My two loves!

Love #1 - Most of you know that I love my cards...yes I do!  Crafting with friends and for my family are close to my heart and my craft area shows it!!  This card features a technique that makes it look like a quilt.  This image is one of my favorites...love those ruby slippers.  Halloween is coming up and that stamp (from Technique Junkies) would be perfect for some cards!  (think wicked witch).

Love #2 - Some of you may know that my second love is Essential Oils!!  So, I have a contest running over on my other blog and I would love it if you would enter!  The prize is the car diffuser shown below and a 5ml bottle of Stress Away.  Click HERE to go there and enter.  Instructions are on that page.  I don't sell any product on that blog but there IS a lot of info about essential oils!  I hope that you take a look around while you are there!  My passion for EO's started when I decided to be pro-active in eliminating chemicals from my life.  My morning routine has gone from 112 chemicals to almost zero!!!  If you have questions....I have answers!

Faux Dorothy

Hi, Bloggers!  This week the technique of the week from Technique Junkies is Faux Embroidered Quilt.  It makes the background look soooo good!  I've used one of my newer favorite stamps from Technique Junkie Stamps (formerly Stamp Camp).  I thought this card could be good for those college students who are leaving home for the first time!  There indeed is no place like home!  The words were made using an alphabet stamp set from Hero Arts that I've had for at least 20 years!  Funny how just recently I've seen some stamp companies use this font for some of these stamps!  What goes around, comes around!  ;-)  Enjoy!

Waxy Window

This coming week the Technique of the week for Technique Junkies is Waxy Window.  So, I thought I'd start the week off with a fresh simple sample of Waxy Window.  I've been on a mission to try and use some of my stamps that have NSI.....Never Seen Ink!  I'm sure that some of you have this problem too!  The stamps are from Stampin' Up!  I know that they aren't new but they hadn't been used until today!  I wanted some colors that remind me of the later days of summer so picked a red flower with some orange in the design too.  A little hand drawing around the inner white border made the image pop out a little more.  Enjoy!

Pressed Stains

No........I'm not ironing!!  Pressed Stains is a super fun technique from the most recent issue of the Technique Junkie newsletter.  I had a friend over.........Laura and I had a lot of fun.  She brought a hostess stamp set from SU and we colored up the Flower with copics.  Then we made the backgrounds to match the flowers.  I had one flower already colored up from the week before and had put a blue background around it.  The backgrounds we had made didn't have any blue and it looked really funny with them.  So......I made another background using a little blue and it was just perfect.  I love how every background is just a little different.  I hope you enjoy!  I included all four....I just couldn't decide which one I wanted to do the most!  Sorry...the scan was a little off.  The Hero Arts sentiment stamp had stamped the edge under the words and I thought it looked like it was supposed to be there so I stamped three more like it.  ;-)

Cut Borders

Welcome to a beautiful Saturday.  As a Technique Junkie designer, we always see the tutorials several months in advance. We are assigned several techniques as well as several we pick of our own. I didn't get to work on this technique yet called Cut Borders. So easy and really fun!

I love how this card came out. The stamp set (shells) is by Stampin Up. The words are computer generated. The blue paper to the side is from Paper Temptress and boy oh boy........it is absolutely wonderful. Just a hint of sparkle and perfect for making you think of sparkling sand!

Fall is Here!

So....here are the Halloween ones that I talked about the other day.

I needed a girl card, a boy card and one for her parents.  So........here they are!  I found all the images online as coloring pages.  I did this because I don't have any Halloween stamps of my own!  I'm quite happy with the images though. They are all colored with copic markers. The Skeleton above is 'hinged' at the joints with brads.  The arms and legs can be moved wherever you want.  The background is veined marble technique from the TJ newsletter.

The Witch girl was a freebie image from Wonderstrange and was called Witchlines.  I think she is quite cute.  The background here was Black glossy paper and Luminare paints.  It was a technique from TJ newsletter but for the life of me I cannot remember the name!

The last card was for the parents so I wanted something a little more Fall and less cute.  I found this scarecrow with the pumpkin head was a coloring page image on a site that had free Disney characters pages.  His background I 'think' is called Dabbed shimmers from the TJ newsletter and it has lots of great oranges and some metallic to it as well.  I also used the Cuttlebug Highlights technique.  I've had those little tiny leaves for years.  I originally purchased them for a special project then promptly forgot the project to do with them......you don't ever do that do you?  ;-) 

Thanksgiving early!

Well.....the weather has finally changed. We are into the rain and cooler temperatures now. A lady that frequently orders cards from me asked for three Halloween, three Thanksgiving, three Christmas, and three each of Thank you and Thinking of you. I had four days to get them all done. Fortunately, I had Thank you and Thinking of you cards in my stock. Then I found more than three Christmas cards that I had made for design team work that were never in my sale before. So that left only three each of the Halloween and Thanksgiving. I'll show you the Thanksgiving ones today and the Halloween ones in a couple of days! 

These were all coloring book images from the web.  They are all colored with copic markers.  The bottom one with the cornucopia has the rolled corners and the torn frames techniques from the TJ newsletter.

Wishing for summer!

Well, if you saw the weather around Oregon you certainly would be wondering where summer it.  No shorts yet, no sandals.......we've had one day or maybe two that have barely broke 70 degrees!  BUT we can live through our art instead!  Here is a card using the Color Sandwich technique from the June 2011 TJ newsletter.  That cute summer dress is only a dream right now............I actually wore my winter coat the other day......*sigh*.

Sneak Peek for the newest TJ newsletter!

Here is a card using a new technique called spray away from the newest TJ newsletter.  This month is another fabulous newsletter full of wonderful techniques.  I'll be sharing at least three over the next couple of days.  The stamps used on this are from Sweet N Sassy Stamps.  She has the most adorable stamps!!  Digis too if you lean that way!

Do you do this?

I don't know why but I do this ALL the time, do you?  I wait until the last minute to get something done.  I know that if I had done it earlier I would be so much happier.  BUT I wait and let that devil "Procrastination" get the best of me.  You don't do that do you?  ;-)

This is the weekly card for the Hambo Hoedown.  It really is a fun challenge because everyone is a winner!  You all win a free digi!  Click on the badge to the right to find out more.

The elephant was duplicated, flipped (for one) and resized to create a trio of ellies.  I didn't have much time to really color nicely as I was trying to get done before my grandson woke from his nap!  The background piece is from my stash of TJ techniques.  This one is called Simple Sumi!  We were to use sparkle and I really wish that cameras and scanners had a sparkle button.  This is much more sparkly in person!  The elephants even have a sparkle ground.

It's a SALE!

OH MY GOODNESS!!!   If you ever were thinking of trying Technique Junkie newsletter, NOW is the time.  She is having a sale on EVERYTHING.

Click here to read all about it.

BUT........you have to hurry.......sale ends on March 31st!!

Sympathy today

It was a sad day to make a card.......over the weekend we found out that Ed Egan, a longtime Rhododendron Society friend, passed away.  This card is for his wife, Fran.  I saw a card that Mari Adams had made that was similar and when I saw it, I knew that Fran would love it.  I used the Pencil over Marker technique from Technique Junkies but instead of using darler pencils, I used lighter since the paper was dark.  I added some Stickles to give it a little bit of life. 

Still keeping the resolution!!

Valentines for the Kiddos

The sweet mouse is from Sweet and Sassy Stamps.  I used cuttlebug highlights on this one.

I did something brand new to me too!..........I cut the hearts behind the mouse with my brand new Cricut and the SCAL2 program.  I created the heart myself!  The scallops really came out a lot smaller than I imagined....a learning lesson for sure!  The looped red border is also a freebie from SVGcuts.com.  I thought that it need a little glitz so I glittered the layer under the mouse.  The mouse is colored with copic markers and cut out.  Ugh!  I hate cutting little stuff.  I'm NOT a very good cutter. 

I'm actually making three of these so I'm going to be ahead of my resolution goal.  Good for those bad stamping days, right?

After the other day, I'm not sure I want to reward the little twerps!  But I guess they were just being kids.  I watched all four grandkids while my daughter-in-law was getting her Monday Makeover that she won on a local radio station.  Which is a great story.  My middle daughter, Leah, nominated my oldest, Angie for Monday Makeover on 104.1 The Fish.  Angie won!  To thank Leah, Angie nominated her.  Then Leah won!!  I got to thinking that I should nominate my daughter-in-law, Ahtia.  So, I did and SHE won!!  Cool, huh?!!  Anyways, all three of the little kids were arguing and crying over one of the train set toys I have.  I sent all three to the corner where they ran and started to cry.  I told them they had nothing to cry about and to be quiet.  Which they all did.....amazingly enough!  So, I told them that the train set was MY toy and if they wanted to fight and cry over it and not share that I would just put it away.  I let them get up to go play again and no arguments over the train set!  At least for the 5 minutes they played with it.  Then it was on to a different toy.  After three hours of watching them all, I was really pooped.  I don't know how Ahtia does it for the whole day!!  Hopefully when the little three get a little bigger, it will be easier.  Breauna (who was here as well) was a jewel and happily reading her homework story to me.  We always have a wonderful time together!

Getting ready for Vday

Here is one of the first cards for Valentines day.  This one uses colors that aren't terribly Valentine-ish.  I used the Antique Wallpaper technique for the background paper and the Copic Expressions technique for the flower heart.  For some reason, I really struggled with the layout of this card.  Mr. Mojo was hiding for a while!   Good thing I had some background papers in my stash!  Makes creation quicker when backgrounds are already done! 

Stamp credits: Stampendous for the heart and SmARTworks for the word Valentine.  Enjoy! 

For me........one more day keeping the resolution! 

Pencil Resist

 

Here is a card that I did for the December Technique Junkie newsletter called pencil resist.  I was tickled that the background came out so neat on this.  Hope you enjoy!  

I hope that you had a wonderful Christmas and New Years.  Our New Year's eve was quiet.  We were going to play pinochle with some friends but they had to cancel.  We ended up going out to eat with some neighbors.  It was wonderful spending some time with them.  Hadn't had that chance for months!  All was not lost though, got to play cards with our friends tonight instead!  

Got to play a little with my new Cricut Expressions.  I got it with some of the money I made at my yearly craft sale.  Got the SCAL2 for Christmas and had the Cricut Design Studio as well.  Got a number of cartridges from Cricutmachine.com....many of them only $20.  Now with the SCAL2 I can even cut some of my own artwork!  Way cool!  I tried to cut one schernschnitte that I had scanned from a 1947 calendar my mom had but some of the cuts were just too little.  I'll have to alter the picture for it to work.  

Also, for Christmas our kids gave us a new photo of all of them and their kids together.  They had to sneak the frame from the hall Christmas Eve and get the new photo into it.  It is a wonderful picture of everyone.  I LOVE that kind of gift!  

Free CD!!!

Well......it is THAT time of year again!!!   I have ONE free Technique Junkie CD to give away to one of you!!  This is the BRAND NEW CD8!!  Hot off the press! 

You will need to leave me a comment on THIS post.  This time, I would like you to tell me what state/country  you live in!!   This offer is for Internationals as well!!

I will announce the winner on October  6th.  That is only 6 days away!  Tell your friends!!

Stoned cowboy!

Well.........he isn't actually stoned!  Hee hee!!  The technique I used on this card is called Polished Stone through the Window.  I really love the way this cowboy stamp comes out with this technique.  I also used torn frames around the sentiment.  That cowboy, by the way, is from www.Rubberstampave.com.    The owner, Kathy, has absolutely awesome cowboy stamps.  This cowboy has always been my favorite for this technique.

When you read this post, I'll be at the end of a week long stamping retreat at the beach!  I know I'll be in 7th heaven.  My hubby, however, probably isn't.  He wasn't too thrilled about me being gone a whole week.  I'm coming home soon honey!!

Breauna's Birthday Card

Here is the card that I made for my granddaughter, Breauna.  She will turn 8 tomorrow.  She is becoming a beautiful grownup girl and I'm proud to be her grandma.  I watched her the first four years of her life and we do have a special bond.  She is also very loving......my huggy girl!  She is going to have a Hawaiian theme for her birthday and although this isn't a Hawaiian image, I thought that the colors and flower background would suffice.  The image is from Mo's Digital Pencil and is colored with Copic Markers.  The words are from Stampin Up.  I used the Technique Junkie technique of Wisped Frames and Out of the Box for this card.  The frames are somewhat hard to see.....but there are there.  I really needed my W1 pen for the mouse's face but that darn pen seems to be missing and that surely distresses me!!  I did mount the sentiment and the mouse up a layer with foam tape.   Hope you enjoy!!

Leveling Up........

Sometimes I wish camera were more like the naked eye.  I have lots of layers on this but it surely is hard to tell in the photo!!  The layering technique is called Leveling Up and is one of the techniques in the August Technique Junkie Newsletter.  The background (black and gold) is also a TJ technique but in my haste to get this post done, I don't have time to look the name of it up.  I used black glossy paper and Lumiere paint to create it.  I used a piece just like this on a tiger card that was published last year in RubberStampMadness magazine. 

The image on this card has such rich colors......I really love it.  It is from a collage sheet from a company called Twisted Papers.  Their images are all digital and oh so easy to use.  I printed this particular image off three times.  Once a little larger than the other two for the bottom layer of the image.  Then I cut the cob and the husks off one layer and mounted them on the last layer to give a 3-dimensional look.  In real life it is just beautiful!! I added a little copper yarn fiber to give it a little sparkle.  I hope that you like it too.

Now for a long overdue car accident report:
I am STILL going in for treatments from our car accident.  My shoulder is almost 90%.  I can move it pretty good now.......just a little tight towards the end of the movement.  My bulging disc is causing a little more problems than I would like.  The physical therapy didn't seem to be doing any good.  In fact, I think I can say that I think it was doing more harm than good.  So.......the PT was deleted from the treatment plan and acupuncture was added.  I was a little scared to do it because I thought it would be really painful.  BUT I was sooooooo wrong.  I rather like it!  I think that it is helping....at least a lot more than the PT was!!  AND I also had Spinal Decompression added to my treatment plan.  This is a unit that provides a type of traction on the affected discs.  Way different than just plain traction though.  You can see the unit and how it works on my chiropractor's site:  http://hilltophealth.com/index.php    This is not my regular chiropractor, whom I really love.  I would have rather had my adjustments by her and the SpineMed by the other doctor but it had something to do with the insurance coding that prevented it.  I've had two treatments with the SpineMed so far.   There wasn't any soreness after the first one but I was sore after the second one as the poundage was increased about 10% from the time before.  One of these days I hope that I can say that I can feel my toes again!     

On another side note:  I went in to the Pacific Cataract and Laser Institute to see if the floater in my eye would be blast-able (is that a word?).  Unfortunately, it seems that the floater is too close to my retina so the irritation of the floater being right in the middle of my vision will stay.   They did offer a solution......they take out all the vitreous and replace it with a man-made material.  Uh.......I don't think so!!!!  Maybe God has something special planned for it!  Hmmmmm............      They also did a Glare test to see how much the slowly growing cataracts are affecting my night vision.  If my eyes measure at 20/50 then the insurance would pay for the cataract surgery.  My left eye is at 20/50 but my right eye is at 20/40 so nothing for me yet.  Maybe in another couple of years. 

Now......let's make it just a little longer of a post!  ;-)  Just after the 4th of July we made a big change in our family room.  Well......at least it was big for us!!  We took down the 20 year old 'college' plank and decorative cinder block bookshelves and replaced them with real ones!  Then as the old ones came down, it was obvious that the back wall should be painted.  I hired my son-in-law (who needed some work) and we painted it a gold color.  Well......I really like it.....it matches some of my painting really well.  Ray, on the other hand........hates it.  I told him that if he really didn't like it after a year that he could take down everything, unload the bookshelves and repaint it white.  ;-)

Acrylic Embossed Leaves

The leaves aren't embossed but the background is!!  Isn't it funny how sometimes you struggle with a card and just can't get something right on it?  Either the color of the paper or the layout.  THIS card just fell together like the background was made for the stamp.  It felt good to have 'Mojo" on my side today!  The leaves are by Hero Arts.  I used the TJ technique called copic expressions to stamp it and just love the mottled look that you get.  It was originally white on the background of the stamped leaves......I thought it looked too bright so I brayered a real light yellow over it to tone it down.  Then I left the sentiment white so that it would stand out.  The colors of paint that I used on the background piece were yellow, green and brown but it sure looks like I used orange BUT I didn't!  I love the pattern in the paint, don't you?  The "hello" stamp is from the $1 bin at Michaels.