sketch challenge Wednesday

Not sure if this is really a groundhog!

Now this is a sketch that warms my paper loving soul.I had to go looking for paper by rustling around since my stamp supplies are packed into tubs --- so far the carpet is pulled up and the closet is painted. Today I hope to paint the walls. This weekend we will order new carpet - and I am well on the way to a new guest room / stamp room. Need to make the decision today over the paint I bought and tried out in the closet, or trying a new warmer more yellowish beige. Decisions decisions. At least we chose the carpet yesterday.

Fun part will be putting everything back onto the shelves. I have such great intentions to be organized!

Teapot Tuesday

This dog just reminded me of those oriental cats -- so I drew one and colored it to look like my cat Snickers.

  Then I decided I liked the pose from the photo instead and tried to draw that.

    Still need to make a card but I think this cat would look great holding the Tim Holtz sign post.

Drawings are jpegs and yours to take if you want to use them.

Splitcoast Technique challenge

Splitcoast hosts a technique challenge on Mondays and Joan Ervin suggested using silhouette stamps. Since I just got a package from 7kids with this great silhouette pine tree stamp, I had to join the challenge.  But the bottom really reminded me of waves, so I pulled out a palm tree for the next card.

  The background is direct to paper --- in other words, rubbing my stamp pad edge back and forth across the paper.  The evergreen is a card for a dear friend; the palm tree is a sympathy card.

New York City Cat

My son, David, gave me a set of 3 stamps for Christmas. He actually met the artist on the streets of New York!

The stamps are perfect for creating scenes, or for the backs of cards or address labels. Here is the kitty, you will see the other two later this week.  I had limited supplies because we are pulling up the carpet in the guest room -- which is my stamp room, and everything is in buckets and tubs.

But I had to get a thank you card made and mailed.

Teapot Tuesday

How's this teapot for inspiration?

 I did a birthday card with a bouquet of bookmarks, each one has a different birthday wish..

Pop on over to Splitcoast to see the whole challenge.

Love Ewe

I really had fun with the Designed 2 Delight image --- pulled out my copics and tried several different colors.  If you click on the image, it will get big enough for you to see their tiny pearly eyes.

New Year's To Do list

Today is Steve's birthday ... it is tradition that when my kids turn 30, they receive 30 birthday cards.  I started it with David and then with Amanda I added a theme --- cupcakes, and sent a lot of them unsigned so she could use them again. Even gave her a box of envelopes. Then for MY birthday she sent me a card I had made ... hmmm.

Anyway, gotta start thinking Steve ... a year to make 30 cards sounds like a lot of time but it would help to come up with an idea or two.

I got so many goodies for Christmas to play with - David got me some truly unique stamps in New York where he actually met the artist who was drawing them.

Amy gave me a wonderful flowery- spring-will-come collection and I am thinking I could make a card to cheer her up as the snow and cold just keep on coming in Michigan.

Mike ventured into the stamp store and picked up some fun toys for me.

I even got a free stamp and card from Clear Stamps - a little thing for them to do but really made me feel special.

Spent a long time yesterday playing with my copics and a new design from Designed to Delight --- will need to make some of these into cards too.

So here I am on the computer when I could be making cards with all my new supplies!

Heading South

We will be driving down to Florida and having Christmas with 2 of our 3 kids .... I look forward to sharing my art with you -- watch for me to post on or around Jan 10.

Hugs on a ring

I was part of a group that collected 3 x 3's and sent them as a ring of recovery to a fellow stamper who needed some hugs ... here is a photo of the ring. Each card was decorated on the front, but flat, with a personal message on the back. Isn't this a great idea? Not my idea, mind you, but a great idea nonetheless.

Teapot Tuesday

Teapot Tuesday is always my favorite challenge. I pulled out my pens and my copics and drew this lady, manga style, and will be sending the card to a 15 year old sweetie in Colorado who is fighting some nasty cancer and could use a smile.  I hope my card brings a grin to her face.  I always create a poem to go with my teapot cards, and my splitcoast friends convinced me to publish my poetry on my blog too... so here goes ...

Shoes were always ... better than slippers

That’s what my mom used to say

When we’d grow and poke holes in our shoes through the toes

From running around every day

She knew that good health is a gift much like gold

So she’d smile and just nod her head

She was happy to see us up running around

And glad that we weren’t sick in bed.

I think back to mom when I start to feel guilt

At the cost of a new pair of sneakers

How lucky I am to wear out my shoes 

Instead of slippers - and hospital gown peekers.

I’d rather be dropping big bucks on a bike

Than to be paying cash for a walker

WIth big fat tennis balls clipped on the wheels 

So that I can sneak like a stalker.

How often do I really stop and think

How lucky I am to have health

It is a gift and a treasure that cannot be matched

By any amount of wealth.

Cool Idea to organize Copics

Lookee lookee at this ... http://purpleoniondesigns.typepad.com/photos/organizational_ideas/copic_color_swatch_ring_tags.html

Is that not the coolest idea ever ... I am starting one right now!  Can't wait to punch 'em and organize 'em on a ring.  I ordered a 72 marker holder from 7 kids and guess what .. I just counted 89 markers. How DID I get so many????

School is winding down ...

You can tell school is winding down when I start posting to my blog more often --- most the papers are corrected, I have 3 kids coming in for conferences today and they will re-write their papers, but the end is clearly in sight. That said ... here is the Splitcoast Sketch that I will be working with today. Hmmm. I need a couple of birthday cards, wonder if it will do. Managed to get a card posted before I left for school at noon.

D2D poinsettia

Designed 2 Delight had this pretty poinsettia as a free digi this week. I have always been fascinated by blue poinsettias, and the variation of color --- it was fun to try to imitate nature with my copics. Actually I have a whole table full of poinsettias in various colorways, this is the only one that got finished into a card.

After making 10 cards a month all year, I actually don't NEED any more cards, but who could resist!

In the style of Tim

This isn't my style at all but I do love it ... tried to make a card that Susan would enjoy.  The patterned paper was really fun to add hills and valleys to with a cotton ball ... and the dies were to die for. Bought the signpost die just for the card; borrowed the snowman from Amy.  

Friendship 4 x 4

My yahoo group of friends decided a 4 x 4 book would be more fun than Christmas cards. So here are the pages I submitted for my part of the book.

Class cards == Cuttlebug!

Wow am I having a fight with blogger to get these all arranged ... but here are some of the cards I made at a cuttlebug class last week. Fun, huh!

Card for an 88

Gotta be great to live to 88 ... this is the card I made for a lovely lady who crochets. I am sure my little crocheted flower is NOTHING compared to what she makes!

For those of you following progress on the sweater I am knitting ... front is finished, back is finished, and one sleeve is done up to the armhole where I got stuck on the directions. Gotta run out to the local yarn store and ask if I decrease every row or just on the knit rows ... directions aren't really clear on that.

However, I am a bit leery of stepping inside the store since I already have my eye on another pattern of a sweater I would LOVE to have.  The cold weather is coming, can't get too much wool

Here's a photo of the sweater I am doing now.

WInd beneath my Wings

There's a new challenge on splitcoast, to make a card inspired by a song. This week's song is the Wind Beneath My WIngs ... and somehow dragonflies just seem to float on the breeze. The sparkle and color on the wings doesn't show very well, but it really looks pretty ethereal in real life. Oh and the green border is actually even, I just cut it off on the scan.

Thinking Sunshine

I was playing with my brayer and my copics.

Amanda likes her card

Amanda told me this is the best Halloween card I have ever made .... and coming from my daughter, that is quite a compliment.

Happy Halloween!

Based on this card sketch:

Teapot Tuesday

Mothermark really encouraged me to do a card for this week's Teapot Tuesday. I have let my cardmaking go in favor of knitting, teaching and just sulking that summer is over. But when she said we needed to make cards for a young man who was attacked by a vicious dog, I had to respond, been there done that, understand completely!
So here is the card that I made for the young man who loves racing and Dale Earnhardt.

Man’s best friend? Oh gimme a break

That’s more than a friendship should have to take

I know how he feels, been there and done that

I too had a dog make a vicious attack

It happened a year ago, really was bad

That’s why this teapot story made me quite sad

But I healed and went on with the help of some friends

I hope all our cards will help Jesse to mend.

Cardmaking on hold

Here's what I have been doing instead of making cards.

It is the back of a sweater ---

I won I won I won!

My sketch card was chosen today for last week's sketch # 300  big prize give-away at Splitcoast -- ok, there were lots of cards chosen, and they were chosen by Random.Org  but Mr Random Org picked ME !!!! And I was the very first card chosen. You might even say I won first place!

My nurse card actually looks so much better in real life, the colors got lost on my scanner bed. Guess a scanner bed is to copics the opposite of a tanning bed to people.

Anyway, here AGAIN is the winning card ... yeah, you saw it last week on Wednesday but it wasn't a winner then!

Tuesday Teapot

A most unusual pot today - cute idea, but I am not sure I would want a teapot like this.

Oh well, a card based on a computer will be a cute thing for David.   Unfortunately my mind is coming up blank.