Thinking Of You

Today I spent the day with my dog Tucker. My husband was in our guest bathroom pounding and tugging on walls as he started our remodel. Tucker doesn't do well with loud noises and to keep him from crying and shaking, I sat with him in my craft room. To make the best use of my time, I made a card for the weekend sketch challenge 104 at

http://beate.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/2009/10/30/weekend-sketch-challenge-104/ Tucker helped...

For this card I used DCWV paper from the Rustic collection. The sentiment was made using my computer, and it was framed using one of my Spellbinder dies. The ribbon was tied using my Bow Easy and ribbon from my stash. The card size is 9x4.

I have to say when I looked at the sketch I thought it would be one I could get together quickly. I had a huge problem picking out the papers and I'd tried 3 combinations, from reds, to greens to pinks....when I came upon these browns everything finally went together. I used Color Box Chalk in Spiced Pumpkin on all the edges. The chalks brought the card to life.

I'm off to dinner with the neighbors. We are going to Happy Days, an Asian restaurant in our neighborhood. Until later....I hope you enjoy Tucker and my card.

Birthday Cards

As promised. Here are three of the birthday cards made for Virginia, by the gals. Good job, Carolyn, Patti and Rita....

I made another card using Flower Soft. I think I am addicted....

Off I go to bed. Tomorrow is a busy day. Have a great evening.

Good Morning....It's windy and cold here in Northern California. I think maybe Winter is on her way.

I finished the cards for the November Class at Paradise Scrapbook Boutique. Both cards are easel cards. I think the class will be amazed at how easy they are to make. If you want to take the class, I'd suggest contacting Karen. http://paradisescrapbookboutique.typepad.com/ The date for this class is: November 10th at 1:00 PM.

Today I'm off to play. A few of us are getting together to play with Flower Soft. I'm sure it will be a fun day for all of us.

I wish you all a wonderful day!

Bind-It-All

Many of you know I'm taking an on-line Bind-It-All class through www.mycreativeclassroom.com the above photo is of the project I completed today. I'm very happy with this project. The photos don't do the project justice. Nan (our instructor) had us make gate fold and split pages and they turned out better than I would have imagined. I am sooooo very glad that I signed up for the class.

Well....I'm off to bed, I've been at it since early morning....Take care and have a wonderful week.

Virginia's Birthday

Introductions.... Top Photo: The Birthday Girl Virginia! Bottom Photo: Back Row Left to Right: Patti and Rita Front Row Left to Right: Virginia, Carolyn and Me.

Yesterday we celebrated Virginia's Birthday. Today I decided to share two of the photos. I know the girls will all complain about putting their photo in my blog page, but hey...I love them all and I want to share Virginia's special day. We started with a lunch at the Sierra Nevada Brewery in Chico. http://www.sierranevada.com/taproom/taproom.html Our husbands joined us (photo not included). The food was great the company greater!

We then went to Carolyn's for cake, gifts and visiting. Each of us made Virginia a special birthday card. Each card was beautiful. If I can get them away from Virginia, I'll post them next week.

I'm supposed to be getting ready to go to Chico to pick up tiles for our bathroom remodel... I guess I should get moving.

See you all next week. Enjoy your weekend. We've been told it'll be cooling down next week. So, enjoy what might be our last warm weekend.

Happy Birthday Karen

Good Morning,

This post is a bit late....I do want to say Happy Birthday Karen! To celebrate, a few of us got together and took Karen to lunch. Ok...more like we took lunch to Karen at our favorite place, PSB http://paradisescrapbookboutique.typepad.com/I'm not sure how "young" Karen is, but I think she is probably around 23 (Karen, am I your favorite?)

Karen's card was made using Sarah Milne's - Cape Town Table Bay Floral from Scenic Route Paper Company. I also used DCWV Classic Red Checks. The flower and the rhinestone embellishments are from Heidi Swapp. The sentiment is from my computer.

I love birthdays. Not because someone is gaining a year, but because each birthday marks another reason to celebrate the life of the celebrant. I firmly believe that the world changes at the birth of each person. I know my life has been made better by the births of my friends.

This week, I caught a nasty cold. I'm blaming my husband...though he's not buying it. I haven't felt this crummy for a long time. Thankfully I am almost over it. Let's hope this is the worst illness I'll run across during this entire cold/flu season....When I don't feel like making a card....I'm sick!

Adding another downer....one of the lights in my photo booth blew out. I had to order replacement bulbs. I've got to say.....I received them in less than a week. Gotta love the Internet!

Off I go for now. Today is Virginia's Birthday. I'll post her card later....

Have a great Friday....see you soon!

Talking With Santa

Good Morning....we are having our first winter storm....It's raining....pouring actually, and the wind has gone from windy to really, really windy! The weather man said that this is just the beginning of the storm and it will increase as the day goes on. Wouldn't you know it....my first class teaching at Paradise Scrapbook Boutique http://paradisescrapbookboutique.typepad.com/

If too many cancel, I'll ask Karen if I can re-teach this class at some point during the month.

Ok...Yesterday I spent the day with my favorite gals the SOS cropping group. We go PSB at around 10:30 and we stay until Karen throws us out...usually about 4:30. Everyone works on what ever we need to finish and my project was the card I posted above. I am really liking these easel cards. This one was made using BoBunny's a gift of love collection. I mounted the card stock on a brown linen base. The ribbon and buttons are from Karen's collection. Actually all items are from http://paradisescrapbookboutique.typepad.com/I'm very happy with how the card turned out. I think a card similar will be taught at my next class....anyone interested in taking that class?

Off I go....have a most wonderful day.

Easel Card - I Love It.

Before I begin....I want to thank Ron, my neighbor for getting me back on line. I decided to change my email password..who knew it could be so hard....After realizing that I don't speak the language of the computer....I put out an SOS and he came and I'm back up and running. Again, Thank you Ron!

I bought paper last week, and I wondered what I would make with it. I really love the old fashioned look. Well, after thinking about it, I came up with this Easel Card. I made it into a birthday card - my favorite card to make, next to Christmas. I love the 6x6 format and I saw an Easel Card that Becca made and displayed on her blog: http://www.amazingpapergrace.com/

This is what I used....The envelope is made from CCWV - classic Red Checks. I have a template for the 6x6 envelopes (Kreate-A-Lope, by http://www.greensneakers.com/ ) I think making an envelope to match your card makes the card that much more special. It's like adding wrapping paper to your gift.

The easel is made from a red linen card stock, and I also used a scrap of brown linen to make mattes for the front and inside. The front graphic is from Graphic45 - the Domestic Goddess line. The floral designed card stock is the back side of the graphic I used for the front. The silverware brad is by Creative Imaginations - Christine Adolph. When I bought them, I wondered what I would do with them.....they were perfect! Of course I used Spellbinders Rectangles for the matte on the sentiment. I'm beginning to think I can't make a card without adding something from Spellbinder. I did a free hand for my hand written note. And the sentiment was created on my computer.

Can you believe the card folds flat and fits into a 6x6 envelope? It was an easy card to make and I think it is beautiful.!

That's it for today. Tomorrow I'll be creating with my SOS group. It will be fun to see what everyone is working on.

Have a wonderful day.

Flower Soft - Lamp Post

Hello and Happy Weekend. This has been a busy one. I'm taking two classes through: http://www.mycreativeclassroom.com/ Can you believe....I also have homework! I haven't had homework in many a year. I'm taking the Bind-It-All 101, taught by Nan Paturzo. This is week one and I must say....it moves along. I've learned lots. Nan has put a lot of thought into her class and it shows. Carolyn came over and I shared my vast knowledge...ok, so maybe she helped me figure out why one of the punches wasn't working so well....but between our two brains...we figured it out!

I'm also taking a Watercolor using Tombow Markers class taught by Kim Teasdale. Homework here too.... this class has been lots of un and Kim is teaching me so much. I love my markers and she's making me love them more. I'd say it's about time I learned to use them.... I've had them since 1998! I must say, both classes are well worth the taking. If you've never taken an on-line class with My Creative Classroom.... I highly recommend them.

Today Brenda came for our monthly "play day". Brenda is one of those gals that creates cards that are master pieces. She painstakingly creates beautiful cards. Her cards are carefully planned and beautifully assembled. Sometimes I can see her gritting her teeth over colors I've chosen and how thrown together many of my cards are....when I finish making a card, she'll look at me and say, I never would have thought your card would turn out so well. I guess that's why we get along so well....we can tease each other and laugh at our peculiarities.

Ok...moving on.....today I created my card using Flower Soft. The graphic is also a Flower Soft graphic. I don't know if you can see it in the photo, but there is a thin line of gold around the graphic and around the plaid matte. This too is from Flower Soft and it is very easy to use. I was surprised at the ease of use. The strip is so thin and appears to be very delicate. It is pretty strong. The colors of Flower Soft I used are Polar White - Pale Green - Shamrock Green - Christmas Green and Russet Red. I also added Prisma Glitter. The sentiment was done using a Spellbinder tag... I'm happy with the card. I feel I'm still in learning mode using the Flower Soft. I'm loving the learning!

That's it for tonight. Have a wonderful weekend.

Let It Snow and The Cost Of Postage.

Good Morning,

It seems that lately a lot of conversation concerns the cost of mailing. With Christmas on the way, many people are making a list and checking it twice....not to see who is naughty or nice, but to see who might appreciate a handmade card, especially since it will probably require extra postage.

In the past month (or two) I participated in a blog challenge and I thought that card just might fit the bill....so, with a few modifications, I created the card above.

Now for the sad news: I have discovered that if you have anything other than a letter, you are going to pay more. Why? I really don't know. I've been to 3 different post offices and have gotten 3 different explanations. The men at my local post office know I make hand made cards. When I hand over the card they feel the envelope to see if they feel a bump of any kind...If they find one, they do the happy extra postage dance. If I go to another relatively local post office, they try to bend the envelope. If it doesn't have the consistency of a wet noodle....they do the happy postage dance. The third post office has a hard piece of plasticish material with a slot. If the envelope doesn't fit through the slot....you guessed it....happy extra postage dance. I then went to the web....the calculate postage section shows graphics. You pick which category you think your card fits into. My card happens to weigh 1.1 oz - if I say it is a letter the cost will be 61 cents. If I say the envelope does not bend it is now 81 cents. Keep in mind the size, the weight and the shape are the same. What's with that? I was told by a friend that she was told that the postal equipment for cancelling won't accept items that won't bend.

Ok, now, if I am standing in front of the postal clerk and I ask the postal clerk, who is being paid by the hour, or the week, to hand cancel my card....there is a charge for that. Tell me, why? I've already purchased the postage and I'm not wanting to break their cancelling machine....so I ask them to please hand cancel. With the rules in place....I think I should be paid for being considerate! Think of all the work I'm saving them. Now they don't have to clear out the machine!

I absolutely love my postal clerks and my mail carrier....I am sure they did not make the extra postage rule. It just amazes me that companies that provide a service believe it is necessary to charge for every little thing. Which brings to mind the airlines....If I book my own flight, and print my own boarding cards...I should charge the airline. And why is it If I carry on a suitcase it's free, but if it is stowed the bag in the belly of the plane...I pay? And here's a real gripe....People who don't want to pay the fee for the luggage, will drag their heavy bag through the narrow aisle, and not be able to find over-head storage....they have their bags taken by the flight attendant and they don't pay. What's with that? What ever happened to service?

I am climbing off my soap box and peddling my behind to the post office to mail a 1.1 oz letter/card/who knows what it will be!

See you later...come on over for coffee.....I won't even charge you for two lumps of sugar :-)

World Card Day

Good Morning...and Happy World Card Day (a day late) I wanted to get this card up on the actual day, but I goofed off a bit too much and never made it. I'm liking Flower Soft, can you tell. It's really easy to work with and drying time isn't too bad either. I'm learning as I go and gaining confidence too.

I used the Flower Soft Christmas Traditional Door, which has 6 doors in the package (3 green and 3 white). I used Flower Soft Vintage Christmas for the wreathe and trees, along with Polar White. It has just enough glitter to look like snow. I also used Graphic-45 - Christmas Past Collection - Let it Snow as the background and also as the inside. All of the items used , with the exception of the metallic gold and the ribbon were purchased from Paradise Scrapbook Boutique. She just received her shipment and it's going fast...so, if you're interested in purchasing, she will ship, just give her a call (530-876-8037).

Off I go, we are going to friends this morning and my honey is wondering what's taking me so long. Again, Happy World Card Day, Wishing you a wonderful Sunday and a fantastic week.

See you soon!