Digging Out from Under

I caught a summer cold this week (those suckers are just terrible, in my opinion--not only are you hot and miserable with the heat and humidity, but also unable to sleep with congestion, stuffy nose, tight sinuses, and everything else!) I am feeling a bit better today, but washed out and tired after several nights of poor sleep due to congestion and sinus pressure. I felt like my face was going to explode! I still have watery eyes because of some lingering pressure on the bridge of my nose, but at least I can see through them today. Better now than later, I guess, when there is a new baby to worry about.


I finally mustered enough energy today to get to the grocery store and also get some work done on the big scrapbook project which made me feel much better about an otherwise unproductive week. I'm really happy with how the pages I made today came out, so that is something at least!!


Today's card is the one I made for the July swap at our Philly Inker downline meeting. I completely CASEd it from Bonnie Klass at splitcoast, but I love the clean simple lines of it. I've been playing a lot with this stamp set, so I've got a nice stash of masculine cards going. (Or rather, I did have, before I sent a bunch of them off to From Our Hearts--they are running low on cards for the troops, so send some Martie's way if you have a few lying around!) I also made one full card to put in my box and decorated the inside a bit (I usually don't do this, but Bonnie had decorated hers, and I thought it looked nice).

Happy Birthday to Me...

It's my birthday today, and the heat index is supposed to top 115. My heat-positive thoughts for the day are a) I'm glad I'm not in labor, because I wouldn't want to be laboring at home (or trying to get to the hospital) in this wet hot mess! and b) I'm VERY grateful not only for the little window unit in my office, but also that the rest our house seems to be holding steady at 85-86 degrees. We had one summer where the third floor was routinely topping 90 and not cooling down at night, so we'll take it! (Besides, Boo and my husband are still sleeping up there at night, and Boo doesn't do so well in the heat--he's definitely my son, what can I say??)

We actually did the birthday dinner part last night because I wanted non-fasting food for my celebration, and also because at a mere 106 heat index, it was relatively cooler yesterday. That said, I still made everything on Wednesday and just had to heat it up in the toaster oven, so it wasn't too bad. I made a chocolate zucchini cake for our dessert and it was yum-O. That cake is one of my favorites! Both my kids gobbled it up, and hubby (the resident foodie in our household) really liked it too!

On to today's card. Remember I told you my mom wanted to learn a bit more about brayering while we were visiting a few weeks ago? I taught her the easel card with the ship, and then she said she wanted to have another go the following day, so as to cement it all in her brain, so we made a version of this card, using Michelle Zindorf's tutorial, and then spent some time playing around with the stamps and inks that were already out. My mom's card came out quite differently from mine, even though we started with the same basic idea, but it was fun to watch our designs diverge. I came up with the card below, which I admit owes a bit of debt to another design of Michelle's, but honestly, when I was putting it together, her card wasn't in my head at all. I just kept fiddling and adding things, and that's what came out. Goes to show how few original ideas there are out there! I once read that Billy Joel doesn't listen to any music but his own so as to avoid outside musical influence. With the stamping world being what it is, I don't know how to avoid that particular pitfall, so I'll just say a big thanks to Michelle's creative inspiration and get on with it!

Thankful Thursday

Quick post today--heat index is supposed to be 105, and the temp in the house is 85 degrees, so I'm having a bit of trouble focusing on anything for very long. I took the kids out this morning to run an errand and the humidity about did me in. I think it is 95 degrees with about 85-90% humidity. Thailand has nothing on Philly this week. But, I promised some positive thoughts about the heat, so my positive thought for today is that the lovely peaches we've been enjoying the last two weeks love this type of heat, and wouldn't be as delicious without it.


A few more baby thank you cards to show today--love that little tricycle! I got the basic idea for the card from a splitcoast stamper--cmstamps--and modified a few things to turn it into a baby thank you card. I made four of these. I really like the bright colors and the funky mod circles. Also my new favorite embellishment is that little Itty Bitty Shape punch with a rhinestone or pearl in the middle. Takes the place of a button very nicely and is much flatter in a card when you have to mail it! Love that extra little pop!


This card was a one-off. I saw it on the From Our Hearts blog and wanted to CASE it, but it had so many pieces I didn't want to make more than one! I love the card though. One thing I wish I had changed was to make the matted circles different colors--so Baja Breeze on the turtle, Peach Parfait on the whale and Pear pizzazz on the lion, or something like that. I think it would have been a little more interesting.

Tricycle Card Supplies
Whisper White, Wild Wasabi, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Tempting Turquoise, Tangerine Tango cs
Textured jumbo wheel, Pedaling past tricyle, Short and Sweet stamps
Wild Wasabi, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Tempting Turquoise, Tangerine Tango ink
Itty Bitty Shapes punch
rhinestones
Scallop border punch
dimensionals

Fox and Friends card Supplies
Early Espresso, Baja Breeze (textured), Whisper White cs, Greenhouse Gala dp (retired)
Pumpkin pie (stamped off once), Baja Breeze, Pear Pizzazz inks
Fox and Friends, Short and Sweet
Small scallop circle, 1 3/8" circle, 1 1/4" circle, decorative label punches
So Saffron grograin ribbon (retired)
dimensionals

Sweating with Dignity

I'm trying to think positive thoughts about this heat, so my positive thought for today is that I'm grateful that all the rooms in our house have ceiling fans. My other positive thought is that I'm starting to learn how to (as one of my sidelines put it) "sweat with dignity." She is from Houston originally and finds the weather around here to be a definite step up from that soggy mess! I've also given up on wearing shirts with sleeves; I made a pact with myself to try to get away from sleeveless shirts/dresses because a) my upper arms aren't so pretty (esp. when pregnant) and b) because I do try to dress modestly. But this summer has cracked that one right out of me! So I'm sweating with dignity in tank tops and spaghetti strap dresses. I can get back to my ideals when it is cooler and I'm not 8 months pregnant. :)


I was so energized to work today--I made a ton of cards. (My craft area is a total disaster at the moment, which has to be evidence of creative genius, right???) I recently rediscovered Nancy Leedy's blog, and was seriously inspired by her work. I CASEd a bunch of her cards, and then found I had generated enough creative energy to try an original sketch! I pulled out this week's Mojo Monday sketch, some dsp scraps, and had a go. I'm loving these 3D flowers! They are so easy to make and look so cool on a card. (I'm still trying to work out how to mail it, but maybe it will have to be one of those special delivery-type cards...) I had enough dsp scraps to make five of them! The top card is my Mojo Monday entry, and the card below is one I CASEd from Nancy that gave me the flower inspiration.

Some of the distressing and details didn't come through on the photo, but I inked all the scallop circles for the flowers with the Vintage Vogue jumbo wheel in Early Espresso before I spritzed them with water and scrunched them to make the flower. Gave it extra dimension (Nancy used a color spritzer on hers, which works just as well) and I like the extra texture it adds. I also sponged the leaves on the edges with Crumb Cake, as well as around the oval at the top. Looking at it now, I should have punched one more hole in the scallop border, but oh well. Sometimes it is hard to know where to stop on those borders...

Mojo Monday Card Supplies:

Marina Mist, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Whisper White cs, Paisley Prints dsp
Occasional Quotes (hostess level three set, retired)
Old Olive ink
mini brads
2 3/8 scallop circle punch, water mister bottle, 1/16th handheld punch
Bird punch
dimensionals
Chocolate chip satin ribbon (retired), Marina Mist 3/8" satin ribbon

CASEd Vintage Card Supplies:

Crumb Cake, Night of Navy, Marina Mist, Very Vanilla cs
Because I Care (hostess level one, retired), Charming stamp sets, En Francais background stamp, Vintage Vogue jumbo wheel
Crumb Cake, Night of Navy, Early Espresso inks
Victoria crochet trim
Pearls
Scallop edge punch
pewter brad
Victorian wallpaper emboss folder
Extra large oval, small scallop circle, bird punch, decorative label punch, handheld punch
sponge wedge

Gearing up for Baby...

This morning I had a bit of extra time and wanted to start making some baby thank you cards (we are, after all, in the home stretch here!). I have some very simple designs in mind that are easy to mass produce, but are a bit gender-specific on the color scheme, so I'm waiting to make those designs. Instead, I made these two cards. They are both pretty simple, and I love that little tricycle! I used the Just Add Cake dsp for the background, and my color scheme came together from there. I am also quite fond of that particular layout--so easy! I made six of them, and might make another six in a few days, depending on time and energy. The heat this week is supposed to be pretty nasty (it was 85 degrees at 7 a.m. this morning) and doesn't look to break any time soon. I mind the middle of the day heat plenty, but I really dislike it when it doesn't even cool down at night--we have a hard time keeping the house reasonable during the day when it doesn't cool off at night. So for now, I'm sleeping on the couch in my office with the one window unit so that I'm not awake all night.

The rattle is from the new Button Buddies stamp set (love it!); I decided to keep it clean and simple and just use the clearlit rectangle to off set the image a bit. I like the monochromatic color scheme, and like the brightness of the Wild Wasabi against the white, but really, you could substitute any color to make it subtle or funky.

Calm Waters on the Open Sea

I know I spend a lot of time discussing the weather on this blog, but seriously, when it is close to 100 degrees for nearly a week (and doesn't cool off at night), there really isn't much else to occupy the mind except how hot you are. My husband seems impervious to heat. (Personally, I'll take cold over heat--you can always put on a sweater, but you can only get so naked...) The man sleeps under the quilts when it is 85 degrees in our bedroom at night! I'm drowning in salt and sweat and he's blissfully asleep under the covers. Go figure.

A newly renovated playground just reopened in our neighborhood--less than 2 blocks from our house! It has a great play area that has something for little kids and big kids, and has a wonderful splash ground, all courtesy of the city. The splash ground sprinklers come on at 11 a.m., which is a little late in the morning for us, but I took the boys to play there on Tuesday and had a lot of fun. Our sitter took them this morning and they had a great time again. It might just be our new go-to place, since it is close, has some shade, and water for splashing. I'm quite excited about the whole thing as the other two playgrounds in our neighborhood aren't as nice (and don't accommodate a range of ages as well) and are a bit of a pain to get to when the heat is high (and one is very pregnant!)

Today's card is one that I showed my mom how to make last week while we were visiting. She wanted to learn a bit more about brayering, and had suggested learning one of the Open Sea cards I've been teaching to my brayer classes, but given the limitations of luggage and traveling with two small children, I had to limit my supplies. I designed this card knowing what ink pads and papers she had and went from there. Plus it needed to be a card that would take less than a hour to demonstrate. I really like how it came out, actually! I tweaked the final design a little and added the score lines around the edge to create a frame and I like it better, I think.

A pocketful of posies

I spent last week at my parents' house in the Midwest with my boys; my last big trip before the baby comes. It was lovely to spend a whole week in central air conditioning, have access to good public pools, and generally relax a bit. The boys had a blast with my parents, playing with all the toys at their house, swimming, and generally running around like crazy people, and while the flights were a bit crazy (Boo is still a lap child, and, at 31 weeks, I don't have much of a lap anymore...), it was worth the trip home. My mom is also a stamper, and wanted me to show her a few tricks, so I'll post those cards a bit later this week (hopefully). I'm expecting a box from Mr. Brown tomorrow, so I'll have some new schtuff to play with this week as well.

I'm so stinkin' excited about today's card that I had to post it right away--you know how that is, right? I will be honest and say that I can take no credit whatsoever for the original idea, but when I saw the original card by Joanna featured over at the PPA a few weeks ago, I saved a copy of the post to make one for myself. I loved all the little details--the stitching, the hand-pieced 3D flowers, the pearls, everything! I love all the 3D flowers I've seen on cards lately, but other than my Pansy Cart (click HERE to purchase the tutorial), I haven't really had the moxie to try one yet. I had all the supplies except for the Build-A-Blossom builder punch. I debated whether to purchase the punch or to cut the petals by hand and hope for the best; in the end, I decided on what I think is a brilliant compromise--MDS!

I bought the digital version of the punch, downloaded it to My Digital Studio, made a few copies of the petals I needed, and then printed them on Baja Breeze, Cherry Cobbler, and Pear Pizzazz cardstock. It was a little pesky to cut them all out by hand, but as I'm not a huge 3D flower maker, it was a more economical way to make this card (plus I'm starting to have storage issues with my punches, and am trying to be selective about which ones I buy now). I'm thrilled that it worked so well! The back side of each petal has a bit of gray shading from the printer, but no one sees that part anyway. I crumpled each piece to give some texture, and then sponged each petal and leaf with the same color as the cardstock, although I think I should have gone a little heavier on the crumpling and sponging, or used darker ink on the sponging, but live and learn (and get Luvs...) If I were to do it over again, I'd use Marina Mist, Wild Wasabi, and Bravo Burgundy on the flowers.

Oh, and on that stitching. I admit that I'm not much of a sewer. I used to be--I went through a phase where I sewed a lot of clothes for myself, but at the time, I had a very temperamental (read: cheap) sewing machine that was prone to fits of tension and bobbin issues and projects that should have taken an hour took five. It sort of took the wind out of my sewing sails. By the time I inherited my grandmother's excellent Bernina, I didn't have much motivation left in me to sew. The machine has largely languished in storage these last few years. I really wanted to replicate the stitching on the card, but didn't want to haul out the machine, so I hand-stitched the whole thing. Yes, I'm really that afraid of my sewing machine that I will paper pierce an entire edge and stitch by hand rather than pull out a sewing machine. I would only do it on one card, though.


Supplies:
Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Pear Pizzazz, Baja Breeze, Cherry Cobbler cs, Nature walk dp (retired)
Nature Walk, Fabulous phrases stamp sets
Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Baja Breeze, Pear Pizzazz ink
Pearls
Off white embroidery thread
Antique brads
Digital Build a Blossom punch
3/4" circle punch (to mount each flower)
Paper snips
sponges
Victoria crochet lace trim
Ribbon rosette (dirtied up with crumb cake ink)
dimensionals
mat pack and paper piercing tool

Super start

This morning is off to a stellar start (not really.) Piglet has been screaming with a tantrum for the last 30 or 40 minutes, and it doesn't look to end any time soon. Fortunately I have my sitter here this morning so she is handling it, although I still have to listen to it. I can feel my blood pressure rising with each minute. Hopefully things improve soon.

I have two masculine cards to share today. The first is my husband's Father's Day card (that I also used as my swap for the June Philly Inkers Meeting) and the second is my husband's birthday card (for tomorrow!) He loves to sail, and while he hasn't had the time or opportunity to indulge his hobby since we moved out east, I knew that the Sail Away stamp would be perfect for him. If you only buy one stamp out of the summer mini catalog, this is the one to buy! It is so versatile and lovely and I can't wait to play with it some more. You probably recognize the layout of the birthday card from last week; I just changed the colors to Early Espresso, Bashful Blue and River Rock after I saw a similar card from splitcoaststamper Andrea61.


I really like the layout of the second card--I'll probably be using it again. Oh, and did you notice what date it is?? July 1st!! D-day for the 2011-12 Stampin' Up! catalog!! I love it. The new in colors are great (the first year I've really loved almost all of them), lots of fabulous new sets, embellishments and other wonderful goodies. Can't wait to place my order for new schtuff! I'm helping my upline Claire with an event this month and am designing a few of the cards for her, so most of my order is dedicated to the stamp sets for those cards, but that is fine!

Card 1 Supplies:
Not Quite Navy, Cherry Cobber, Whisper White cs, Nautical Expedition dp
Sail Away, Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp sets
Not Quite Navy, Early Espresso inks
Cherry Cobbler baker's twine
Silver brads
Modern Label and Large oval punches
dimensionals
sponges

Card 2 Supplies:
Early Espresso, Bashful Blue, Whisper White cs
Sail Away, Occasional Quotes stamp sets
Early Espresso, Bashful Blue, River rock, Crumb Cake inks
1 3/4" circle punch, decorative label punch
Early Espresso baker's twine
Square lattice embossing folder
dimensionals