Yet another Masculine card

How about another masculine card?? LOL, I said in another post that lately I have needed a ton of masculine cards. LOL I used the Hemingway Collection from TAC. The stamp is a retired TAC one. (I still give my retired stamps some love. LOL ) I like to stamp the envelope, that way the recipient knows there is something good inside, and hopefully they are excited to rip into to see the card. LOL

We had a pretty quiet weekend. On Saturday Hubby did a lot of sawing on the tree out front. It had a couple of broken limbs from the big storm. It really opened up the front- I can see our neighbors across the street now. LOL

Until later~

Welcome to the world Rachel

This is a baby girl version of yesterday's card. This one was also sent to a couple at church. They welcomed their first child, Rachel. I actually made this one first, and kept part of her name all together. The Onesie was pop dotted for extra dimension. You can see that the versamark stamping looks different on the Bazzill card stock- no sanding needed to make the image pop. On this one I used ribbon instead of Rick Rack, and a tiny pin was added to the knot. (See the tiny pink hands above the onesie?)

Well, I am off to see what the day holds.

Until later~

Welcome to the world Elijah

A couple at church welcomed baby Elijah into their family last week. (I thought she was going to be preggers forever. LOL) This is the card I made last night to send. I know as a new mother that there is nothing as wonderful as your new baby-his sweet little face, cute little toes, that incredible "new baby" smell, and the sound of hearing his name. Ahhh, the joys of a new baby. (Lawanda- maybe you should skip this post. LOL I know you have baby fever pretty bad. LOL)
Ok, back to my post. The card base is DCWV card stock (it has a white core, which looks cool when sanded.) When you use versamark on DCWV cardstock it doesn't pop right away, you need to gently sand it to get the tone on tone look. [see the bottom of the card?] The baby shapes stamps were bought when I was pregnant with Hailey, I love them because there are so many shapes- and you can personalize them. (remember mommy's love Baby's name....)
I have a girl version to share tomorrow, so be sure to stop back and check it out.

Have a great weekend!!
Until later~

March and a link for you

Many times while checking out my favorite blogs I will click on one of their favorite blogs. Well, that is how I found this one, it just always leaves me smiling!! And HE is very talented. It is awesome to see men that love to papercraft!!

Ok, here is a LO for March.This was "the snow storm of the century." LOL 20.4" of the white stuff fell in 2 days here in Columbus in March. Hunter was helping DH and the neighbor clear our driveway. (Notice those pretty pink boots? Someone gave those to Hailey, and it didn't take long for Brother to learn that it would be awhile before Sister could wear them. He loves stomping around in them- in fact he had them on just the other day. LOL)

I used the circle Coluzzle template, both circle and scalloped circle punches, stapler, my Big Shot, Sizzix dies, a Quickutz die, black pen, ink, snowflake stamp, ribbon and Stickles on this one. LOL

I traded my Tuesday work night this week for Thursday. Hailey was really clingy last night and wanted her momma. (she told daddy, "I'm mommy's girl, Mister!" LOL) Poor little thing as been through so much in the last month. I am glad she is still playing- and picking on Brother. She is so funny, she climbed up on my lap, looked me in the eye and said, "I love you, Mister!" I am not sure where she picked up the Mister, but she likes saying it, LOL.

Today's blessings-

**God's provisions**

**Good Health Insurance**

**DH's job**

**Loving, caring kids**

**Hailey is feeling good today**

**Mom is done with Chemo**

Until later~

(Ok, go click on the link up at the top of this post. LOL)

April LO

I started a 2008 family scrapbook on Saturday. Well, that is when I started the scrapping part. LOL I am doing a LO or two for each month, making sure to include little pieces of info that are recorded in my calendar. I know that this is going to be a favorite for a long time to come. Not only will we see what exciting things we did each month, but we will also be able to read about those little things that fill our lives.

This is the page for April, we had a beautiful, warm April here in Ohio. The kids got to play a lot in the sandbox. This was also the month that daddy started his Bow League. LOL

Hailey saw the Allergist yesterday. I am still trying to decide if it was good news. She was tested for 48 common allergens, followed by a more intense testing for 7 of those. I was very excited that she is not allergic to the dog... or cats.. or horses, rabbits, hamsters, milk, eggs, trees, nuts, weeds- she is NOT allergic to anything we tested for. I was really hoping there was a specific trigger to her attacks so I would know what to avoid. The Doctor said it must be Viral related- I have to boost her meds at the first sign of a cold, and hopefully that will take care of the attacks. She was diagnosed with Asthma- just plain and simple Asthma. I am thankful she doesn't have any allergies!! ( I just thought it would be nice to have an answer. ) LOL

Until later~

A drawing by Hunter

Today I am sharing Hunter's art work. This is Mater from Disney's Cars movie- only with his imagination this one flies. (See the wing?) For anyone who has not seen the movie- it is really cute. Mater is an old rusty tow truck- see Hunter even drew the hook. LOL I was so amazed when he showed this too me. As I told him- "This makes my heart happy!!" I am so not an art person (just a little creative LOL) so I know he gets this talent from Daddy and the Lord. I still can not believe he did this at only 3 years old. You know I am definitely encouraging him to do more. :-)

I am so proud of my children for so many different reasons. I will always be their biggest fan!! They truly are Blessings from God!!

Until later~

Another birdie

How about another bird- a Blue Jay? I love to watch Blue Jays, I usually know when they are around- they always seem to be upset with each other. LOL They can be pretty noisy. This one was colored with my well loved Prismacolor pencils and OMS. The papers are from the Winchester Collection. I thunk I got carried away with the ribbon, LOL. The Photo corners are a punch which was inked and blinged. Did you notice the sentiment at the bottom? (It says, "Oh how I love you!) This little birdie is on it's way to mom, hopefully it will let her know how much I love her and that I am praying for her.

I had some much needed Scrapping time yesterday, the kids love seeing LOs of them!! Hunter said the album needs more pages. LOL

Have a great Sunday!!

Until later~

Hummingbird

I am very pleased with how this card turned out. I love the Hummingbird from the All Things of Nature set. After doing a little research on the Internet I used the Prismacolor pencils to try and color him just like a real Hummer. LOL I usually come up with my own colors. LOL (Who knew card makers had to be experts on everything?? LOL)
The Bazzill cardstock works so well with the Versamark ink to create a tone on tone look. The swirlies are from Curls and swirls.

The image was pop dotted for a little added dimension. The buttons and embroidery floss are from my stash- it has been a little while since I've used either of them.

Something came up and I will be doing a little scrapping at home today instead of at the LSS. I hope to catch up with the Columbus Scrappers next month.

Hailey sees the Allergist on Monday. I was very surprised that she got in so soon. It will be interesting to see the results. I am hoping to come away from there knowing exactly what her triggers are.

Mom has her last Chemo treatment on Monday and then sees the surgeon on Tuesday. We are waiting to see what the next step will be.

I hope you all have a great weekend!!

Until later~

Pink Christmas

I am so excited, I am going to a crop tomorrow. I am still not sure what I will be working on. LOL I hope to get some really cool things done to share with you next week.

How about some "Non-traditional"Christmas cards? I am really liking the pink, red, and green together. The Christmas Circles are so much fun to mix and match, and the stamps work perfectly with the 1.5" and 2.5" circle punches. I also used the Giga Scalloped circle punch.

I want to share The Angel Company's Fall Supplement with you - you can see it HERE. After you have looked at the stamps make sure you check out the Project cards too. There are some very nice projects there.

Until later~

I'm baaack!

Things are sloooowwwwlllyyy getting back to normal here. 174,000 (down from 248, 000 on Monday) homes here in Franklin County are still without power this morning. It could be midnight on Sunday before everyone is restored. There are 700 additional electrical crews this morning. We saw several trucks from different places in WV yesterday. Our problem was that AEP had sent many of our crews to help out in TX, so we had to wait for them to return to help us out.
I have never seen the wind blow so hard in all my life! We had sustained winds of over 75 miles per hour- but not one drop of rain- Thank the Lord!! I can not imagine what kind of mess water would have added to the situation.
Our power went off at 6 pm on Sunday. The next little town East of us had electric so I think EVERYONE headed there for dinner. DH went to pick up pizza and said there was so many people that they had parked in the roads trying to get into places to eat.
A section of the wood fence, a few branches in the Birch tree, and a section of our gutter came loose was the extent of our damage.
The kids did surprising well with out electricity!! Hunter could not figure out why we had no power but we still had water. (I am so thankful for city water!) We tried to conserve the Hot water, and it lasted until yesterday afternoon. Hunter and Hailey were very good about picking up toys before dark so we wouldn't step on them. LOL
We lost a few Popsicles, that was about it food wise. We found some ice and have several coolers, so everything kept very well. The deep freezer in the basement held up very well, it still had frost inside when the power came back on.
DH is still without power at his office, but they do a lot of work out in the fields so they are still able to get some things done.
Hailey is breathing much better now that the AC is back on. I am anxious to see if she improves after the first frost- I still think it is allergy related.
Well, I have a full day ahead- laundry and running the vacuum cleaner. LOL
Hopefully, I can fit in some card making this week. :-)

Until later~

Wow!!

Ok, this is a quickie. Here are the basics since my last post-\
My friend went to have her surgery on Thursday and was sent home- the issue had resolved itself!!
DH is home safe and sound!!
Jeff is back home- Safe and sound!!

We have been without power for 48 hours!! It just came on about an hour ago. Who would have thought that a Hurricane would cause so much damage here in Columbus, Ohio???!!! You would not believe the damage!!
With the power being out and not having AC Hailey had another attack last night, a trip to the ER, 3 breathing treatments, and some liquid steroids and she is doing much better now.
My prayers are still with those in TX who are still trying to put their lives back together.

Love to you all!!!
Until later~

Blah, blah, blah, Fall Supplement, Blah, Blah

Hee hee, another masculine card this week. I tell you I have needed a ton of masculine cards lately. (Well, maybe not a ton, but it sure feels like it. LOL) The elephant is from Take Pride, I love that elephant!! You can barely get a glimpse of the elephant line stamped on the bottom edge of the inside of the card.

The designer paper is the Winchester Soar With It Collection. I like the cardstock weight of TAC's paper collections, they really hold up well when you need a sturdy paper.

Prismacolor pencils and OMS were used to color the image.

I am so excited!! Tac is in the process of releasing the Fall Supplement!! It should be live on the TAC home page some time early this week. (But, if you can not wait to see all those new stamp sets- you can have a sneak peek!! Look HERE!! Let me know which is your favorite/s.)

Until later~

Spot

Awww, don't you think this is the cutest little doggie? I love the hat!

Lately each week on work night I have a list of cards that I need to get done. Well, this one was "just for fun". I didn't have anyone in mind when this one was made. LOL

Have a good weekend!!

Until later~

Sammi

SBS15 just had an ATC swap (or swop, depending on where you are located), my partner was Sammi. I have been truly blessed by getting to know my Australian sister. Sammi not only makes the most incredible cards, but she is a gifted artist too.

Sammi included a bunch of fun images in with her ATC- I can not wait to play!!

See that darling little gal in the top left corner- that is a Sammi original!! That is Kylie the Gumnut. (please visit Sammi's shop to purchase her images, oh and do a quick search to see what a Gumnut is. LOL)

Here are the ATCs she sent-

You know I love these!! Thank you Sammi!!!

Because I didn't get a picture of the ATC I sent her, you can see it HERE.

I can not wait to see what our next swap will be.

Until later~

Cars

Here are two masculine cards. You know how easy these are for me. *wink* I love the Cars set from TAC. The black and white one has been embossed using the Scor-Pal. I tried very hard to keep this one as basic as possible, I really try to match my designs to the recipients. Mike is a meat and potatoes, jeans and t-shirt, welder kind of guy. LOL
The card on the right is for Joseph, he is still dreaming of someday getting his first car or pickup. LOL The designer paper is Just like Dad, I love the colors!!

We got the kids up early this morning, put on their socks and a jacket (A chilly 48 here this morning) and headed to the airport. DH is heading to MA for the weekend, he will be spending time at the Big E (a huge combined "state" fair for the East coast states). On the way home the kiddos thought that every plane they saw was the one daddy was in. LOL

Prayer requests today-
-My mom, she is not doing well today
-A Friend is having surgery today
-A gentlemen from church has to have his eye removed tomorrow because of a tumor
-Jeff (he is like a son to me) is living in TX, he just called- they are evacuating, Ike is expected to hit about 15 miles from where he lives
-Pastor's daughter (she is college aged) is having her Gall bladder removed on Monday
-DH for traveling mercies
-Leah, a 2 year old DD of a sister Angel, she has a lump in neck, they are going to remove it on Monday

Looking over that list I realize I have so much to be thankful for, I never want to take anything for granted!!!

Thank you for stopping by!!

Until later~

A sympathy card

I love making cards. But, even more than making cards- I love sending cards. There has only been a couple of weeks this year when I have not sent out cards. My favorites are birthday cards!! Well, maybe I should say kiddie and feminine birthday cards. LOL Those are fun, and usually very easy for me. Second favorite would be Congrats and Encouragement. Lastly would be masculine and Sympathy. I seem to have the hardest times with these. Perhaps I am just over thinking them. LOL
I needed a Sympathy card last week. A dear lady in our Sunday School class lost her sister. I wanted her to know that her and her family are in my thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. For some reason I have been using this tree stamp for my sympathy cards. I chose the Bazzill Greens mono pack for the layers. (Green is my favorite color, I don't have a lot of green in my house or my wardrobe- but it is still my favorite. Did you know that Green is on the top of God's list of favorites? Just look around you- there are more shades of green than any other color in nature. Green is also the most pleasing color to the human eye. Ok, I threw that in for FREE. LOL) Anyhoo, this is what I ended up with...

Everything except the ribbon is from The Angel Company. The Tree ( Good Timber) was stamped with Versamark and the I used the Earth tone chalks to add some color. I like how the chalk leaves a soft halo around the stamped image.

Later I will share the masculine cards I made last week.

Until later~

ribbon storage

I am doing something a little different today- I am sharing ideas for ribbon storage. I think ribbon is one of the most difficult paper crafting products to store- the spools are not all the same size, and you can even buy it without the spool. So, being the non-decisive person I am I store my ribbon several ways. LOL

First I will show you a couple of portable options.

These are 4x4 zip top bags and binder rings, this is how I usually take my ribbon to crops. I can always add more baggies if needed. I used the Crop-a-Dile to make the holes all at one time. Perfect for any loose ribbon, or small spools. This is a VERY inexpensive storage option.

This is my preferred storage for FUNshops. These are the Gift With Purchase clam shells. (Remember when you order directly from me that with each $30 spent on merchandise gets you a free GWP stamp.) I also used the Crop-a-dile on this one to make a hole in the side of the box, I then thread my ribbon through. This works great for loose ribbon that has been coiled. This is an Earth friendly option- recycling those plastic cases. You can also use larger clam shells and fill them with ribbon.

Next is pretty and functional-

On my shelves I store ribbon two ways- in a large jar, and also in a clear paint can. The jar holds ribbon that has been wrapped around round wooden clothes pins. You can get up to 5 yards of ribbon on one clothespin.

The paint can has a wider opening at the top and allows me to store my ribbon on those huge spools. (See a huge spool in the bottom of the paint can?) LOL I also throw in the small pieces that are too small to wrap around the clothespins.

And lastly, this is my more functional option-

This is one basket on my Elfa wall System. I have four of these baskets. Most of my spool ribbon fits perfectly in these baskets. I just thread the ribbon through the front, then I can easily pull off the desired amount of ribbon, or pull the entire spool out to take to another work station. These baskets line the wall above my counter, as I am cutting my papers, and picking my ink colors I can see all of my ribbon options.

I hope you share your favorite ribbon storage ideas with me, I am always looking for ideas. LOL

Until later~

A couple more pictures

Do you remember the picture of the kiddos fighting over the step stool?? Well, do you want to guess who won??

Here is Hailey sitting on the step stool. LOL

This is one happy boy, leaving Grandma B's heading to Grammy's. Awww, it is lots of fun turning 4!! I forgot to tell you what kind of party he wanted- he wanted Cars, WallE, Garfield and Sponge Bob. LOL He had the WallE cake and Grammy had a Cars cake for him. (Actually it was an European Sponge Torte-- Double yum!! I was a very good girl and passed on both cakes. LOL) Gifts took care of the Cars part, and his cousin loaned him a couple of Garfield movies, and Sponge Bob party hats for everyone!! LOL

Hailey had to see the DR today as a followup, she is doing great!! She goes back in 3 weeks- I am hoping she will not have to use the inhaler everyday, just for emergencies. (Mommy gut still says it was Pollen Allergies.)

Mom had another Chemo Treatment today, she should only have one left. She was warned that the last two treatments will be the roughest.

Until later~

Blue flowers and kids

I think this is my current favorite card. I had seen something like this somewhere on the 'net. I used some Swirly gigs for "leaves" and "vines" and then added some jazzed up punched flowers. LOL I have had that punch for ages and never used it, I always thought the flowers looked a little plain. (A white pen and small rhinestones does wonders for adding accents!!)

We celebrated Hunter's B-day with both grandmas on Saturday.

Hunter with his Wall E cake.

Fighting over sitting on the step stool at Grandma's. LOL

I had 2 more pictures, but for some reason Blogger will not let me work with them. LOL

Until later~