Quick Note

Just a quick note to tell you that Gary and I were gone on vacation for almost two weeks. We were in the Bahamas--more on that later. But I wanted to let you know that I have not been ignoring you. Will do my best to catch up on posts and such in the next few days. Am going through all my emails at the moment--there were 1100 of them and I am down to about 400, so I am making progress. Have much to tell you. But it will have to wait for the next couple of posts. And, yes, there are some photos, too.

Again, have a great weekend!

Jellypark Friends 5-31-2013 Release

Hi, this is going to be another short one. Cool, huh?

Our challenge this fortnight is a color challenge. Please check the fabulous creations by my teamies for that. Also, please check out the other wonderful creations for this new release by the rest of the team.

I chose to showcase the new image, "Cake" for this card. And believe it or not, I actually did another CAS card. That works great when you are pressed for time, doesn't it? Yes, yes, it does.

So I printed the cake on MICBC and colored it with my Copics:

Chocolate cake: E23, E25, E27, E29

Frosting: Y02, Y04, Y06, Y08, BG11, BG13, BG23, R11, R12, R14

Candle flame: Y02, Y08

I added Stardust Stickles to the candle flame and the sprinkles on the frosting. I also added some Washi tape and a computer-generated sentiment, which was edged with Stampin' Up ink. The card front was finished with a small sparkly dragonfly. Then I mounted it on Stampin' Up CS. Voila! Finis!

Hope you all have a great weekend! 

The Outlawz Greetings Card Purplelishious Challenge

How's that for a coined word? Purplelishious. I think it is pretty cool, and, no, I did not dream that one up. I wish I had. This week we want you to come up with something that includes purple, lavender, or grape tones and hues. That's like hitting the Staples EASY button, isn't it?

We are being sponsored by this week by Bugaboo Stamps, where you can certainly find something to catch your fancy. So good luck to you!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! I am going to keep this very brief today.

I chose another dragon image, Clyde Friend, because I got such a kick out of coloring him purple a few weeks ago. I printed Clyde on MICBC and colored him with Copics:

Clyde: BG0000, BG000, BG01, BG02, B06, BV11, BV13, BV17

Ladybugs: YR04, YR07, YR09, E09, C5, C9

Flowers: YR04, YR07, YR09, E09, BV11, BV13

I added a sentiment, which was morphed from the Bugaboo Friend sentiment. I combined "ESSENCE" from that with some Tim Holtz Chit Chat words. I inked all of them with Stampin' Up ink. And then I mounted the front of the card on Stampin' Up CS. Oooh, that's it? Yup, a bit of a CAS card for me this time!

The team is looking forward to your creations this week--do check out what my fab teamies have done, won't you? And then purple yourselves out. Have a great week!

Jellypark Nerds & Geeks Shall Rule Challenge

So which are you? A nerd or a geek? Or neither? I like to think of myself as a well-balanced, well-rounded individual. (Well-rounded fits physically, for sure.) Of course, there are those, who know me best, that will beg to disagree. Ignore them. 

I do want to tell you that my shoulder is healing quite nicely. It still has a sore spot toward the middle of my scar, but hopefully that will be gone in another week or so. It was such a relief to get those sutures out, as they were really pulling and irritating my skin. I look a bit like Frankenstein's wife, but that'll be perfect for Halloween in a few more months. And don't look now, but it will be here before you can blink your eyes! The days are simply flying by. 

And before this one gets away from me, I'd best get on with my card details. I chose Jellypark Grandad, as he looks like a nerd to me. (Actually, he looks a lot like Gary, but don't tell him I said that!! Shhhhh!) I printed the old man, ahem, on MICBC. Then I colored him with Copics:

Skin: E000, E00, E11, E21, R20

Hair: C2, C4, C6

Sweater: YR23, YR24, YR27

Collar: E8, YR20, YR21, YR23

I added some Wink of Stella Brush Silver to his spectacles. One word of caution: I had his head all colored and was adding this sparkle to his specs, when, (all of a sudden), a big glob plopped down on his face. Now I have to say that I was not too pleased about this. The air was really a bit blue for a minute or thirty. Hmmm. And then I proceeded to tear up the image, re-print it, and color it anew. And this time I was excruciatingly careful with my Wink of Stella, which I highly recommend to each of you. Or you may find yourself in a very blue room like I did. 

I chose DP from the Bo Bunny Weekend Market collection, paired it with Stampin' Up CS, distressed it with my Zutter Distrezz-It-All, and inked it with SU ink. My die cuts were made with: MFT Fishtail Flags Stax and SCACD Classic Timepiece dies. I added some SU Linen Thread, Tim Holtz Mini Paper Clips and Muse Token, a miscellaneous word stick, ("wisdom", in case you can't see it), and a computer mouse button. And I'm off.

Before I go, I want to encourage you to check out the darling cards done by my talented teammates. And be sure to look at the creations made with Claire's fun new release images. Have a wonderful weekend! 

Through The Craft Room Door Anything Goes Challenge

Well, today is my last card for TTCRD. I am stepping down, as my term has come to an end. I would like to thank Colleen Holmes so much for having me serve on her fabulous DT! And thanks to Sandi and Jo for providing such great leadership while I was there! It has been such a pleasure working with so many talented peeps. I'd thank them all individually, but with my aging brain, I'd forget one and hurt her feelings. So I'll just thank all members of the A & B teams while I was there. You know who you are! And it was a blast working with all of you.

This week our sponsor is Squigglefly. They have scads of fabulous images, done by several different artists. So you can always find something to suit your needs. Good luck with the draw! 

I decided to once again use a sketch and picked CLP Sketch #58:

I chose Squigglefly Cover Girl for my image this week. She just spoke to me. Don't ask me what she said, because I can't remember that either--aging brain again. But I know it was something nice or I never would have selected her. I printed her on MICBC and then colored her with Copics:

Skin: E000, E00, E11, E21, R20

Hair: E11, E13, E15, E18

Eyes: E17

I wanted her to be the main focus of the card, so I picked neutral DP from the Basic Grey Little Black Dress collection, and distressed it with my Zutter Distrezz-It-All. And I used black Stampin' Up CS with my DP. Since the Cover Girl was nude, (gasp), I created a fancy bodice for her with some black floral lace. And then I did my usual die-cutting using: Memory Box Palace Oval Frame, Macarena Corner, Madeira Corner, and Typewriter Lower. (I didn't plan ahead to use dies from only one company--that's just the way it worked out.)

I also added some other embellies: chipboard dragonfly and fancy corner from Make It Crafty; Stampin' Up Vanilla Flower Trim; Maya Road Dress Form Clip; a black dress form button; some black beaded floral wire; ecru lace; and black mini pom trim. And that does it for me. 

Do check out the wonderful creations by the rest of Team A this week. Such a great group of talented gals--I am sad to leave them. And, if you haven't gotten your subscription to Through The Craft Room Door magazine, why not? It's a great publication--chock-full of fabulous tutorials, free digital images, and design ideas. Well worth the small investment you would have to make. To check out the current Spring issue, just watch the video to the right of my blog post. Have a terrific Tuesday!

The Outlawz Greetings Card Anything Goes Challenge

Well, it's Monday again. Funny how that keeps happening every week. And I know that a lot of you are not fond of Mondays. Well, just wait until you retire--then you won't give a hoot what day it is. Hang in there!

This week we are once again sponsored by Rick St. Dennis, one of my favorite designers! He has so many different types of images that you are sure to find ones you like if you win. So good luck to you!

Before I get to that, I want to say a couple of things. Firstly, I hope all of the mommies out there had a wonderful day yesterday! Secondly, I will be behind on my comments to my blog buddies because I was gone this weekend. Gary and I took a very short break, to go to downtown Phoenix to catch two baseball games, to stay overnight at the Sheraton, and to celebrate our anniversary with dinner at The District restaurant. Which was very good, btw. Had fabulous tomato soup for an appetizer and then superb salmon for dinner. And a good lunch at Wild Thaiger in central Phoenix. Their Tom Ka Gai is stupendous! If you get the chance, by all means, go! You won't regret it. And then another good dinner at St. Francis in Phoenix--a delicious vegetarian Forbidden Rice Bowl. Oh, such a yummy weekend! 

However, the baseball was not so good. Not even close. The Phillies were in town, and, although we had won the first two games of the series, we lost the last two. Yeah, the two that we went to see. Talk about a big bummer. So that put a bit of a damper on the festivities for us. Of course, I will admit that the games were close ones with a lot of excitement. So that part was good. Just the end result was not what we had in mind. Oh well...the season is young yet.

I am getting my stitches removed this morning. All 15 of them. I am soooo glad. By the time most of you read this, I should already be back home again. Jiggity jig.

Guess I'd best describe my card for you. I chose Rick St. Dennis Sea Sprite 2. I thought she was a fabulous image, complete with a really cool seahorse. I printed them on MICBC and colored them as follows with Copics:

Skin: E000, E00, E11, E21, R20

Hair: YR20, YR21, YR23, E33, E35

Seahorse: BG000, BG02, BG05, BG07, BG09, BG53, B63, B66

I added a bit of Wink of Stella Brush Gold to the seahorse eyes and bridle. I was going to add a lot more sparkle, but chickened out. Yes, I was afraid; I was very afraid. I didn't want to redo the image in case the sparkle didn't work, so I just left it alone. Baaaaaaaaawk! Bawk. Bawk.

I chose DP from Graphic 45 Tropical Travelogue collection and paired it with Stampin' Up CS. 

My sentiment is from the Whimsy Fun Life Ticket collection of sentiments and was die-cut with the Whimsy Ticket die. My other die cuts were created using the following dies: Memory Box Loopy Rings; Cheery Lynn Seahorse Family; Marianne Designs Sea Shells, Sea Side, and Decorative Elegance. And hooray, I'm done! 

Please check out the wonderful designs by my teammates this week! Really, really, fabulous! And since we are Anything Goes again, you can join us, right? Right! And have a wonderful week!

The Outlawz Greetings Card Mother's Day Challenge (for Angela)

Are you ready for a new week? I think I am. I'll let you know in a day or two or ten. Our challenge this week at The Outlawz Greetings Card is for you to create a Mother's Day card to celebrate a woman in your life. My mother passed away in 2005, so I made my card for my daughter, Angela, who is a mother to two girls. (And, Angela, if you are reading this before we get together, stop now for goodness' sake. I don't want you to see your card before I give it to you.)

Our sponsor this week is Bugaboo Stamps:

I chose a really cute image from Bugaboo to work with this week. It has a very long name: Bugaboo Stamps Make It Snappy Kidz Mother's Day Girl. See, I told you it was a very long name. But I got a kick out of it when I first saw it, and thought it would be perfect for my daughter. 

I wanted a sketch to use for this week, so I picked  Graphicat Sketch's Challenge #25, and just turned it on its side:

I am also going to enter my card into the Pile It On Challenge this week, since Bugaboo is sponsoring that as well, and it is also a Mother's Day challenge. How's that for coincidence? Or synchronicity, if you prefer. 

I printed my BSMISKMDG image onto MICBC and colored it with the following Copics:

Skin: E000, E00, E11, E21, R11, R20

Hair: YR23, E33, E35, E37

Flowers: R00, R01, R02

Leaves: BG90, BG93, BG96

Bouquet Paper and Sentiment: V20, V22, V25, V28

I chose paper from the Prima Nature Garden collection, and paired it with DCWV CS. As usual, I made die cuts, (I know, I know, what a shock, yadayadayada), and used the following dies: MFT Rolled Flower, Fishtail Flags Stax, and Mini Pennant; SCACD Breezy Branches. I added Queen and Co. pearls to the rolled flowers. I also used MIC chipboard pieces. The dragonfly was brushed with Wink of Stella Brush Silver. The branch was colored with my Copics. And that's it!

Before I go, I want to thank all of you for your good wishes on my shoulder. For those of you who don't know, I had surgery to remove a basal cell skin cancer last Wednesday. The incision is over 2 inches long and has 15 stitches. So I look a bit like Frankenstein's monster. Especially with the lovely bruising. I am sore, but it is getting better each day. I expect to be good as new very soon, although with one heck of a scar. The good news is that I rarely (like never) wear clothing that bares my shoulders, so no one will see it. Of course, if you so desire, I can email you a photo of my wound taken two days after surgery. I will refrain from posting said photo here, so that I don't gross everybody out, thus chasing away my followers. 

Do take this opportunity to get a Mom's Day card done and enter our challenge. And be sure to check out the super creations done by my talented teammates! Have a wonderful week!

Jellypark Friends DT 5-3-2013 New Release

It's Jellypark day again, which brings us to Friday. I always loved Fridays when I was gainfully employed. Now I don't really care what day it is. Retirement does that to you. Mind you, I am not complaining!

So my sleep on Wednesday night was not the best. I could not get comfortable in bed, due to my shoulder. After two hours of trying to get to sleep I got up and went to read for a bit. Then I got really sleepy around two so I laid down on the couch. Which turned out to be a really good thing. The back of the couch supported my shoulder in a way that didn't hurt it. So I slept great--well, that is until Gary woke me up when he came out around 5:30. Then he left for his gym work-out, (yes, he really does do that. Ugh!), and I drifted back to sleep, only to be reawakened when he came back at 7:00. So then I got up and started my day.

I spent all day catching up on comments. Well, not all day, because I ran out of gas about noon. So I laid back down on the couch and took a very lonnnnnng nap. But then I felt really refreshed and got back to the commenting. I actually got caught up again. But that won't last long, because you guys just won't quit creating like mad fiends. You keep my fingers nimble anyway with all the typing. Too bad it doesn't do anything for my waist or thighs.

This week I am on the JP DT that uses the new release images. There are two of them, both really, really cute girls. And the challenge this time is "Girly Girl", so that gives you a chance to create pretty much anything with a girl image! Go to it and have fun! And be sure to check out all the fabulous creations by both DT's this week!

My image is "String of Hearts", which I printed on MICBC, and then colored her with Copics:

Skin: E000, E00, E11, E21, R20

Hair: Y21, YR23, E33, E35

Hearts: R22, R24

Dress: YG0000, YG61, YG63

Socks: E81, E84, E87

Shoes & shadow: C0, C2, C4, C6, C7

My DP is from the MME Lost & Found Rosy collection, which I distressed by hand since I did it at night when Gary was sleeping. (My Zutter Distrezz-It-All is fantastic, but really noisy.) I paired the DP with Stampin' Up CS. 

Of course I added die cuts! They were made from these dies: Cuttlebug Hearts & Stamps; Doohickey So Wrapped Lovely Folded Heart and Romantic Lace; Memory Box Typewriter Lower and Twirled Heart Border. I also added some cheesecloth, baker's twine, and the following trinkets: a Maya Road Love Hanger, a key, a button and a bell. And that's it for me this fine Friday.

Hope to see you at Jellypark Friends! And have a great weekend!

Anniversary Card for Merrilyn and Ron

I made a card for my sister and BIL for their 51st anniversary, and I decided to use it for the 3rd Birthday Bash at CMC. I am entering it into the CMC Copic Celebrate Something Challenge.

Fifty-one years! Can you imagine? That many years with one man? Hmmm, well I have spent almost 43 years with one. We will celebrate our 43rd on the 9th.

I have to admit, there have been moments when I was ready to give him away. You know, trade him for something useful like an untrained puppy. Or a pregnant rabbit. Perhaps even a shingles outbreak. But then, I've come to realize that there is no one else out there, on this planet, who would put up with me and all of my issues. Honestly, Gary is a bit of a saint to stay with me for forty-three years. Of course, he need not know I said that; and he never sees my blog, so I don't have to worry about him reading it. Dear Daughter and sweet Sisters, keep your mouths closed. Please.

I remember walking down a sidewalk with him before we were engaged. Way back in 1970. And I saw a rather large woman in front of us. I told him that I would look like that someday. He said that I'd better not. Well, I do. And he is still here. Guess he must really love me, huh? Well, it's either that or he doesn't even want to think about alimony. But you know what--I would probably cost him less as an ex-wife than I do as a wife. Too bad, Gary, you snooze, you lose.

So I had my surgery today. Well, actually, when you read this it will be yesterday. Because that is tomorrow. Just want to be clear about this with you. Anyway, the shots hurt, the surgery didn't, and now I have some stinging pain--which I have used Tylenol for. And that seems to be taking the edge off. Of course, I still have my entire supply of Vicodin left over from my oral surgery. So, if the pain gets too intense after a night of sleeping on my back, which I undoubtedly will do, I could always pop a pain pill tomorrow. Which will be today. When you read this. Did I clear that up for you? If not, toughy darts.

'K, I am getting tired of typing. I am actually just getting tired. If you could see all of my typos, you would believe it. So I am going to describe the card and then drift off to sleep. I may possibly lie down first though.

I used Privateer Couple by Rick St. Dennis, which I printed on MICBC. Then I colored them with the following Copics:

Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20

Hair: E30, E33, E35, E37 and YR21, E15, E18

Eyes: E23

Clothing: R00, R01, R02, W00, W0, W2

               E81, E84, E87, E51, E53, E55

I added Wink of Stella Brush Clear to several areas, which I don't think you can see in this photo. Bummer. My DP came from the 7 Gypsies Global and Basic Grey Little Black Dress collections, and was distressed using my Zutter Distrezz-It-All. I paired the DP with Stampin' Up and Bazzill CS. 

I made several die cuts using the following dies: Memory Box Decorative Elegance, Oceana Border, and Typewriter Numbers; Cheery Lynn Burlap Border and Schooner. I also added the following embellishments to this card: baker's twine, pearl trim, feather boa, MIC dragonfly, and Embellish It metallic corner. (Side note: I was planning on using a small dragonfly on all of my cards, but forgot on the last two. What's happened to my memory anyway? Guess it went the way of my girlish figure.)

OK, that's it, I think. And I believe that Merrilyn and Ron liked their card, which my dear Gary delivered to them. Last weekend. When I was babysitting the darling dog and missed the ballgame. Which Gary took Ron to. Oh well...there's always another game, isn't there. Isn't there? Hope you are having a great week! See you back here tomorrow. Or Friday. Yeah, that's day after tomorrow right now, but tomorrow when you read this. Yup, I did it again. I explained the inexplicable. Not that you care. Later...