Trauma Drama

Today my browser is no longer supported by Blogger. I am not happy about this new development. For one thing, I can barely read what I am writing because the font is so small. And I am not sure how to enlarge it. Oh, never mind, I just saw the wrench up in the corner and was able to zoom the font to a comfortable level. If you do not understand that, don't worry about it. Also, I have no idea if this post will look like the former posts on my blog. I guess I will figure that out when I post this. And I am not really crazy about having to use Google Chrome. I have all my favorite addresses on my Internet Explorer browser. And I don't know how to transfer them over to Google Chrome. Which means I need to do some reading, and I don't want to take the time. Yes, I know I am lazy, but also, I am very busy at the moment! So there. (Besides I am somewhat technologically-challenged. OK, OK, I am very technologically-challenged. I live in the right side of my brain most of the time.)

OK, rant over. I'll manage to get this all sorted out somehow. :^)

The other semi-traumatic thing in my life right now is the fact that my month as Guest Designer on the Outlawz Copic/Promarker weekly challenge is over. I am truly sad about that. I have had an absolute blast doing this, and the Outlawz Copic Design Team is the best group of gals to work with! I want to thank each and every one of them for this opportunity and for their support and friendship. It has meant the world to me! It also has checked off one of my "bucket-list" items! You don't realize that you even have "bucket-list" items until you get older. Then you know that there are certain things you want to accomplish or experience before you take your walk to the "other side." (Oh, my daughter is not going to be happy I mentioned this. Sorry, Angela, but we just don't live forever.)  I am so grateful that I have had this opportunity to design with this amazing group of talented ladies. Thank you, Lynne, Carla, Jo, Dawn, Linda, and Linda from the bottom of my heart!

So, without further ado, I will get on with my last Guest Designer card. This challenge was Anything Goes. I decided to do a birthday card for my sister, Barbara. I chose the Sarah Kay Spring Blossoms image and stamped it and the Magnolia Summer Background on Cryogen CS with Memento ink. I took my color scheme from the Crate Paper Paper Heart Collection. I also used a Stampin' Up Birthday Wishes stamp and SU CS. I cut out grass with a die from MFT and colored it with my Copic markers. I also cut out clouds with a die from MFT and colored them lightly with Copics. Leafy flourishes (from Marianne Designs dies) and a pair of scissors (from a Marianne Designs die) were also added to the card. I had intended to add several flowers, but decided to use only one Prima flower, which was also colored with Copics. The scalloped circle was made from a Spellbinders die. I added Glossy Accents to the scissors in the image and accented the image with a Signo Uniball white gel pen.  Copic colors used:  RV000, RV42, YR20, C0, C2, W1, E000, E00, E01, E02, E11, E13, E31, E35, G0000, G00, G82, G85, B0000, B000, B41, B91, B93, R000, R01, R02. 

I am going to enter this card into the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Challenge

7 Kids Challenge

May everyone everywhere have a fabulous Friday and a wonderful weekend!

Yup, I am thrilled!

I am so thrilled because the card I submitted on the last 7 Kids Challenge was picked for a Top 3 award! Is that cool, or what? I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw this today! In fact, I closed out my browser and reopened it, thinking I must have been seeing things. Really! I did. I was up late last night, working on Tristan's Easter card and watching some dumb movie (I can't even remember what it was anymore). I went to bed about 3:00 a.m. So when I got up this morning I had to double-check the 7 Kids challenge website to make sure I wasn't dreaming! I'll have to tell my brother, Larry, that the birthday card I made for him won an award! Ah, it makes my heart so happy! :^)

Yeah, and about the card I was working on last night. That's another story! I spent several hours on it, like I usually do. (I am not a fast creator. My cards take a lot of time to make. Mostly because I spend so much time trying different LO's.) Anyway, when I went back to work on the card today, I found several things I didn't like about it. Like the image, the oval stack, etc. I redid just about all of it. And I had thought I had plenty of time to get it done before the deadline on the CMC Birthday Bash. Um, not so much. I took a photo, then checked it on the computer, found more problems with my image, deleted the photo, fixed the image, took another photo, etc., etc. I did this so many times that I lost count. And patience. I finally gave up and ran with what I had. I photographed it one last time, uploaded the photo, fixed the color, cropped it, and got it in to Suzanne about 20 minutes before the deadline. Nothing like cutting it close or anything! An exercise in exasperation!

I have to get a card made for my sister, Barbara, who is having knee surgery on the 4th, and I need to make another Easter card for a granddaughter. Hopefully, I will be caught up in a few days. But I won't hold my breath.

The image I used for Tristan's card is Magnolia's Edwin with Egg Basket, which I stamped on Cryogen CS with Memento ink. My color scheme came from Basic Grey Lime Rickey patterned paper, and I used Bazzill CS with it. I tied a double bow with my Bow Easy on ribbon I died with my Copics. I topped the bow with a button brad from Stampin' Up. I accented the image with a Signo Uniball white gel pen and applied Glossy Accents to Edwin's buttons. I used several dies: Spellbinders' Grand Ovals and Grand Scalloped Ovals, a Marianne Designs flourish, Memory Box Filigree Egg, and Magnolia Doohickey fence. Copics used were: G20, G21, G24, G28, B32, B34, B37, B39, E0000, E000, E00, E11, E13, E31, E35, YR20, W1, W3, W5, Y00, Y02.

I am entering this card into the following:

Magnolia-licious Challenge

Here's wishing everyone everywhere a terrific Thursday!

Happy Birthday, Larry!

Today is the 59th birthday of my brother, Larry. Happy Birthday, Lar! Hope you have many, many more. And expect to get a load of crap when you turn 60 next year! After all the grief you have given your three sisters about age, you will pay. I promise you that.

Well, I finished the Copic Intermediate Certification Class yesterday. That was a lonnnnng one! I left the house about 8:00 a.m. and got home at 8:30 p.m. Marianne Walker told us that we would be tired at the end of the day. I wasn't tired. Not at all. I was exhausted! Oh, my! I had trouble waiting up for Gary to get home from the wine-tasting party he attended with our daughter, Angela. My eyes were slamming shut by the time he arrived about midnight. And then I collapsed into bed and didn't wake up until 10:00 a.m. this morning. Yeah, I was one pooped-out old lady!

But I did enjoy the class. I found it to be informative and more technique-driven than the first Copic certification class I took. A person can learn something new every day--in fact, I really recommend it to keep your mind fresh, especially as you age. And I did learn some new things about color and using different combinations than I have done so far. I am very glad I went!

We got some "goodies" at the class, but my favorite is the 72-pc. Copic wallet. I was able to replace the last one that I bought that smelled like mildew! I spent this morning cleaning the markers that were stored in the smelly wallet. Had to use Lysol wipes to get rid of the odor on the markers. But they are all clean now, and even my craft room smells better! Of course, most people couldn't tell that there was a mildew-odor on the wallet. Someone even tried to tell me that it was a "plastic-bag" odor. Snort! I knew better than that, because I was cursed with an overly-sensitive nose. I can detect a lot of odors that other people cannot smell. Even the 15 years of smoking when I was young didn't damage my sense of smell.  OK, enough about that.

I am watching the PGA golf tournament. Tiger is up by four strokes right now, and I hope he pulls it out. Why am I cheering for Tiger? That's a good question, since his "fall from grace". I guess I want to see the current records broken. And he is the most likely to do that in the near future. Of course, if he breaks Jack's records, someone like Rory McIlroy will come along and break Tiger's. And I probably will cheer for him, too, if I live long enough. I think I just like to see new records set in sports. (Except when Hank Aaron's record was broken.)

We finished watching season one of "Game of Thrones" on Friday night. Season two starts next Sunday. I can hardly wait! Love that storyline.

Switching gears here:  today's card is a Saturated Canary image, "Bunny Luv". So cute, as all of Krista's images are. I stamped it on Cryogen CS with Memento ink. The sentiment is from Stampin' Up Teeny Tiny Wishes. Patterned paper is from Basic Grey Indie Bloom and CS is Stampin' Up. I added Stampin' Up Baker's Twine, a Tim Holtz Bauble, Wright's lace trim, Queen and Company pearls. The tag, made from a Doohickey die, and embossed with a SU Textured Impressions Houndstooth embossing folder, was lightly sponged with Stampin' Up ink. The eggs were die cut with a Memory Box Filigree Egg die. I used a Spellbinders Classic Heart to make the heart die cut. Lace corners were cut with a Cheery Lynn Lace Corner Deco B die. I accented the image with a Signo Uniball white gel pen, and I added Glossy Accents to her lips, eyes, and egg. She was colored with Copics:  E0000, E000, E00, E11, E13, E50, E53, E57, G20, G21, G24, BG32, BG34, RV52, RV55.

I am going to enter this card into the following challenges:

Basic Grey Girlie
Saturated Canary Twine
Simon Says Bingo
Cheery Lynn Easter

Here's wishing everyone everywhere a wonderful week!

Outlawz Easter/Bunnies/Chocolate Challenge

Today's challenge at the Outlawz Copic/Promarker group is a theme of Easter, Bunnies, or Chocolate. I usually make Easter cards for the granddaughters, so I had no problem with doing something for this challenge. I fell in love with this Marci image, and knew I needed to use it. I am not sure if it will be the card for the girls this year, as I have other images to use for Easter as well. But it certainly fit the "Bunnies" portion of the challenge, right?

I would like to make different cards for each of the girls, but I am concerned that one or both would be unhappy with the card she got, and wishing that she had received the one her sister got. You know how kids can be. So I go with the same image for both, and that way neither one gets jealous.  (You can thank me later, Angela!)

I can hardly believe it's been so many days since I posted last. Where does the time go anyhow? It's almost time for vacation again, and I'm not ready!!!

OK, for this week's update: let's see, I had my mammogram on Monday. I heard today that it was normal. I knew it would be, but it is always nice to have that confirmation. And I got the results of my Lifeline scans--they were pretty good, too. So, for an old lady, I am really, truly, in great shape. Bwaaaahahahaha! Oh, we all know better than that! I am in my "big girl" clothes right now, so my "shape" is not great. It might be super-sized, but it is definitely not great. However, I am in fairly good health. Which would be even better if I could manage to lose some of the extra poundage I am carrying around.

I had this talk with my sister, Merrilyn, just yesterday. She was telling me that I look good and skinny. Yeah, compared to what? The Goodyear Blimp? How dare she! She is getting thinner and thinner due to eating right and swimming an hour a day, everyday. So she is doing everything right for her health now, and me, ah, not so much. But, before I take the next step to even bigger "big girl" clothes, I will do something about my weight. Perhaps I'll have a tummy tuck. Yeah, that's the ticket. That should get rid of about 20 pounds, give or take. Oh, I'm just kidding. It would get rid of 30 pounds, at least. Nah, I really am kidding. I would not have surgery to fix my problem. I hate going under anesthesia for surgery! Instead, I have to bite the bullet and eat better and work out. Gosh, this sounds familiar. I think I was saying this last summer before we went to Maui. Then winter came and the weight piled back on, and now I have to pick myself up, dust myself off, and start all over again. Ever have that problem? B.O.R.I.N.G.

We went to dinner at J & G Steakhouse at the Phoenician Tuesday night for Gary's birthday. They have great steaks, which we had; but honestly, their shrimp salad is unbelievably divine. I didn't even need the steak after that salad. (Yeah, but my body was screaming for more calories, so I just had to oblige.) Maybe the next time we go there, I will only order the salad. Yeah. Right.

Then we went to the Deli on Wednesday for another yummy wine dinner. We went with our football buddies, Andy and Amy. We sit next to them at the Cardinals' games. We renewed our season tickets for this fall and chose to stay in the same seats. Rather than upgrading those seats, the four of us are going to buy Diamondbacks' 10-pack tickets for this baseball season. I know we will enjoy those games, too. It is nice to live in a metro area that gives us a variety of ways to spend Gary's hard-earned money!

I found another way to spend his money. I broke my paper trimmer, so I finally bought myself a new one. A very expensive one. It's a professional model Rotatrim. OMG! Does it cut beautifully! It takes a little getting used to, but it makes fabulous, even cuts. And it cuts paper like buttah! Hopefully, I will never need another trimmer. My daughter, Angela, recommended it. I can see why! It arrived today, and I am so very happy to have it! Gary is very happy for me. Sure he is.

I am currently working on a card for several challenges. I hope to get it finished before Sunday, but since I am spending all day tomorrow at the Copic Intermediate Certification class, I have my doubts. I'll just have to work really hard on it today. I will post it when I get it done. In the meantime, I will leave you with my "Bunnies" card.

This darling image, (and sentiment), is La-La Land Crafts Marci with Bunny, which I stamped on Cryogen CS with Memento ink. My colored CS is from Stampin' Up. The color scheme was dictated by the patterned paper from the SEI Sunny Day collection. The die cuts were made from Spellbinders Fancy Tags, Floral Flourishes, and Parisian Motifs. I added Queen and Company pearls and some flowers by Prima and Wild Orchid Crafts. Marci was accented with a Signo Uniball white gel pen. My Copics used were: Y17, G94, G99, YR12, YR15, YR16, RV52, RV55, C00, C0, E0000, E000, E00, E11, E13, E25, E31, E50.

I am going to enter this card into the Anything Goes challenge at the CMC classroom:

CMC Copic Challenge

Linda's Get Well Card

Last week I found out that a lady in my "old neighborhood" has been very ill, in and out of the hospital. I believe she is currently at home, and I hope she is able to finish recuperating there ASAP. I have created a card for her and intend to enter it into the current Magnolia challenge:

Magnolia-licious Challenge

I suddenly realized last night that I forgot Gary's nephew's birthday, which is the same day as Gary's birthday, March 20. OOPS! Drat! So instead of making him a card, we shall take advantage of Amazon and send him a gift card. I'm sorry, Ryan, that I forgot until it was too late to make a card for you.  :^(

Well, by now everyone who cares will know that Peyton Manning is not signing with the Arizona Cardinals. Double drat! And those stupid 'wires' of mine. They lie. Big time. At least I am not too disappointed, because I didn't think Manning would sign here anyway. Of course, now we Cardinals' fans are all trembling in our boots for fear that Manning will sign with our nemesis, San Francisco. Please, Peyton, for the love of everything you hold dear, stay in the AFC!

I watched the pilot for the new TV series, "Touch", Friday night. We had TiVo'd it so we could watch at our leisure. And my leisure was at midnight. Gary was sound asleep by then, so he watched it last night. We both enjoyed the pilot; guess time will tell if the series is successful. I almost hope it isn't too wonderful, because the network will cancel it if it is, right? Or doesn't that happen to your favorite shows?

Tomorrow I have my annual mammogram. Don't you love those? Maybe you've never had a mammogram done. If not, I'll tell you my secrets for getting ready for one. You can file this away for future reference. First, I lie down sideways on the garage floor and then have Gary back the car over my breasts a few times. Then I bounce back up and go to my antique collection and pull out the wringer washer head. I run my breasts through the wringer a few times, and hey, I'm all set! No mammogram is too hard to handle after that. Food for thought.

Back to Linda's card: I used the Magnolia Running Tilda image. I stamped her with Memento ink on Cryogen CS. The sentiment is from Stampin' Up Always in My Thoughts. I chose Stampin' Up Razzleberry Lemonade DSP and SU CS to use with Tilda. And, of course, I couldn't resist using die cuts on this card; so I used the following dies: Spellbinders Postage Stamps, Cheery Lynn Victorian Picket Fence, Cheery Lynn Colonial Lamp Post, Memory Box Wrought Iron Fence, Memory Box Country House, and Memory Box Country Landscape. I also used an EK Success Paper Shaper Tree punch. The flowers are by Prima and Wild Orchid Crafts. I accented the image with a Signo Uniball white gel pen and put Glossy Accents on Tilda's shoes. Copics chosen: E0000, E000, E00, E11, E13, E15, E18, E50, Y21, Y26, YR12, YR14, YR16, YR21.

Linda, here's wishing you well! And hoping everyone everywhere has a great week.

After the lunch and Larry's birthday card

Yesterday was lunch with "old" friends (and one new one) at the Deli. Of course, the food was delicious. When isn't it? But the company was the best part--it was good to see everyone again and to meet Faye. (I think I need to hire her, because she spent time, and paper, giving everyone my blog address. Thank you, Faye! But you must work for free. I do.) And I was grateful to talk to Maureen and find that she truly seems to be at peace with herself. I admire your fortitude, Maureen; I think, if I were in your position, I would be a basket case. I hope I never have to find out.

That's one argument Gary and I have had since before we were married. Neither one of us wants to be the one left behind. And I would say that it would be lucky for us to go at the same time, but that would really hurt our daughter, so I cannot wish for that to happen, either. Well, maybe a vampire will bite both of us and we'll live together forevermore. Hmmmmm.....nah.

A word to you gals about Bolero's at Seville. I think I mentioned the free dinner that Gary won for 1st place in his spinning class. Well, we went last night and had the free meal. And let me tell you something: I would have sent it back if I had paid for it. I had the filet with mashed potatoes and mushroom gravy. The steak was TINY, the potatoes were cold, the gravy was congealed. Basically, an ugly mess. If I had paid the $32 they charged for the meal, I would have made the chef redo it. I just picked at the potatoes. So I had two minuscule pieces of meat for dinner. Yeah, don't expect to see us going back there anytime soon. And, if Gary ever wins anything else for Bolero's, I will give the meal away! *&$%#^%$$^&#*

Now to today's card. This is the third week for my guest designer spot on the March Outlawz Copic/Promarker Challenge. The challenge this week is humor. Which, you all know, I don't have a sense of. (Well, actually I don't have much sense of anything. Just ask Gary.) Anyway, this was a particularly difficult, (almost impossible), challenge for me. To do a humorous card. Especially since, at the time I had to make it, I had nothing funny to stamp. So I went to the Internet and typed in 'humorous stamps'. Yes, it was that easy. I could pretend that I have a funny bone by buying one of the suggested stamp sets. So I did. Pretend. And buy a stamp set.

Actually I did get a kick out of the Penny Black stamp set that I bought. It even looked like something that my brother would enjoy, so I decided to make it into a birthday card for him. He has a very dry sense of humor. Not as dry as mine, which is parched, but dry, nonetheless.

On to the card components:  I chose Penny Black Pieces of Quiet for the image and sentiment, and stamped them on X-Press It blending CS with Memento ink. This was mounted on Stampin' Up CS and Lily Bee Design Picket Fence designer paper. Stampin' Up ink was rubbed around the image and the sentiment. I punched the corners of the sentiment with the Stampin' Up Ticket Corner punch. My dies for this card were Spellbinders Circles, Grand Circles, Scalloped Circles, and Stars. I also used a Marianne Designs Bird Scissors die. The die-cut scissors and the image scissors were coated with Glossy Accents. The image was accented with a Signo Uniball white gel pen. And my Copics were: Y00, Y02, Y06, BG70, BG72, E0000, E000, E00, E02, E07, E09, E11, E13, E25, E31, E50, C00, C0, C1, C2, C3, and C4.

I am entering this card into an anything-goes challenge:

7 Kids College Fund Challenge

I am meeting Gary in Scottsdale tonight so that we can give my sister, my brother, and my niece's mom their birthday cards and gifts. You have seen two of those cards; the card for my sister, Barbara, will be up at the end of the month.

As I write this, Peyton Manning is contemplating his future as a quarterback with the Tennessee Titans, the Arizona Cardinals, or the Denver Broncos. If you don't watch football, you probably don't know this, nor do you care. But I gotta say, we are mighty anxious Cardinal fans in the Mull household. And we are not alone. Fans of all three teams have to be on edge until the decision is announced. If I were a betting person, which, thankfully I'm not, I would put my money on Tennessee. (Although my wires, as Gary calls them, say he is coming to Phoenix. Oh, and those wires are dowsing rods. Bet you didn't know I had those, did you? Well, Gary asked me to use them to see what they would show. I still don't believe it. But by the time you read this, we may know if they are right or wrong.)

Also, we are still watching the Game of Thrones series on DVD. It is quite true to the book and really grabs you. Gary loves it! I do, too, except for the explicit nudity and gory battle scenes. They look so realistic that I have to look away while they are on. Apparently I am a prude and a sissy. And I have no sense of humor.

Note: I entered the sympathy card I made for Maureen into the Saturated Canary doily challenge. My number was drawn to win three digis of my choice from Saturated Canary! Woohoo! I love those digis! :^)

Wishing everyone everywhere a fabulous Friday!

Lunch with friends

There are a few things I'd like to mention. First, I finished the Twilight series last night! I still cannot believe I enjoyed it as much as I did! How can a vampire series be so upbeat? I don't get it. And you probably don't really care. 

Second, I was featured again this week on the Outlawz! Pinch me. I must be in a dream! I am amazed that my cards are getting this kind of recognition, but I am loving it! :^)

Third, Gary and I started watching the DVD's of "Game of Thrones". And this show is just as good as the book was! Color me impressed!

Fourth,  I am having lunch this week with several women I know from the "old" neighborhood. Gee, that could be taken two ways. In this case, you can take it both ways: it's the neighborhood I used to live in, and it's a retirement community. And, for those of you who live in Trilogy, I will apologize for the joke. Maybe. And maybe not.

Anyway, it will be good to see my "old" friends again, (I'm sorry), as I haven't seen some of them for nearly a year! And we only live 4 miles away from each other. Ridiculous, I know, but time just seems to disappear when you get old.

On a very serious note, I just found out that the husband of one lady passed away in January. I was totally shocked and saddened to hear this. I am so sorry, Maureen. I know how terribly you must be hurting, even though everyone says that you are doing really well. Compared to what, exactly? I am also sorry that we communicate so infrequently that I didn't know until now. But I am glad that I get to see you on Thursday so that I can tell you this. And to give you the card I made for you.

For this card, I chose a Saturated Canary digi called So Sorry. How appropriate, huh? I used  a sentiment from Stampin' Up Always in My Thoughts. Card stock is also by Stampin' Up. The design paper is Authentique Uncommon. Dies used are:  Spellbinders Fancy Tags, Cheery Lynn Sofia's Heart Doily, and a Magnolia Doohickey flourish. The image was colored with Copics: YR20, E0000, E000, E00, E11, E13, E31, E35, YG91, YG95, YG97, W3, R00, R11, R14, R81, R83, R85, RV0000, RV000, RV00. I accented the image with a Signo Uniball white gel pen; I also applied Glossy Accents to her tears, eyes, and lips. Flowers are by Prima and Wild Orchid Crafts.

I hope this card gives you some comfort, Maureen.

Big hugs,

Penny

Note: I got the idea for the doily design on this card from the Saturated Canary challenge blog. I didn't think that Maureen would mind if I decided to enter the card into a couple of challenges:

Saturated Canary Challenge
Outlawz Greeting Card Challenge

Kay's Birthday Card/St. Patty's/Irish/Green

Today is the second Guest Designer spot I have this month on the Outlawz Copic/Promarker Challenge. Since my niece's mom, Kay, has her birthday on St. Patty's Day, I decided to use this challenge to create a card for her. Kay enjoys making jewelry, and has given me some really lovely bracelets. So I chose an image that I thought would fit her, and decided to use "green" for this challenge.

BTW, I neglected to mention on my last post that I am reading books I swore I would never read. So much for swearing. #**$&^%*)(*##@@#! Guess that will teach me to speak more like a lady! And never say never. The books I started reading are from the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. OK, OK, I realize that I am really behind the times with this series. But, remember, I had sworn never to read it. So it's not too surprising that I came to it long after everyone else had already seen the movies, for Pete's sake.

Normally I am repulsed by vampire stories. And I don't know why. I can't explain that, anymore than I can explain my deep aversion to sock monkeys. Oh, please, don't make me go there. They make my skin crawl. And funny isn't it how we say "skin crawling" to mean something horrendous, yet we get "goose bumps", (or "goosies", as JLo loves to call them), to mean something wondrous? Both are skin reactions to outside stimuli, but are soooo different. I don't get it. Anyway, I usually can't abide stories about vampires. So I avoided Twilight and the rest of the series like the plague.

About a month ago I inexplicably downloaded Twilight to my Ipad. I truly have no idea why I did that. It was not free, so that couldn't have been my reasoning. It's a total mystery to me. The devil made me do it. (Oh, that phrase dates me, for sure!) Anyway, I was searching on my Kindle app for a book to read the other day, and I clicked on Twilight. And I read it. Cover to cover, so to speak. And it mesmerized me. Why? I have no earthly idea. But you can bet your bippy, (oh, so dating myself!), that I immediately purchased the rest of the series, and I am currently immersed in the second book as we speak. Or as I type. Whatev. I am not sure if I want to see the movies, too, but I know I am inexplicably enjoying myself while reading the books.

Another note: I received the first season of Game of Thrones this week, and I am really jazzed about watching it. I had read that entire series of books before I realized they were doing the show on HBO. And we don't get HBO. Yet. After I get Gary to watch a couple of episodes of season one, I am hoping he'll let us subscribe so we can catch season two this spring. It starts on April 1, so I'd best get on the stick, huh? (And does that phrase have anything to do with manual transmissions in cars?)

Finally, back to the card. I'm sure you're relieved! I used The La-La Land Crafts Dress Up Marci image, which I think it just too cute! I love La-La Land stamps. :^)  I stamped it onto Cryogen CS with Memento ink. The patterned papers are from Basic Grey Porcelain and Graphic 45 Times Nouveau collections, combined with Bazzill CS. I distressed my paper with my Distrezz-it-All. My die cuts were done with Spellbinders Labels 4 and 11 dies. I added ribbon and pearls from my stash (manufacturer unknown), a SU stick pin, and Prima flowers. The image was accented with a Signo Uniball white gel pen, and I put Glossy Accents on Marci's necklace. Copics used were: YG0000, YG91, YG95, YG97, YG99, E0000, E000, E00, E11, E13, E25, E31, E50, E81, E84, E93, E95.

I am also entering this card into another challenge:

Basic Grey Challenge #64

Here's wishing everyone everywhere a wonderful weekend. Mine is going to be fabulous. I am curling up with a good book for part of it! ;^)

After the show

Yeah, on my last post I told Gary's bank account to watch out for the stamp show purchases. Turns out I meant that. Big time. When I told Gary about my purchases, he just sighed. Poor baby.

Yes, my sister, Barbara, and I had a wonderful time at the show. We found many dies that just had to come home with us. They did. They were screaming out our names as we walked by them in the Sweet Stamps' booth. Honestly. I'm not kidding. And stamps. Well, let's just say what idiot would go to a stamp show without buying stamps? Certainly not me. Ergo, I am not an idiot. Or, I am not an idiot who didn't buy stamps. Many stamps. Too many stamps. (Can you ever really have too many stamps? Inquiring minds want to know.)

We did buy stamps from Judith. Or Stamps by Judith. I'm not sure how to say that. Judith is from Minnesota and has a wonderful mix of stamps. I had never purchased stamps by Judith until last weekend. Now I own a collection that needs its own storage building container. And my card today does use both a Judith image and a Judith sentiment.  Note: Not that you'd know, (because I keep correcting it), but every time I type Judith, I actually type Judity. What the heck?

Just want to mention, before I forget, that there is a restaurant across the street from the Mesa Convention Center. Don't bother. It may be the lesser of two evils when you consider the food from the Center itself, but it's not worth it.  I don't even know the name of it--that's how memorable it was!

Back to the show. Barbara and I found ourselves convulsing in laughter in another booth. In fact, the guy running the booth told us we needed to buy something since we were getting so much entertainment out of looking. He was right. We bought many stamps there, too, both image and sentiment. They are Rubbernecker stamps, which I had never heard of before. But I will look for them again at the new shows, because they are too danged funny. Hopefully, I will find a need to make many, many humorous cards!

I also wanted to mention that we spoke with the gentleman who owns Cheery Lynn Designs. He sat with us when we took an iced-tea break at the stamp show. What a cool dude, Dude! He said he cashed in his retirement money to start his company and was pretty nervous about it at first. But things are going well now, and he seemed most proud of the jobs he is providing for his employees, who he thinks are all great people. I find that so cool! His designs were the first intricate dies that I saw on the market. He told us that it is an aeronautical background that enabled him to create such sturdy, but delicately-designed dies. He also manufactures dies for other die companies. Like Memory Box and Papertrey Ink, for instance. And these dies are made right here in Arizona. Really nice for our economy! :^)

Since I have finished my Outlawz guest designer cards for the month, I am able to enter other challenges now. Today I made a card to enter into three challenges:

Cheery Lynn Designs
Outlawz Greeting Card
CMC

As I said above, I used two Stamps by Judith, (yep, I typed it 'Judity' again--arrrrgh), that I purchased at the stamp show. I chose Basic Grey Oliver paper and combined that with SU CS. The doily was created with a Cheery Lynn Polynesian Sails Oval die. I made my own template for the oval inside the doily to cut out the image. A bow of Stampin' Up ribbon, a Stampin' Up vintage trinket, and a Tim Holtz trinket pin were added to the design. I rubbed some Distress Ink and some Stampin' Up ink onto the image oval. I accented the image with a Signo Uniball white gel pen, some Stickles on the diaper pin, and some Glossy Accents on the baby bottle. The image was colored with Copics:  BG72, BG75, E02, E04, C00, C0, C1, C3, C5, C7.

Hoping everyone everywhere has a great Thursday and Friday. I should be back on Friday with the  next guest designer card for the Outlawz.

The first day

Today is the first day of the rest of my life. And yours. It is also the first day I am appearing as a guest designer for the Outlawz Copic/Promarker design team. I am so thrilled to have been asked! You have no idea what that has done for this old lady! (Besides scaring the cr** out of me!)

My first card as a guest designer was for the 'Men Only' challenge. And my dear sweet hubby has his birthday this month. He will be 64. Yes, just like the Beatles said, I will still "need" him and "feed" him when he's 64. Although that is a bit of a lie, there. Yes, it is. Not that I won't still need him, because who, in their right mind, wouldn't still need a man like Gary? He's just too perfect for me. Ask my daughter. Or my sisters. They'll tell you. He was my perfect match. No, the lie exists because I don't feed him. See, how perfect he is for me? He sometimes cooks wonderful meals for the two of us, which is more than I can say for myself! And helps me with the vacuuming. And he scrubs toilets! How many men do you know that will scrub toilets for you? The only thing I keep him away from is the laundry. Once upon a time, there was a man named Gary, who washed something red with our light clothes. Yeah, and then we had a pink wardrobe. So, I keep him away from the laundry. But he literally does anything else around the house. How special and perfect is that?

Oh, gee, I digress. Back to the 'Men Only' challenge. I decided to do a card for Gary's birthday to meet this challenge. Speaking of challenges, Gary loves to win them. Especially athletic ones. I don't remember if I mentioned that he won the fitness challenge here at Seville for the month of January. He managed to participate in so many fitness classes that he came in first place! And this is a family community, so he beat out much younger competitors, and did it missing an entire week of exercise! That is how competitive he is. Also, when I got up this morning, I found a certificate on the kitchen counter, which was made out to Gary for winning his spinning class challenge. Keeeeeerazy! Competitive-much? That's my Gary!

So back to the 'Men Only' challenge again. Last year I used the Magnolia Edwin with Bicycle image for Gary's birthday card. Because he takes spinning classes. Get it? I'm crafty that way. Of course, Gary thought the bicycle was a jack-hammer, so he didn't exactly catch my meaning with that card. This year I decided to use the Magnolia Waterfall Background image and the Magnolia Edwin with Lizard image. Hopefully, he will know the reasons why I used them! We are going back to Maui in April, and there are some beautiful waterfalls there. We love waterfalls. We love to photograph them. And we love lizards. We love to photograph them, too. Anywhere. Any time. Love them. So, this seemed like a good combination for Gary's card this year. We'll see.

I chose Kaisercraft Chapter One patterned paper, because the colors were so perfect for my images. I used Memento ink and Cryogen CS for the images themselves, and SU CS for the rest of the card. The sentiment is from SU, as were the punches used in affixing the sentiment to the card. I added Pearl Pen dots, because I could. And you know how much I love die cuts! Love, love, love them. It is no surprise, then, that I used several dies on the card. They are, in no particular order, (don't you love it when the hosts say that on reality results shows?), Spellbinders Labels 1 and 6; Memory Box Savannah border die; and MFT leafy flourish die. For the waterfall, I added Glossy Accents and Donna Salazar Fairy Dust Glitter, though it is hard to see in the photograph. I also added Glossy Accents to the lizard's eyes. (Also hard to see in the photograph.)

I colored my images with Copic markers. Shocking, I know, 'cuz this wasn't a Copic challenge or anything. Right. Well, anyway, the colors I used were the following: BG000, BG10, BG11, BG15, BG70, BG72, BG75, BG78, YG00, YG01, YG03, YG11, YG13, YG17, C00, C0, C1, C2, C3, C4, E0000, E000, E00, E11, E13, E31, E35, YR20.

Two miscellaneous thoughts: one, my maternal grandfather's name was Edwin. I never met him as he passed on before I was born. But I think of him every time I use an Edwin image. Hi, Grandpa! And, two, I colored hair on the Edwin image for Gary, even though Gary is quite bald and shaves off what little hair he has left. But I chose colors like he had before he turned gray. And bald. Just thought I needed to explain that. I don't know why. Oh, one more thought, which makes three miscellaneous thoughts. So I lied. But not on purpose. Really. Miscellaneous thought number three: I am almost done with my last card for the guest design spot! Hooray! You'll see each one on the Fridays of this month.

Here's wishing everyone everywhere a wonderful weekend! I get to go to the Rubber Stamp Spring Fling in Mesa tomorrow with my sister, Barbara. Good times! (Look out, Gary's bank account.)

P.S. I decided to enter this card into another challenge. By your leave.

Simon Says