Thank you for serving!

It's been a busy week. I'm looking forward to Amuse-A-Palooza next week....be sure to get yourself signed up for a class! I've got a class scheduled for Tues eve, Thurs eve, and then both classes repeated on Saturday morning/afternoon.

I wanted to be sure to post a patriotic card for the Fourth of July. I come from a family that has spent many years serving in the military. My father had a 20year career with the Navy and many of his brothers served in various branches of the military as well. Military families sacrifice a lot for our country, especially in these times of war. I thank each and every one of them for serving our country, for defending our freedom, for giving so much of themselves. The young man at my church that was recently shot in Afghanistan has taken a turn for the worse...he is having issues with blod clots. I don't know this soldier personally but I feel like he took a bullet for me. How does one repay that? A simple thank you just isn't enough.

I hope you all have a safe and happy 4th.

Arigato gozaimasu

I was cleaning out some papers the other day and ran across a stash of random 6x6 patterned cardstock that I got from my friend, Joyce. I think it's all Memory Box paper. Anyway, I had chosen these two patterned papers and was all prepared to make a RAK for my CPD group on SCS with it. Later that night my sister called me and asked me to make her a thank you card. My RAK turned into her thank you card somehow. I thought the papers looked asian, especially the red scallopy one and remembered I had these sweet little geisha girl and fans stamps from Great Impressions that I purchased last summer. I knew she would be perfect! The red in the cardstock is not a true red. It's more of a coral-y red so I paired it with some 'Tomato' cardstock from Rubber Soul. I just cut up one of my notecards to create these layers. The green layer is 'Lime Peel' from A Muse. The entire thing is mounted onto a Fairy Dust notecard by A muse, too. The 'arigato' sentiment is from the A Muse clear set called 'Sushi.'

Since you can't see it in this picture, I took a close-up so you could see how I outlined the flower in the girl's hair and her kimono with my gold Spica atyou glitter pen. This is so sparkly IRL! I also did not have any shiny gold brads so I embossed them to match the shiny gold embossing I did on the fans. The fans were colored in with my Copic Coral marker. You have to be careful using an alcohol based marker with embossed images. It can dull the color or even remove the embossing itself.

Over the weekend, I hope to get some time to stamp some summery cards. I think a trip to the A Muse shop might be in order! Or else I'll send a shopping list with someone I know who works there. Oh, Joyce......!

Summer is Here!

Wow, it's been gorgeous in the PNW and continues to stay that way. We are moving in the right direction towards the 70s and 80s! I took my youngest son and his friend down to my MIL's to swim yesterday, around 2:30pm and still managed to get a little sunburn on my arms (cuz I had no sunscreen on...shame on me!). It seems like we had the longest winter and hardly any spring.

While Mother Nature has brought us good weather, we've also had some sad occassions. A wonderful man from our church died recently so I created a sympathy card for his wife and adult son. Another woman's husband suffered a second stroke and she needed a card, too. I saw my friend, Linnea (it was her FIL that died) on Sunday at church and she said my card was the first they received and she loved so much that it was something I created. Here's a pic of the three cards together.





The cards were all done using SU stamps but there's an A Muse sentiment on one of them. All the notecard bases were done with A Muse notecards, too. Unfortunately, I have 2 more sympathy cards I need to make for another friend who has just lost her mother. On a positive note, though, a young couple at my church had their baby so I get to make a card for a happy occasion.


Here's a happy card for no occasion at all! I think sometimes we forget that it's great to send cards 'just because.' Everyone like to get happy mail so I'd like to encourage all of you to just send a card for no reason and make someone's day a little bit brighter. A Muse stamps and products make it so easy to produce a quick, cute card that is sure to brighten up a day.






I didn't quite get the wheelbarrow close enough to the Madeira 'grass' so it looks like it's floating a little bit but you get the picture. I hope you all have a bee-utiful day!

Busted!

I hadn't really disclosed to anyone in my family, other than my sister, that I have this blog. Well, I got busted by my niece this week. She found me. Hi, Missy! Since she said she's going to be spying on me from here out, I figured I'd better just call her out. If she's brave, maybe she'll leave me a comment.


My nephew Mark and his wife Darcie are expecting their second baby next month. I bought an adorable little outfit at Janie and Jack, which is a very cute little boutique baby shop. Apparently the outfit was so cute that my niece, Alysia, also bought it for their baby. Ha! Anyway, the little shopping bags and gift boxes from Janie and Jack are beautifully patterned...very Laura Ashley like, I think. I knew right away that I had some patterned paper in my stash that was a perfect match and pulled out my Sheep set from The Saltbox Studio to make a baby card for the shower I attended today. Here's a picture of the shopping bag, gift box, and my card:




And here's a picture of the card by itself:



This patterned paper might look familiar to you. I used it on this pocket card back in April. This fabulous paper is from the Baby 2 Bride collection by Graphic 45. The notecard base is Blush Blossom and the patterned paper is layered onto Groovy Guava by Stampin Up. I stamped the fence from the Saltbox fence set, then stamped the sheep onto a scrap of paper, colored it, cut it out, then mounted it so it looks like it's jumping the fence. I stamped the little stars using So Saffron by Stampin Up, then added a little bit of twinkle with a Clear atyou Spica Glitter Pen. The sentiment was made using a combination of stamps from Saltbox (Sheep sayings). The peach stitched ribbon from A Muse was a perfect match to complete the final touch on the card. I love the end result.


Amuse-a-palooza:
Just a reminder that there are a few things wrapping up tomorrow:
Clue Game - ends Sunday June 22
Challenge 3 - Out of the Box challenge with Elena - ends Sunday June 22
Mystery Hostess - Twinkle Time challenge with Taylor - ends Sunday June 22
Next week brings a new game, new challenge, and new Mystery Hostess! Remember, you must be a registered Amuse-a-palooza participant to win!

I've added my Amuse-a-palooza schedule to the right column. Be sure to check it out and get signed up. I would love to see you there!

Hip, hip, hooray! Last day of school today!

Today is the last day of school for my kids. Of course, it's a half day. That means I have to scramble to clean up before they get home so they can mess it all up again. haha. Last night and this morning was a scramble to get teacher thank you cards completed and gift cards purchased.

Keeping Amy's Layout Challenge in mind, I created this card for my 2nd grader's teacher and included a gift card to a local coffee company. They have a drive through coffee stand, as well as a coffee/sandwich shop further toward 'Old Town' where she can sit outside and enjoy the view while slurpin up some java or something.

Now for my 5th grader's teacher, I made this card. His teacher plays electric guitar and he's in his early to mid 30s, I would guess. I thought he might appreciate an iTunes giftcard. I found one that said 'Thank you' on it and included it in this pocket card. You can't see it but I stamped the large and small A Muse Asterisks in red, on the red pocket. I love Lexi's Warhol-ish take on the rockstar image and had to use it here.

It's been a fabulous school year. I feel so lucky to have a school so close by with the most amazing teaching staff. I'm a little nervous about Middle School in the fall but I'm sure everything will work out fine. For now, I'm ready to enjoy summer...now I just need the sun and warm weather to catch up.

A Muse Clue!

I'm a little late with this post today but I was busy with my 5th grader's graduation this morning. Here's a pic of the little man shaking hands with the school principal with his teacher looking on. We're moving up to Middle School in the fall! Wow. Can't believe I am old enough to have a Middle Schooler. Crazy.

I did my best to embarrass him by whooping VERY LOUDLY when his name was called. haha. Then I blew kisses to him while his friends were watching. He could hardly look at me with a straight face.

Now, if you're playing along on the Amuse-A-Palooza blog, you know there's a game of Clue going on. The clue I'm sharing with you today is NOT one of the correct answers. If you check here, here, here, and here you will find other clues to help you make some guesses. Be sure to follow the rules of the game.

Here's your clue:

Elena has also posted an 'Out of the Box' Challenge here. You have until midnight Sunday, June 22 to play along.

Dads

As you know, yesterday was Father's Day. I was a terrible daughter....I didn't get a card out to my dad, nor did I buy him anything. I know he doesn't like my sister and I to buy him expensive things and I know he truly does not need anything. What he really appreciates is just for us to give him a call (he lives in TX). That, I did. I think Father's Day is bittersweet for my dad. My grandmother, his mother, passed away on Father's Day back in 1996.

My Father-In-Law lives about 2 miles down the street from us. I needed a card to take down to him so I whipped this up after church. I had been cleaning out my craft room, yet again, and came across some already stamped, colored images. The airplane was one of the images I found so that's where I started. My FIL doesn't have any special appreciation for my handmade cards...everything ends up in the garbage. It honestly does not hurt my feelings. I know this is just what he does. I don't work any less on my cards for him than I would for anyone else.

I have lots of cards to catch up on this week. There are several challenges I haven't had a chance to participate in over on the Amuseapalooza blog . Amy Rysavy, the Amuseapalooza Ambassador winner from last year, is hosting a layout challenge that ends today. Make sure you head on over to her blog so you can participate.

Card deets: Paper-Confetti Tan, Not Quite Navy, Choc Chip by Stampin Up; Ink-Cranberry Crisp, Choc Chip by Stampin Up (image in Basic Black, probably); Stamps-Retired Simple Stripes Background, Retired Up In The Air set by Stampin Up, Dad sentiment by MSE; Accessories-Designer Label Punch by SU, 1" and 1 1/4" punches, retired Cranberry Crisp stitched ribbon, antique copper brads by Making Memories.