One of a Kind ...

First, I need to tell you that my inspiration for tonight's card came from this post on the Jennifer McGuire Ink blog. While it doesn't have anything to do with my card, you need to watch that video. It features all kinds of tips for using Stickles, Liquid Pearls and other similar products. I love that blog. And I thought her owls were so cute, made with a Hero Arts stamp and patterned paper.

My owl was made with patterned paper, too, all cut freehand with the exception of the eyes which were cut with punches and the legs/feet, which were hand drawn. Actually, I cut the shapes from chipboard first and then covered them with the patterned paper. It was all an experiment that I deemed OK enough to glue to a Kraft card. What do you think? With no pattern, I guess he/she is a one of a kind owl. LOL.

Materials & Tools: Stampin' Up Kraft cardstock; CTMH Honey and Crystal Blue cardstock; Chocolate and Desert Sand ink pads; Basic Grey Lilykate 6x6-inch paper pad; Retired CTMH Winter Cozy B&T paper; Chipboard; Cornish Heritage Farms U R A Hoot stamp set; Wiggle eyes from my stash; Black My Legacy Writer; Sponge Dauber; Piercing tool; Stampin' Up Piercing Guide & Mat.

I'm late tonight. After discussing wedding plans, Dusty, Miranda, and I went out for a bite to eat. We got a lot done, made a lot of decisions. I'll tell you more as our plans unfold. For tonight, I'm going to head to bed. Between all the planning, a tough day at work, and just maybe, the one cocktail I had with dinner, I'm all tuckered out and ready to sleep. I hope your day was a good one. Hump day tomorrow already. Hope it's a good one, too. 'Til then, take care, friends! Later ...

Mojo Monday, Etc.

Hi! How are you on this fine Monday? Perky, huh? "Fine" and "Monday" aren't usually words I put together. LOL. Seriously, it was a good day.

This evening's card is my take on this week's Mojo Monday sketch challenge. The sweet little image is a freebie digi image from the Fred She Said Digital Designs blog. There is a contest/challenge going on there, too, although I'm not certain this card is contest material. Why I had purple in my head, I dunno. And as you can see, I ended up with lavender. I don't have much for purple in my paper collection, which 99 percent of the time is OK. I colored the image with Prismacolor pencils and OMS. I used a couple of shades of both green and lavender in an attempt to get the image to coordinate with the patterned paper. Wanting a softer look, I stamped the sentiment with Grey Wool ink. The focal point image was attached to the card with foam mounting tape. That's the details. The rest, I'm sure, you can see.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Sweet Leaf cardstock; Basic Grey Lilykate 6x6-inch paper pad; Grey Wool and Sweet Leaf ink pads; Papertrey Ink Mixed Messages stamp set; Free digital image from Fred She Said; Sweet Leaf Designer Ribbon Rounds; Kaiser Kraft pearl accents; Prismacolor colored pencils; Gamsol odorless mineral spirits; Blending stumps; Piercing tool; McGill Multi-tag punch; Sponge dauber; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Circles set; 3M foam mounting tape.

Speaking of 3M, I'm not usually much for infomercials. If it sounds to good to be true, I generally assume it is. However, as one who hates to shave her legs, I took notice of the "Smooth Away" commercials I've been seeing lately. Well, lo and behold, I came across this item in the "As Seen on TV" section at Wal-Mart today. As razors were on my shopping list, I opted instead for the "Smooth Away." For $9.88, I thought it would be worth a shot. And, guess what? It works. When I opened the box and saw the 3M pads that attach to the applicator, my first thought was, "Ah, fine sandpaper." If it is sandpaper, it is very fine and called a "Fine-Crystal" hair remover pad. Like I said it works - painlessly and basically, effortlessly. Exfoliated too, my legs are as smooth as a baby's backside. If this post wasn't long already, I'd tell you about my one (and only) experience with waxing. It's pretty funny.

While I had a good experience with the Smooth Away, I'm not doing so well with my new ATG glue gun thing. I suppose, like everything else, it takes practice. I hope so because, I'm having a heck of a time learning to "drive" the thing and get the adhesive where I want it. I bought it for the purpose of assembling wedding invitations en masse, so I'd better learn fast. LOL. And about the wedding, Dustin, Miranda, and I are meeting after work tomorrow to go through my lists of 1,001 details. Having broken it all down into itemized checklists, I'm feeling less overwhelmed than I was a couple of days ago.

If you're still with me, thanks for all your sweet comments about my family photos. Oh, and Miranda received a couple of Grand Champion and several blue ribbons on her horses at the fair. We need to take the little boys out to the farm for horseback rides one of these days. Who knows? Maybe Grandma will try it again, too. The experience, I should hope, couldn't be any worse than the last time. Another crazy story for another time. By now, I'm sure you've heard enough from me. Again, thanks, and have a great Tuesday! Later...

Fun at the Fair

Here are Bjorn, Mathias, Miranda, and Willie. Willy was one of three horses

Miranda took to the county fair this year. The one in the background is Sadie.

While the little boys have no fear, Grandma has a certain amount of

respect for horses. I was the one, however, who hopped the fence

and held big, restless Sadie still while Miranda's friend, who was going to

ride her, got up in the saddle. Evidently, the horse understood when

I said, "Please, don't move." LOL.

Willy, who just got back from the trainer last week, needed

to be worked before being ridden.

And, here is our beautiful daughter-in-law-to-be on Willy.

Bjorn and Mathias are real animal-lovers. At four, Mathias also has an answer for everything. When I told him the sign said to keep fingers out of the cages, his quick retort was, "Well, Gamma, you know I can't read!" LOL.

After checking out the animals, it was time for the treat of choice - cotton candy.
Oh, yes! And, some people never grow up. I'm so glad!
Daddy Cameron and his friend, Sarah, watching his boys have fun.

Those two little heads by the flower are those of Bjorn and Mathias.
They loved this ride!

I swear I have a photo of Cameron on the back of a motorcycle

ride with the exact same look on his face - 25-plus years ago.

I love this photo of Bjorn - sheer delight!

Finally, this is Bjorn sliding into the home stretch.

Pokey Mathias is still at the top of the slide!

And that was our Friday evening trip to the 2009 county fair. While I felt a little punk yesterday, it was worth it. Now, that the fair is over, however, I need to set the bride and groom-to-be down and show them my long lists of details that need to be addressed. The wedding is September 19. With the exception of the invitations being printed (this week), all of the big things are taken care of. It's just the 1,001 little things... and as we all know, time flies.

Speaking of time, it's time for me to get to bed so I can get up and go to work in the morning. I hope your weekend was a good one - the start of a good week! I'll be finding some mojo and stamping some cards this week. It's the only thing that keeps me sane! LOL. Later, friends ...

Simple Saturday on Sunday ...

I'm late. Yesterday was a no mojo day to the point I didn't even try. I can't say that I'm oozing with creativity today either, but I gave it a shot.

This is my take on Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge #74. It's a simple card for a simple sketch.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Clover Meadow, and Tulip cardstock; Creative Basic Animal Cookies Collection; Animal Cookies Level 2 paper packet; Dutch Blue, Tulip, and Clover Meadow, and Dutch Blue ink pads; Sweet Baby and Say it in Style stamp sets; Sunflower mini brad; EK Success Dotted Wave Edger punch; Black My Legacy Writer.

Evidently, something got the best of me on Friday night, as I woke up yesterday all stuffed up and entertaining the nastiest of headaches. After the boys left, I worked on wedding stuff for a couple of hours and then slept all afternoon. The "time off" left me with an overwhelming amount of stuff to try to get done today. That said, I'd better get to it.

I hope you are having a great weekend. While Friday night was the extent of my "fun," it was enough. I had to laugh at Mathias yesterday morning though. With a downtrodden look on his little face, he declared, "But we didn't get to see the hippos." I tried to convince him that hippos aren't farm animals. Guess we're going to have to make a trip to the country with that boy. LOL. Enjoy your day! Later...

And in Today's Mail ...

... came this beautiful card! Isn't it just the cutest thing? I received it from my upline, Mary Jo. I'm so happy to have it to show you, because I didn't make it to my corner today. Wait. I take that back. I did get it cleaned up this afternoon between getting home from work early and going to the fair this evening.

While I didn't make the card, I think I can list the materials Mary Jo used to make the card. Having it made me all the more anxious for the UPS man to come on Monday. After seeing card after card made with the beautiful Moon Doggie paper and Extreme Happiness stamp set, I gave in and ordered them. LOL.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White cardstock; Moon Doggie paper packet; Cocoa ink; Extreme Happiness stamp set; White Daisy mini brads; Pewter spiral clip.

Oh my goodness, my feet are sore. We packed an awful lot of activity into a few hours at the Pennington County Fair. We ate junky food, checked out all the animals, and then hit the midway where the boys went on some rides. It was a good time. The boys are going back to the fair with their mom tomorrow, and if I can get my weary backside out of bed early enough, I'm going to go back in the morning to watch Miranda show her horses. She had Willy out in the ring tonight when we got there, and while I'm not a horse person by any means, it's obvious he is a magnificent animal. After having lunch with my mother-in-law and sisters-in-law, I'm going to come home and dive into some wedding projects and hopefully, come up with a little something for Simple Saturday.

I hope yours was a great Friday and your weekend is wonderful, too! Thanks for stopping by, friends. Later ...

A Box for a Buck ...

... or maybe it was $2. Anyway, it was a little box that caught my eye and landed in my cart a while back at Wal-Mart and has since been sitting on a shelf occasionally whispering, "Do something with me." Well, I did, and once again, I'm going to start my spiel by telling you it looks better in person. For whatever reason, the paint I used for the lid comes out a sick color when photographed. Up close and personal, it's a very neutral "Linen" color like the paint bottle says.

As for the rest of my box, I used paper scraps, a little ribbon, and a stamped image accented with a little Liquid Applique. I would have covered the lid with paper, too, had it not been for those scalloped edges and a lazy streak. LOL.

Materials & Tools: Box from Wal-Mart; Stampin' Up Porcelain paper (retired); Olive Green ink pad; Garden green marker; Flourishes Birds and Vines stamp set; Ribbon from my stash; White Liquid Applique; Yes! paste; Folk Art Linen acrylic paint; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Circles set.

How is everyone this evening? The parade last night was fun. I parked my butt on the curb with the little guys and relished in their wonder of it all. Afterwards, Bjorn said the parade was "phenomenal." Seemed like a big word for someone so small. Tonight, Grandma is tired and needs to get to bed in order to be in fine form for the fair tomorrow night. The weekend is going to be busy. With that, I'll sign off with a wish that your Friday is a good one. Thanks for stopping by!

Just Stopping By ...

... to say "hi!" No card today. I hope you'll excuse me. My corner has been declared a disaster area and is definitely not conducive to creativity. And with kids coming over in a little bit to feed and get ready to go to a parade, there's no time.

The weather could be a little nicer. It's only 61 degrees and windy. I looked today, and we've had temperatures of 80 and above (barely) here on only five days since June 1. What is that? Certainly not a normal summer ... even in the frozen frozen tundra.

For tonight, I guess we'll dress in layers, and I'll grab a car blanket or two to wrap around the little ones should they get cold.

Miranda and I went to our appointment at the florist. Now, it's to wait for the quote. The hand-tied bouquets will be a mix of roses, Gerber daisies, miniature sunflowers, berries and an assortment of greens. A variety of those same flowers in deep fall shades will be used for the arrangements, corsages, and boutonnieres. I advised her not to open the quote in front of the groom, who is rather overwhelmed by the very idea of it all. Poor Dusty. LOL.

No, I'd better go get a couple of things done before the activity begins. I hope you are having a good week. Talk to you again tomorrow when I have something to show you ... Take care!

Cosmetic Surgery, Etc.

This is an improved version of last night's card. Remember I said I thought I'd like the white band if it were a quarter of an inch or so shorter? While I was still looking at it, it dawned on me to add another coordinating strip of paper, which is what I went off to do as soon as I finished my post.

It wasn't full-blown card surgery. I didn't have to pull anything apart. Rather it was a little cosmetic surgery that required nothing more than a little tuck. I'm thinking it was a big success, too. The green strip not only breaks up the white but makes the butterfly piece and green flower stand out better.

My second card involved playing with the direct-to-paper technique a little more. Usually, this technique involves rubbing one's ink pad across the paper. For this look I laid the ink pad down and used it like a stamp. The fabric of the pad give it texture, and the edges create lines. I just kept overlapping the edges until I achieved a look that I liked. Following me? I hope so.

As I wanted to see what it would look like on both white and solid same-color cardstock, I just worked with what I had to create the simple layout. The sentiment, which was cut out and embossed with Nestabilities Rectangles, was attached to the with foam mounting tape. Had I distressed the inked up paper, I think I would have had a "Basic Grey" look going. Next time!

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Sweet Leaf, and Black cardstock; Sweet Leaf and Black ink pads; Close To My Heart Butterfly Kiss and Verve Stamps Beautiful stamp sets; Ribbon from Wal-Mart; Acrylic disks from Michael's; Cuttlebug w/ Nestabilities Classic Rectangles set; 3M foam mounting tape.

The boys are with us tonight. After losing a game of Cootie and Memory to Mathias, I chased the boys and Grandpa downstairs to play George of the Jungle on the Wii. It's raining outside.. . hard. Better now than tomorrow evening. It won't be fun (or as much fun) if it rains on our parade.

As the thunder and lightning are getting close, I'd probably better get my butt off the computer and go "ground" myself with a little rubber. LOL. Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy the evening! Later ...