October Has Arrived!

Happy October  everyone. It's a new month (already October-wow) and time for a new challenge at Try It On Tuesday.

But first I want send out a big thanks to everyone who participated in our Hot, Hot Hot challenge.  And also thanks Tracey for being such a great guest designer too.

For the next 2 weeks we're asking for some Animal Magic.

 I don't make cards very often but one day recently I just had the urge to make a stack. 

I can't say I  know too many card making tricks, as the process does have some differences from art journaling. My cards are pretty basic, but these new cow stamps  really make me  happy.

I mean, who doesn't love a cow?

I hope to see your animal art over at Try It On Tuesday  

Something Different for Me

Hi everyone. It's been a blustery and cold  in my world today.  I stayed inside much of the day and did a bit of spring cleaning. Tomorrow it is supposed to be warmer and more like spring. That will be a good thing if it actually happens. Since I got my chores done today I can enjoy the better weather tomorrow.

 I want to remind everyone about the latest challenge at Try It On Tuesday, which is Say It With Flowers. I recently needed to make a sympathy card for a friend who lost her father, and this was it. I am not a big card maker as of late, so for me, this is something different.

I began with an embossing folder which I inked ink dark blue, and then I ran the inked folder onto some light blue paper. I did a bit out outlining in black pen to bring out some details, and then I added the stamped and colored flowers, as well as a die cut banner. I attached this to some white card stock and added little bronze colored paint dots at each corner.

Recently we got a big hornets nest knocked down from under the eaves of our house. Better to do it in the cold weather than when they are all awake and buzzing around in the warm weather.

The nest ripped open in the process.

The inside was really cool.  I moved the nest out into the woods so maybe some of those hornets would make it until spring, but I don't know as the nest opened up so much. You can see one coming out of a honeycomb in the top photo and a few inside honeycombs in the bottom. I know a lot of insects go dormant in the cold weather, and if any are alive they would have made it through some really cold winter weather of the last few months. I think maybe a few will make it. 

And what else is better to do on a cold Saturday afternoon?

Today was National (US) Pup Day and I would say this is the life!

When Maddie wakes up she would say enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Thursday Notes

So it is an absolutely gorgeous day here in my neck of the woods. The dog desperately want her walk (which should be interesting as I now have 2 dogs since my daughter has moved back home with hers), so I am keeping this short.

Had success yesterday finding a place for my mom in assisted living. What a gorgeous place this is she will be moving into in just a couple of weeks. Hope she doesn't change her mind.
Now my house is a disaster as  my husband has a tiny bit left  to finish on my living room ceiling, so all that furniture is moved, and my daughter moved home (at least half of her stuff) and dumped it all in that spot. I was hoping to finish repainting the walls this week but now I can't even get to it with all her things in the way. Should have done it Monday before all hell broke lose. So much for being lazy one day out of the summer!

So today I am hoping to get into the studio after the dog walk. I have a lot of half finished pieces on my table, so I can have something fun to post. But today I have a card, as a few weeks back I made a stack to have for those moments they are needed. I think I need to keep this quote in mind as I go through my day. Because life can sure test your patience, can't it? This card is nothing amazing but does have collaging and stenciling. Stamping too.

Hope everyone's day is going smoothly! Thanks again for stopping by!

A Card or Two

There's a bit of a glare in this photo, the lighter background square on the right. but ignore that and you can see one of the cards I made back over the past weekend.

I really like this card. I used the waste from cutting out my seahorse (Cheery Lynn) as a stencil and then I sprayed the card with some spray ink. I think it makes a nice kind of background that feels like it has  movement the way water does. I also cut up the thick plastic (waste) cover from some product I bought a long time ago. I kept the plastic coating just for a project like this.

I did use a little black paint to highlight the edges of that plastic.

And super super simple card.  I have this ancient set of stamps with these leaves and pineapple.  They were made by some scrapbooking company that is no longer around. (Kind of sad how many of those good old companies are gone.) I stamped the leaves in a darker green directly onto the card. But I am happy with the results.  Looked almost batik fabric like. And I water-colored the pineapple image and stamped it.

Told you it was simple.

So its been a pretty nice week here in New Hampshire. I love it but it is testing my patience because it makes me want to be on summer vacation.

Am I always this impatient or is it just because of the horrible winter we had and add that to my slightly distracted mind frame with my husband's kidney issues? Hmmmm.

That's all for me right now.

Thanks for stopping by!

Life is a Bowl of Cherries

 I haven't been busy with too much art this past week. Between a little virus early in the week and then spending a day at kidney transplant orientation for my husband. never mind work, my studio time has been limited. I have worked on a few things but no photos to show you, so today I am diving back into the archives with a few pieces that made me smile.

 The good news is my husband's auto-immune disease is gone and his antibody levels are all back to normal, so next fall we should be proceeding with a transplant. We're also lucky because including myself we have 3 serious donors and 3 other people who have shown interest, so hopefully someone between all these folks will be a match. That's the next stage we are moving onto.

Oh the unexpected places life brings you.

I love cherry art! I don't know why, but I do. I do. It makes me smile.

Maybe because it reminds me of early summer!
I find this time of year very exciting with all the changes going on as spring progresses.

Do you love cherries? Cherry art?

What themes put you in the spring or early summer mood art wise?

That's all for today.

See you soon, I hope!

Using Up the Scraps

Just a BIG splash of color, a really pretty looking (and nice wording) centerpiece, and some scribblely edging, today I am showing you a card I made. I used a bunch of scraps on my work table to construct it.

Some days I challenge myself to do something, and I love to see where that challenge takes me.

This one took me on a route with a lot of bright colors.

Need these colors to make me wake up this morning.

With the clocks changing over this past weekend- it is always so hard to wake up and get moving, but don't I love these longer lighter evenings.

And with no snow predicted this week, and milder more normal temperatures, you will see a big smile on this tired face. Tired only because getting up early seems even earlier until I finally adjust to all this time changing.

But eventually I will.

Today I had to get out of the house super early also since my husband had to go have some day surgery for kidney dialysis. They want us at the hospital at 6 a.m. 

I guess I will come home and take a little snooze on the couch for awhile.

Hope you have a beautiful wide awake Monday.

And thank you for visiting today.

Do Splatters Work?

In my clumsiness I managed to get a horrible spot on this black background card. Not good!  I don't know where the splot stands out more, black or white?

So I tried to sand the paper a bit, but that did nothing except make the paper look more spotty. So I settled for the tried and true fix it technique, spray paint!

Ha-ha!
I like how it worked. Not quite so clean and plain, but it still works. Better than the trash can.

Have a great day and thanks for visiting.

Ready for this Weekend

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

A stormy one here-the next blizzard arrives.

UGH!

Let's see how much snow we get this round.

But the good news - the hubby is home from the hospital; the daughter is here for the weekend,and the wood stove is cranking. For many people here in the US it is a long holiday President's weekend, but not for me unless for some reason we get a snow day on Monday.

(Let's hope not. We've already got 4 to make up.)

So I am looking forward to some low key time home. 

Snow or not.

Plus with the daughter home she can help me shovel- ha ha!

I don't know if she thought of that when she said she was going to come stay. I think she was thinking if she lost power she had no heat, and she would be all alone, and driving would be difficult...

So here's my last Valentine's Day card.

This one is for you!

Hope its a great day full of some kind of love!

More Love

My husband is still hospitalized for his kidney issues and it's awful quiet around here at night. I don't get home from the hospital until usually 8 or so, so its not a long night, but I still miss him around.

So here's another card I've recently made, before all this hospital business started. The colors are a little different for Valentine's day, I guess this doesn't have to be a Valentine's Day. I just really like the card and the colors and how it is a little different Valentine's card.

Stamped images are from Chocolate Baroque. Die cut heart from Sizzix and word from Frantic Stamper.

So yesterday we got close to another foot of snow. Snow, snow, snow! That's all that seems to be coming out of the sky lately.

How about you? Are you snowed in or lucky enough to be getting sunshine and warmer temperatures?

Because It Is February

Since January is all over, and it is now February, I must show you this love card.

Of course I don't love the snow we are getting today, even though I am home with a snow day. My third in less than a week. I do need to trek out into the weather later to go visit my hubby who is in the hospital with a kidney issue. Sad face on my part. I am keeping my fingers crossed and saying little prayers to the gods in the universe that this will be a reversible condition,

So did any of you watch the Superbowl last night? I admit I am from New England and a Pats fan.  But what a game! Had me glued to the TV during the 4th quarter. 

Amazing ending!

And this was last year. My baby boys 14th birthday. He would have been 15 today and I still miss him so much.

OK, I've said too much.

Have a great day-hope you are not getting snow, and

thanks for visiting.

Silly Owls

So quiet morning here in my life. The hubby is away on a business trip, but he'll be home tonight.  I spent last night finishing up the Outlander TV series since I could watch what I wanted all night. I really liked it, and I can't wait to see the new episodes in April.  That's not that long away, right?

Even though January is going by pretty quickly it seems like its been winter for a very long time here in New Hampshire. Maybe our early November snows started this season off much earlier than lots of years.

I was also a bad girl yesterday and went down to my favorite craft store after work. They are having a huge inventory liquidation...hmmmm...not sure what's that all about even though they say they are NOT going out of business. I managed to spend a bit of cash, but I did mostly buy things I had been looking at for awhile or things that I will need to replace in time like gesso. I only bought a couple of spontaneous items. Like that justifies my purchases...ha-ha.

Anyhow everything in the store was 15-75% off. I found some Tim Holtz items-they were all 50% off, and also paints and canvases at 50%. Not too bad. Amazing how a sale can make a store so crowded on a Wednesday afternoon.

So lastly I have this card to show you. It was pretty fun to make. The background is watercolors with some embossed tree trunks (Hero Arts stamp). Then I gave it a light spray of silver Distress sprays. The owls are a Cheery Lynn die and the word is a Frantic stamper die.

I didn't know what to do about the eyes so I add these little googlely eyes, which I think made the card a lot more fun.

So I need to go get ready for work. Teacher wok day today, no kids, and although I have tons to do, it will be a pretty quiet day with no meetings and no classes to manage.

Thanks for stopping by.

More Cardology

Is cardology even a word? Ha ha! If not, I am now making it a word.  Can I do that?

So the other day  I made a bunch of watercolor backgrounds and then made a bunch of cards from those backgrounds. 

I showed you one of those other cards yesterday.

Today I am showing you a wintery card.

Not a whole lot on stamping on this piece. This graph like background is an oldie but a goodie from Hero Arts. I like how it works on the background!
My snow kind of looks like rain, but that's because I painted some snow blobs first. and then decided to shake a bunch of glitter and make them have a little more texture. Paint works great as a glue.
Plus sometimes when you watch snow fall it does look like big white blobs coming down.
I also used a little silver Distress Spray on the background, to give it more of a snowy look.
Makes me happy.
So last night I had big plans to make a little art or do a little studio cleaning. I have decided to do some reorganization so I can't find anything for awhile- ha-ha.
This all goes back to the fact that my daughter's room has been sitting basically untouched since she moved out last June. I really didn't expect her home for good, but thought she might be by some nights when her boyfriend (with whom she is living) had to work overnight. (He's an EMT and does some 24 hour shifts.) I also kept asking her to clean through some of her stuff- and that never happened-of course.
So now I am starting to clean up her room myself, and then I am going to move my books into her old room, which give me a whole new studio wall!!! Right now my books are in my studio too. I can't wait to start being able to make some use of my daughter's old room, and being able to get a little bit of new space in the play space.
I just hate having a room sitting unused in my little house.
Anyhow, now that I am way off topic...I had plans last night to be a little productive, but that didn't happen.  Reading by the fire was so much more recharging after a dark and long Monday back at work and after coming home and having to shovel 2 of snow inches off my deck. So I didn't play or clean, but maybe today.
If reading by the fire isn't more inviting that is.
HA-HA!
Make something today that makes you happy.

Cardology

I had an arty day on Saturday. Oh what fun it was!

I really want to be able to have an arty most every day.

 Too bad there's a thing called work, huh?

So I started my day by water coloring some backgrounds. I made a bunch, and I made a bunch of cards too. I needed a  card to send to someone I haven't heard from in literally years, and since I was going to make one, I might as well make a bunch. Not all the same, but using the same techniques. Starting with water coloring. 

And then embossing over the background.

Images I used here are from Chocolate Baroque.

The butterfly is painted with Dylusions Spray Inks in a water brush.

I love putting very bright colored images on white. It makes them really pop.

Black has the same effect which is why I used a black Sharpie to outline the block.

Popping is a great thing.

Don't you think?

So we're starting another work week. 

Hope its not as cold as last week. Hope there's no snow either. Or ice.

In fact I hope its sunny and warm and just like spring.

I wish!

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by.

A New Culinary Adventure and a Christmas Card

So I went to Costco the other day and found this cookbook that looked interesting.

I am not too familiar with a lot of Lebanese and Middle eastern foods. I love falafel and hummus and I've had Lebanese food a bit (one of my childhood friends was part Lebanese), but a lot of these recipes look and sound so delicious. My plan is to start doing a bit of experimenting with some of them once we get past Thanksgiving.

I'll let you know how that goes once I start.

Also thought I'd show you this Christmas card I made awhile back.

I embossed the Christmas tree.  I think this is a fun rubber stamp from Hero Arts. The squirrels are die cuts, and I first stamped  the pink card base in black with an older Hero Arts snowflake background stamp. I wanted to just break up the solid pink of that card stock.

So I only have to work 2 days this week. Tomorrow I am off (BIG SMILE) and will also be off right through the end of the weekend. This is one of the reason's I love Thanksgiving!

I plan on doing a few little things but mostly I plan on being low key and lazy! Reading my book, making some art, watching season 2 of Last Tango in Halifax, sleeping in. I hope I can do all of those things!

If you are here in the US or celebrate Thanksgiving, what are you going to be up to?

I'm not laughing

I am going to complain. This week has been so crazy I haven't made it into the studio at all.

Sad sad face for me.

I am hoping maybe this evening. But I do have an appointment after school. And it is dark and very cold and to get motivated in the evening has been too too tough for me. Zoning out in front the TV is so much more appealing! Recharge before it is 4:45 AM and I am getting started all over again.

Too many weeks like this right now and I am starting to go nuts.

Too many things to deal with, not enough time to unwind by playing, not enough time to do what I need to do to keep me from being cranky and complaining.

I'm burnt out.

UGH!!!!!!

It will pass, I know.

Thanks for listening.

Here's a card I made last Sunday.

Nothing too crazy or wildly unique but it had fun making it and I like the result. 

Have a nice day!

My Little Bit of Cheer

Tuesday. The last day of the month. Wow. I should say where did this month go but truthfully, I am always happy September is over.

Weird, yes.

Its because being the first month back at school I always feel like I have become swallowed up by the teaching and the kids. After a relaxing summer work just slaps you in the face and puts you back in your place.

Ha-ha.

So this card is made with lots of layers, lots of embossing, die cutting, coloring and a little bit of stamping.

A real little bit.

Not much else to say today. The clouds have come in and it looks like it will be a dark and dreary day. This is my little bit of cheer.

Stop back again soon.

A Card for Saturday

Pre-posted this yesterday morning since our 4th of July holiday was a big wash out which meant I wasn't up and rushing about for any reason (and so I had time to write a post). Rain can do that for an outdoor beachy type of holiday! Turn a busy day into a really low gear day.Must say all the plants in my gardens are very very happy though.

So I was making cards the other day and this one started with some Silks paints streaked onto a white background. Then I added the die cut and the ruler drawn border. Flowers and phrase are from Chocolate Baroque. Then to finish it off I added some black Sharpie dots with a white pen dot in the middle.

What do you think?

Pausing

Another flower card today. This one was actually pretty simple but I love how it came out.  The sunset and silhouettes of the flowers. I used a slightly textured cardstock by American Crafts and black embossed flowers. Image is from Hero Arts. The textured cardstock kind of made the embossing a little bit irregular, but I like how it makes it a little bit more deilcate. The Hero Arts image is an older one but a great background stamp. I  used some SILKS paints to color the background. I painted using a wet brush so that gave me that light blush of color.

I like how that sounds. Blush of color.

Words are from Tim Holtz, Stamper's Anonymous. I think the pop of the butterfly is great.

The 2 little black butterflies are also from Hero Arts. An ancient mini-image set on peg stamps.

And how about some real garden color?

I love the flowers that bloom at this time of year. 

Thanks for visiting.

More Blooms

Life has been crazy around here. First there was my daughter's college graduation, then my poor dog got sick and we had to make the tough decision with him, and then my daughter moved out-its been a whirlwind of life. I still haven't gotten over the quietness of the house without a dog, even though I still have a very dog-like kitty. Never mind the college grad daughter who now is gone- its been a double whammy of quiet times in this place.

But the good news, I may be able to finally find some studio play time. 

That is if I can keep myself out of the garden after work.

What I really can't wait for is school to out for the summer so I have time for all of this!

So here's a distressed card with a flower I made using a Sizzix die and also a saying by Tim Holtz.

Hope you enjoyed your little stop here at my blog.

Sunflowers

I love sunflowers. They make me happy.

I have been rather glum lately. We lost our doggie at the end of last week. He lived a long and healthy life- right up to the last few days- and he was 14 years, and he was a big dog.

Still hurts a lot though.

I will get beyond this at some point.

So until then,

I will show you flowers since they cheer me and besides that, they are awfully pretty.

Thanks for visiting.