Craze, Night of Navy, Whisper White cs, retired dp
Pedaling Past, Teeny Tiny Wishes stamps
Night of Navy, Cajun Craze, More Mustard inks
blender pen
square lattice EF
more mustard grosgrain ribbon (clearance rack)
more mustard designer button
glue dot
scallop edge punch

Get thee behind me fever!

Well, I'm back after a nice week at my parents' place with the boys. I'd hoped to hit the ground running and get the house back in order plus do some damage in my stamp room, but alas, I've been felled by the mighty flu virus or some such thing. I started feeling rotten yesterday afternoon and by early evening was running a low grade fever plus lots of body aches and a pretty decent headache. I went to bed earlier than usual with chills, and then woke up this morning in a bad way. I'm mostly just wiped out now, and I can tell I'm still running a little bit of a fever, so I'm in pajama pants and a tshirt, just lounging around for the most part. Unfortunately, moms don't get to be sick on the couch all day. Thank goodness today was a babysitting day for my toddler or I'd really be up a creek. He is napping now, and the baby seems pretty content to just sit on my lap, so I'm probably going to spend the afternoon on the couch watching Alias.


I do, however, have some eye candy from before my trip. The son of a friend of ours turned one in August and we were invited to the birthday party, which was held at Valley Forge National Park. It was an incredibly hot and steamy day, but the kids had fun. This is the card I made to go along with the gift we brought. I think that ol' sock monkey is perfect for children's cards. I also like the watercoloring effect--it completely changes the look of the image, in my opinion.

Supplies:
Pacific Point, Daffodil Delight, Real Red cs, Watercolor paper
Chocolate Chip, Real Red, Not Quite Navy ink, Staz On
Birthday bliss, Sock Monkey stamps
Aqua Painter

A good day with no mistakes in it.

I'm happy to report that today was a good day with (almost) no mistakes in it. :) The boys were good this morning while we ran errands and went to the park, both took good naps this afternoon, I had a great walk/talk with a friend and dinner came together easily. Oh, and I got Boo to eat some baby oatmeal for supper. Solid foods, here we come!


Just a quick post today--I wanted to share a quick and easy baby card that I made for another friend who just announced her pregnancy. I'm extremely happy for her and can't wait to meet her baby in the spring! I used the new Baby Steps stamp (I double-mounted it so I could use the image and the sentiment separately) and a fresh color combo from the Color Coach. I'm definitely going to come back to this one! I must admit that I wasn't a fan of Tangerine Tango when it was an in-color, but now that it is part of the brights, I find myself turning to it more often. I might even say that it's becoming a favorite!

I stamped the elephant twice--once in Tempting Turquoise and once in Old Olive and cut out the Old Olive ears and popped them up on dimensionals. Pretty stinkin' cute, if I do say so myself!

Supplies:
Old Olive, Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise, Tangerine Tango cs
Baby steps stamp set
Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive, Tangerine Tango ink
Heart to hearts punch
5/8" grosgrain ribbon (old olive)
textures plates for big shot
dimensionals

Baby carrier drama

I didn't realize this before I had children, but I have since come to the conclusion that there are basically two types of mamas--those who carry and those who stroller. I always assumed I'd be a stroller mom--my mother was, and it hardly occurred to me to use a carrier. I knew about Baby Bjorns (who doesn't?), but little else about the vast world of baby wearing. I don't know exactly how I stumbled across ERGObaby carriers, but I know that I bought one when my older son was teeny tiny and I loved it. I quickly realized that being bus- and subway-dependent precluded being a real stroller mom. We did buy a stroller that we used infrequently, and somehow ended up with a total of three strollers, all for different purposes, but we used the ERGO daily. I can wear the ERGO for hours and not notice the weight of the baby at all.

Piglet n the ERGO at Rockefeller Center, October 2008 (10 months old)

So I became a baby wearing mama for purely practical reasons. As it happened, my older son really liked being worn, and it seemed to fill his need for being held--he wasn't a particularly cuddly baby. I only stopped using the ERGO when I got pregnant with Boo and couldn't tolerate the hip strap around my middle any more. Once Boo was born, I used a long wrap-style carrier for the first week, since it is good when they are that size, but quickly graduated to the ERGO for carrying. Things seemed okay in the carrier department for a while, but it became clear to me in the last month or so that Boo hates the ERGO. He wants to be able to see out, and, being a generally cuddly baby, doesn't have an extra need to be up close and personal with my chest. It seems to be too stimulating for his ever-ready-to-nurse appetite. I discovered, quite by accident, that if he is facing outward, he can be content for hours! Unfortunately, the ERGO is a facing-inward only carrier and Boo isn't big enough yet to wear on my back. So I ventured into the world of Bjorns and front-facers with trepidation, having heard all the nightmarish stories about aching backs, twisted necks and the like. We borrowed a Baby Bjorn active carrier (with lumbar support) from someone in our neighborhood, and while Boo loved it, we did not. In fact, I can say pretty unequivocally after three weeks of regular Bjorn use, I'm going to need a good chiropractor. Or neck surgery. Or both.

So I started inquiring about different forward-facing carrier options on the various mommy listservs that I'm on. The Beco Gemini caught my eye, but the price was a little daunting, and I inquired about finding a used one amongst the mommies. Two people highly recommended the Belle Baby carrier, which I'd never heard of, but looked promising on their website. One mama offered me a loaner of her Belle for the weekend to try it out. Another friend offered her Mei Favorite Baby Carrier from Babies Beyond Borders (full buckle style) to try out and if I liked it, to buy it used from her. Being desperate for some relief, I agreed to try both this past weekend. I immediately liked the Belle Baby--it wasn't as ergonomically great as the ERGO, but it was significantly better than the Bjorn, and the website had two models on sale, so that was a bonus. The Mei Favorite carrier at first blush seemed like a dream come true--all the features of an ERGO with the forward-facing option. I quickly realized, however, that the forward-facing option works only with older babies, and the way the straps crossed in my back made me hurt all over. So that one wouldn't work. So that left the Gemini and the Belle. Since no one appeared to have a Gemini for sale or loan, and the price difference between it and the Belle was substantial, I decided to take the plunge and order the Belle. So we'll see. I ordered this one:

What do you think? I think I could even double wear with the Belle--put Boo on the front and Piglet in the back in the ERGO. As we are still planning a relatively large family, I'm sure to have another child who wants to face outward, so I'm quite certain we'll get a lot of mileage out of both our carriers. And hopefully save our backs in the meantime.


So on to the eye candy for today. I made two of these cards to say thank you to the moms who loaned me their carriers this weekend. Quick and simple. I used an old PPA sketch (#57) and some of the Kisses die cuts that I had left over from the spring. They were on the clearance rack at Stampin' Up! until recently, but there are lots of great things on the clearance rack right now--you can purchase them by clicking HERE. I like the Silhouette Sentiments hostess set (level one) more than I thought I would--the small size was initially challenging to work with, but I'm finding it works well on clean and simple cards.

Supplies:
Old Olive, Baja Breeze, Bashful blue cs, retired dp, kisses whisper white die cut
Baja Breeze, Bashful Blue, Old Olive markers/ink pads
Bashful blue satin ribbon
Silhouette Sentiments (hostess level one stamp set)
dimensionals
bashful blue designer button

Central Park Zoo and other Disasters...

I think I can say that our overnight trip to New York City was an unmitigated disaster of epic proportions. My husband had to give a talk at NYU on Wednesday afternoon, so we thought it might be fun to tag along and hang out in the city, spend the night and go to the Central Park Zoo yesterday morning.

Well, we went to the zoo and that's the best I can say about it. Piglet woke up at 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday with a diaper disaster, took a terrible nap in the afternoon, and so was cranky and slightly naughty all day. Boo was in a mood and spit up copiously almost constantly for most of the day. He went through two onesies by mid-day. We couldn't find a lunch place that we could all eat at (I have a lot of allergies; my husband was observing the Wednesday fasting rules, and Piglet was too tired to eat properly). We met my brother-in-law for supper Wednesday night at a Greek place near the hotel, which was fine, but Piglet was slightly naughty and, while he did eat, he wasn't on the usual good behavior he exhibits in public places.

Thursday morning, Boo woke up just before 5:00 to eat, decided he was going to have a nursing strike instead, and started screaming, which woke up Piglet. So Piglet was up for the day at 5:15 and so was I. I took Piglet down to the lobby after Boo went (virtuously) back to sleep so that nubby could keep sleeping. We had an early breakfast at 6:00 a.m. and took a walk in the neighborhood after that. We did go to the zoo a bit later than planned, but by the time we got on the bus home, I was pretty shot. The cherry on the cake was hubby leaving the diaper bag (with my wallet, camera, and epi-pen kit) in the trunk of the cab as it drove off. I just lost it at that point. We were supposed to go out to dinner and I was just not in the mood at that point. Boo was screaming and refusing to nurse, Piglet was cranky and naughty, and I wanted to run away and never return at that moment.

We tried calling the cab company, but they couldn't reach the driver for about an hour, during which time I think I took about 5 years off my life and earned a few more gray hairs. Finally, the cab company called back and the driver returned the bag to us (whew!). So we ended up going out after all and had a nice time. We went to a sushi place in the neighborhood called Umai, and then out to Naked Chocolate for fondue. Mmm. So the day kind of repaired itself by the end.

For our friends, due to have their third girl in early October.

Today, I thought I'd share some of the baby thank you card sets I've made as gifts this month for various friends and family that have had or will shortly have babies. The card above is a congrats card that accompanied the thank you card set (pictured below).

This card and the one above were inspired by a card I saw on Wendy Hawkinson's website.

For my grade school friend, who had twins in early August. I made 20 of these, so that was a lot of onesies to cut out!

For my cousin's wife, who had their third baby, at the beginning of August.

Erm, Mojo Monday...

I sat down this afternoon to use up some dsp scraps (pesky little things, dsp scraps) and thought I would have a go at this week's Mojo Monday sketch. Well, all I can say is I tried it. I'm not sure I like the result--I keep going back and forth. In the middle of typing this post, I did go back and add the Taken with Teal matting to the larger circle and, wow, did that make a difference1 I think the whole card came together for me with that little change. Hopefully someone will appreciate receiving it, as it is the last card I'm putting in the August box for From Our Hearts. (Yes, I know it technically September 7, but I keep saying, just one more batch, or just a few more; the box is officially full, so this really *is* the last one).


As a bonus, I only have two more sheets of Autumn Meadows left in the pack, so I did a good job of working my way through it! Generally speaking, I love fall colors, but I have to say, after 100+ cards of the same color scheme, I'm ready to do something different!

Supplies:
Cajun Craze, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla cs, Autumn Meadows dp
More Mustard, Old Olive, Taken with Teal, Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin pie ink/markers
Because I Care, Vintage labels stamp sets
circle punches
linen thread
chocolate chip grosgrain and taffeta ribbon
sponges
dimensionals

A little bit homesick

There is a smell in the air this morning that reminds me of Moscow, and I suddenly found myself achingly homesick for Russia. This used to occur to me very regularly in the weeks and months after I returned back to the States for good in mid-2003, but hasn't struck me with such intensity for some time. (That's what I get for walking early in the morning on Labor Day listening to the melancholy music of Bon Ives). On the one hand, I suppose it is a good thing to have finally adjusted more or less to living Stateside, but on days like today, when I'm filled with homesickness, I also remember all the reasons I loved living there as well. I'm very fortunate that we are able to take international vacations every year, and last year we went back to Moscow as a family, but visiting isn't quite the same as living there.

I spent most of the morning cooking up a storm, as we have some friends from church coming to supper tonight. It being tomato season, I made my favorite cream of tomato soup (from scratch, so easy!) and a casserole I haven't made since college called Milleniumn Casserole, which is sort of like pizza crossed with spaghetti crossed with lasagna. To go with the soup I'm going to make these luscious zucchini thyme muffins--they just melt in the mouth and complement the soup so well. Oh, and a salad. Our friends are bringing a cherry cheesecake (my hubby's favorite thing in the whole world), so I think we might have to be rolled out the door tomorrow morning!

I used one of my favorite sketches again for this card, as well as the new Tiny Teacup stamp. I love that stamp! I've been wanting something that said "hello" for a while, and that teacup is the perfect size. I double mounted the stamp so that I could use the image and the sentiment separately without having to do any masking. Works great! I love this color combination as well--I didn't think I needed the Color Coach, but I got it anyway and I {heart} this tool! It has so many creative color combinations, and even provides space for you to add your own favorites. It's a handy pocket size, so you can throw it in your bag and dream about color during odd moments. I made 6 of these one night last week while watching an old episode of Alias. I loved that show--I'm rewatching the entire series through Netflix.

Supplies:
Old Olive, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White cs, Haiku (retired) dsp
Tiny Teacup stamp
Tempting Turquoise, Tangerine Tango, Tempting Turquoise ink
Tempting Turquoise 1/4" grosgrain ribbon (retired)
large/small oval punches, 1 1/4" & 1 3/8" circle punches
pewter brads
dimensionals

Oops, I forgot my tree opener...

Disclaimer: the following story goes under the heading, "Kids say the darndest things." When we were in Ireland, we took a few day bus trips from Dublin to see Wicklow County (featured in many Hollywood movies, including Braveheart!) and parts north, including an ancient pre-Christian temple called Newgrange. Our tour of Wicklow County included gorgeous countryside with lots of thick hedgerows alongside the road ways. After several of these dense thickets, Piglet started saying, "trees open, trees open."

Needless to say, we were a little perplexed, until it occurred to me that he meant that he wanted to be able to see through the trees. When the hedgerows opened up to the fields, he would say with satisfaction, "trees open!" After a while (since he said this almost constantly), I started to respond to his request by saying that I had forgotten our tree opener, which my husband found hilarious. Ever since then, whenever Piglet asks for the trees to be opened, we respond with, "Oh, we forgot the tree opener AGAIN!" And we wonder why kids grow up thinking strange things.


(This goes hand in hand with my asking Piglet if he had an apple tree growing in his tummy after he ate several apples, core and all, handing us only the stem when he was finished).


Anyway, in keeping with my fall theme from my last post, I'm showing you the original cards I made with the leftover scraps from my Autumn Meadows dsp pack. I still have a few full sheets, but I tend to use as much of a sheet as I can. It pains me to throw cardstock away. The layout for the top card comes from my fellow Philly Inker, Ilina Crouse, but I changed the colors, stamp set, dsp, etc. to make the sketch my own.


Oh, and I promised a short explanation of the sponging from this post. I started with Naturals Ivory paper, and sponged More mustard in a circle in the middle of the leaf. Then I went around the edges with Cajun Craze, not covering the More Mustard entirely. Then I did the tips of the leaf with Chocolate Chip, not covering the Cajun Craze entirely. The panel directly behind the leaves was done in the same order, but the sponging was done on the diagonal, completely covering the cardstock with each layer. I only put Chocolate chip on the edges of the more Mustard mat behind the main panel. Clear as mud?

More Autumn Meadows

While the heat has broken some here, the humidity is still high (thanks Hurricane Earl). I'm pretty zapped, actually. The temps have been in the upper 90s with 90% humidity and while a 10 degree temp shift is nice, I'd rather the humidity drop to human levels.
I'm dreaming of fall.

So, in honor of fall, and for wishful thinking, here are the rest of the cards I made with the Autumn Meadows dsp pack and the Autumn Splendor stamp set.


I CASEd all these cards from other people, so I can't take creative credit for any of it. I thought I would send half a box to Martie over at From Our Hearts this month, but I just kept working away and suddenly I have a box full of cards to send! I'm just waiting on some clear envelopes to finish out the shipment.
I will say I'm loving the Big Shot! The emboss folders are so handy--I keep going back to them whenever I think a card needs a little somethin'-somethin'.

I did make a handful of original cards with some of the scraps, but I haven't edited the photos yet, so you'll just have to wait to feast your eyes on them. :) Goodness, I just caught sight of the clock, and I've got to run--the Pilates Reformer is calling my name and my trainer is going to kick my patootie today. I'll explain my sponging on the top card in another post, okay?