After an extended absence, I'm back. It's been snowing what seems like forever, and I'm using some of this quiet time to catch up on a massive backlog of cards to make for family and friends. My cousin's birthday was this last Thursday. I wanted to make a card that followed his outdoor activities with a little humor thrown in. I stamped the forest background onto white card stock using the VersaFine Clair Morning Mist. It was then trimmed down to fit behind the oval frame of

I have been waiting and waiting to use this stamp from Mama Elephant. Putting aside the household chores, I made two cards. Why only two? Because I had to finish what I put off earlier. I will be making more cards with this stamp . . . it's now made my Top 5 Stamps I Love list. Mama Elephant: Botanic Hello (stamp design and sentiment) VersaFine Ink in Onyx Black Zig Clean Color Real Brush Watercolor Markers Tim Holtz Stamp Platform ATG with double-sided adhesive tape Base Ca

Last night, I started watching "Homeland" from the very beginning. I had to color something during some of the tense scenes that I couldn't just sit and watch. I quickly stamped this floral bouquet from Magenta and colored it with watercolor markers. Today, I figured out how I wanted to finish the card design. Magenta: Beautiful Bouquet 14.598.N May Life Always Allow You to Fly High 14.598.N Peel-off's in black (0751) Spellbinders' "Fleur de Elegance" Nestabilities S4-475 Mem

Sweet peas are one of the sweet memories I have from my early childhood. My mother grew them behind the detached garage, along with the 'Pennies from Heaven'. One day while take a walk around a small island in upper Puget Sound, I found them growing wild along the roadside. When I saw the Sweet Peas Cover-a-Card stamp design by Dina Kowal for IO, I knew I had to order this stamp. Impression Obsession: Sweet Peas CC284 Warm Hugs A13385 Spellbinders Nestabilities Card Creator S

When I saw this background stamp on the Impression Obsession website a short while ago, I knew I had to add it to my treasured stash of stamps. Impression Obsession: Cover-A-Card Stamp Design by Dina Kowal - Layered Pansies CC282 Alesa Baker Designs - Bold Sweet Wishes C9138 Spellbinders Nestabilities Card Creator 5x7 Matting Basics B Die Set S6-002 (smallest size) Crafter's Companion - Spectrum Noir Sparkle Glitter Brush Pens Butterfly embellishment from Little B VersaMark i

My nephew is expecting his second son any day, any hour. His wife is going to the doctor tomorrow and they may find themselves with a new addition to the family before they return home . . . who knows! All I know is I cannot wait to meet Reed when he chooses to make his debut. Reed also has a big brother, Jack, who is 5 years old and is quite anxious for everything to happen. While I've been waiting to hear, I made this card. When I saw this stamp in the current Stampin' Up!

While working the Elizabeth Craft Designs' booth at the Scrapbook Expo in Puyallup last weekend, I was totally taken with a card that was on display. The die design is from Joset van de Burgt and the card stock is ECD's new Soft Finish Card Stock. This card stock has such a subtle texture to it; when Distress Inks are applied, the paper takes on a velvet-looking finish. Of course, I had to buy the die and the card stock. The Soft Finish Card Stock comes in two weights. Using

A very brief posting. It's been a wonderful day celebrating Father's Day. Because my husband is literally joined "at-the-hip" to Hannah, our Bichon person, I made a Father's Day card for him. Black A7 card base. Red card stock embossed. White card stock stamped with VersaFine in Onyx Black. Used the MISTI to stamp the lettered paws. Added bichon stamp in lower right corner. Adhered to a black card stock trimmed to serve as a mat. That was then adhered to the red card stock pl

It's been a fun and a dramatic weekend. With two of my high school girlfriends, we saw Motown, The Musical, in Seattle . . . fabulous music, even more fabulous singing talent. Then I drove to Olympia/Tumwater for my 45th high school reunion; it's true, you see them as you remember them in school and not what they look like now. Sunday started out slowly and then I was horrified to see the television news about the mass shooting in Orlando. And I continued my ongoing prayers f

My husband's cataract eye surgery this morning seems to have been a success. Upon returning home, I immediately escaped to my studio to make up for the lack of time in it yesterday. Stamped on 140 lb. watercolor card stock (smooth side - 4.5x4.5) with Memento's Bahama Blue. With a wet watercolor brush, moved the color into the petals. For darker accent areas, used Teal Zeal and Elderberry (sparingly). Die cut 2 frames, smaller opening with linen card stock; larger opening wit

Back after a trip to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho for my husband's mid-year meeting. After driving across eastern Washington and upon my arrival, I find that my husband has a serious cold and is down for the count. I stay in the room and order room service. The next day, after enjoying lunch together, I return to the room and find myself not feeling so good mid-afternoon. So, I didn't make it to the banquet and rode home, back across eastern Washington, as sick as one can be. Upon pu

It was a not-so-wild weekend in Las Vegas. We arrived at 9:30 in the morning on Saturday and we immediately hit the gambling tables. I'm not a big gambler; so, I felt quite proud that from a $10 deposit into the video machine, I cashed out with $18. It was time for lunch! I'm lately finding myself drawn to butterflies and fish. When I returned home yesterday afternoon, I dug out some butterfly dies and started in. Die cut butterfly frame on white linen card stock with Stick I

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all the women I know, even some "mom" dads. You're a mother, even if you haven't given birth to or adopted a child. It's the family, friends and paw'd loved ones that you nurture each and every day. I made this card for my granddaughter. She is enjoying her second year of motherhood and she's one of the most loving mommies I'm proud to say. To top off my joy, her little one is the spitting image and character that she was at two. Inked with Distress Ink

It IS a wonderful world. I can even say that on a Monday! The sun was out in full glory today . . . our thermometer read 88 degrees this afternoon. Its too early in the year to enjoy that kind of summer day on a regular basis, so we'll take it when it shows up. It was our nephew's 47th birthday too. I spent the day making potato salad and homemade apple pie for the family celebration. My card today was inspired by Penny Ward; she's always creating beautiful cards. She posted

Another quickie card in the works today. Just found out some wonderful news from a family I know out-of-state and I wanted to send a note off immediately. What quicker way is there than to pull out my Nuance watercolors, embossing powder and die cutting machine! Inked with VersaMark; embossed with white embossing powder onto watercolor card stock. Misted with water and shook Nuance in several places. With a wet watercolor brush, moved the colors around. Blotted with a paper t

This afternoon the stamp club I belong to enjoyed a play day. We brought our MISTI's and stamped away. We're all learning that the MISTI is a must-have tool for many reasons. I not only love it for the repeated impressions that can be made; I also love it because it allows me to stamp sentiments exactly where I want them and in a straight line! I've been wanting to use this Penny Black stamp for a long time. I had tried it without the MISTI and I wasn't very successful. With

Tomorrow is my grandniece's 15th birthday. Of course, she's going to be 15 going on 42! I thought I'd make a quirky card to lighten things up. And this card couldn't be any more of that. That crazy bird was colored with colored pencils, as well as the hat. The hat was covered with Glossy Accents for a little dimension, as well as a bubble at the top. After stamping the bird, a stencil design was applied using Memento inks. I stenciled after so I could see where the bird was t

Yesterday's Easter celebration with family was a wonderful time spent. My 2 year-old great granddaughter provided us with lots of love and loads of entertainment. The food was yummy, too! Easter has always been filled with children; in addition to my great-granddaughter, we had 4 other small ones to prepare an Easter "basket" for. On Saturday, I discovered the sweetest stencil from Echo Park Paper Co. I had to purchase it because it was perfect to make Easter cards for the li

UPDATED COMMENT: This post was to have posted early Saturday morning and it didn't. So here it is. The day didn't go quite as planned. I lost track of time after lunch and squeezed in too many errands before returning to Puyallup. That meant I had to cancel, AGAIN, my Italian tutoring lesson. Dang! Before dinner, I sorted through my stash of embossing folders; I hope I found them all! Inevitably, I came across a few duplicates. Then the Gonzaga U v. Syracuse basketball tourn

While beginning the 'serious' clean out of my studio, I rediscovered my Zig Clean Color Real Brush water-based markers from Kuretake. It's been quite some time since we've known each other, so it was a quick learning curve that I delighted in. I'm not saying I'm totally back but I felt we made some progress in our relationship. This Penny Black stamp was shouting at me, so I paired them up. Layer the colors, starting with the lightest and then the darkest; blend with the mid-