Calling all card makers.

Howdy. Did you have a nice weekend? I never get as much done as I originally plan but this one turned out fine. One of my co-workers asked me weeks ago for a birthday card for her 60th birthday. ~ Well Tuesday's the day. Yesterday as part of my errand running frenzy, I took a break at Tara's Personal Scrapbook store. Among other fabulous finds, she pointed out these new designer papers. I love polka dots so it was an obvious choice for me.

I started this card with Jen's SFYTT. Then I changed a little or a lot depending on how you look at it. That happens to me more often than not ~ how about you?

I cut the 60 and the scallops out with my Cricut and new Mini Monogram cartridge. I was disappointed when the 6 and 0 didn't match but not enough to figure something else out! ha!

Summer's flyin' by!

I hope you are a having a great summer. Remember earlier this summer, I met with life long friends. Their oldest son, my friend Benjamin is leaving for Merchant Marines. He was appointed but it will be bitter sweet for him to leave his family. Their middle son Zach, has a big basketball tournament in another state. I looked across the lunch table and realized a couple of things. I don't know their youngest child as well as the teenagers and it didn't seem she had as much to look forward to as her older brothers. After I sent the first card, she sent me a butterfly pencil eraser. Isn't that sweet! This card is my interpretation of Jen's SFYTT. Have a great week!

Small swap ~ Big fun!

Greetings! I hope you had a nice weekend, I did. Saturday, some new and old friends shared a small card swap at Tara's store. http://www.personal-scrapbook.com/ Whether it's for Cricut fun, scraping or stamping, Tara has the perfect space.

She's starting to carry stamps and there's a wonderful variety of designer paper and other accessories to boot. Back to the swap. This setting would be fabulous for any beginning swapper, the number of participants is great for those possibly intimidated by larger groups. And the talent, well just see for yourself ~ here are a few of my favorite cards minus a few that I didn't quite "reproduce" correctly. Anyway, I think Tara may offer this once in awhile. Watch her online calendar for future dates. Here's to the start of yet another great week! These wonderful works of art were created by Krista, Suzy Tyler, Tara Vu and Sharon Simpson. Thanks ladies!

Monday Mojo on a Tuesday!

Woohoo, this is better timing then I've had in a month of Sundays. Julee Tilman, thank you for this sketch. I think I may have made it just a little too big for the picture. This was fun, I used some designer paper I bought at my friend Tara's store in Allen, TX. The Personal-Scrapbook. I also bought these adorable Amuse stamps there. I grew up in Houston so summer and the beach go hand in hand. Galveston may not be the prettiest beach in the world but I've had some great times on the Seawall Blvd over the years. ~ Pass the sunscreen!

Summer's here!

Hi peeps! I had a wonderful long lunch with great friends and then took too long of a nap. I'm sure to pay for that tomorrow. I made this card for my 12 year old friend Hannah. I hope she's having a great summer. I was happy to match this Paper Pretties stamp of the month set with the Disney 'wave' paper. To me it looks like water. The card is fashioned after Jen's Saturday sketch. Thanks for the inspiration! Have a great week.

Bobbie and Brenda

This post is dedicated to Bobbie Nell, shown here just a few weeks before she went home to be with the Lord. Bobbie was my friend's Brenda chief rat killing runner. Brenda estimates we met Bobbie about 12 years ago. She was tall, sanguine and funny right to the end. Three months ago, she became really ill and was diagnosed with Leukemia. They told her it was very aggressive and estimated she had 3 weeks to live. She wanted to see her granddaughter Megan graduate high school. She and Jesus got all the way up to the graduation and she was able to enjoy the family celebration before she took her last downward spiral. Now, even in the midst of her passing, we celebrate her life, love and laughter. I pray for my friend Brenda and made this card for her.

I'm going to try to get back to creating and posting more often again. Once you get away from it, the time sure fills up quickly.

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you and yours are well!

Happy Mother's Day

OK, so my plan was to make Mother's day cards for my mom, sister, some and friends. I made this one for my mom. So, I'm a little behind. I still have time to do a few more but not ALL that was on my list. , . As my friend Robin says, "Oh for the love!"

Angie, talk about your contraband . . . . .Ribbon = Archievers. Paper = Basic Gray. Sentiment = SU. Little heart punch = Martha Stewart. Really? Need I go on?'

Happy Birthday Amazing friend.

Good morning friends. Yesterday, I spent the better part of the day at a crop. I was determined to get a few things done. I made a few cards but mostly visited and laughed with the gals there.

Others, can be so successful in that environment. Me, I have fun but I'm easily distracted and to be very honest / way too unorganized. There. I said it, it's out there for all the world to see! Yikes.

I'm a big picture girl and care little about the fine print and nook and crannies of life.

Here's the card I made for my young friend turning 9 next week. Cheers!

Sure it's a peep card!

Happy Easter all! Sure, it's a little late for an Easter card but I wanted to use this chick paper. I just love it! O bought it last week at Archiever's while in Katy. Since it's a little late for the holiday, it will be a friendly thinking of you / get well note. I love this designer paper, sugar paper, and the Hambo stamp given to me by my friend, Petunia. Ah Easter, should be the start of a great week for all!

This challenge is by Taylor, cute sketch!

You make my heart Dance!

Look what came in the mail, my Paper Pretties monthly stamp! I thought it was so cute, I pushed aside all my "behind schedule" birthday cards. I like the stamp and thought it worked nicely with this weeks Monday Mojo post. I also think any one of my Copic coloring friends could have done a better job. I really need to take a class. It's on the list!

So, I have to get on those birthday cards now. Have a great week. :)

Cricut Expressions

Hi all. I love Thursdays. Friday's coming, sure I understand it's not yet here but it's close and it's all uphill from here! This card is only my second attempt to use my Cricut. I made it for a coworkers birthday. Sure, it's simple but the recipient likes it and isn't that all that matters?

I have a question for all you avid stampers out there, how do you get the excess glue away from the curves in the phrase. I'm not even picky and that bothers me. I received my first quarter order yesterday and was already able to use my So Saffron ribbon and this cute little button. ~ Hope you're looking forward to the weekend but if you're not, find something to look forward to! ;)

Every cowgirl needs a little bling!

Hi. So, I like sugar paper. Color wise, it seemed like a great match with this designer paper. This stamp set, from Paper Pretties is a must for any good Texas stamper. I'm thinking of glittering up her hat and belt. Maybe next time. ~ Gotta go get ready for Monday. Have a great night!

Petunia and Changito

Hello friends. Have you ever met my friend Petunia? If you're a stamper, I bet you have and didn't know it. A couple of weeks ago she went to Austin for business. She said she'd stop by Archiver's while there. I may have asked her to pick up a crafting tool, I'd seen there before. (They do not have an online store, what's up with that?) On her way home, she mentioned she may have picked up another little surprise. What a surprise? I do love a good surprise! So what was it you ask? OK, it was this darling little Changito Driver by Stampendous! I love him! So friendly to drive his little buddy around. I paired him with Petunia's new gig. She was rightfully asked by Jennifer Meyer to be a design team member for her new site ~ Stamps and Smiles. Petunia is none other than the very talented Suzy Tyler at Inky Rubber. Thanks for the monkeys friend!!

As wild as I get :)

So some of you may remember, after my friend WilloDean passed away last October, her daughters bought me a Cricut Expressions. I know, way cool. I am so thankful. This year, Brenda and I attended a 101 class and I went to a Swarm. (A bunch of Cricut users craft together.) Fun! The event was hosted by Tara Vu, owner of Personal Scrapbook in Allen Texas. I think it was pretty apparent, I'm not much of a scrapbooker. Within a few days Tara emailed me to be sure I knew of a Cricut cartridge called Wild Card. I did not know but Tara was kind enough to order it for me.

This is my first real attempt to use it. I coupled it with the Color Throwdown # 32. I like it ok, but after the first picture, I thought it needed something. The ribbon I tried,ugh! So, I moved on to my ever favorite ~ glitter. Ta da. The matching envelopes look so fun but this one comes with blades of grass, a little unfriendly for snail mail. Oh well, nothing's perfect! ;) Happy Saturday!

Trying to get back on track.

Hi fellow stampers and friends. I've been meaning to jump back into stamping lately. It seems I've been getting up so early for work lately, I've been going to bed in the evening. After working all day and trying to plan the reorganization of my stamp space ~ well, I'm sure you see where this is going.

So today I followed Jen's great sketch. Here's what I came up with. It was my intent to back up and catch up! But no, I decided to just start fresh and anew. I'm going to try to be more frequent with the posts but to be honest, I'm pretty busy this week. The improvement may have to start next week. Have a great day!

Mojo 73

Hi . Happy Valentines Day. I feel so behind in my card crafting. I actually need to stock up on birthday cards. So I'm going to try to catch up on some sketches and color challenges to hopefully make something sendable. Is that a word? I like this sketch. Julee has some very talented samples. See you again soon!

Check this out! ~ Color Throwdown card.

Check this out, I made the card in the previous post just a day or two before " Color Throwdown" announced this week's colors. It fit! But, had already posted it. So, I made another with the same color for my friend's birthday. Isn't that a weird twist? Well, I thought it was but then, I am easily amused. Happy Friday!

OCC ~ Double Hearts card

Hi. I used my friend Suzy's heart cuttle bug and folder to make the multiple hearts on this card. Hearts and texture in one. I'm hoping to make several Valentine cards this week / seeing that I failed to send Christmas cards, I think I can use these to catch up on my snail mail correspondence. Who am I kidding? This may be the beginning of many mid year holiday greetings. Have a great Monday.

Hi! Happy Hearts Month

Early happy 1st. I'm at my friend Carol's and can't sleep. Really won't be a problem until I drive back to Dallas a few hours from now. Carol and Troy live in Houston. My brother Tommy got married yesterday. This card doubled as my swap card for last week and his wedding gift card yesterday. Hey maybe that's a version of multi tasking?? ~ oh well. Better get some zzzz's.

Home again, home again ~ jiggety jig!

Howdy. Suzy, Carolyn and I went to San Antonio for a SCS card swap ~ Saturday. They're a lot of work and a lot of fun. It took (me) the last few weeks to prepare to swap cards with over 40 other card makers. On the way home, we stopped to eat and shop in two stamp stores. I think good fun and tired describes the trip for us all. See you soon!

Pretty in Pink ~ Fe Fe Fiona update

Hi all. I bought my girl this new pink coat and I think she loves it. She seems to be pretty cold natured. I left her in it the other day while I ran a few errands. When I returned home, her little front leg was caught inside. Bless her heart, she looked frightened and afraid to try to jump off the couch. So, I won't "leave" her in it again. Doesn't she look cute though?

I'm crafting with Suzy today to get ready for the big swap next weekend in San Antonio.

Maybe I'll have a card later. . . . . Have a great day!

Hello Jeanette and KW # 38

Hi Jeanette. Thank you for your kind words about my blog! I hope you come back often. For the rest of you Jeanette's one of "old/new" friends. Jeanette and I went through school together but haven't actually been in touch for the last, humm. . . . . well just say 25 years plus! There are several of us that have reconnected on Facebook. Fun, like a reunion with out the traveling!

These colors were awkward for me. So awkward, I completely trashed my first attempt last night! None of them are really comfort colors for me which drew me out of my norm. Have a great weekend! Is everyone off on Monday?

Blue too can be cheery.

Normally I think of blue as a sedate, sort of introverted color. Do any of you think colors can provoke moods, feelings or emotion? I wanted to participate in the OCC challenge and needed a cheerful card. So I added Apricot Appeal to Bashful and Brilliant Blue. Of course polka dots always make me smile! Have a wonderful week!

Are you hungry?

OK, one of the things I'm grateful for from 2008 are the friends I've made through blogging. There were few greater joys than meeting a few of them in person. One in particular, inspired this post. Angie took a pix of her frig so I thought I'd do the same. As stuffed as this is, Jenny Craig helped me drop over just 50 pounds in the last 5 months. So, she and her peeps must know something right? Now, sure this is a drop in the bucket but it's also a step in the right direction! Count your blessings not your struggles!

K Werner ~ Color Inspiration 36

Happy New Year again, just wanted to load this card before the deadline. Now really, I've got to clean up my space. No more ignoring the work for the fun! Cheers!

Family, Art and Inspiration.

Happy New Year! While home for a few days for Christmas, my favorite cousin Sharon was generous enough to let me stay in her room. Her hubby and son were at the lake. Her room is just beautiful. I took a snap of a picture on her wall thinking I could use it as inspiration for a card. Then my mom's aunt passed away the other day. I decided to fashion this sympathy card from it. Guess I could have gotten closer to the picture but I think it turned out alright. Hopefully, I'll be posting more frequently now that the holidays are winding down. Joy!

Jingle in my Mojo sketch

Good morning. I love this sketch, it was easy and fun. For me, one can never go wrong with Real Red and polka dots. Are you guys ready for Christmas? I have just a few more things to get done on Tuesday before going to my Mom's on Wednesday. In these tough times, may God bless you and yours!

I knew it.

At least I felt like I knew this baby's name was Aidan before his mom and dad confirmed it.

My good friend Dana gave birth to her third baby on Sunday. He was born a very big boy, 9 lbs 13 oz to be exact. His left shoulder/arm was slightly injured while coming out of the birth canal but Mom and Dad were assured it will heal quickly. Ta da,, , introducing Aidan William Forthman, 21 1/2 inches long. To me, he looks like his brother and Mommy. May God bless this baby and family.

I'l be there.

When I think of the phrase, I'll be there, I'm touched not necessarily by the offer of friends or family but mostly by the promise of God to be there for us in good and bad times. Anytime I think of someone being by my side it's Him before people. My friend Cynthia and I were talking about how our lives were similar but very different. She's married to her college sweetheart, has 4 girls and 2 beautiful grandsons. But it was Cynthia who shared with me the other day, no matter how many people we're blessed to have in our lives, ultimately our walk through this life is with God and God alone. I'm so thankful, He's more than enough.

This card meets the Color Throwdown challenge for the week and Jan Del Muro's sketch.

I made it for my friend Kiah who's mother Virginia went home to be with the Lord last week.

The stamp is called "I''ll be there" by Stampendous.

Bless Your Little Hearth

Hi all. More than anything this little hearth scene reminded me of a friend's house. So, I bought this STAMPENDOUS stamp, added glitz, real red and chocolate chip ribbon. Can't go wrong there. Going shopping tomorrow. Really haven't started anything. Can you believe Christmas is only two weeks away??