I'll miss this view!

My craft space is all tidied up and waiting for the packers to come in on Thursday. Naturally, I feel totally inspired to create now, but, alas, cannot. So, this will be my last post until sometime around July 30th or so. We don't get possession of our condo until July 25th, furniture most likely July 26th, but that has not been confirmed as yet by our mover. Then, the computers will be the first thing hooked up again because both John and I are fanatical about our computers. They are a life-line, literally.

In the meantime, I will leave you with this delightful video I took the other morning. If you hear heaving breathing, it's because I'm hunched down trying to get a good shot from underneath the hanging stained glass in our front window while, at the same time, trying to keep Hank, our cat, from getting into the shot.



This is such a beautiful place to live and we have such a lovely property with trees all around and horses frolicking in the backyard. Not our horses, but our neighbours. The gentle breezes in the summer make air conditioning unnecessary. But then, there's always the winter. I will not miss the -40 degree C. or the snow that piles up as high as the house on occasion. When the sun shines in the winter, the sky is a phenominal blue and clear, but that's when it's coldest. And the one thing that Guelph has that Thunder Bay does not is FAMILY! That makes saying good-bye to the friends we have made here a little easier.

See you in a couple of weeks.

A late night creation

Just playing around this evening and I was trying to follow the instructions from I Like Markers for Skin Tones. It's a first attempt, so I'm hoping I'll get better. Marianne has fabulous tutorials on her blog and I learn something new everyday. Of course, having no natural artistic talent (I use rubber stamps because I can't draw a stick-man), I have trouble with shadows. I'm hoping my BIL can teach me something when we finally get moved to Guelph as he'll only be a few minutes away and he can come play in my stamp room whenever he wants to. For the background I often refer to Freedom in Creating. Michelle also has fantastic tutorials.

For the card base, I used my marble stamp and VersaMark, then covered it in fine gold embossing powder and heated it up. I was hoping that it would look like a gilded-gold frame around a portrait, but I'm not sure if that's the effect I achieved. Anyway, it doesn't matter because I like the way it turned out. Hope you do, too.

One Card, Two challenges

It's official, I'm a procrastinator. I will not pack until Monday, that way I can play all weekend. While blurfing today, I found two blogs that offered challenges I could not resist. I made one card utilizing both challenges. The colours came first and it was from the new blog on the block, Color Throwdown. I love colour challenges and will play frequently, I hope.

The next blog I saw was Ink N' Scrap Habits. Now I must admit that Jennifer is a friend from The Stamp Shack and when she posted the news about sketch challenges on her blog, well, I ran straight over to check it out. I loved the sketch and made a card using colours from Color Throwdown and Jennifer's sketch. Really, all I had to do was choose a stamp and colour to my heart's content, which I did. Here's the card.



The colours I used were Pretty In Pink, Regal Rose and Sage Shadow. A beautiful combination from Color Throwdown. As previously stated, the sketch is from Ink N' Scrap Habits and I love it. I chose the Cone Flower stamp designed by Aesla Hopkins and is from Cornish Heritage Farms. I don't remember when the snaps come from, but I like them and they're easy to use. I added a little hand-drawn border around the flower just to dress it up a bit. Of course, I needed a little bling so used some Yellow Stickles and some Star Dust Stickles for eye-popping bling.

I received this image from an image swap hosted by JP at The Stamp Shack. He turned up in my mail box yesterday and I coloured him in last night. I just had to use the sentiment I received when I purchased a grab bag of stamps a couple of months ago. I don't remember the company, but it had a ton of sentiments and this one works for this image, in my opinion. I started off with a Very Vanilla base, but it looked too bland so I rummaged around in my scraps drawer and came up with the polka dotted paper. The image is on white and double-matted with Chocolate Chip and Pumpkin Pie. The sentiment is stamped with Pumpkin Pie ink. I coloured him with Copic markers and added a little Close To Cocoa grosgrain ribbon. Every time I look at him, I laugh! What about you?

Still playing, not packing.....

....that's not good! If I'm still posting by Friday of new cards I've made, will someone please send me a swift kick in the butt!!!

In the meantime, here's a card I made for the JLO Design Team challenge. We were to use a sketch by Kerry Urbatch of The Stamp Shack. You may be able to see that sketch here.



The base is Select White by PTI, with a Cool Caribbean strip punched with the Spiral punch by SU. The stamps are, of course, by Jessica Lynn Original stamps. The metal embellishments are from the Hodgepodge Hardware in Antique Brass, also by SU. I coloured the dragon with Copic marker for the body, and used the Copic Spica glitter pens for the other bits. I love the sparkly effect the Spica pens give to a project.

Okay, that's my play time for today. Gotta go do something involved with moving now.

Why am I playing instead of packing?

Probably because playing is more fun.....hehehe! Anyway, while reading my Google Reader this morning, I found a challenge I wanted to complete. When I create my cards, I never use just words or sentiments, but recently I received several in a grab bag so I actually had something to use. Here's my card. It was made for Allison's challenge here, and it's challenge AFSS25 - Words, Words, Words. The base is Elegant Eggplant by SU, with accenting c/s Lavender Moon by PTI. The DP is from the scraps drawer and, therefore, unknown to me. I glitzed it up with some sparkly little flowers, also from my stash, but I remember buying them at the Dollar Store. A bit of dotted, sheer ribbon around a slide and it's done.

Go check out the challenge at Stampin' When I Can, and also all the other good stuff Allison places on her blog. She does a huge service for craft bloggers everywhere!

I'm measurement-challenged!

This is my entry for this week's Mojo Monday card at Poetic Artistry. I love the sketch, but somewhere along the way, I lost the ability to measure accurately. While no measurements were provided, anyone can see the strip overlaps on both sides in the sketch. Does mine: NO! Anyway it was a great sketch and I will be using this as a birthday card for a neice who loves to garden.

With the exception of the stamp, which is Veggiebella of Stamping Bella, this card was made using only scraps, therefore, I have no idea what papers were used. How do you all remember what papers and stuff you use when scraps are involved? I'd love to know.

New Style Card

Isn't this a lovely card? I saw this in a newsletter I receive regularly, Creative Papercrafts. Their description is wonderful and I made it in about 5 minutes. The hardest part was selecting the papers and the stamp set to use! The DP is from my stash and is no longer known to me. I used Delight In Life by SU and cut around the flowers. The ribbon is also from my stash and is just a sheer dotted bit. The sentiment is from the Women of Life by PTI.

I'll have a couple more cards in the next day or so because I need to get them made before the packers arrive and they take away my furniture. That all happens in a couple of weeks and I can hardly wait to get to our new home in Guelph. I can't wait to be a real Grandma to Jack. My other two grandsons are in England, but I'll see them in October when they come to Canada for Andrew's and Sheena's wedding. Then, for a few days, I'll have all the grandkids in one spot.

I'll be away for a short time.

Unfortunately, I won't be putting any new posts or cards up probably until next Monday. My brother passed away and I'm going to Ottawa to be with my siblings for the funeral. It's been a difficult last few days and I'm looking forward to seeing other members of the family and remembering the life of George.

See you soon and thank you all for taking the time to read my blog.

Ever had one of those days!

That's what it says on the inside of this card. It's another image by Paper Pretties. I now have two of their stamps, but having joined the SOTM club, I'll soon have a wonderful collection. My first SOTM will arrive in July. I sure hope it's before we move. Well, Canada Post will re-direct it anyway, but it would be so much better to have it to pack up and take with me.

This card is very simple. I started with PTI Select White and my Cuttlebug with the Swiss Dots folder. After scoring my card with the Scor-Pal, I placed the Swiss Dots folder so it was partially over the fold and ran it through the Cuttlebug. That means that a portion of the back of the card is also embossed, but I believe it just adds to the tactile element of the card. Then, I placed the CB folder over the right hand side of the card and ran it through again and, voila, embossing with a blank space in the middle. And, I did it without cutting the folder as I have read some people have done. After the embossing, I stamped the image in the centre and coloured it with Copic Markers and added some dotted ribbon by PTI from the Summer Sunrise collection. The inside of the card simply says, "Ever had one of those days!"

Very simple, very chic!

Look out world, here I come!

This is one of the many, many cute stamps you will find at Paper Pretties. Christie also has a Stamp of the Month club where all you get is the stamp. So many places out there, that are great, offer a lot of extras for a larger price. Paper Pretties is a no-nonsense SOTM. All you get is a stamp, and all you pay for is a stamp. Perfect in my opinion, at least. Check it out for yourself and see what you think.

Okay, on to the card for the deets. The only thing new on this card is the stamp! I pulled out my green scraps folder and picked all of the papers from there. The base is SU, the pp is probably from Self-Addressed, there's a bit of dark green Bazill and a lighter green probably from the inexpensive packs you can get at Wal-Mart. The brads are from so long ago I don't remember who made them. Most likely there were a purchase from The Dollar Store. I think it turned out well enough for me to visit my different-colour scrap folders more often!

I picked up another stamp from Paper Pretties, but I haven't made it into a card just yet. Later today, probably. "Y'all come back now, ya here." That just popped into my head and I know it's from a TV show, but darned if I can remember which one. Anyone out there who can tell me?

Billy the Cowboy

Another adorable little boy to love! I have a feeling that my grandsons are going to get cards for no reason whatsoever because I'm in love with these images by Pink Cat Studio. I've got Dress Up Billy as well, but need to cut them up and mount them on EZ Mount and there's so many bits, it'll take me a while to get it done.

This card has a Chocolate Chip base. The DP is from my stash and unknown by me, at least. The sentiment and star are Close To Cocoa. Billy was coloured with Copic Markers and his buckle and harness on the horse's face are coloured witht the gold Copic Spica pen.

Stay tuned, who knows which Billy will show up next!

Billy the Pirate

The Billy stamps by Pink Cat Studio are just the coolest! Here's my first card using the pirate Billy. The base is Real Red and the striped blue and red pp is from one of the Self-Addressed monthly kits, but I can remember which one, sorry. I finally remember to use some of the dozens of punches I have to embellish the card. I keep forgetting those darn things and they add so much to a card. I used the CM circle punch and the SU Round Tab punch. A few brads in opposite corners and it was complete. This will make a terrific birthday card for a special little boy who will soon be two years old, already!

Two cards, three challenges!

Both of these cards are using the "Many Happy Re-turns" stamp set designed by Rupa Shevde for Gina K. Designs. I love this set! Now, on to the challenges.

"Thank you sew much!" was created for SC181 at SCS. The card base is yellow, the DP is Ginger Blossom and the image was stamped onto Soft Sky. I stamped it with Versamark, then into Blue Bayou ink, sprinkled with clear embossing powder and heat set. The Soft Sky ribbon is attached with Blue Bayou brads and the thimble and dressmaker embellishments are from Buttons Galore.



"Sorry for the mix-up!" incorporates two challenges in this card. This weeks colour challenge, CC171 and last week's sketch challenge, SC180.





Just a quick post today as I've got to go out and do some grocery shopping, UGH!

A friend sent me some Magnolia images to play with!

Sue in England sent me a pile of adorable Magnolia images and I wanted to play right away. This is Tilda and she's just baked a plate of cookies, at least in my estimation. She was so much fun to colour and I used my Copic markers, of course. The card base is PTI Select White and I added a piece of Lavender Moon c/s. The scalloped edge was made using my SU slit punch and the DP is by DCWV Glitter Stack. The sentiment was created using the alphabet stamp set by PTI known as Simple Alphabet. I added some Lavender Moon dotted ribbon and a flower from Buttons Galore and More.


Here is Tilda sitting on a present. Once again, Papertrey Ink products are featured in the card base, the Lavender Moon twill ribbon, and the little bit of Lavender Moon which was use to mat the image. Copic Markers are the colouring medium I used, along with more DCWV Glitter Stack designer paper. I almost forgot, I used Lavender Stickles on the wings and Gold Stickles on the twine on the present.







Here's Edwin with his broom. I hope he remembers how to use a broom when he's all growed up!



I began this card with Kraft c/s by SU. I stamped the Lovely As A Tree, using Versafine Sepia ink. I dabbed a bit of Kraft White ink to make it feel like winter. To colour Edwin, I used Koh-i-Noor woodless pencils from Gina K. Designs, and blended it with Gamsol and stumps. I really like the way the colour moves around so smoothly. I'm pretty sure these pencils with get plenty of use.

Okay, that's it for this post. I'll be back tomorrow with a new card I made today but haven't photographed yet. I'll work on that later tonight and be ready for tomorrow.

It's been a while since I entered a card for

MOJO42 over at Poetic Artistry. Besides being a really cool sketch this week (as always), I wanted to use the ape/monkey stamp designed by Melanie Muenchinger for Gina K. Designs. You want to know why? Well, I'll tell you. Melanie is giving away a a FREE set of her newest design during the Gina K. release party on June 20th. I just didn't want to miss another chance to win one of Melanie's sets. I love, love, love her designs. That's why I had to use this sweet little ape/monkey, why I had to enter the Mojo42 sketch challenge and why I'm telling you all now so you can try to win, too! Just upload your cards at SCS using keyword MMGKD1 so Melanie can find them and randomly select the winner (hopefully me!).

Now for the deets on this card. The base is kraft c/s by SU. I adhered a piece of CTMH c/s from the Carnival collection. The DP is part of Daisy D's Pet collection. I stamped the ape/monkey (Melanie, can you clarify if this is an ape or a monkey so I can stop typing both, please?) onto PTI Select White, using Palette Hybrid Black ink. Then, I cooured it using the Koh-i-Noor Woodless Pencils which are available at Gina K. Designs. I blended it with Gamsol and the stumps. I added the little silver heart as an embellishment. I think I may give this card to my DH for our upcoming 12th anniversary on July 12. I'm pretty sure by then all my supplies will be packed away for moving so I wanted to get it done early.

Colour Challenge at The Stamp Shack

Pink and Orange! Those were the colours to use for CC10 at The Stamp Shack. The picture doesn't really do justice to the Ginger Blossom paper by SU. The pink really "pops" in real life, almost like a 3-D effect.

The card base is Groovy Guava to which I attached the Ginger Blossom DP. The sentiment is from SU's Smarty Pants set, stamped with Pixie Pink ink onto Groovy Guava c/s. I used the Nestabilities (which I usually forget) and cut and embossed a bit of Pixie Pink c/s with the small, scalloped rectangles. The ribbon slide is by Queen & Co. and it's holding some Groovy Guava ribbon.

A True Diva

All DT members of the JessicaLynn Original Stamps were challenged by Amanda to create a card using SC166. That was about two weeks ago and with getting ready for the garage sale and generally going crazy trying to remember and list all things "move related", I finally found myself with some time to sit down at my craft table and make this card.

This little Yorkie IS a "Ture Diva". She's not from one of the newer releases, but she is a much-loved stamp, nonetheless. I used SU's Perfect Plum as the base and Lavender Lace for mounting the bits of glitter paper from DCWV Glitter Stack. The image was stamped on PTI Select White using Palette Hybrid Black ink, then coloured in with Copic Ciao markers. For glitz, and all True Divas NEED glitz, I used some Bella's Baubles and, of course, that old-glitz-standby, Stickles in Aqua and Arctic Ice.

Some calm before the storm!

I have been so busy preparing for our garage sale tomorrow and I'm exhausted, really. I've been going through the closets to find things we no longer need or want, scouring the garage and our downstairs for useless (to us) items that don't need to be hauled a thousand miles to our new home. After all, we are downsizing from a 5-bedroom home to a 2-bedroom and a craft room condo. It's really 3-bedrooms but I am claiming one of them for a craft room, so there! Anyway, I found myself with a few hours before the young lads from across the stree come over to set up the tables and start moving stuff out to the garage so I decided to post some cards and ATC's I've made. Are you ready? Here we go....


I signed myself up for three ATC swaps over at The Stamp Shack. They are, in no particular order because I can't remember which pic shows up first, Sassy Stripes and Playful Polka Dots. Both of these swaps are being hosted by my good frient, Sherri a.k.a. iloveflipflops. They're not due until late August, but I'm getting them done now so I won't be late due to moving and stuff.

The middle picture is for the Tea and Cakes swap being hosted by another Shackie, Sue a.k.a. Artyfarty. Sue lives in England and I hope to meet her one day when I'm visiting my DD and grandsons.

Last up is the card I made for our neighbour, Nick. He recently was hospitalized and spent a couple of days in the ICU and I thought that this stamp was very appropriate being as when his wife asked him if there was anything he needed, his response was, "yea, please bring me a pair of underwear". Honest, I didn't peek through the window at all! LOL!



I'm happy to say that Nick is now back home and recuperating nicely. My DH will be glad to get outside and go visit Nick soon.

Celebrate Today ~~ just because

Just looking at this card makes me happy. It came about in a rather unusual way, I must say. Because we're moving from Thunder Bay to Guelph in a couple of months, I decided I needed to clear out some stuff from our closets, stamping stuff included. I pulled out a bunch of stamps I don't use very often and offered them for sale in the Shack Marketplace at The Stamp Shack. I had about 12 or more SU sets and promised that some High Hopes and Pink Cat Studio sets would follow soon. Well, some of the SU sets sold quickly and then a couple of ladies asked about the other sets. I started to go through them and, well, I found I was unable to part with any more stamps, sets or otherwise. This came as a big shock to me as I guess I didn't fully understand my addiction to this craft. As I looked at each set, and I only got as far as the High Hopes, I found myself cringing at the thought of parting with the boy with the frog, this lovely little girl holding a stuffed heart, and, well, the baby blowing the bubbles; unthinkable to sell. Anyway, to make a long story short, I withdrew the balance of the stamps from Shack Marketplace and decided that my family will just have to bury me with all my stamps when it's my time to go to that Great Stamping Convention in the sky!

"Celebrate Today" was inspired by the cards created by Michelle Zindorf at Freedom In Creating. I love, love, love what she does with a brayer and regular cardstock. The effects Michelle achieves are remarkable and I wanted to see if I could even come close. While not as good as her cards, I am pleased with the way this one turned out. I stamped the image with Black Palette Hybrid ink and coloured it in with Copic Markers. Then, I used my finger to cover the entire, coloured image with VersaMark. I don't have a marker yet, but my friend, Erin K. picked one up and is sending it to me as a RAK; isn't that terrific of her? Thanks, again, Erin! You can see Erin's blog and all of her great cards here. Then, I sprinkled clear embossing powder over the image and heated it up. I selected Soft Sky ink for the first layer of ink and using my brayer, went over the top portion of the card several times. Next, I added some Ballet Blue in in the sky as well. For the grassy portion, it was Wild Wasabi, making several passes with the brayer. When I was satisfied with the colours of the sky and grass, I stamped the rock with the leaves and coloured them using Copics. The embellishments are all from Buttons Galore. I like them because they have great selections of smooth-backed embellies just perfect for cardmaking.

There you have it, Celebrate Today ~~ just because!

I thought I missed the PTI Blog Hop!!!

You can visit the May Blog Hop List in the PTI Forum and see all the other bloggers who are participating by clicking here.

This is the card I made for this month's Blog Hop Challenge. Here's the challenge, direct from the Papertrey Ink site, "Your challenge this month is to utilize score lines in a creative way as a decorative accent to any type of project. I look forward to seeing all of your results!!!"



I started with a pale lilac cardstock, measuring 5-1/2" x 5-1/2". I added a 5" x 5" piece of Sweet Blush. This is the bit I used my Scor-Pal for the scoring lines. I tried to create a diagonal pattern and on two of the squares, I attached some of the printed paper that was available for download from PTI. I stamped some flowers from the Text Boxed set using Berry Sorbet ink. The baby stamps I used were from Studio G clear stamps as I didn't have time to get the newest release from PTI, but I will! I added some chipboard photo corners which I covered with more of the downloaded paper from PTI and inked the edges (a little over-zealously, methinks!) and adhered them to opposite corners. Then, to finish it off I put on some buttons from Buttons Galore.

Okay, this is my first time to participate inthe PTI Blog Hop and I'm so happy to be a part of it.