Get-Away, Got Away, Back in Business

Hi Friends! :)

Last weekend I flew the coop, so to speak.  I decided I had had enough of gardening and kittens and all other matter of wonderful but tiring things, so I took off to Dewey Beach, Delaware last weekend for a beach retreat with a few fine ladies.

It was only partially what I was expecting.  And by that, I mean it was insanely intense.  Lots of emotional sharing, lots of crying it out, some exasperated swearing... :)  Only vaguely like my normal every day life. :)  Aside from all that, though, there was lots of friendship, some beautiful sunshine, some (albeit slight) tanning on my part, a whole lot of wind, and of course... a couple of photos.

Beautiful place, I'll tell you.  But for me, any beach is.  I think I was born to just lay on the beach.  Is that a valid occupation? :)

Now that I'm back to reality (boo!), I of course have a card to share.  I figured since I just finished sharing some Mother's Day cards that I might as well move on to Father's Day in short order.  

I made this Father's Day card for my father-in-law a year ago and just never got a chance to share it.  The stamps are by Kim Hughes for CHF, but it just so happens that Paper Smooches just re-released the set.  So I'm actually kinda current, right?  How about that? :)

Hehehe!  I love that sleepy looking bear!

Had to get a close-up of the dimension.  I looooooove foam dots! :)

To make the card, I matted several yummy October Afternoon papers (from the Campfire collection) on white and kraft cardstock, popping some of them up on foam dots.  Then I colored my images with Copic markers, and popped them up on the card for a little dimension.  For the "woodgrain" look on the sign, I colored it all one lightish brown color to begin with, then kissed the edges with light, feathery strokes in different colored browns.  I added the sentiment in stickers, then added some liquid applique to the marshmallow and heated it to make it look puffy and toasted. :)  Then I added some Glossy Accents to the fire to really make it POP.  I finished off the card with two cute buttons and a bit of twine.

Supplies:
Stamps: "Happy Camper" by Paper Smooches
Papers: White cardstock, Navy cardstock, Kraft cardstock, DP by October Afternoon (Campfire)
Inks: Memento Black
Accessories: Copic Markers, White gel pen, Liquid Applique, Glossy Accents, Buttons by Papertrey Ink, Twine

Hope everyone has something fantastic planned for their Thursday.  It's the first nice day out this week, so I need to do some major work in the garden!

Thanks for stopping by.  Until next time...

Forgot One!

Hello, hello! :)

I'm leaving for a meditation/beach retreat tomorrow morning, but before I go, I have a lot to get done today.  I need to clean up the garden a bit and stake the peas, so they don't lie on the ground.  I have a hair appointment to cover all these pesky, annoying grays (most of which popped up in what I like to refer to as "the year from Hell"). Then I have some clean-up to do around the house, so I can come home to a peaceful place (no sense in going to a weekend retreat only to return to chaos, right?!).  But I knew that the first thing I wanted to do today was blog.  So here I am. :)

I have a backlog of things to share with you from the past several months (I *have* been creating a bit -- just not blogging!), and while I was looking though my folder to figure out what to share, I found one more Mother's Day card from last year that I neglected to post.  So I guess we'll start with that and move forward.

Yet another in my series of rolled rose Mother's Day cards...

Supplies:

Papers: White Cardstock, DP by My Mind's Eye and The Paper Loft

Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink, Colorbox Ink

Stickers: Carolee's Creations

Accessories: Hemp cord, Wide lace, MFT Label Die-namics and Rolled Flower Die-namics

The card is pretty self-explanatory, I think.  I cut out the rolled roses and labels using the Die-namics dies, trimmed the labels in white cardstock, and hand-cut the leaves for the roses.  I crumpled the roses and leaves to give them more of a worn look and inked the edges of the leaves.  I inked the edges of the background paper, tied some hemp cord and lace on as an accent, and popped on the labels and flowers.  I added the sticker sentiment, and...tah dah! :)

That's it for today.  I've got to get out to the garden before it gets unbearably hot out.  I hope you all have a really great day.  Say some prayers for my peas.  They have pea aphids that I'm trying to eradicate at the moment.  This is my first ever garden, so I'm learning as I go! :)

Until next time...

What a Difference a Year Makes...

Tap, tap, tap. Is this thing on?

Ok, confession time. Yes, I disappeared. For a year. That has to be a new record, even for me. I never *ever* expected to neglect the blog for this long -- it kind of just got away from me there. What started as being busy with spring yard work and house stuff turned into a crazy emotional year that had me grasping to keep my head above water even to be able to get out of bed in the morning. What am I talking about? Well, here's what the last year's involved for me:

The ugly: The big D word: divorce. Well, actually, separation, but divorce is pending, so... My husband told me he wanted a divorce way back when we first got to Maryland 2 years ago. It kind of came out of nowhere for me -- I thought that we had an okay marriage. Not perfect, but we had a lot of fun together and loved each other. For a full year we did marriage and individual counseling, and things were really starting to get better and then he hit me with it again this past July -- he still wanted a divorce. In September (after lots more trauma, counseling, tears, attempted negotiations, etc.) he moved out, throwing me in to a new life of singledom that I wasn't quite prepared for, to say the least. 

Also, about 5 weeks ago, my brother, Ronny passed away suddenly. I don't have much to say about that, other than what I said when I spoke at the funeral: I know that he had an amazing heart despite all his emotional and physical afflictions (he was schizophrenic and through a freak surgical accident became a quadriplegic when I was 10). And I wish that I had had more of a chance to get to know the "real" him and to connect with him on a deeper level before everything happened (He was diagnosed with schizophrenia when I was 3 and he was 16). I have some guilt over that last part -- that I wasn't able to be a better sister to him through all the trauma, but I'm working through that and do understand that circumstances made me need to detach myself quite a bit, just to be able to cope. But I know I'll see him again some day, and we'll be able to catch up where we left off. :)


The bad: Yet another (and hopefully the last!) back surgery. In November, I had my Spinal Cord Stimulator removed, because it never really was placed right and thus, never worked properly. That, I have to say, was one of the more difficult things I've been through. My husband had just moved out about 6 weeks prior, I was all alone, and I wasn't really prepared for what kind of loneliness would hit when I woke up in pain, and I had no one to take care of me. But, on a positive note, I made it through, and my back is much happier for having that garbage out of it. :)


The good: LOTS! It's been a traumatic year, but I have so much to be thankful for. For one, my friends have truly kept me sane. I have had several parties at my house this year, and when the last guest leaves, I always have this amazing encompassing feeling of being totally supported and lifted up. They've also been there especially through all the turmoil -- the emotional fallout from the separation, my surgery, etc. I have amazing friends. I'm a lucky girl. 


My mom and I went on an amazing vacation back in November -- The PaperCrafts Cruise. It was such an amazing get-away filled with lots of catching up (and drinking!) with mom, lots of papery goodness, and lots of sunshine. If only I could go a few times a year... yeah, that would make life more livable. :) On the cruise I got to meet Susan Opel and her sister Beth Opel, Teri Anderson and Kim Kesti. They are all such darling, fun, energetic women. I met several other stamping buddies whose work I had admired for a long time, too. Needless to say, I'm ready to go again! Let's start planning now!

I started doing some volunteer work. First, back in October I started volunteering for the Animal Welfare League of Montgomery County. It's the only no-kill, cage-less animal shelter in my county and houses anywhere from a dozen to two dozen cats at any one time. I've done a bit of grant writing for them, some shelter upkeep and cat socializing, and I currently am fostering two 9-week old kittens for them. The kittens are the best. They are so cute and cuddly. About a week ago I almost lost my mind and gave them back to the shelter because the gray one still wasn't litter trained, but thankfully that finally resolved itself.

I'm also volunteering as a Patient Care volunteer for Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. What that involves is basically walking around and looking for bored kids in the wards and playing with them. Pretty cool, right? It was a crazy competitive program -- I had to interview, have my references checked, go through a background check, and go for numerous medical exams and tests... but I made it!


And finally, I have been involved in lots and lots of home improvement. Right before I took off last year, we had our basement remodeled, so a lot of the year was spent putting that together and making it a comfortable space. Before my husband left last year, we also tore up a giant section of our lawn to put in perennial beds and a large-scale organic vegetable garden. That has taken up all my time this spring!  That whole area used to be all grass!  I've been so busy putting things back together, planting, weeding, learning... And it's all kind of hard on my back, so I've had to take lots of breaks. 

That about sums it up.  If I had to give this year a theme, I'd say it's been about re-finding and enjoying what makes me ME! :)  If you made it through all that, I'm amazed. If not, that's okay too. :) I Just felt like I didn't want to just ignore the last year entirely! :)


Now, since it's a papercrafting blog, how about a card? I have a lot of things to share with you, but I think I'll just start with a Mother's Day card. Since that's where I left off last year, maybe that will help us pretend that a whole year didn't just go by!

Supplies:

Stamp: Papertrey Ink

Paper: White Cardstock, DP by My Mind's Eye

Buttons: Oriental Trading Co., Lasting Impressions

Stickers: Heidi Grace

Word Cut-outs: Lasting Impressions

Accessories: Floss, Copic Markers

That's it for today!  I don't know how often I'll be able to blog, so I'm not going to commit myself to a schedule.  But I know that it's good for me -- a release of sorts.  Not to mention that it keeps me being crafty!  So I definitely intend to stick with it, even if I disappear now and again.  :)  

Hope you all have a beautiful day.  Until next time...

More Mother Love...

Hi bloggin' buddies! :)

Spring is the word of the week here in Maryland. We are having the most absolutely perfect weather. We generally sleep with the windows open here, and I can't tell you how much it delights me to wake to the sounds of birds chirping. I really can't think of much in the world that makes me more upbeat than a beautiful spring day.

This week, our rhododendron is finally in full bloom. I have to tell you, it is the largest rhododendron bush I have *ever* seen. Everything I've read said that rhododendrons only ever get 4-8 feet tall, but ours is pushing 10 or 11 feet! That has to set some kind of record, right?!







(In all honesty, it probably needs a bit -- or a lot-- of pruning, but I can't bear to cut it!).

Since I'm in a pink mood, I thought I'd also share another card that I put together for Mother's Day.

This card was for my mother-in-law. I again pulled out the MFT Die-namics (the rolled flower and the layered label) to make quick work of this card.



I inked the edges of all of the layered dies to make the colors pop a bit and pasted them and my rolled flowers on the card front. I finished it all off with a bit of waxed twine and some tiny letter stickers.





Thanks for stopping by! Hope spring is springing up near you too!

Enjoy your evening! :)

Happy Mother's Day! :)

Hello out there!

Just popping in to wish all the wonderful women out there a very Happy Mother's Day! I hope that your loved ones are near by and that you get to spend a beautiful day loving them.

I couldn't be with my mom today, but I wanted to share the card I made for her with all of you.



I used the rolled flower die from MFT to cut out and assemble some pretty orange roses and popped them on a background of yellow and green papers, with a touch of lace. The last touch was a cute little sentiment pennant and some hand-cut leaves that I inked up a bit. Easy peasy. :)







I hope all the mothers out there have a beautiful day. Go pig out at brunch or something! :)

Love you mom! You're the bestest!

Enjoy your day. Thanks for stopping by.

What a BEAUTIFUL Day!

Well, I don't know what the weather is like by you, but here in Maryland, it is the most perfectly superb beautiful spring day. I slept with the windows open last night and woke up to sunny rays floating over my bed and birds chirping in the distance. Divine. So I had every intention of trying to be outside a bit today.

Unfortunately, because of my back problems, my mind is usually way ahead of my body! :) I thought I could lay out some garden bed edging because how hard is that, really? Well, as it turns out, the answer is too hard for me. It's definitely a 2-person job, or at the very least a one-person who doesn't mind repetitive bending job. Plus, my back's been bothering me more recently for some reason, so I guess it was wishful thinking, any way. So that rules out my plans for the day, since my hubby is out of town.

Oh well.

So instead, I thought I'd relax a bit and come share a card I made a while back for my husband.

My husband almost exclusively gets robot-themed cards (don't know why -- they just remind me of him, I guess...), but this time I decided to change it up a bit with a stamp by Kim Hughes for the now out-of-business Cornish Heritage Farms.




Hehehe Who doesn't love a skate-boarding monster? ;)

Okay, I think I've resolved myself to being extra lazy today. How does that sound? ;) So thanks for stopping by! I hope you have a beautiful day!

One Last Card Set...

Hey there! :)

I'm about to run and pick up my mom from the airport, and I remembered that I still had one last set of cards to share with you. This is another set that I made for a NICU silent auction charity that my friend was involved in.

Once again, I was looking for something that I could produce quickly and easily. Which meant paper-piecing (since, for me, that is much quicker than coloring in large areas). I picked some fun patterned papers, paper-pieced to my hearts content, added some buttons and rub-ons, and voila!











Of course, the fact that I had such awesome images (DoodleFactory Classic Decor) to work with didn't hurt!

Sorry so short, but I don't want to leave my mom hanging!

Enjoy your evening, and thanks for stopping by! :)

Extra Carrots, Please!

Hi friends! :)

I don't know about you all, but I am getting a little tired of this wishy-washy spring weather. Here in Maryland, it keeps going from being beautiful out one day to rainy and cold (and windy!) the next. And we have notoriously bad weather prediction here. So I never know when I can get anything done outside. I'm a planner at heart, so that kind of makes me bonkers!

Today it's super overcast (and is supposed to be thunderstorming any minute now), so I thought I'd post a bright and cheery (and Easter-appropriate) project that I made yesterday to brighten up this day a little.

My in-laws are notoriously hard to buy gifts for. We always wrack our brains trying to think of presents for them, and this year we were all out of ideas. At the very last minute, I thought of this idea: I'd "subscribe" them in a granola-of-the-month club. And by "subscribe," I mean I'd make them a batch every month and send it out. :)

It's a fun idea, because it means I get to think of seasonally-appropriate recipes for each month of the year and create something yummy with it. Last month (since it was cold and rainy all month), they got "I've got the blues" blueberry mango granola. This month, I thought since it was Easter, I would craft a carrot cake granola for them.

Once I was done with the granola, I packaged it up and added a fun and cheery tag. And there's nothing cheerier (in my mind, anyhow) then two lovery-dovey smiling carrots, a la Paper Smooches. ;)



To make the tag, I printed out "April" and "24 Carrot Carrot Cake Granola" on white cardstock. The fonts that I used are "Caitlyn" and "CK Slim Mitch." Then I colored in the letters of "April," cut the paper in to a free-form cloud shape, and inked the edges. When I was finished, I colored the carrot images and a heart with Copic Markers and white gel pen, popped them on to my tag, and created a few more fun layers.



I hand-craft my granolas without a recipe, so I'm afraid that I don't have one to share. But I can give you an ingredients list that you can use to whip up some of your own, if you need a last minute Easter basket filler or hostess gift:

Ingredients:
old fashioned oats
pureed cooked carrots
raw shredded carrots
pureed pineapple
mashed banana
maple syrup
coconut nectar (found at Whole Foods, but you could just use more maple syrup)
walnuts
raisins
cinnamon
nutmeg
ginger
salt

I bake it at 350 degrees, checking it and stirring it every 10 minutes until it's crisp (which usually takes a bit over an hour).

Once the granola was crisped up, I drizzled a *very* small amount of glaze over the top of it, to give it that true carrot cake with frosting taste. I made the glaze out of powdered sugar, water and vanilla.

I'm off to clean up a little (a lot). My mom is coming to visit this week, plus we're having about 8 people over for Easter lunch. And because of all the construction around here, the place is a M.E.S.S.! Nothing says "Welcome to our home" like a construction dumpster in the driveway! ;)

Enjoy your day. Thanks for stopping by!

Spring is in the Air...

At least over here it is. :) I'm so happy that the weather is finally shaping up... which partially explains my lax blogging. This time of year, there's just so much going on outside that it's hard to keep up! :)

I do have a quick share for you guys, though. :)

It just so happens that I am one of the newest "Hybrid Chicks" for the digichick. What's a Hybrid Chick, you ask? Well, it's simply someone who prints out digital supplies (like papers, stamps, embellishments, etc.) and then combines them with non-digital supplies to create something. This is my first project that I did for the team, and I had such a blast creating with all the fantastic supplies.







I made this little gift for Administrative Professional's Day for my husband's admin, but wouldn't this also be a perfect little Easter gift? Or fantastic for Mother's Day? I think so. You should head on over to my post on the Hybrid Chick, where I give a full tutorial on how to make it along with a supply list (including where you can pick up that yummy paper!) and a lot more pictures.

On another note, there's still much to be done over here. :) The basement drywall is all done, and painting begins this week (hooray!). We're also getting all new solid wood doors for the entire house this week. Then all we have left are floors and cabinets/countertops for the laundry room, and we can call it a day! So excited!

Hope everyone is having a good start to their week. I'm off to mail my taxes in (refund-- yes!). Wish me luck that the line at the post office isn't insane. :)

Enjoy your day and thanks for stopping by!

Another Card Set...

Hello Hello. :)

Long(ish) time, no talk. Things are crazy around here. The basement project is in full swing now. The space is all framed up, the plumbing and electrical are in, and the initial inspections are this week. Then it's drywall and painting. Can't wait for it all to be done. All this pounding and sawing are starting to get on my nerves. :) I've been doing as much as I can to stay out of the house as much as possible, so I don't go completely bonkers.

This past week, they also added a sliding door to our kitchen. I cannot believe how much light and visual space it adds to the room. I think this might be the best thing we've ever done. Here is the before and the (mostly done) after. They still need to drywall around it and finish the install. It's too bad I don't have a better before pic. It really does make all the difference.

 

In addition to all that, we area also gearing up for some major landscaping plans around here. We are ripping up about 1/2 of our front yard and at least 1/2 of our back yard to put in an extensive organic veggie, herb and perennials garden. We are just barely starting now, and it seems like so much work. I hope it ends up being less time-intensive that I anticipate.

Anyhow, enough about all that. :) I wanted to come back and share another one of the card sets that I put together for the NICU charity auction. :)

I picked up a beautiful set of My Mind"s Eye stamps about a month ago, and I immediately knew what I wanted to do with them. These cards came together rather quickly, since there was nothing that I had to color. :)




Aren't those lacey stamps so pretty? :) I inked them up in varying shades and then inked around all the edges to make the panels pop a little. Then I added a little Lasting Impressions rub-on and some buttons and called it a day.

Hope you're having a productive or fun weekend (or both!). Thanks for stopping by.

Enjoy your day!