Keep on Truckin'

This card was kind of fun. I found the image of the construction cones at ZFLICK which is an incredible search that brings up pictures of whatever you would like to see, all for free.  The truck was a digi from PaulaPosts and the brads just needed to be there. You can't tell but the truck is triple clear embossed and very thick and shiny.

Interestingly enough, my red truck was basically colored with orange and cranberry! LOVE my copics!

Teapot Tuesday Update

Happy Early April Fools!  That is what we all did with our teapot cards yesterday, posting only the worst and ugliest. Funny thing was, I got the same positive comments as I usually do over at Splitcoast, the April Fool's day joke seems to have been on me!  Not sure if mine will get the honor of being chosen Ugliest of the Ugly, but here is the real card I made for Tuesday.

 It actually looks kind of boring to me!

Teapot Tuesday!

What a cute felt tea set. Card is not so cute. Oh well, some work, some don't!  I think I spent more time arguing with blogger to get the card on than I spent making the card and I still can't make it move up to where I wanted it to be!

Owl be !

Owl be sending this cards They turned out awfully cute

Do they look like they're 'sposed to? I don't give a hoot!

Well, Owl be, I got all inspired over at Michelle Zindorf's blog and went on an Owl punching spree. I colored mine with copics instead of sponging ... and played around with the card layout. The biggest adaptation was not having her tree ... so I ended up combining a stampin up silhouette with some branches from a Unity Sympathy set!  I was quite pleased with my ingenuity!  The adaptations went on ... I changed colors and used a different punch for my photo holders.  My sizes are totally irregular.

I really like the white gel pen on the leaves. Looks even better in real life!

Some possible sentiments.

Whoooo Gives a Hoot?  I do          (caring and sharing)
Owl be wishing you a great day     (general purpose, birthday)
A word to the wise ---- Celebrate!  ( graduation? birthday? or retirement?
In the wee hours of the morning ... Owl be thinking of you.  ( caring and sharing)
Feeling like nobody gives a hoot? I gotta say, I think you're cute! ( caring)

If you have more ideas, please click on comments below and add your 2 cents worth!

Teapot Tuesday!

We were asked at the teapot challenge to make a card for a young man battling cancer. He enjoys a good glass of wine and the cards were supposed to be masculine. I was a bit stumped and came up with this ...

Hope this poem inside isn't too schmaltzy ...

Lets drink to enjoying the days that we've had

Some have been good and some have been bad

Whether it's chilly, whether it's hot

We've got to enjoy the days that we've got

The friends that we've met and the warmth of the sun

The sparkle of stars when a long day is done

The family love that can give us a lift

We treasure all these as a wonderful gift.

David's Apartment

David said if you look just the right way out of his apartment, you can see the Empire State building. But his favorite building is the Chrysler building. Not sure if he can see that one or not, but I put it on his New House card anyway.  The inspiration for the card came from Kirklands --- and a picture of that French tower thingie ... I wanted to try the background technique with it.  Mike is in France right now, but out in the backwoods, not near the Eiffel Tower. That kind of explains all my free time spent drawing ...

I shared the card on Splitcoast, and one person commented that they really love the cityscape stamps too. I took it as the highest compliment I could imagine!

Rabbit in Ruffles

Here's my bunny from the teapot ... look at the post below and focus in on the top right side with the polka dot teapot ...  I tried a dotty background that was suggested to me by a great artist over at Copic Musketeers --- am waiting to hear what he thinks of it  ^..^

I had to look up a tutorial online to learn how to draw ruffles - I am really into this drawing thing lately, as you can tell.  I am amazed at all the free tutorials online, but still managed to drop a few bucks at Barnes and Noble on some drawing books I HAD to have.

Anyway, Bunny is yours to take and enjoy.   I just hope I can find this card when Easter rolls around!  Click on "free digi" below to see all the posts that have digis to share.

Teapot Tuesday!

Teapot Tuesday had a bunch of pots to choose from, but I ended up using the idea of many pots, or in my case, cups of tea.

I have NO idea how to mail this with the bow ...

I did however fall in love with the bunny in the top left teapot and spent awhile playing with drawing him in my sketch book.  Hopefully he will become a card soon.

My lizard

Here is another drawing that you are welcome to grab --- please let me know in the comments if you prefer drawings saved as a png instead of a jpg.

 It is really getting warm finally ... and maybe, just maybe winter is over? Or shouldn't I even think that out loud for fear of scaring spring away!

I am using my lizard to practice shadows ... can you even tell which lizard is under the noon sun and which one is enjoying light at an angle?

Featured Stamper Kristen

Splitcoast features a stamper every week and encourages folks to case ( copy and steal everything) her card. I chose this card as my inspiration and came up with shoe card # 3.

A sad task

My aunt passed away last week, at the age of 101. I am making sympathy cards for her 4 daughters who of course are happy she is at peace but will still feel her loss. Sympathy cards are difficult for me.  But I know how much it means to get a card when you are hurting.

Happy Spring!

This card was made with my new copic colors --- and my gorgeous ribbon that I won from Paper Temptress at the copic musketeers challenge last month.  I just gathered it up with a quick running stitch to create the flower. While I hate to encourage competition and lessen my chances of winning again, you might want to try this month's challenge --- any springtime copic card with a homemade flower... and the prizes are yummy.

I did manage to scan it crooked. Jamming the flower into the scanner made the right side seem a bit dark and it isn't, really!

Winter Palm

I made this tutorial for a friend in England who wanted to know how I did my brayering. ... of course I learned everything I know from Michelle Zindorf, so lets give her credit.

Now if I could just figure out how my scanner turned the card to black and white ... but just in the middle ...
Hmmm. I kind of like it that way!  But let me assure you it was all done in blues. Guess I gotta get out the camera.

Sketchy Wednesday

Here's the card I made for Roxie. She posts sketches every week at splitcoast. About time I sent her at thank you card for all the inspiration!

It's a year away!

It is a tradition in our family that when a child ( child???) reaches 30 years of age, it is too big of a birthday to celebrate in just one day. So I create 30 cards and mail one each day for a month. WIth David it was cards, with Amanda I tried to have all of the cards have a theme, cupcakes, and also didn't sign a lot of them and sent along a box of envelopes so she could recycle. And recycle she did ... I received one of my own cards back for my next birthday! Well, Steve will turn 30 next January and I am getting an early start on his cards. Thought of a lot of possible themes but settled on shoes and running, or might expand that theme into running and biking and races. When I think of Steve relaxing, those are the thoughts that come to mind.

I remember struggling to find 30 different cupcake ideas and am getting an early start on shoes. Will be adding photos to my sidebar as I go along. If you scroll WAYYYYYY to the bottom of my blog, you will see the 30 cupcake cards I made for Amanda. Not sure if I scanned David's, I was not quite so computer savvy in those days.

Here is card Number Two.  You will find the shoe digi here... I drew it from one of his running shoes from The Chicago Marathon.

Steve's shoes, card 1

I used the Wednesday sketch at Splitcoast to begin my collection of 30 cards for 30 days when my baby boy turns 30.  I would like to have a theme of shoes for Steve since he is a marathon runner - and Mutnik created this darling design of a cow with shoes just like Steve's.

Remember the "Key Lime Pie" card?

I needed a quick RAK ( Random Act of Kindness ) birthday card for a lady turning 91--- and whipped out my Key Lime Pie ( had to have a kitchen theme, had to have a key) from the Virtual Stamp night challenge and pasted inside,

That's how we do Birthdays in Florida!

Here it was one of the cards I thought I would never use, and I ended up pulling it out of the stack first!

 She's in Texas, so I am pretty sure she won't open the card and feel sun-envy like my northern friends might!

Happy Retirement!

Beccy said this image is called " Little Harvey" but to me it looks a lot like the husband of a very good friend of mine. Since he is about to retire and put on his lake shorts and take off his tie, it was a perfect image for a retirement card. Hope he will smile when he sees it!

I used complementary colors for the copic creations challenge this month. My scanner seems to see the red a lot more than I do. I am beginning to wonder if perhaps my scanner is just fine and my color vision is starting to go!

Sigh ... this getting old is not as much fun as it looks!

Teapot Tuesday!

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All sports are game for this challenge --- and since I really don't have a great collection of sports images, it was back to the drawing board. I left the edges a little more sketchy instead of a hard line, not sure if I like the look or if it looks unfinished.   But I am always in need of more sports images for my nephews, who are really into sports of any kind.

The scanner picked up a shadow on "The Farmington Gazette" that really is NOT that pronounced on the card, honest!

As always, if you like an image, feel free to take it and use it.  If you click on the label, "free digis" below, you will find links to all my posts with images for you to grab.

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Another virtual stamp night challenge

FEB11VSNL   Make a card with a kitchen or food theme ... bonus points to incorporate a key.

Ok my cards are now getting to the point of not being usual to mail as cards, but I was really pleased when I thought of Key Lime Pie.  


If anyone can think of what this card could say on the inside to make it useful, PLEASE add a suggestion in the comment section!


Edited March 2 ... I needed a quick RAK ( Random Act of Kindness ) birthday card --- and whipped out my Key Lime Pie ( had to have a kitchen theme, had to have a key) from the Virtual Stamp night challenge and pasted inside,

"That's how we celebrate Birthdays in Florida."

Here it was one of the cards I thought I would never use, and I ended up pulling it out of the stack first!

Still doing those Virtual Stamp night challenges!

I am still doing the challenges from splitcoast. This one was to be inspired by the photo on the left.  Each of my flowers pulls out with a message on it.  This was a really quick card, but I think it turned out quite cute.

And another late card ...

8:00 FEB11VSNM  Use a quote ...  Long live the Irish! Long live their cheer! Long live our friendship, year after year!

FInishing last night this morning ...

6:00  FEB11VSNK  card or project using vellum, but it has to be embossed with either a dry or heat embossing technique. 


I think the orange eye brad is about the only thing holding this card together since the double stick tape I used isn't doing a thing!

Challenge weekend goes on!

Virtual Stamp Night at Splitcoast, part TWO.

I missed 1:00 and 2:00 but at 3 we had to do a card using soot stamping. I didn't have a candle other than a citronella pot, so I had quite a time sooting up my glossy cardstock in it.

At 4 we had to do a card showing a lovie from our kids --- David had this plaid blanket, Amanda had a stuffed giraffe, and Steve loved the book Good night Moon.

Virtual Stamp Weekend at Splitcoast!

Wedding Song card

Every hour on the hour, there was  a new challenge posted.  Here they are in reverse order because I can't make Blogger behave.





Card 5 10:00 ... A card with a lady in red to celebrate heart health.  I have GOT to get to bed now, as I am hoping to do a 2 mile run tomorrow at ... ugh ... 8 AM!!!






Card 4  9:00   A card with 2 or more techniques:  marker tapping for the rain, gray shadowing around the frog, and blender pen warts!




Card 3   8:00 PM  --- Song bird ... I love this image and copic colored it.

Sketch Card

Card 2   7:00 PM--- based on your wedding song???  We didn't have a wedding song, only a small wedding after college, we were both pretty broke, a nice dinner after and that was it ... but I loved the song Cherish by the Association, I remember arguing that it was a pretty song even though it was mostly one note on the piano which made it very easy to play ...This will be my card for our 40th Wedding Anniversary in June.


 Challenge number one - 6:00 PM - was a sketch, in the shape of a heart and its 4 chambers. With the image of blood pumping in my mind, I switched to water pumping through an aquarium and made this get well cod. Yup ... it says cod. Although there are really 4 cod. Cods?  Goldfish!