Sending a little love...

Hi everyone,

I thought I was going to make something wonderful tonite, but after working until 6:30, my energy level just fizzled out!  All I managed to do was a simple card for my son-in-law who is under the weather. So I am pulling out a card I sent last week to my daughter who has also been having some health issues. When it rains, it pours.  So what do stamping mothers do?  They send love in the form of a card.

This was one of a new set of stamps from Inky Antics. I just fell in love with the dog hugging his best buddy & decided if I couldn't give her a hug in person, then this was the next best thing! The paper was K & Company and the punch was Martha's, of course.  (I wonder if she knows I am single handedly responsible for her stocks not falling!) 

I think it's time to switch channels on tv.  The state of the Union should be over by now if I'm lucky, and regular programming back on.  They all seem to sound the same from year to year. Promises, promises.....

Catch you later.

A "Winter White" Valentine

It's hard to believe the weekend is almost over.  They go so fast!

Between clearing the walks again to get rid of yesterday's snow & running down to work this afternoon, I didn't get much done today. I do have a valentine to share.  This one is for the Bugaboo Stamps
"Winter White" Challenge.  I thought I would go with this adorable kitty since Valentine's Day is so close.  And I would much rather think of Valentine's Day & all that chocolate than all the snow outside!

Everyone have a great week!
Catch you all later..

A Valentine Challenge

I thought I was done making valentines, but then I got a new set of stamps and just had to try a couple more. This image is Inky Antics Puppy & Kitty Love.  How can you resist these two faces! I couldn't! I can't pass up a new stamp with a "critter" on it.

The paper is from Bo Bunny and, of course, I had to pull out a Martha Stewart punch to finish it off. I also have this thing for punches.  (Anyone who knows me is laughing their heads off right now) I can't pass by a new punch either.  I used an embossing folder with hearts to add some extra interest to the pink background paper. I hope you like it.  I'm going to enter it in the Pear Tree Designs Challenge #32-Free For All.

I also made another card with this same stamp & may post it tonite as well.  This one was my favorite by far though.

It is 3 degrees outside now & supposed to fall below zero tonite. It has been snowing since about noon and it sounds like it is not done yet.  Did I mention that I HATE winter!!!!  ha ha

Catch you later.

Happy Birthday Bugaboo Stamps!

Today's card is an entry to celebrate Bugaboo Stamps one year birthday!  Lots of fun things going on & some great prizes to the lucky winners.  My entry is one of their hilarious Stella images.  I knew she had to have red hair! She wants to be noticed when she arrives! Let the party begin!

The paper is from K & Company & she is colored in copic & Prismacolor markers. And, of course, no card is complete without some glitter somewhere! Stickles to the rescue!

Happy Birthday!!

Love

Valentine cards are just so much fun to make.  Especially when you have a ton of cute stamps to choose from!  This one is made with a digi stamp from Tiddlywinks that I decided to enter in the Flutter By Wednesday #137 challenge.  It is my first time using a card sketch & was a lot of fun!

I really resisted digi stamps at first, but am beginning to love them a lot.  Instant shopping, for one thing! No waiting for the mailman or making a trip to a shopping center. You can shop in your pj's if you want & be coloring your new stamp five minutes later.

Catch you later!

In Memory

This is a simple card tonite, one without a lot of stamping, but made with a lot of memories. It will be for the lady who lived next door to me for close to 30 years. She went to an assisted living arrangement several years ago & has died at the age of 96. She was already retired when I moved next to her as a newly divorced gal with a young daughter & we shared a lot of conversations over the years. And exchanged a lot of paperback books as both of us were avid readers.

May all of you have a great week.  And for those of us in the midwest, a safe week! Our forecast for tomorrow is for freezing rain/sleet/snow/rain/freezing rain/snow in that order beginning over night.  Tomorrow should be another "interesting" drive to work & back.

Catch you later!

An Elephant Never Forgets!

This little elephant couldn't forget to wish an unforgettable friend a wonderful Valentine's Day! He is part of an old Stampin Up set I've had for a long time & always loved.  The paper was from K & Company. I know you won't see it well here, but the hearts are covered in glitter. And if you know me, you know I love glitter!
The only drawback was the fact that I know have glitter on my clothes, my socks, my face & even Brady has glitter in his fur.  I didn't realize how much glitter I had transfered to myself until I got back from the grocery store tonite & looked in the mirror.  I'm sure the checkout gal wondered what "gala" I was heading to with all the glitter on my face!  Note to self:  Check face for glitter before leaving the house next time!

Brady is now washing his face.  Suppose he has figured out he is covered in glitter too?  ha ha  Hardly fitting for a manly cat's image!

Catch you later!

Friendship Warms the Heart!

What a true statement!   I've been very blessed in my life & one of my blessings is having some wonderful friends.  If you are a fan of Pop,Paper, Scissors then you know we had a really fun day today. Lunch at one of our favorite Mexican restraurants and then an afternoon of making cards. What more could you ask! Well, maybe chocolate, but I managed to have some of that on hand too!  A day without chocolate is a wasted day!!

Here is one of the cards I made this afternoon.  I'm going to enter it in Stamp Something-Anything Goes
challenge. I debated between this card & the card I am going to post next, but decided to go with this one.
The stamp is from Lily of the Valley and the paper is from K & Company. 

I'll be back shortly with a new valentine that I really liked. It has lots of glitter so that says it all!

New Beginnings

Tonite I thought I would take a break from Valentines & birthday cards and work on another challenge.  This card is for the Penny Black Saturday Challenge "New Beginnings" and the stamp is perfect to welcome a new little boy into the world.  It was colored with copic & Prismacolor markers and most of the paper is from K & Company. 

Tomorrow is another "food" day at work.  We are celebrating a birthday this time.  I really think our office has the record for the amount of food consumed in a week.  It seems someone is always bringing treats. Great for morale, but horrible for the waist line!

Catch you later!

A Get Well for Kim

We seem to be having a lot of card needs at work right now.  This is a get well card I made for one of the gals at work who just had back surgery.  Her back pain is gone now and only the pain from the surgery remains which is great news since that will go away quickly.  She has a great attitude about it & texted one of the gals the following message: " Reminder to self. Do not cut your bangs when you are bored! " I am still laughing at that one! 

The bunny is a Lily of The Valley stamp and the paper is from K & Company. I colored it with copics & Prismacolor pencils.  I know she will be happy to get it & know we are thinking of her.

Tomorrow is Thursday already.  Where has the week gone?  Hopefully, we won't get any more snow until I can replace the antique snowblower with one that actually starts!  I'm going to have muscles the size of a wrestler from shoveling if I don't get one soon.

Catch you later!

It's tough being purrfect!

The official snow fall total as of 6 pm was "over" 14 inches according to the news report tonite. What a fun day!  And, of course, the old unreliable snowblower decided this was a perfect day to act up.  I pulled the cord to start it & it came all the way out & never retracted.  Let me tell you, there is no way you can start a snowblower if you can't pull the cord!  So it was get the shovel out & throw it by hand. Did I mention I HATE WINTER!!!!!!   ha ha

Anyway, it is still snowing & the winds are supposed to be around 30 mph tomorrow so that means it will all drift back tonite & tomorrow & I will get to do it all over again. Maybe I will develop muscles! I know it won't help me lose weight since it just makes me hungry as a horse.

I thought I would take my mind off the snow tonite & get a birthday card done for one of the guys at work. We rescued a little black kitten at work last week & he gave all of us a bad time about what we should really have done with the kitten instead of finding him a home. I knew then that his birthday card was going to be a cat of some kind.  This old Stampin Up image fit the bill perfectly!

He likes to brag that his wife is a lucky woman because he is the perfect husband so the sentiment is just "him" as well. 

Have a great day tomorrow & everyone in the area be sure to drive safely! 
Catch you later!

Another Valentine Offering

After a calm day yesterday, Mother Nature has unleashed her nasty side today.  We have been hit with snow that has been falling steadily since the middle of the night last night.  It is going to continue all night tonite and all day tomorrow.  They are predicting another 5 inches tonite and 4+ more tomorrow.  We already have probably 4-5 on the ground already.  Tomorrow is my first day back to work & just getting there should be a real challenge.

Speaking of challenges, I am going to enter this valentine in the following challenges:


Penny Black at Allsorts  January challenge

Craft Your Days Away Challenge #11-Anything Goes

Flutter By Wednesday

One Crazy Stamper January "Love" Challenge

How is that for a surprise!  I've gone from someone afraid to even think of entering to someone having a lot of fun entering challenges.  I've gone from thinking of challenges as a competition to more of a way to meet other stampers & that has taken all the fear out of it!  There are some great gals out there making just amazing cards. If I looked at their cards first, I would never enter!  ha ha

This card is another Penny Black stamp.  The paper is from K & Company & while it isn't the traditional pink or red usually associated with a valentine, I just fell in love with it & used it anyway.  The punches used were all Martha Stewart.

Good luck to everyone affected by the snow.  I hope we all have a safe journey to work & home again tomorrow!

Catch you later.

Thinking of You

Today was a great day.  I made a trip to see my daughter & her family along with my BFF and we got in some good stamp shopping!  While we have no stamp stores here, they have a great one in Lincoln & of course, a large Archievers in Omaha. Which means you have to "load up" on everything you can because you don't know when the weather will let you  get back there again!  (Or at least that is my "winter" excuse)   She had already been shopping & gave me this Tina Wenke stamp to add to my Valentine stash.  Tired as I am, I decided I just had to try it out & here is the resulting card.

The lace at the bottom was a new Martha Stewart punch I found at Archievers. The paper is from a new K & Company paper pack. Yes, I know, I keep saying I'm not buying any more paper, but I can't resist a sale!

Tomorrow we are supposed to have the first of two full days of snow. Four to eight inches with wind.  Did I mention I hate winter!!!  I'm praying the weatherman got it wrong again & it will only be 2 or 3.

Catch you later.

All You Need is Love

The last day of my vacation (not counting the weekend) is almost over.  I quickly found out I had to change the plans I had made for the day when I tried to get the car out of the garage & the door wouldn't open! It seems when I turned on the light in the garage, I blew the socket the light was in which in turn shorted out the electricty to the garage door opener.  So, instead of heading out I had to head back in & call an electrician. So, having thrown my schedule off for the day, I spent the rest of it doing much needed chores, like getting the oil changed.  Not an exciting week, but on the bright side, I didn't have to rush home in the middle of the day to let in the plumber, the electrician & get the cat bundled up for his vet trip. There is always a silver lining, right?

I only managed one card this afternoon & have decided to add it to the Penny Black at Allsorts challenge "All you need is love" which is so true! All you DO need is love & I'm so thankful for all the people who love me & all those I love.  This is a Penny Black stamp from the stamp set "Hugs" which is one I use a lot. I paper pieced the heart to match the background paper from K & Company. And of course, no card is complete without at least one Martha Stewart punch somewhere!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!  I'm going to visit my daughter & her family tomorrow so I probably won't get much done until Sunday.

Catch you later!

Penny Black Allsorts January Challenge

As promised, here is the other card I made tonite.  I debated on which one to enter for the Penny Black Allsorts January Challenge but decided on this one.  Hopefully, I made the right decision.

Tomorrow looks like a blustery, wintery day so it may be the perfect time to create some more cards!
Everyone have a great Friday!

Penny Black Valentines

Hi everyone,

My vacation is going all too quickly.  Tomorrow is Friday already!  If only work days went as fast!
Another busy day.  Poor little Brady had his annual checkup at the vet this morning.  I don't know which of us is more traumatized, me or him! He yowls all the way there & all the way home. I think next year I'm asking the vet for tranquilizers.....for ME! 

I even washed the car this morning.  What a waste of effort that was.  Although most of the streets were dry, I managed to find one main street that a snow plow was going down spreading snow from the sidewalk in front of a cemetery onto the street.  What a mess! My clean car now looks like I had never washed it.

The day did end on a fun note, however.   An old friend I used to work with brought Chinese over and joined me in making some Valentines.  This is one of them.  Both were done with Penny Black stamps, which are always among my favorites.  I have drawers full of Penny Black stamps! Between the hedgehogs & the cats, I'm hooked. I'm posting the other separately to enter it in their challenge.

What a happy little cat!

Something with Glitter!

Well, my productive day kind of fizzled.  Halfway thru the afternoon when I could have been getting lots done, I got a big case of the sleepies.  I did manage a couple more Valentine cards, however.  This one I am entering in Stamp Something's "Something with Glitter" and who can resist a critter with glitter! 

Brady is meowing his head off right now trying to tell me he is ready for dinner so if I know what is best for me, I will mind my master & head for the cat food!

Challenge 61 - Pink, Red & White

I decided to enter a challenge, which I don't often do as there as just so many more talented people out there than me, but I'm on vacation & feeling reckless!  I may not win, but it will be fun just getting up the nerve to try.
The card is a Mo Manning image called "Celebrate" which I have already posted as a Valentine earlier.  This was another version & will be entered in Colour Create Challenge 61-Pink, Red & White. 

Off to let the plumber in.  What a fun vacation I am having already!

Catch you later today!

"Celebrate" Valentine's Day

After a busy day for my first day of vacation, I finally had the time to sit down & work on cards.  Since I can't make Christmas cards any longer (darn it!) I decided I had better work on my Valentine's stash.  Although I have a huge drawer full of nothing but Valentine stamps, I REALLY wanted to do something from Mo's Digital Pencil as I just adore everything she does.  The only problem I had was that there really weren't a whole lot of Valentine offerings there yet. So, I decided to be creative & use a birthday image I just bought & turn it into a celebration of Valentine's Day.  Pretty clever, huh?  This is the card I ended up with. I've decided she is probably jumping for joy because she just got a whiff of the box of chocolates someone just gave her!

I'm on a roll now, so off to see what else I can come up with!
I hope you all had a great day!

Let Me Help You!

Well, I had planned to be very productive today, but by the time I sat down to make cards the mood just wasn't there.  Add to that, the fact that I had a "helper" and you can see why I didn't get much done today. I pulled out one of the cubes I store my stamps in & Brady decided to try it on for size!  I grabbed the camera so you could see why I get nothing done some days.  He is such a "helper" when you are stamping.  First he has to have about a 20 minute back rub & massage before he will get off the table & then he usually wants the chair I am sitting in to take a nap on since it is already warm. What a guy!

I did get 3 sympathy cards done today that I needed for someone I work with. Two of them don't photo well because the best parts are embossed & don't show up so I am only posting one.

The background on this one is embossed as well, but there is more detail with the punched lace so it shows up slightly better.

I'm hoping to get more cards ready tomorrow once I get my Christmas things put away & the house back to normal.  Until then, everyone stay well & try to keep warm in this horrible cold weather!