Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Mike's Birthday Card

I managed to finish my nephew's card in time to drive it, along with my last two cards, up to Scottsdale to my sister's house. She will deliver them for me this week to the Midwest, where she and her hubby will be vacationing. I caught her vacuuming her house, (remember she just had knee surgery a scant month ago), in preparation for her house sitter. That is an odd expression, isn't it? House-sitting. Of course, there is baby-sitting. And pet-sitting. None of them really make any sense to me. I mean, what does the sitting part actually mean? Besides a person just planting their butt in a chair and waiting for Godot. Hmmmm.....I'd say inquiring minds want to know, but I am actually pretty sure they don't give a flip.

Oh, back to Merrilyn. She was cleaning her house. She is moving around so good now, it is almost hard to believe. The only thing holding her back is her other knee, which needs replacement as well. She is back to her hour/day swimming schedule. Which blows me away. I have two good knees, and spend no hours a day swimming. Or much of any other exercise, for that matter. Of course, it shows, People. It shows. Anyway, a big shout-out congratulations to my sister, Merrilyn. And may your vacation be absotively, (that's a combination of positively and absolutely, in Penny-speak), mahvelous!

I got to Merrilyn's so late in the day that I called Gary and asked him if we could meet somewhere for dinner. (He works 30 miles from home and M lives 30+ miles from me in sort of the same direction). We agreed to eat at The Dhaba, in Tempe. Love, love, love that place! The food is always first-rate! I told Gary I didn't care what we ate, I was just starving. The owner heard me say that, so she brought us extra papadum--yum, yum, yum! And Gary chose Sheikhupura Aloo Palak, (potatoes and spinach in a delicious sauce with ghee), Chicken Curry, (which was spicy even at the mild end (DUH!) and so satisfying), naan, and basmati rice. Of course, we both had some of their chai, which doesn't need any sweetening. A spicy delight. Ahhhhhhh.

When I got home, I found the invitation to Mike's surprise birthday party in the mail. SHHHHHH! Don't tell him about it. Yes, that's what the invitation says. Don't mention it on Facebook, Twitter, tagging, etc. Well, I won't have a difficult time with that. I barely get on FB, I never Tweet, and I don't even know what tagging is. I must be out-of-touch. (Gary has told me that for years. Decades, actually. And still he stays with me. Why, I wonder?) Anyhow, I spend waaaaay too much time on Blogger to try any other form of correspondence. 

So, the reason Mike is being given a surprise party is because he is turning 50! OMG. Five-oh. Really? Already? I remember changing his you-know-whats--and that seems like just yesterday. Well, not quite yesterday, but not fifty years ago!  (Yes, I realize this dates me, but age is just a number. Waaaaa! And mine is a really big number!) Anyway, when he was about two weeks old, I was baby-sitting him, (there's that word again! I repeat, I did not sit on the baby!). And he had poopy drawers, so I laid him down to change them. And when I pulled them off of him, he peed on me. Yup. I hadn't learned the trick to keeping dry when changing a boy. A boy's diaper, I mean. (I don't know what I would have changed a boy into. Honestly. You people get so literal!) So after I finally got him (and myself) cleaned up, I picked him up and he immediately threw up on my shoulder, (I think we called it spit-up in those days).  And considering that he was always crying, his nose and eyes probably emptied on me as well, so he'd probably gotten me with every orifice he had. Little brat. 

The crying wasn't really his fault. He had tummy aches from everything they tried feeding him. Formula, cow's milk, bat's milk, sheep dung. OK, the last one was a slight exaggeration. (Alright, the last two were. Picky, picky.) I don't know what finally settled him down, but I remember Merrilyn and I walking the full length of their apartment with Mike over her shoulder, saying "chug-chug, woo-woo", over and over and over and over. It was all that kept him quiet. Nearly drove me to the funny farm. Oh, thank heavens he wasn't my baby! Oh, and for those of you who are saying that he should have been on breast milk, just wait a second. That's most likely true, but doctors did not promote breast-feeding in those days. It was too risque, I think. That was in the days of the boobalicious movie stars, but before nude scenes. Exposing your entire breasts was rather frowned upon, even for breast-feeding. My, how times have changed...

Now to Michael's card. He is a U.S.P.S. worker. In other words, a mailman. So I had to do a mailman card for him. First, I found postage stamp paper in the Prima Songbird collection, which I promptly covered up with stuff! (Why? It apparently seemed like a good idea at the time.) Second, I found a crazy-cute postal worker image--Snail Mail, by MayzyArt. I realize that the fairy on the snail's back looks a bit like a girl, but I used it anyway. I printed that on Copic X-Press It CS, and used Stampin' Up CS for the card base, layers, and wings. I used Bazzill Kraft CS for the tickets. And I used Gina K CS for the stamps, which included the sentiment. I had to put some sort of age-related sentiment on the card--he is turning the big five-oh, after all. So I found this one in the Geezer Power collection at Create with TLC. I think it works well with the image, too! And though I didn't photograph it (and can't now because it is gone), the inside used a TLC Geezer sentiment, too: "Welcome to the Black Socks with Sandals Years". I think that is hilarious! (Remember, I live in AZ. And you wouldn't believe how many men we have here that resemble that remark!)  It ought to, (pardon the expression), p*** Mike off, big-time. Payback, Baby!

I bought some Whimsy postage stamp sentiments to use with their dies. Specifically to use on Mike's card, but also for future projects. I love these! So I added a couple to the card front, along with a couple of tickets I produced from Whimsy products. Two buttons, a Tim Holtz mini paper clip, a bit of We R Memory Keepers baker's twine, three shells, and die-cut wings, (from a Memory Box die), were the only other embellishments I added. What? So few? I know. Believe me, I tried out many other design elements, but kept coming back to just these. Oh, I guess I forgot to mention that I used a sketch for the card design this time. Sometimes sketches make it easier for me; sometimes they make it more difficult. Since I was up until 4:30 a.m. (again) working on this card, I think it made it tougher, But I am so tired I wouldn't swear to that. 

Where was I? Oh,, yeah, the sketch I used. It came from the Sketch Saturday Challenge. And I didn't follow it exactly, but it is fairly close:


I colored the image with Copics. I think I should list the ones I didn't use--it might be a shorter list, (just kidding; I do that sometimes):  W3, YR21, YR23, YR24, YG91, YG93, YG95, (and a bazillion E's), E000, E00, E02, E08, E09, E11, E40, E41, E42, E43, E47, E49, E50, E51, E53, E55, E57, E59. I accented the image with white gel pen and sponged some Tim Holtz Distress Ink on the image and sentiment.

Okey dokey. That does it for now. Perhaps for later, too. Only time will tell. Seriously? Uh, no. 

Besides Sketch Saturday, I am entering this card into the following challenges:



  

27 comments:

  1. What a great card...Love the lay-out and your theme. Such a clever and well-made card. Thanks for joining us at MayzyArt. God bless!

    JO ANN
    http://jatterburycreations.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a fabulous card. The image is so fun and beautifully coloured. Love the ephemera and twine you used. Those 3 shells are such a cute accent. Thanks for joining us in our Power of 3 challenge at Craft Your Passion. I hope we see you again soon.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love your card Penny. I do hope he doesn't work at a snails pace cos he wouldn't spend much time at home!!! Such a cute stamp and I love all the finishing touches especially the whimsy ticket stamps.
    Take care
    Love Sharon. x

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is so cute, Penny. What a perfect card and image for a postal worker. Fantastic coloring, and I think it's just the right amount of embellies. Sometimes less is more :-) Thanks so much for entering the Cute As a Button Challenge at the Corrosive Challenge blog!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow what a gorgeous card Penny!Love the image and all of the details...just perfect :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Amazing card Penny! Love it so much and I'm sure that Michael will love it as well. I can't decide if I like the image or the embellishments more...ah I just love them all!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh Penny this is adorable. Your color is fantastic as usual :-) Love all your details and embellishments. Thanks for joining us at MayzyArt.

    ReplyDelete
  8. This is adorable, Penny. Fabulous coloring and arrangement of the postage/ticket elements. Perfect for your nephew.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Your card is adorable Penny and will be a perfect card for him.

    ReplyDelete
  10. It is so cute! He is going to love this card. Love your beautiful coloring and as always this card is fantastic.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wow, this is a gorgeous card with beautiful details! Love it!

    Thank you so much for sharing your creativity with us at Craft Your Passion this week.
    Best of luck and we'd love to have you visit again!

    Mian
    Craft Your Passion
    August Guest Design Team Member
    http://mianspysselhorna.blogspot.co

    ReplyDelete
  12. What a great snail mail stamp and fabulous coloring! Thanks for playing along with the Animal Antics Challenge this week over at the Simon Says Stamp Challenge Blog!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Darling card- how sweet is that darling image- and perfect for a postal worker! Love the sentiment and the DSP. OMG- only had one boy- but NEVER had a baby pee on me- but I got thrown up ALOT!

    ReplyDelete
  14. What a wonderful creation.Your colouring is just superb and just love the details - the shells are a touch of genius.Thanks for joining us at Craft Your Passion.Hope to see you again next week :D
    Lisa x

    ReplyDelete
  15. Penny this is fabulous a delightful image and those stamps are fab what a super card Hugs Elaine

    ReplyDelete
  16. What a great snail image love it and superb colours! Chanelle xxx

    ReplyDelete
  17. Aww, this is just so cute! I love that snail! The rustic colors of your card are a perfect pairing for the snail image, too! It is just darling! Thak you for joining us at Hooked on Craft!

    chris

    ReplyDelete

  18. Hi Penny,

    this image is so ingeniously! Your card is really beautiful - I like the colors you used!!

    Hugs,
    Conny

    PS: Really, you could german? How did that happen?

    ReplyDelete
  19. Glad your sister is recovering so nicely! Hope Mike's surprise party goes off without a hitch:)
    Love how you've used this image and she is colored up magnificently. Thanks for joining us at MayzyArt

    Shelby

    ReplyDelete
  20. Love everything about it Penny! Your layout and colouring is just stunning! Thanks for joining us at MayzyArt!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Love all the details and embellishments!! Amazing!!
    Thanks for sharing your project at MayzyArt Challenge
    Blessings
    marissa Isabel

    ReplyDelete
  22. This is so cute! You did an awesome job. I love all the stamps!

    Thanks for joining the MayzyArt Challenge!

    ~Mayzy

    ReplyDelete
  23. Fabulous card Penny! I'm really pleased to hear that your sister is on the mend. Hope the birthday party goes well. Thanks for all of your lovely comments on my blog. Have a great weekend.

    Sarah x

    ReplyDelete
  24. What a fabulous card! I know Mike'll love it. I really love the image, how you colored it, the great sentiment, and the design.

    I also love those stamp die cuts and now will go look at them.

    I also will succumb to temptation and take a peek at the TLC website. If I spend money there, it'll all be your fault.

    Bat milk??? Oooh.

    I had a similar experience with a baby boy, but my daughter received the splashing. How's that for good planning?

    ReplyDelete
  25. Your to funny. How do you milk a bat?????? Hahahahahaha
    Your card is so cute. You are a very talented lady.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Another wonderful card. Great card for a postal worker with all the sentiments. Love the 3 shell. I'm so pleased to hear that your sister is doing so good.
    Hugs

    ReplyDelete
  27. LOL at the story about Mike! Next time we do our fantasy football draft, you need to bring that up in front of everyone so we can all enjoy it. :)

    Cute card! I love those postage stamp dies and stamps.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting my blog! I appreciate the kind comments more than I can say! :^)
Hugs, Penny