CAS--Really?

Don't faint! It's really true! I actually created a CAS card. It was agony, I tell ya. Agony! I so desperately wanted to add a little of this, or a lot of that. I had to slap my own hands, (and that hurt), to keep on the straight and narrow. But keep on it, I did. Oh, good grief, I sound like Yoda now--and Charlie Brown. (help.)

This week is the 2000 Member Party for The Outlawz. If you haven't yet checked them out, please do so. They are a wonderfully diverse and fun group, founded by Colleen Holmes, and they have several challenges each week to try. For this party, there are games to play and new challenges for each of their groups. That's where my CAS card comes in. I decided to make one for the CAS party challenge, which is a summer theme.

Before I give you the details on my card, I wanted to update you on Donovan. He is such a little trooper! I am so proud of him! He is doing really well with all the exercises, except figure-eights and circles. Those he doesn't really enjoy, probably because we do them outside in a raging inferno. It is too hard to move him in those patterns on our tile floor in our air-conditioned house. But the treats seem to be helping to guide him around in those patterns, and I expect he'll manage them well enough soon. (Well, at least I hope he does. Because taking him for a drag around the yard is not my idea of a good time, if you know what I mean.)

Sunday we went to another Diamondbacks game. Sat in the Diamond Level again, but we bought our food on the main concourse. I had an OK turkey burger, and some to-die-for kettle corn. OMG! It was warm and gooey and sweet and salty and crunchy and delicious! I will get that the next time we go, and every time after that! Oh, and our D-backs won again, btw. But that's not the reason I mentioned the game. I mentioned it because I didn't get Don's exercise in until after we got home from the game.

That wouldn't be a big thing, but it meant that he had to have his swim very late--like about 9:30 p.m. And that wouldn't be a big thing, except he had to go for a walk at midnight. He was so terribly tuckered out from his tub swim, (and I did put more water in the tub, which helped somewhat), that he ran out of steam before we finished his walk. He was trotting along pretty good, and then, all of a sudden, we were moving soooooo slooooooowly. I felt like a snail. It is really hard to walk like that! So, when he finally finished his 10 minutes, I scooped him up and nearly ran the rest of the way home. And if you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you. Me, run? Are you kidding? Especially in 99 degrees. Which it was. At midnight. Probably another reason Don pooped out on me. Well, not literally, but you get my drift, right?

Alright, I'll stop this drivel and give you the deets on my card. I chose an image by MayzyArt called "Sandy", which I paired with a Create with TLC sentiment. I printed both digis on X-Press It blending CS. I chose Stampin' UP CS and inks to use for a brayered background. I sponged the sentiment with SU ink after I cut it out with a Spellbinders die from the Labels 22 collection. Sandy was colored with Copics, and then I accented her with Copics Opaque White. I also used some Stickles on the star and shell of the sand castle, and some Glossy Accents on Sandy's lips, earring, headband, and eyes. I cut Sandy out, vewy cefuwy, (OK, name that cartoon character), and popped her up on the background. (It didn't hurt her too much.) I also popped the TLC sentiment and voila! An actual CAS card!

I am entering this card into the following:

The Outlawz CAS Party Challenge
The Corrosive Challenge Summertime Girls

Oops! Forgot to give you my Copic colors: BG000, BG02, BG05, YR20, YR21, YR23, R11, R12, E000, E00, E11, E21, E23, E25, E27, E31, E35, E37.

Have a great week, everybody! And be sure to stop by The Outlawz for their party!

Upcoming Create with TLC Blog Hop!

Paulette is hosting a blog hop to introduce her Create with TLC Design Team. Be sure to stop by on July 8 for some of Paulette's wonderful "freebies", and hop around the blogs for our new TLC creations! Hope to see you then!

Insert Very Big Grin Here

I just had to take a few precious moments to tell you my very, very good news! I was asked to be a member of Paulette's Create with TLC design team! I am so, so excited about this! Paulette has some of the best sentiments anywhere, as well as images and papers. Just bop over there and check it out: Create with TLC store. I am sure you will find something you must have! I know I did!

So far I have been religious about working with Donovan on his physical therapy. It is getting better each day. He is a stubborn little cuss, but he is trying very hard to get his tiny treats as a reward! Can't give him big treats, because he was supposed to lose 1.5 lbs. to help him with his knee problem. And guess what?  Ta-da! He is now down to 7.6 lbs. from the 9 lbs. he was at a month ago! His vet will be very proud!

I will say Don does not like the tub as well as he liked the pool! Drat! We were both soaked by the time he was done with his "swimming". And he tried so hard to get out of the tub; I didn't fill it quite full enough so he was able to stand up on his hind legs. When I get to him later today, (gosh, I need to go walk him so I can get to bed!), I will fill the tub higher so he can't touch bottom! That'll make him happy.

Gotta run and get him out before the crack of dawn. Oh, not really. It's only 12:45 a.m. It's still dark. And hot. But it's a dry heat! And only 93 degrees right now! Which is why I walk Don in the dark. It's much too hot in the daylight for him. Ah, the joys of Arizona summers! ;^)

Hope you're all having a great weekend. Be sure to stop by The Outlawz for all the fun stuff going on during their 2000-member celebration!

Little Boy Blue

So I have a card today that I made for a few challenges. Not for anyone special, or for anyone not special. Just for the challenges.

Before I go into the specifics of the card, here's a little story for you. Last night Gary and I went to a Diamondbacks baseball game. We were offered free seats in a suite at the ballpark; a reward, I guess, because we had bought a 10-pack ticket package this year. Hey, I jumped at the chance to sit in a suite--a new experience, right? Cross off another item from my bucket list. I have been told that you get great food in a suite that you can't get elsewhere in the ball park. For real? I have no idea. Because when we got there, we were told that there was no food available in the suite last night. So we had to go buy our food at the Diamond Level concession.

A few years ago, the food available in the Diamond Level was outstanding for ballpark food. We loved it. So, this year when we bought our tickets, we made sure that we had Diamond Level seats. Great food this year? Not so much. In fact, I am sure that you can get better at the other seating levels. About all they offer is a cheese-steak sandwich or burgers for $8.50. Fries with that? Another $6.00. Yuck. I want a wonderful stir-fry or salad. What the heck? And then I asked for iced tea, only to be told that they were out of it. ???? How can you be out of iced tea at the beginning of a game? Anyway, my sandwich was edible, but not delicious last night. So I opted for red licorice for dessert, as I love me some red licorice. Oh, good grief. It was so stale I could hardly chew through it, and I threw most of it away.

The suite was too warm, as it had a low ceiling, which held in the warm hot air. The seats were no different than any other seats in the ball park. Not more comfortable, which I actually expected they would be. We were pretty far down the third baseline, so it was a little hard to see home plate. All in all, if I was complaining, (and, make no mistake about it, I am), it turned into a fairly unpleasant experience. Except for the game. Now, that was really fun! The Dbacks won in great fashion, complete with one player hitting for the cycle--which I had never seen before. And the guys got their bats going after scoring no runs for the past two games. The evening was not a total loss. But the moral of this story: the next time we are offered free tickets for a suite, just say no. Or, more politely, no, thank you very much.

Today was ginormous fun. Yes, I am being facetious. Most definitely. I took Donovan to the physical therapist. And spent $195 for the first appointment! This did include an exercise disc and some joint medication.So there was that. And there is the fact that he will only need 1/2 hour appointments from now on. The rest of the appointments should only cost $50 each. (Only?) But I got to see all the exercises that I have to put him through, (hopefully I'll remember them), as well as the swimming pool workout. Or, as in my case, the bathtub workout. And let me tell you something. The only thing worse than doing physical therapy yourself is having to do it for/with your dog. Pray for us both. Please. Pray that we get through this with no biting, broken limbs, or death by drowning. I am afraid. I am very afraid. Mostly that I won't do it right, or that I won't be as religious about it as I should be, or that I'll accidentally hurt Don. Crossing my fingers here, people.

I will say that Don is quite the little swimmer. He started swimming the minute he was released into the water and kept going for 6 minutes. Not bad for his first time in a pool, huh? The therapist--oh, can we just call him Jeff, to save time? Easier for me than typing out "the therapist" each time I mention him. So why did I take so much time to explain this? I don't know--sometimes I amaze myself at the nonsense I come up with. Anyway, Jeff said that Donovan was a very strong swimmer. Jeff also mentioned that he didn't feel Don's knee pop out of place during all of the exercising and swimming that Don did today. Thank heavens for small favors. And, according to Jeff, there is an 80% chance that this therapy will take care of the problem, thus eliminating the need for surgery. I am planning on it being 100% successful. I have heard about the gory 6-week recovery that dogs must go through after knee surgery. And I don't plan on that for Don. (To say nothing of the extra $1800 it would cost!)

At least tomorrow I don't have to put Don into the tub for swimming therapy, as he only needs that every other day. However, the rest of the exercises must be done daily. And I am not overly thrilled about the walking twice a day that we are supposed to do. The temperature was 102 yesterday, today, tomorrow, and for the foreseeable future. I don't relish 10-minute walks in that heat. Which means I must get up early to walk the dog. Really early. You know--like about the time I am usually going to bed for the night. HELP ME!

Emough. Enough of my moaning and groaning. Even if you aren't tired of it by now, I am. So let's get on with the card I have made today.

I have several challenges to enter with this card. I just kept finding more that fit what I was doing and figured, why not? I may as well enter them, too! The challenges are, in alphabetical order:

Cheery Lynn Red, White and Blue Challenge
Digital Tuesday Tag It Challenge
Dilly Beans Sugar Challenge
DP2 Mo's At the Park Challenge
Love to Create Summertime Fun Challenge
Oozak Two Papers and Embellies Challenge
The Outlawz Copic/Promarker Favorite Color Combo Challenge
TTCRD Summer Lovin' Challenge

I have to apologize to The Outlawz Copic/Promarker gals. I have not submitted my favorite color combo because I don't have one. I find myself using different color combinations with every card I do, because I pick what will go with my papers, not what colors I like to use. In fact, I have tried various red combinations that I really abhor using, (due to the difficulty in coloring with reds), just because my papers have required the use of those reds. Please forgive me for  submitting something I colored with my markers that paired with the designer paper I chose!  ;^)

My image for this card is "Justin's Ice Cream" by Mo's Digital Pencil. I printed it on Cryogen CS and paired it with a stamp from the SU Pendant Park collection. I used a digital sentiment by Create with TLC and two Tim Holtz Adage Tickets. The dies I chose were: Cheery Lynn's Victorian Picket Fence, Magnolia Doohickey Vintage Tag, and Spellbinder's Classic Stars. My papers are from the Basic Grey Life of the Party collection and SU CS. I used SU ink, a Signo Uniball white gel pen, and Glossy Accents on the image after I had colored with it with the following Copics: E0000, E000, E00, E11, E13, E31, E35, E37, C00, R02, R24, YR20, BG0000, BG02, BG05, BG07, YG93, G82, G85, G94, G99.

Well, that should do it for this edition. If you read the entire post, I offer you my sincerest congratulations or deepest sympathy, whichever should apply.

Hoping you all have an excellent week!

Merrilyn's Get Well Card #1

This is going to be a brief post. No. Really. I am just going to describe the card I finished for my sister, Merrilyn. She is having oral surgery on Wednesday, and I thought I should make a card to cheer her up during her recovery. I found a couple of challenges that gave me some inspiration. And Merrilyn's love of the goofy and bizarre made it necessary to use an Octopode image for her. So, without further ado, here is the info:

I chose Morticia from the Octopode Addams Family collection. She seemed to fit really well with the sentiment I wanted to use from Rubberneckers. I printed her out on Cryogen CS. My patterned paper is from the Basic Grey Lime Rickey collection; I paired this with Bazzill CS. My layout is from a sketch at Sweet Sketch Wednesday. I used SU ink and ribbon, as well as a Wild Orchid Crafts flower. Circles were cut using dies by Spellbinders. Copics Opaque White was used to accent the image. I added Diamond Glaze to Morticia's eyes and lips. She was colored with Copics B91, B93, B95, C5, C7, C9, E000, E00, E09, E11, E13, YG13, YG17.

Here is the sketch I used from Sweet Sketch Wednesday #157:




I am entering this card into the following challenges:

Sweet Sketch Wednesday #157
Papertake Weekly Anything Goes
Digital Tuesday Challenge #163 Anything Goes

Will try to get back before the end of the week with a longer blog post and maybe  another card. Until then, be good if you can; if not, no worries. And have a great week!

Diamond Jubilee

Hey, there, Blogland! How the heck are ya? I am feeling especially happy this afternoon. Wish I knew why. P'raps it's because I finished another project, which makes two in one week! Will wonders never cease. Or, maybe it's because I just got back from an exceptionally delicious lunch with my sister, Merrilyn. Good food. Good companionship. And the cafe is only 7 miles north of here! For us, out in the boonies of the Arizona desert, that's practically right next door.

Merrilyn and I have a crazy competition going right now. We keep trying to find great luncheon places that are just as good or better than the one we went to the week before. So far, so good. She is two for two. (Of course, as I keep reminding her, I took her to the first one she picked a few years ago; so technically, it was my pick as well. But, then, who's keeping track of such things. Yeah, me, so what?)

If anyone in the East Valley of Metro Phoenix wants a good little place for yummy food, try The Spot at Higley and Ray in Gilbert. First rate and inexpensive, too. Only downside is that there is very little indoor seating, which can be a problem with temps over 100. They do have tables outside with umbrellas and misters, which is OK for an early lunch right now, but I doubt that dinner would be comfortable. Wait a couple or six months. But they do take-out as well, so I am sure I will be asking Gary to stop occasionally on his way home from work!

Another reason I may be feeling really upbeat is that I just got my huge box of Wild Orchid Craft flowers and stick pins. Oh, my! I bought dozens. In all colors. In several sizes. And several types. So I have a great collection now, and can start using more flowers on my cards. Of course, first I have to sort them out and store them. My craft room is not set up for that at the present moment. So I bought a rolling storage cart with drawers at Joann's today to store all my flowers in. After I finish my blog I am planning to sort flowers. Ooooh, fun!

Hey, I am so far behind on commenting on blogs right now. Will you people slow down, please? Give a person a chance to catch up, will ya? I'm getting dizzy with the sheer volume of new, gorgeous cards being produced. You'd think it was easy or somethin'. And I know it's not. (Well, at least not for me. Maybe I am the only slow card-maker around.)

Oh, and I am still reading. That also slows down my creativity. Right now I am in the middle of a tawdry Victorian romance complete with a time machine. Yeah, you heard me. Mix a little sci-fi in with your steamy sex scenes. And I am too old for that, (steamy sex scenes, not sci-fi). Honestly, I don't know what possesses me to finish crap like this, but I think I paid money for this one. And I hate to waste money. Of course, you could argue that I am wasting it anyway by continuing to read this sad rag posing as literature. But I think I know someone, who shall remain nameless, (to protect the innocent, namely me), that would love this book. Yes, I am looking at you, Person in the Bookendz book club. You know who you are. So, if you want a book title, you'll just have to email me. (Insert evil grin here.)

OK, onto this card. I have two challenges that called for doing something with the Diamond Jubilee theme. Cool, eh? (Oh, that almost sounded Canadian.)

I started with an Octopode digi, which I found thanks to Dawn of LilyPinkScraps. Dawn is a DT on the Octopode challenges, and she has made some of the most adorable cards with Lily Chilvers' Octopode digis. This one is Queen Elizabeth 2, which is quite fitting for my challenges, don't you agree? And I paired this image with a cool digi by LilyPinkScraps called London Stamp. I printed them on Cryogen CS, and I stamped a sentiment from the Stampin' Up Full of Life set on SU white CS. My background CS is SU Cherry Cobbler. The patterned paper is from Basic Grey's Kraft paper pad and Blush collection. My rhinestones are Me and My Big Ideas Icons. The flower is one of my new roses from Wild Orchid Crafts. The stick pin is by SU. I added Glossy Accents to Elizabeth's eyes and lips. I applied Stickles to her crown, safety pins, and necklace. Copic Opaque White was used to accent the image, which was colored with Copics, of course! The Copic cast of characters: BG53, R00, R20, R21, R27, R29, E0000, E000, E00, E11, E13, E21, E23, E25, E27, C00, C1, C2.

I am entering this into the following challenges:

Basic Grey Diamond Jubilee
Simon Says Diamond Jubilee Crowns and/or Gems
The Octopode Factory Friday Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
Oozak Two Papers and Embellies

That should do it for this edition. Stay tuned for the next. And wishing everyone everywhere a wonderful weekend!

Booking It

There are lots of ways to "book it". Leaving places; studying; running fast; or booking hotels, flight reservations, restaurant reservations, etc. And I have done all of those. (Well, except for running fast. Or, for that matter, running at all.) But this time I "booked it" by making a bookmark. Corny? Well, what did you expect from me? Oh, and I also "booked it" by reading a couple more books. Yes, still corny.

For the first book:  Objects of My Affection, by Jill Smolinski, was the May selection for the Bookendz Book Club. It was a very quick read and well-written . I definitely recommend it! And, if you missed the discussion last night in the CMC chat room--well, let's just say it was a absolute riot! Suzanne Dean has some very wackadoodle friends, who can keep you laughing pretty much non-stop. Yes, Tina, I am looking at you! And Suzanne certainly knows how to pick reads for her book club! Every one of them has been entertaining for me.

For the second book: The Jinn by Stephen Guth. Don't bother. Really. I don't know why I finished it, except that it p****d me off that I downloaded it, so I was stubborn, (who, me?),  and read it to the end. Ugh. 

Now to the bookmark. This was a first for me--the first bookmark I ever colored with Copics and the first bookmark I have ever made for a challenge. Not important, I know, but true. I forced myself to finish it today, even though all I really wanted to do was start another book. Reading is an addiction, I tell you. And I am in the throes of it right now. Help me. Please?

I used the Camping Sleepover digi images by Saturated Canary for my bookmark. I thought the girl adorable, as all of Kristi's images are, and I thought the books would be perfect for the subject! I printed them on Cryogen CS and colored them with Copics: E000, E00, E11, E25, E31, E50, YG95, R81, R83, R85. My base CS is Bazzill; my patterned paper is from the Lemonade collection by Basic Grey; my twine is from Stampin' Up. The dies I used were a ticket die by Memory Box and a butterfly die by Cheery Lynn. I printed the ticket with a font from my Word  application. I finished the image with Stickles on her flip-flops, Glossy Accents on her eyes, and Copic Opaque White to accent her clothing. BTW, the Opaque White is my new favorite for accenting images. I can apply it with a toothpick and have more control over the application than I did with any other product I've tried. Love it!

I am entering this project into the following challenges:

CMC Pinks and Greens Challenge

Saturated Canary Bookmarks Challenge

Simon Says Anything Goes Challenge

Outlawz Copic/Promarker Summer Challenge

OK, that's it for me today. Hope to be back at the end of the week with a new project--but that depends on my reading addiction, don't ya know. Have a great rest of the week!