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!