Mother's Little Helper

TCP Tuesday -- sorta kinda in a way...

Here's what I mean by that post title: It IS definitely, without a doubt the swankiest stamping day o' the week (aka TCP Tuesday), but I don't have my TCP Tuesday challenge card to show you. 

See, I've been procrastinating doing anything fun until after I finish writing my speech for that Time Management seminar I'm leading today.  Yeah, I do get the irony...  Oh, and before I forget: earlier this morning, I took a good look at the agenda.  Other seminars during the course of the day are on age spots, osteoporosis, and 'Sour Signs of Sugar.' 

So, I'm thinking the target audience won't be getting that little joke I mentioned earlier in the week (when my friend asked me to do this, I said 'Isn't that like asking Paris Hilton to speak about abstinence?')...  The good news is, I don't think they're going to be expecting a bunch of corporate-speak, Six Sigma, GTD blah blah blah, either, so I should be able to pull it off.
Wish me luck!

So back to TCP Tuesday.  Today's Hipster Hostess with the Mostess is Toni, and she has a really nifty Inspiration piece to get your mojo flowing.  Go to her blog to see the inspiration piece and to find out how to play along with the Cat Pack this week and how you can become the next Swanky Stamper!  I will be participating in the challenge later on this week, rest assured.

I do have a little TCP eye candy for you before you leave, though.  I needed to put together a little masculine somethin'-somethin' for inclusion in a gift, and Super Poochie came to my rescue. (It's a 3"x3" gift card, btw...)

Now, I've GOT to finish eating that frog!  (Oh, sorry.  Forgot you all weren't time management experts like moi.  *giggle* Here's the reference: there's a book called 'Eat That Frog!' about how to stop procrastinating and be more productive.  According to the author, Brian Tracy, "It has been said for many years that if the first thing you do each morning is to eat a live frog, you can go through the day with the satisfaction of knowing that that is probably the worst thing that is going to happen to you all day long."  Your frog is that really important task, the one you dread (usually) and the one you're most likely to procrastinate about. So what all of us need to do is look at our day, decide what our biggest frog(s) are, then eat them first in order to get more done.  See?  You learned something, didn't you?  Admit it!!!  And you didn't even have to attend the seminar...)

Supplies used:
Stamps: Super Dog and Super Hero by The Cat's Pajamas
Paper: Always Artichoke, Basic Black (SU!), Solar White (Neenah), Pure Poppy (PTI)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Always Artichoke (SU!)
Accessories: Slice, Slice Noteworthy cartridge, Nestabilities, SU! ribbon, paper piercer, Copic markers, white pen, Jody's Foam Boosters

Hump-Bustin' SFYTT

I'm dedicating this particular SFYTT to my BFF/BSF (because she stamps, too, you know) Kristi.  By day, she toils away in the payroll department of the university I used to teach at, and by night, she toils away at the Old 33 Icehouse.  This particular card is her at her day job (though she should be so lucky to have a Mac in her office...):

Her office isn't nearly this colorful.  In fact, the last time I was there (which, I admit, was a few years ago) it was downright drab.  I nagged her about it at the time, but I'm fairly sure she blew me off.  Hopefully she'll hang this in there to brighten it up a bit.  I'll do an homage to her night job later this week when I preview the latest Who's That Girl (WTG) set coming to you from My Favorite Things. 

For now, here are some details about this particular card.  I love this WTG image -- Digital Girl.  If she were wearing yoga pants and a Disney sweatshirt, hadn't showered yet, and was sitting criss-cross-applesauce in her chair with her shoulders stooped?  We'd be twins!  I stamped the full image on Neenah Natural White cardstock, then on the striped patterned paper (all patterned paper used on this card is from SEI's Dill Blossom 8"x8" paper pad).  I drew in the baseboard, then colored in the pertinent parts with Copic Sketch & Spica (silver for the some of the chair parts) that weren't going to be covered with other paper, then cut those parts out and glued them on top of the striped background image.  Her dress and desk were paper pieced. 

Since I wanted to 'office' this up, I created a tiny piece of 3 hole-punched paper out of a regular sheet of college-ruled yellow pad, leaving the torn edge from the pad a the top, and then punching the holes with the smallest hole punch in my Crop-a-Dile.  I added an ordinary silver paper clip for more office 'authenticity.' :)  The rest of the card is pretty self-evident. 

Of course, it all started with a great sketch, courtesy of the Sketcher, herself, Jen Del Muro!  Go to Jen's blog for the Sketch, and to see what she and Guest Designer Jenn Dierks have put together for your viewing pleasure.  Then take a hop, skip, and a jump over to my SFYTT Sister's blogs for more stamping greatness:

Kelly Lunceford
Amy Rohl
Susan Liles
and
Amy Sheffer

Any big plans this weekend for you?  I'm pretty sure we're staying inside.  Earlier in the week, I showed you a photo of a the redbud trees that are currently in full bloom in my back yard.  Wanna see what that tree looks like at this moment?
  Yep.  Snow.  That's weather in Oklahoma for you.  Go figure!

Supplies used:
Stamps: Digital Girl by My Favorite Things
Paper: Chocolate Chip (SU!), Intense Kiwi (Prism), Natural White (Neenah), yellow office pad, SEI Dill Blossom 8"x8" pad
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Copic Sketch & Spica Markers, Prima & Making Memories flowers, Spare Parts ribbon brad, paper clip, Crop-a-Dile, foam mounting tape, SU! grosgrain ribbon

The Jiffy Girls are at it again!

I'm running a little late -- what's new?! -- so first I'm just going to post my Jiffy Girls challenge for the month, then I'm going to come back and fill you in as an 'ETA'.  Here goes...

I'm back!  I didn't want the rest of the girls to think I didn't finish my PROJECT on time, so I had to do a quickie post in order to get this up by 11 a.m. CST as agreed upon.  (Um, I'm a bit of a procrastinator, in case you haven't noticed yet.  Wanna hear something really funny?  I'm scheduled to give a talk at a women's seminar next week on... wait for it... TIME MANAGEMENT!  When my friend asked me if I would do this, my response was 'Isn't that a bit like asking Paris Hilton to speak about abstinence?'  I'll let you know how it goes.)

Back to the Jiffy Girls!  Just to review our little challenge procedure, one of us picks out a stamp for all of us to use, but before she reveals it, another member of the group sends out patterned paper to everyone in the mail.  Once the paper is in the mail, the stamp choice is revealed.  Thus, the paper picker and the stamp selector have no idea what the other is choosing, and then all of us have to use the image and the patterned paper in our projects.  Then, we each post our projects (I like to call 'em projects just in case I get a wild hair to do something other than a card) to our blogs on the same day at the same time and surprise each other with what we come up with.  Fun, fun, fun!

This month, Lori selected this sweet image from Unity's Pixie Lane set, and Michele sent us this charming/homespun 'Eye Candy' patterned paper from the Bloom & Grow line by My Mind's Eye.  They go together really well, don't you think?  Happy coincidence!

A few details about mine.  The image was an unusual shape to work with, so I went searching through my stuff to see what might fit to frame it.  I found this cool shape on my Slice's Noteworthy disc, so I Sliced up a layer in Neenah Classic Cream and a border layer out of PTI Pure Poppy.  I used my Stamp-a-Majig to get the image centered just so, and then colored it in with Copics.  To give it a little country charm, I handstitched around the image layer with embrodiery floss.  I created a little 'keychain' using a sentiment from Viva LasVegastamps, and hooked it up via jump rings with a skeleton key charm I've had laying around forever.  Finally came in handy!

Be sure to check out what the other Jiffy Girls came up with as I'm sure they'll have their own unique and fabulous take.  It never fails that after I see their creations, I think to myself 'Why didn't I think of that?!'

Alli Miles

Julie Campbell

Lori Craig, and

Michele Boyer

This month, Lori's down in Texas visiting some of our stamping buddies from the Lone Star state, so we invited my Sharon-a Harnist to play along with us!  I'm sure Sharon will have something utterly delightful to bring to our little party.

Supplies used:

Stamps: Pixie Lane by Unity, sentiment by Viva LasVegastamps

Paper: patterned paper -- 'Eye Candy' from the Bloom & Grow line by My Mind's Eye, Pure Poppy & Summer Sunrise by PTI, Neenah Classic Cream

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, SU! Ruby Red

Accessories: Slice, Slice Noteworthy cartridge, Copic Markers, embroidery floss, Cuttlebug tags die, jump rings, skeleton key embellishment from my stash, Pure Poppy ribbon from PTI, Jody's Foam Boosters

America, it's up to you...

... to choose the next (well, the first) MFT IDOL!

Have you been involved in this absolutely addictive new contest that's been going on in the MFT Member Company forum on SCS?  If not, it's not too late.  In fact, it's still pretty early.  A couple of weeks ago, we held auditions, and from that round a few MFT judges selected the Top Ten.  After that, though, it went to the hands of voters.

This week, the Top Nine had a theme of 'The Masquerade' (how many of you are now singing that song by Berlin in your head? 'When you hear the price they paid/I'm sure you'll come and join the masquerade...'  If so, consider yourself a true child of the '80s...) and had to use the masking technique in their projects.

Click this link to take you to the Top Nine's Masquerade project gallery, and prepare to be wowed.  And take my advice, don't just look at the gallery thumbnail -- you really have to see everything in detail to get the full impact. 

To vote, go to this poll.  And here's another little tip: I couldn't pick just one, either.  Click on your favorite two, three or however many ones you really, really like.  You can only vote once, but during that one vote, you can click on as many of your favorites as you please!

Voting is open until 10 p.m. EST tonight (Mar. 25, 2009).  The Top Eight and the next theme will be announced tomorrow. 

BUY THE WAY: Since I'm talking about MFT with this post, I might as well mention some amazing deals going on this week. 

First of all -- have you checked out the Bubble Bin?  It's a weekly special where you can get rock bottom prices on some fabulous MFT stuff.  Some of the items are going to be retiring, so when they're gone, they're gone.  Other Bubble Bin items are staying in the MFT lineup but marked down for one week and one week only.  The one thing in this week's Bubble Bin I'm sorely tempted to buy several of is Let's Go For a Walk.  (Check out this gallery for some great cards made with this set.)  It's normally $15.95, but until Sunday, you can get it for only $6.95!!!  That's even cheaper than I can get with my DT discount (and Kim is very generous to us DT members) and I'm thinking it would be a cute B-Day gift my stamping girlfriends and 'new recruits' alike!  (Yes, we are always trying to convert the civilians, aren't we?!)

Next, let me tell you about this week's Spotlight Savings: all Flopsey stamp sets are $8 ($1 off) from 3/23-3/27.  (There also happens to be one of the first Flopsey sets, though, in the Bubble Bin for only $4.95!!!)

Speaking of Flopsey, my girl Michele has a wonderful tutorial this week on how to create an adorable card/bookmark set featuring that fabulous gender-neutral bunny.  When she first created that project (she loves when I use that term... hee), I called dibs on it in the comments section on her blog.  I'm STILL waiting...

(Just kiddin', M... unless you're going to do it.) (<-- did that make you think of 'Hot in Herre' by Nelly?  Stop pacin, time wastin/I gotta friend with a pole in the basement (What?)/I'm just kiddin like Jason (Oh)/Unless you gon' do it...)

Speaking of Nelly,  I have a good Nelly-related story.  While we were staying in St. Louis this fall/early winter, our pal Joel came to visit us.  He's the wonderful man I wish would adopt me, who gave me the Spa day I mentioned in this post here.  Anyway, Joel is one of those guys who gets 'drivers' wherever he goes (the rest of us mortals just catch a cab.  Not Joel.  See one of the reasons I want him to adopt me?).  We went out for dinner one night, and had the nicest driver ever.  While we had been in the restaurant, he'd gone and bought a little Hot Wheels car for Carter, and gave it to him when we got back in the car.  He dropped us off, then he took Joel to his hotel.  Later that night, Joel called us and asked "Have you ever heard of the singer Nelly?" "Duh - yes!  He only sings one of my all-time-favorite songs, that Truman and I dance together to at every single wedding we ever attend and that I sing at the top of my lungs everytime I hear, even though it's kind of naughty and I'm a stay-at-home-mom who drives a mini-van.  Why?"  Well, apparently our driver that night (I wish I could remember his name.  I'm thinking D'Wayne, maybe?) is actually a member of Nelly's posse, grew up with him there in St. Louis, and when Nelly's on tour or travelling, he goes with him and performs driver and body-guard duties.  When Nelly's not travelling, though, he has this driving gig with the town-car company.  Cool, huh?!

I'm also a big fan of Ludacris.  I know, seems strange, huh?  Just goes to show you can't judge a book by her cover...  My love of rap music was planted with the seed of 'Rapper's Delight' by the Sugar Hill Gang, and then flourished in high school with the greatness that was/is/and ever will be Run-DMC.  (I just found the cutest lil Run-DMC shirt for Carter at Target -- can you believe it?!  I'll have to take a pic of him in it and show y'all.)  Back to Ludacris -- he is such an incredibly generous artist.   He has a wonderful foundation, and he even took a girl who's one of his biggest fans (and has CP) to her prom.  He's a giver!

Take that and rewind it back, Ludacris got the flow make ya booty go (clap)

Well, that's enough MFT/rapper talk for one day.  Peace out, homeys. 

Redbuds are in Bloom!

Happy TCP Tuesday, everyone!  I'm especially chipper today because the redbuds are in full bloom.  Don't know what a redbud is?  Well, let me show you...

That's one of the redbuds in our back yard.  Aren't they gorgeous?  They're the state tree of Oklahoma, and so beautiful, but they're only in bloom for about three weeks each spring. 

The first spring after we moved into our house, I remember sitting with Truman in a chair in the study (now my stamping room), rocking him, and looking out the window at the blooming redbuds.  He was three at the time, and I remember wondering what would he be like, how will he be different the next time the redbuds are in bloom?  He's twelve now, and I've remembered those moments rocking him and thinking those thoughts every year since when the redbuds are in bloom.  And of course, each year, I tell him that story and get weepy and ask him to quit growing up so fast. 

Okay, I must change the subject or my keyboard will get waterlogged...

So, for TCP Tuesday -- a sketch challenge thrown down by today's Hipster Hostess with the Mostess, Leigh O'brien (go to her blog for the sketch and all the details) -- I knew I wanted to make a card using the sweet Spring Tree stamp from TCP's new Spring Fling set.  I checked in to see what today's SCS Color Challenge was just in case I might be able to do a two-fer, and I was in luck!  Color Challenge 221 is to use Pretty In Pink, Baja Breeze, and Kiwi Kiss.  Here's what I came up with...

I would have preferred to use Orchid Oppulence as it's the closest color match for redbud blooms, but you know I can't resist a two-fer!

I'm going to go take a walk and enjoy the redbuds while I can.  Who knows where I'll be or what I'll be doing the next time they're in bloom, so I'd better take advantage of this fleeting opportunity.  Seize the day, sisters!!!

Supplies used:
Stamps: Spring Fling by The Cat's Pajamas
Paper: Pretty In Pink, Kiwi Kiss, Parisian Breeze dsp, Georgia Pacific White
Ink: Kiwi Kiss
Accessories: Magenta Shimmerz, ribbon, oval punch, Nestabilities, Jody's Foam Boosters

An Aromatic SFYTT...

Ever wonder exactly what that scent is after a rainstorm?

*giggle!*  I've been wanting to make a little 'Kawaii Not' inspired card ever since I saw the little cloud/rainbow stamp in the MFT Presents Sara Williams Spring Sprouts set.  (According to the Kawaii Not website,"... kawaii is the Japanese term for cute, as in, "look at the fuzzy kitten, he's so kawaii", and not is an English term meaning "not". It's that simple.")  Truman comes home from Spring Break tomorrow (YAY!) so, I think I'm going to use this to write him a little note and tell him how much I missed him.  I know he'll get a kick out of it.  I'm not sure what it says about me that I share the same sense of humor as a twelve-year-old boy, but whatever.  I'll take these random areas of bonding anyway I can get 'em...

So, as for the card...  I first stamped the little clouds then masked them with Eclipse Masking Tape, then stamped the big cloud/rainbow.  I drew the faces on the clouds, then colored them in with Copics, before masking them again to do a little airbrushing for the sky background.  The sentiment is computer generated (Font: Pharmacy; I can't remember where I got it, but it was a free download).  The sun was stamped, colored, face drawn in, then popped up on a foam booster circle (from Jody).  The buttons were originally clear, but they didn't stand out enough from the patterned paper, so I roughed them up a with a sanding block to give them some tooth, and swiped over them with a little white acrylic paint.

I think it's going to be a rainy day -- perfect for stamping! -- around these parts.  How about with you?  Will you be going outside to enjoy the spring weather?  Don't stay out too long -- all that fresh air can't be good for you.  Instead, why not hop on over to Sketch Queen Jen's blog, get the sketch, and admire what she and Guest Designer Jenn Dierks have come up with?  Then, you most definitely should visit my sensational SFYTT Sisters to see their super samples:

Susan Liles
Kelly Lunceford
Amy Rohl, and
Amy Sheffer

If you're inspired to play with us, be sure to use 'SFYTT' as one of your SCS keywords so we can give you props.

Hope your day is filled with rainbow and unicorns!  

Supplies used:
Stamps: Spring Sprouts (MFT Presents Sara Williams)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: YoYo Yellow, Basic Black (SU!), Georgia Pacific White, patterned paper: Summer Cottage Stripe by Bo-Bunny Press
Accessories: computer generated sentiment (Font: Pharmacy), Copic Markers, Eclipse Masking tape, Foof-a-La clear buttons, white acrylic paint, Offray ribbon, Jody's Foam Boosters, black artists pen

When Truman Met Carter...

Well, last night I got tagged by my pal Val to show you the sixth picture in the sixth folder in my picture files.  I am terrible about actually sorting and filing my digital images, so I wasn't sure I was going to be able to play, but lo and behold, look what that search brought up: one of my favorite pictures of all time.

   This is a picture snapped the first time my big boy, Truman (then almost 8) met his baby brother, Carter.  Carter was 17 days old at the time and still in the NICU at St. John's Hospital in Tulsa.  (The reason Truman had to wait so long to meet Carter is that brothers and sisters under a certain age are only given visiting privileges in the NICU on particular days, at set times, and only after baby is a couple of weeks old.)  It was a surreal moment for Sean and me as Truman, too, had spent his first month of life in that particular NICU, and to see our smart, strong, healthy son hold his brother... well, it made us very hopeful that once the meantime of feeding and growing in the NICU was over, Carter would be wandering down the same path that Truman had blazed before him.

Of course, the universe had much different plans than those reasonably modest dreams I held for my youngest son at that moment.  (I say 'reasonably modest' because one doesn't name her children after former Presidents and not harbor a few fantasies about how they might turn out...LOL)  Carter has taken all of us to uncharted territory, as each child will.  I'm glad I didn't know when I snapped that picture that Carter would have CP because we would have been paralyzed with fear.  Instead, we got to know him as parents get to know any other, extraordinary baby (which, of course, they all are).  CP was truly an afterthought.  As it should be.  Carter is many things: most of them wonderful, some of them ornery; he just also happens to have CP. 

Another thing I didn't know when this picture was taken was what an amazing big brother Truman would be.  He's a kind, loving, patient, and fiercely protective Bubba.  Seeing this picture makes me miss my sweet #1 son*, who's been gone for an entire week on Spring Break with family friends. 

Way to go, Val -- you've got me all teary!!!

Now, these tagging games have rules and here they are:

•Open your photo folder on your computer
•Open the 6th folder of photos
•Select the 6th picture
•Post the picture on your blog with a description
•Invite six friends to join the challenge
•Link your six friends to your blog post

I'm going to hand over this little exercise to...

Michele,
Libby,
Jennifer,
Denise,
Dawn, and
Alicia

What's the 6th picture in your 6th file?

* = it's okay!  I'm not showing favoritism.  I have a little joke with Truman and Carter; I tell them 'He's [Truman] # 1, but I saved the best for last.'  And I say to both of them 'You're my favorite!' all of the time.  Usually within earshot of the other, and especially if one of them is being difficult...

Bloomin' Blog Hop!

Welcome to the fourth leg of the mid-March MFT Blog Hop!  Hopefully you started at the very beginning (a very good place to start) via Kim's blog, followed the blog hop trail, and came here by way of the uber-talented Cindy.  You did?  Oh, goody! 

I'm just LOVING these MFT Presents Sara Williams sets! You know I love making patterns, and these stamps are a pattern-lovers dream come true!  I used the new Funky Flowers set to create a simple-yet-detailed daisy chain of beautiful blossoms.  Check it out:

You know MFT's new illustrator, Sara, is the sister of our very own Susan Liles, don't you?!  Man -- they have a deep pool of talent in that family! 

Anyway, here are a few card deets, just in case you want 'em...

First, I stamped a row of zinnias with VersaMark then heat embossed them using China Red Powder Keg embossing powder.  I colored them in with Copics, then on a scrap I stamped  the three 5-petaled blooms and heat embossed those in black detail ep.  I colored the center of the 5-petaled flowers in with a Copic Marker, then cut them out for eventual popping up in between the zinnias.  I also gave the centers of the flowers a little texture by coating them with Glossy Accents.  The centers of the zinnias are covered in opague black Art Glitter.  The sentiment is one of my favorites from MFT's Can Ya Dig It? set. 

Ready to hop along to the next stop?  Well, get ready to feast your eyes on something gorgeous because you're headed to one of my BSFs' blogs -- the incomparable Jody!

Supplies used:
Stamps: Funky Flowers (MFT Presents Sara Williams) and Can Ya Dig It? (MFT)
Paper: Blush Red Dark (Prism), PTI Stamper's Select white, Basic Black & Summer Sun (SU!), patterned paper by Making Memories
Ink: VersaMark, Adirondack Cranberry
Accessories: Copic Markers, opague black Art Glitter, Glossy Accents, Jody's Foam Boosters, China Red Powder Keg embossing powder, black detail embossing powder

Top o' the TCP Tuesday Morning to Ya!

What a wonderful day!  Proof:
1.  It's St. Patrick's Day!
2.  It's TCP Tuesday!
3.  Everyone is supposed to wear my favorite color today or get pinched!
4.  I have the house all to myself! 

Let's take each of these in order.

1. 

2. 
Today's Hipster Hostess With the Mostess is Karrie, and it's a stamp challenge to use any St. Patrick's Day image.  Remember me talking last week about that big, beautiful pile of TCP rubber that I recently came into?  Well, among that swanky mass was an especially appropriate image of my favorite kitty, Sprinkle.  Here she is, in all her St. Patty's Day glory...

I think that sentiment is so, so true -- I do wish I was Irish!  Once, someone told me I was English, Irish, and German on my dad's side.  I have no idea if that's true, but I've clung to that notion for years, only because it allows me to claim to be Irish. I'm probably not, but I can still pretend.  Especially on St. Patrick's Day!

I used Beate's Weekend Sketch from last weekend -- isn't it fun?  It was actually created by my buddy Jenn Balcer, and I really like it.  (Good job, Jenn!)  Both the image (Pot o' Sprinkle) and the sentiment (The Irish) are by The Cat's Pajamas.

For all the details about how you can join in the TCP Tuesday fun and play with us (not to mention become eligible to be considered as the Next Swanky Stamper!), head on over to Karrie's blog.

3.  My favorite color is GREEN!!!  It's peaceful, it's the color of growth and new life, and it happens to be the color of money (but that's just a coincidence...)

4.  It's Spring Break around these parts, so Truman is snowboarding and skiing with some family friends in Vancouver.  Carter doesn't have therapy today (thanks to last week's great report from his doctor in St. Louis, he gets to reduce his therapy load to three days a week.  This is wonderful because it means he can go back to preschool a couple of days a week and play with his friends.  He's really missed the socialization with his little buddies, and mama could use a bit of break, too), so he's hanging out with his Daddy in OKC (the state senate doesn't take Spring Break, thus, they're still in session). 

You know what that means, don't you?!?!  I'm free to think of me and me only this whole livelong beautiful day!!!  I'm starting the day with a haircut and color, followed by lunch with a friend, a massage, and a movie.  Then, I'll come home, do a little stamping for the MFT Blog hop that goes live at 12 a.m. EST tonight, and call it good.  No -- I take that back.  I won't call it 'good' -- I'll call it GREAT!  I hope your day is equally spectacular!

Supplies used:
Stamps: Pot o' Sprinkle and The Irish by The Cat's Pajamas
Paper: Garden Green (SU!), PTI Stampers Select white, patterned paper from my scraps
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Copics, Gold Stickles, Prima & Doodlebug flowers, shamrock brad (present from my buddy Lesa), wide ricrack, PTI New Leaf buttons, SU! Top Note die, ticket corner punch, Jody's Foam Boosters.

Small Addition = Big Difference

Some friends and I are getting ready to throw a baby shower for one of our own who's having her first baby next month.  The little guy's nursery is being done in black, red and white, so Julie kept this in mind as she selected the invitations (she bought them at Hobby Lobby, I think).  As a stamper, I couldn't abide having a plain Jane invitation sent out with my name on it, so I told the gals I'd spruce up with a bit of stamping magic.  (You and I know it's not magic, but let's not share our secrets with the uninitiated...)

Here's an example of the invitations as I received them:

You have to admit, while very pretty, that's a tough one to baby-boy-up!  Fortunately, I do have some very swanky stamps at my disposal.  It didn't take long for me to determine that Budding Baby by The Cat's Pajamas would add just the right touch of whimsy without taking away from the overall look and feel of the invitation. 

Here's the final result:

And here's a close up so you can get a bit better look at that sweet baby.  I colored him in with Copics, then cut him out and mounted him on the invitation with Jody's Foam Boosters.  Next, I gave his heart blossom a coat of Christmas Red Stickles. Multiply that by 40, add the grosgrain ribbon that came with the invitations, address said invitations, and now you know what I was doing most of the day and night on Thursday!  A tiny bit time consuming, but we stampers have to set a good example to those non-papercrafting heathens every chance we can.  You never know what might finally push one of them over the edge to convert!

Supplies used for embellishment:
Stamps: Baby Bud by The Cat's Pajamas
Paper: Georgia Pacific White
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Copic Markers, Jody's Foam Boosters, Christmas Red Stickles

A Belabored SFYTT...

Sorry this is later than usual folks.  I usually try to avoid breaking the chain; I look at Stevie Nicks as a precautionary tale.  She broke the chain, and look what it got her: Lindsay Buckingham wrote one ass-burner of a song that must shame her every time Fleetwood Mac performs or she hears it on the radio.  But, for hours now, those who clicked on my link from Jen's or any of the other SFYTT Sister's blogs haven't found my sample.  And it's not because I haven't been trying.

Seriously, I have been up since the crack of stupid working on this blasted card.  At first, I had planned on doing my light-hearted, typical fare using the new MFT set, Monsters Ink.  But then I started thinking about a sweet friend who just had her life's rug pulled out from under her yesterday, and I wanted to make something to lift her spirits.  I recently purchased Unity's Move Mountains stamp, but haven't had a chance to ink it up yet.  This is such a powerfully important scripture to me; one that has helped me through several of those dark nights of the soul that we all have to go through.  Anyway, I thought it would be perfect for expressing concern and encouragement to my friend.

And while the trial and tribulations I went through making this are beyond trivial compared with what my friend is going through, I do want to catalog them for you so you can see just how trying it was to make this particular piece of paper sausage.

1.  First, I tried to emboss it with Powder Keg Copper Kettle embossing powder.  I LOVE PK's embossing powder -- it's the best there is, in my opinion -- but with fine words like some of those in this image, ordinary embossing powder is a bit too gloppy. (That's a technical term.)  So, I opted for stamping it in Adirondack Slate ink and then -- because I still wanted the look and feel of embossing powder, I embossed over the stamped image with Ranger Polysparkle Clear embossing powder.

2.  This image is big.  I hemmed and hawed about how I was going to get one of the bottom layers of Jen's sketch to show, while still keeping these big ovals.  The base of the card is already as big of a standard square size as I can make it and still use 8.5" x 11" cardstock for the base (the card is a 5.5" square), so I really didn't think making a bigger card was an option.  Ovals or base layer?  Sorry, Jen, but I opted to cut that layer and thus modified the sketch.  I really don't like to do that. 

3.  Usually, before I sew something, I will adhere the top layer to the bottom layer with a bit of adhesive from my ATG gun just to make it stay put.  I must not have been paying attention to what I was doing during that step, because I think I adhered it as much as I would if I weren't going to sew.  That made my sewing machine very angry.  The needle does not like going through adhesive at every point, and showed it's fury by breaking the thread.  Often.  I was forced to make random holes and stitches look 'on purpose' by going over the stitching a second time, wiggling it as I did so to make it look 'crazy quiltish'.  I'm hoping that showed the needle who's boss. 

4.  I had the idea that I'd tie off two pieces of ribbon, then tuck one end of each piece under the metal ribbon slide.  First off, satin ribbon is beautiful, but a total PITA to work with because it frays so easily after cutting and it's slippery.  Combine that with trying to measure out where the bows would be evenly spaced, blah blah, blah.  Just know, I'm not anxious to repeat that little feat of embellishment any time soon.

5.  I originally decided I wanted to use the Basic Grey Ambrosia paper pack for my background papers, and that it would go well with this red-orange Making Memories lace (?) trim.  So that's where I started from.  Thinking it would just be easier to be matchy-matchy with the solid papers that come in a BG paper pad then trying to match them to other cardstock, I began cutting out my Nestabilites layers with those papers.  When it finally came time to assemble everything, it just looked... off.

I had originally put the blackish/brown paper behind the image because it looked close in color to the ink, and I used a mustard-ish shade for the scallop layer.  The dark color made it pop, but because it was the only use of that dark color, it looked... strange to me. 

I was freakin' determined to use that sewed background panel after fighting tooth and nail with the sewing machine, so I was going to have to try to remove the image from the dark layer (which I had adhered with wet glue, mind you).  It actually came off pretty easily (which does make me wonder about Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive... so much for the tagline on their bottle: "A strong bond that lasts a lifetime!"  But believe me, I'm not complaining!).  (The white spot in the picture on that oval layer is where I tore it trying to get the image layer off.)

Then, I tried changing up the Nestie bases of my image layer.  I made the oval with the same Bazzill gray cardstock I used for the base of the sewing layer, and the scalloped layer was cut out of SU! More Mustard.  This just looked blah to me, and all that popped from the card was the lace embellishment.  Which was staying because it was firmly adhered to that sewn layer, as was the PITA ribbon slide embellishment. 

I compared the gray with an oval made using SU! Tangerine Tango.  I went back and forth on it, but finally opted for the Tangerine Tango because it balanced out the lace embellishment better, even though by making this choice, I broke one of Jody's rules (which is to mat layers with the same colors consistently).  *sigh*

Are you ready to finally see my finished card, or are you as sick of it as I am by now?  I don't blame you if you are, but if you aren't, here it is:
If this aint a labor of papercrafting love, I don't know what is.  But my friend is worth it.  She'd be the first to flood a person's mailbox if one of her friends was going through what she is at the moment. 

Go to Jen's blog for the sketch and to see what cuteness she and March Guest Designer Jenn Dierks have put together, then head on over to my SFYTT Sister's blogs for what I am sure will be effortless endeavors of elegance and ennui:

Kelly Lunceford
Susan Liles
Amy Sheffer, and
Amy Rohl

Then play with the sketch yourself -- it honestly doesn't have to be as hard as I've made it look!!!  When you upload to your Splitcoast gallery, be sure to use SFYTT as one of your keywords so we can give you props.

As for me?  I think I should just go back to bed...

Supplies used:
Stamps: Move Mountains by Unity
Ink: Adirondack Slate, VersaMark, Adirondack Butterscotch and SU! More Mustard (for sponging)
Paper: More Mustard (SU!), gray Bazzill cardstock, Neenah Natural White, Basic Grey Ambrosia 6x6 paper pad
Accessories: Nestabilities, sewing machine, Ranger Polysparkle embossing powder, Making Memories lace trim, Making Memories ribbon slide, gray satin ribbon, Jody's foam boosters.

TCP Tuesday!

For the longest time, Tuesday was the red-headed stepchild of weekdays, don't you think?  It doesn't inspire the extreme emotions of Monday or Friday, it doesn't have a funny name like 'Hump Day', and it's not the weekend pre-party night that Thursday is (also the night of Must-See TV).  Nope, Tuesday was just... Tuesday.  Ho-hum. 

That was then, this is now: thanks to The Cat's Pajamas, Tuesday has been transformed into the swankiest stamping day o' the week (weekend days included)!  I think that deserves a 'Woot! Woot!' don't you?

Back to bidness...
Today, Jen's got a color challenge for everyone, and it's very Spring and/or baby friendly!  Are you curious?  Okily dokily, here it is: light pink, light yellow, and light blue (optional color: any shade of brown).  Here's what I came up with:
Doesn't Sprinkle look smashing in her bunny ears and bow tie?   While the rest of the world was purchasing the new Clearly Swanky Sets that were released weekend before last, I went shopping through the pages and pages of individual images that TCP has and ordered a ton of fabulous rubber.  So much amazing stuff back there -- you should really take a look.  For example? This 'Bunny Kitty' image!  I paired it with a sentiment from the Spring Fling set.

Just to remind you, here's how you can join in the TCP Tuesday fun:

1. Each a week one of The Cat’s Pajamas DT members will host a challenge.
2. The challenges will vary {stamp, color, theme, sketch, etc.}
3. You will have until {this} Saturday night to complete the challenge.
4. Link your project on this week’s hostess’ challenge announcement. This week you will link your project HERE.
5. TCP stamps are not required, but of course, highly encouraged. {Unless it is a challenge calling for a specific stamp}
6. There will be one winner each month. They will be deemed that month’s Swankiest Stamper and get $25 in Cat’s Cash {money to spend on the TCP site!}.
7. When uploading to SCS, please use the keyword TCPTUES49 for this challenge.
8. Alma will post the entries from the week the following Monday on her blog.
9. The newly crowned Swanky Stamper will be announced on the First of the Month and have his/her winning entry posted on The Cat’s Pajamas website where he/she will reign for the entire month!

Supplies used:
Stamps: Bunny Kitty, Spring Fling (The Cat's Pajamas)
Paper: Pink Pirouette, Barely Banana, Bashful Blue (SU!), GP white, patterned paper from Treehouse Memories' Main Street collection
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Copic Markers, PTI grosgrain ribbon, Nestabilities, jump ring, Cuttlebug tag dies, flower punches, button brads, Jody's foam boosters

Hug a Booger?

I have to confess, every time I see the name -- Hooga Booga -- of this cute new MFT Presents set, I think to myself 'Hug a Booger.'  I know it's based on a little song that Kim (MFT's owner) made up for her daughter, but still: Hug a Booger!  So just to get it out of my system, here's my sample for Jen's Sketch For You to Try for this week...
The little booger was colored with Copics and his outfit was paper pieced with patterned paper from MFT's Summer Paper Pack.  I masked the booger, clouds and grass, then airbrushed the sky.  Then sentiment was created using my old Karen Foster Snap Stamps.

Be sure to stop by Jen's blog for the sketch, and to see what she and March Guest Designer Jenn Dierks have come up with for your blurfing pleasure.  You'll also want to visit the blogs of my SFYTT Sisters for what I know will be a scrumptious smorgasbord of eye candy:

Susan Liles,
Amy Rohl,
Kelly Lunceford , and
Amy Sheffer

We'd love for you to come play with us and to see your interpretation of the sketch, so if you upload it to your SCS gallery, be sure to use 'SFYTT' as one of your keywords so we can give pile on the praise!  I'd rather have a pile of praise than a pile of boogers any day, wouldn't you?!

Nothing too exciting going on here this weekend.  Truman has his first soccer game of the season at noon today, and then I have a MOUNTAIN of laundry to tackle.  Sean left this morning for a wedding in Dallas, and will be flying to meet Carter and I in St. Louis tomorrow night.  (Anyone want to ride 5.5 hours in the car with my 4 year old and I tomorrow afternoon?!  No?  Dang.  I don't blame you, though.)  On Monday morning, Carter has his 4 month post-operative check-up regarding the neurosurgery he had in November.  Wish us luck!

I hope your weekend is booger-free and full of fun!

Supplies used:
Stamps: Hooga Booga by MFT Presents, Karen Foster Snap Stamps
Paper: MFT's Summer Paper Pack, Neenah Natural White, Martha Stewart red and aqua cardstock
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Copic markers, Eclipse masking tape, Copic Airbrush System, Spellbinders tags, corner rounder, brads, Jody's Foam Boosters

Blog Hop Sweetness!

Hola, Blog Hoppers!  I'm so happy you've come to visit me!  Hopefully you're one of those purposeful Blog Hoppers who started at the beginning with Boss Lady Kim and then bounced from one fantastic MFT DT member to the next to see the beautiful creations made by my talented team mates.  If so, you've come to me from my girlfriend Amy Sheffer's blog, whom I consider one of the Grand Masters of stamping. 

If it weren't for how totally *PRECIOUS* the 'Nite Nite Ellie' set is, I'd be way too intimidated to follow in Amy's footsteps.  Fortunately, though, this little gal is a stunner in her own right who can make any stamper look like a million bucks...
Isn't she sweet?!  I colored her in with Copics, then masked her and airbrushed the background.  Her P.J.s are paper pieced, and I created a little 'blankie/quilt' by sewing together several punched squares of patterned paper.  The ribbon is from MFT's Summer Ribbon pack.

This one is going out to my girlfriend Jen del Muro (also known as 'Ellie's Mom'), who came up with the concept for these sweet stamps.  You know the BEST part of this set, though?  $2 from every set sold during the next 6 months goes to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital!  Isn't that awesome?!  One of my twelve-year-old's best friends is a cancer survivor and has spent a lot of time at St. Jude's over the years, so this is a cause especially near and dear to my heart. 

Wanna know your next destination on the MFT Blog Hop?  Why, it's none other than the Mistress of Mingle, Kirsten DuBosque!  And don't forget to join us tomorrow night for the New Release Cocktail Party/Happy Hour at 9 p.m. EST in MFT's Member Forum on SCS; the sets will go live at 10pm EST. Stop by the release party to win prizes, see more MFTeasers of the new sets and find out how you can become MFT’s next Guest Designer! Hope to see you there!

Supplies used:
Stamps: Nite Nite Ellie by MFT Presents
Paper: Certainly Celery, Lavender Lace, Georgia Pacific white, patterned paper from DCWV's Nana's Nursery Boy mat stack
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Lovely Lilac
Accessories: MFT Summer Ribbon, Copic Markers, airbrush system, sewing machine, Nestabilities, Pebbles, Inc. chalks, Petaloo FloraDoodles, Jody's foam boosters

A Peek at the Peeps!

Here's a little MFTeaser of the latest Who's That Girl set, 'Hangin' With My Peeps'...
And doesn't that sentiment tell it like it really is?!  This set -- and four more, including two cute-cute *monster* sets, a Flopsey, and an ADORABLE charity set -- will be released tomorrow night.  But even before then -- starting at 12 a.m. EST on Wednesday morning (in other words, midnight tonight) will be a Blog Hop chock full o' Teasers!  You DO NOT want to miss it! 

Okay, so for this card?  Who's That Girl is completely paper pieced, as are her peeps.  The background was colored in with Copics, and I drew the sidewalk lines on the concrete and then stipled it with Adirondack Pebble ink to make it look grittier.  The patterned paper is from MFT's Summer Paper Pack, and the ribbon is from the coordinating MFT Summer Ribbon Pack (sooo yummy!).  I've had that little Imaginisce brad since last year, and I figured there would never be a better card to use it on, so I mounted it on various and sundry flower embellishments.  Lots of foam tape and some stitching, and there you have it!

See you later tonight/first thing tomorrow morning! 

BUY THE WAY: My Favorite Things (www.mftstamps.com) is having a New Release Cocktail Party on Wednesday, March 4th from 9-10 PM EASTERN.   Head over to the MFT forum on www.splitcoaststampers.com to find out all the details and to find out how YOU can be the next MFT Guest Designer. We hope to see you there on Wednesday night.

Supplies used:
Stamps: Hangin' With My Peeps by My Favorite Things
Paper: Stephanie Fizer Summer Paper pack from MFT, Yo Yo Yellow, pink Prism cardstock, Neenah Classic Cream
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Gable Green (SU!), Adirondack Pebble for stippling sidewalk
Accessories: Copic Markers, Prima flowers, Making Memories flower, Imaginisce flower and brad, MFT Summer Ribbon pack, stipple brush, sewing machine, Jody's Foam Boosters