Mother's Little Helper

Snuggly Squirrels (YNS October Sneak Peek)

One of my favorite picture books as a child was "Miss Suzy" by Miriam Young, and illustrated by the awesome Arnold Lobel. 

If you're a big fan of children's books, as I am, you'll remember Arnold Lobel from books like Frog and Toad, The Ice Cream Cone Coot and Other Rare Birds, and the Caldecott Award winning Fables. All great stuff. But there is something particularly winning about Miss Suzy. Lobel's little squirrely girl is a fastidious housekeeper. She sweeps with her little twig broom, and has the cutest little acorn coffee cups. I'd go so far as to say that Suzy is the rodent version of Martha Stewart.

Thus, when I saw Your Next Stamp's delightful new SANDY AUTUMN GREETINGS stamp set, I couldn't help but think of sweet Miss Suzy.

How adorable is that image?! I just love it. And for those of you (like me) who like coordinating die sets that free you from the work of fussy cutting, you're in luck. This stamp set has a coordinating set of dies, too. Even if you think squirrels are just fluffy rats, you can't help but be charmed by these sweet illustrations:

So cute and cuddly!

In addition to the to-be-released-tomorrow SANDY AUTUMN GREETINGS stamps and coordinating dies, I also used YNS's Stitched Rectangle Dies and Love Me Some Latte Gumdrops. The patterned papers are from Doodlebug Designs' Fall Friends and Friendly Forest 6"x6" paper pads.
Visit the Your Next Stamp Blog for links to all of the other YNS designers previewing goodies from the October Release, then come back and visit me tomorrow for the YNS New Release Blog Hop. Thanks for stopping by! :)

And just in case you have a few extra minutes and want to hang out with Miss Suzy a little longer...

 

Taylored Expressions June Studio Challenge

It's time for the Baker's Dozen Studio Challenge.  This is a monthly opportunity for the Taylored Expressions team to share what makes our stamping studios hum.  Each month we  have a fun, crafty question so we can share our favorites, some tips and tricks, stamping advice and more.

The question for June is:

What's on your summer reading list?  Are you a big reader or not?  If you are, what books have you read lately that you would recommend?  Do you have a favorite author or genre? How about something for sitting out by the pool, or the beach, or even just the backyard...some nice light summer reading? 

Do you use fancy bookmarks or do you dog-ear your pages?  Or, do you use an e-reader? Everyone can use bookmarks and they make great favors and gifts.  Let's see a little inspiration!

Oh, this month's challenge is so up my alley!  I am a HUGE reader; I don't leave home -- EVER -- without a book in my purse.  In fact, I feel naked if I don't have a book with me at all times.  I'm petrified at the idea of being stuck somewhere, waiting indefinitely, with nothing to read. Isn't that strange?  Some people feel that way about their phones.  Me?  I could honestly care less about having my phone with me, except that when I forget my phone (which is often), my husband and kids get very irritated with me.  I get irritated with myself if I don't have a book with me, though.  Books are truly my security blanket and refuge.

I have lots of authors whose work I love, and I like almost any and all genres.  I should be embarrassed to say this, but the latest series of books that I've loved was the 50 Shades of Grey Triology by EL James.  My husband gave me that book as a gag gift (of sorts) for Mother's Day 2012, and I finally finished reading it before Mother's Day this year.  After I slogged through the first 80 pages (It takes them that long to finally kiss...), I was hooked, and within a week or so, I'd finished all three books.  That's a record for me as I am not a terribly fast reader. 

I enjoyed the books so much, I had to create a little something special for Sean for Father's Day with a 50 Shades theme:

It's a 5"x7" altered canvas using TE's Boys Will Be Boys stamp set and lots of Bazzill card stock.  You might have seen it on Taylor's blog or the Bazzill blog when TE and Bazzill were have a cross-promotion a few weeks back.  Here's a close-up:

Yes, all those little ties were individually stamped, cut out, and popped up on foam boosters.  Sean liked it so much, he said he was going to display it in his senate office so more people could appreciate my handiwork.  Think they'll get the reference?  I guess if they do, then they're just as "bad" as me, huh? ;)

Lately, I've been doing a lot of reading on my Nook, but I am in no way a dedicated e-Reader.  I like any and all forms of reading.  And bookmarks are some of my favorite things to give/receive.  Here's what I made for today's challenge, using TE's Mark Your Spot Bookmark die and Mark Your Spot stamp set:

I'm hosting Bunco next week, and I like to give little hints as to the gifts, so whosever turn it is to pick a gift will have to hem and haw.  Increases the anxiety and anticipation!  Just call me Hitchcock... Anyway, I'm going to put this bookmark on the outside of this gift (once it's wrapped):

Don't you think that's appropriate?  Now I'm wanting this book for myself...

Tell me what you're reading this summer!  I love a good book recommendation.  And be sure to visit my fellow Baker's Dozen team mates to see their bookmarks and what's on their reading lists.

Charmaine Ikach

Jen Shults

Joan Ervin

Kerri Michaud

Sankari Wegman

Shannon White

Shelly Mercado

Stephanie Kraft

Tammie Edgerton

Taylor VanBruggen

Wanda Guess

 

Supplies Used:

50 Shades Altered Canvas:

Stamps: Boys Will Be Boys (TE)
Dies: Oval from Labels Stacklets 3 (TE)
Paper (all Bazzill): Two Scoops Textured Card Stock, Date Swirl, Rock Candy, Marshmallow, Wax Lips
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black, Wild Cherry (MFT)
Accessories: blank canvas board (Hobby Lobby), bakers twine, foam boosters, scissors

Places Bookmark:

Supplies used:
Stamps: Mark Your Spot (TE)
Dies: Mark Your Spot Bookmark die (TE)
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black
Paper: Choice Snow White card stock (TE)
Accessories: Copic Markers, Eclipse masking tape, tassel made from Green Apple Divine Twine

Autumn with Rin Tin Tin

Hi, friends.  I apologize for being a flakey stamper/blogger.  I have a confession: I have a love-hate relationship with stamping/blogging.  There are times when I want to create something and put it "out there" and have friends (known & unknown) check it out.  And it's wonderful validation when something I've made or said resonates enough with someone that she takes the time to leave me a comment - I love that.  But I rebel against feeling like stamping/blogging is something I have to do.  Do you get what I mean?

I finished a great book yesterday -- Rin Tin Tin by Susan Orlean, about the famous German shepherd(s) of movie/TV fame -- and I read something that really captured how I've been feeling about stamping/blogging of late.  Orlean is interviewing a local amateur historian who offered to show her around the site north of Hollywood where the Corriganville Movie Ranch had been.  This was the venue where the TV series, 'The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin' was shot.  After Corriganville shut down in 1966, the land was eventually subdivided into lots for suburban homes and the Ronald Reagan Freeway.  Anyway, this local historian shows up for the tour in a calvary costume, as if he were an extra in the Rin Tin Tin series.  He had taped and watched every western he could that had been filmed at Corriganville to learn how to recognize the rock formations, and thus identify the location where a given scene had been shot. He would watch and re-watch the films/show with the sound off, so that he could focus on which rocks were which.

As Orlean writes on page 209,

"This seemed like an unusual sort of hobby, but no matter how specialized or particular a hobby might be, it always seems someone has dug into it.  Immersing yourself in a single interest so thoroughly sometimes means that the interest stops being something you do; instead you become a servant of that interest." [emphasis added]

I don't know about you, but I feel like I'm required to be a servant in so many areas of my life, that I need to be a servant to my leisure pursuits like I need a hole in my head.  And yet, because I tend to be an extremist where hobbies are concerned, I immerse myself in such endeavors to the point where in creeps commitments and obligations that I inevitably chafe against.  I can't just be an avid reader; I have to be in book clubs/write a novel/attend the Bread Loaf Writers' Workshop/edit a collection of essays.  I can't just enjoy stamping; I have to start a blog about it/be on design teams/serve on the Splitcoast Dirty Dozen.  Etc. 

Perhaps that's why I'm so enjoying cross-stitching after putting down my needle and floss for so many years.  It's a hobby that is contemplative without taxing my wee brain too much, I can do it while watching TV with the family or whiling away time in waiting rooms, and I love that I'm making something that will last for generations.  I'm making a conscious effort to NOT become obsessive about it.  Wish me luck on that... ;)

Anyway, here are some pictures of a piece that I finished recently (if you click on the photos, you can see the details better):

It's a pattern (appropriately) called 'Autumn' from one of my favorite cross stich designers, Vicki Hastings of The Cricket Collection (Leaflet # 304).  I stitched it on 28 count linen with DMC threads.  Here are some close-ups...

and...

As you can see from the bottom lefthand corner, I believe in 'signing' my cross-stich as I've often preached about signing my stamped projects.  Claim your art!

I've got more finished projects to share, but I'll save those for another day.  Thanks for stopping by to see me! :)

PS - I highly recommend Rin Tin Tin - Susan Orlean is a terrific writer (she's a staff writer for the New Yorker, and she's also author of The Orchid Thief, which was made into the movie Adaptation starring Meryl Streep). Of course, as a German shepherd lover, I'm a bit biased, but still.  It comes out in paperback on October 9th - FYI!