Mother's Little Helper

An Open Letter From the Mother of the Year

Dear Jen and my SFYTT Sisters (Amy R., Amy S., Kelly, Susan, Leigh, Megan, Jodi, Amber, and Sony),

Er... um... you may have noticed that I neglected to post a sample for Jen's Sketch For You To Try on Saturday.  It wasn't that I didn't like this week's sketch -- it's fabulous, as always, and in fact I will be utilizing it tomorrow for the My Favorite Things' Wednesday Stamp Club Challenge. 

And it's not that I'm not terribly impressed with September's Guest Designer, Tori Wild.  In fact, I gave her a shout-out during The Cat's Pajamas Customer Blog Hop a couple of weeks ago for her delightful (and ultimately Swanky-Stamper-worthy) entry.

No, it's that when I sat down to do a little stamping last Thursday, I was seized with guilt.  As I mentioned in my last blog post, I realized I was absolutely down-to-the-wire and in dire need of getting invitations put together for Carter's birthday party.  It's this coming Sunday -- the 12th -- and I had to get something out the next day to ensure invitees would have at least a week's notice.  And, owing to Carter's longstanding devotion to the #1 blue engine, it's a Thomas the Tank Engine-themed affair. 

What to do?  Go out and try to find some store-bought Thomas invitations?  Or make my love for Carter tangible by finally put to use those Thomas stamps I have from my days as a designer for the now-defunct Cornish Heritage Farms?  Those Thomas stamps were one of the big reasons I started designing for CHF in the first place, you know.  How many opportunities does a stamper have to be an official designer for her child's hero?  The worlds of stamping and toys don't collide like that every day.  Of course, once I joined CHF, there was never another Thomas release.  Well, there were plenty of Thomas Kinkade releases, but not Thomas the Tank Engine...

Anyway -- on Thursday afternoon I had a choice to make.  And as much as I love you girls and hold the SFYTT in the highest of esteem, this was probably going to be the last time those Thomas stamps were ever going to make themselves useful. 

 
There was no way in heck I was about to color 15 or so of these detailed images, so I decided to heat emboss them with some sparkly Sapphire embossing powder from Powder Keg.  And, thinking that would look a little plain on ordinary white cardstock, I went online to find some free printable graph paper, which I printed out in red on Georgia Pacific cardstock. 

The yellow background paper was created by inking the large Thomas track backgrounder stamp in Versamark, and stamping it off onto YoYo Yellow paper.  I know y'all make fun of me for using YoYo Yellow all the time, but it comes in handy on projects like this! 

I heat embossed a sentiment from the (no longer available) Mona Lisa Moments Train Sentiments set in China red embossing powder, tied off some Cherry Divine Twine from The Cat's Pajamas, added a couple of brads, and rounded a corner.

For being fairly simple, I think it turned out pretty cute.  And best of all, Carter LOVES them!  He walked around with the prototype all evening long as I set up a table in the living room with all of my supplies and churned them out, finally wrapping things up around midnight.

The next morning, I got these babies in the mailbox and we promptly left town for the holiday weekend to go watch Truman in a soccer tournament.  Though I felt a little guilty for not doing my SFYTT, I was also feeling pretty Mother-of-the-Yearish, sure that when those envelopes were opened on Saturday, I would be the subject of awe and envy as a chorus of "How does she do it?" rang throughout northeastern Oklahoma. 

I should have called you, Jen, on the five-plus hour trek to the tournament site, which was actually in your neck of the woods, but I was overcome by the stench of Truman's reeking equipment bag and the narcolepsy that immediately hits me whenever I am a passenger in a vehicle.  That, and I was dreading telling you that I would be flaking out.

But know that I received my karmic due: I came home Sunday night to find that my mother, who took it upon herself to bring in our mail while we were out of town, removed the invitations on Friday from our mailbox before the letter carrier could pick them up.  How she mistook 15 identically shaped envelopes bearing our return address and no postmark to be incoming mail, I can't fathom, but nevermind...  

I had to send an email and/or call the invitees as the invitations won't be getting mailed until today. *sigh*

So, anyway, there you have it.  My confession.  I hope you will find it in your hearts to forgive me.  Until then, I remain your humble servant.

xo, Carole

HELP! I need somebody...

I have to confess: I have a tendency to hoard my cards.  Especially the ones I created during my tenure as one of  SCS's Dirty Dozen.  I slaved and hemmed and hawed over my submissions to the DD Gallery more than most other things I've created, because I always wanted to make sure they were 'Dirt Worthy' -- that they would live up (or at least come as close as I was personally able) to the tradition of excellence established by the Dirty Girls who came before me, as well as those I served with.  I doubt I am unique amongst Dirty Girls in this respect; I think most of us, past and present, felt this way about our DD Gallery 'legacies.'

Recently, a gentleman did something so nice for me that I felt compelled to send him a very special thank you note.  I looked through my cards and decided, yes, even though he's a guy and it might very well end up in his circular file as he will have no idea what a one-of-a-kind objet d'art he has in his possession, his good deed was worthy of my Dirt Worthy effort. 

Anyway, I made this card for the October 2008 'For a Song' gallery (accessible only to members of the SCS Fan Club):

I LOVE the Beatles so, so much, thus when I found this stamp at Viva LasVegastamps I knew I had to have it.  Luckily, it came in handy when the 'For a Song' theme was announced.  The sentiment -- which was a total PITA to properly space and made me profoundly glad that I came of age in the day of the computer and never had to be employed as a typesetter -- was created using a JustRite Stamper.  The background was created using CHF's Open Circles Backgrounder.  Everything -- image, sentiment, and background -- was heat embossed using Powder Keg's awesome embossing powders.  Here's a close up so you can see the sparkle in the blue:

Before I mailed it off, I had to show it a little love and take another picture to share with you, just in case you didn't get a chance to view it in the DD gallery.  Looking at it now, I think I like it so much, I may have to create a stash of 'em. 

But that would mean having to re-set that sentiment...  Hmmm.

Yeah, I'll let you know how that turns out... ;)

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Help Quartet by Viva LasVegastamps!, Open Circles Backgrounder by CHF, sentiment with JustRite

Paper: Real Red, Basic Black, GP White, Classic Blue and Red by Prismatics (Prism Papers)

Ink: VersaMark

Accessories: Sparkling Sapphire and China Red embossing powders by Powder Keg, grosgrain ribbon, foam boosters from Jody Morrow, oversized brads by Kaiser Scrapbook, Nestabilites

Shocking, I know...

Alert the media: I created a scrapbook spread! 

I've long been saying that I wanted to get back to my scrapbooking roots, but haven't actually acted on that in, oh, say a year or so.  And even then?  It was just a page here or there.  I'm not about to proclaim I've got my scrapbooking groove back, but a two-page spread is a better start than I've had in several years!

I was browsing through my iPhoto thumbnails the other day when I came across this past year's Christmas card photo session of the boys.  I must have taken 100+ pictures that day, trying to get just the right photo to mail out with the family holiday newsletter.  Though only one photo makes the card, there were lots of shots that were cute and/or funny, and I was kind of sad that they weren't ever going to be seen or appreciated.  So, I printed a bunch of them out at 2"x3" and decided the least I could do was scrapbook them.

As you can see, I'm a pretty clean and simple scrapbooker.  I really like to let the photos shine as much as possible, and when you have this many in a spread, it's busy enough without a ton of embellishments.  I'm also a big believer in the importance of journaling.  Maybe because I have a big mouth and lots to say?  Maybe.  But also because I think it really adds so much to the story you're trying to tell with your pictures.  Plus, it allows you to shape your family history.  For example?  I don't want my kids to just think of taking these photos as a tedious chore (which it is, when you're actually trying to get the photo made...)  Instead, I wrote this down and hope they'll see themselves the way I see them:

Each year, the first step in getting the BHN prepared and out the door is taking a photo of the boys to accompany the newsletter. This isn’t as easy as it sounds.  After all, if a picture is worth a thousand words, I want to make sure the image going out to all of our family and friends conveys Truman and Carter as they truly are: sweet, funny, adorable, loving, kind, mischievous, bright, and happy.  That’s not so much to ask, is it?!  Thus, we end up taking lots of shots in various settings in order to find the one that makes the grade.  Here are a few outtakes from our 2009 BHN photo shoot. (Weds., Nov. 25, 2009)

Another personal rule with respect to journaling?  I really think if at all possible it needs to be in one's own handwriting.  Yeah, yeah... I can already hear you.  "But I hate my handwriting!"  I say: you need to get over that.  Very few people are crazy about their own handwriting. 

Indulge me in a little experiment, will you?  Say you're looking around in your cookbooks or recipe box and you find a recipe card written in your dearly departed grandmother's spidery script.  Are you critiquing her penmanship as your read it?  Of course not.  You're remembering how much you loved her, the smell of her chicken and dumplings boiling on the stove, and how safe and warm it felt at her house.  When you see her handwriting, you hear her voice.  Right?  Well, that's what your children will feel when they see your handwriting. 

I created the title with my Cricut (first time that thing has been played with in eons) using the Opposites Attract cartridge.  Then, after framing all the pics like a photo contact sheet on white cardstock, I bordered them with Prisma Blush Red Dark.  It was still a little bit too plain, so using the rule of 3's, I added three splashes of old olive: 1.) the wide rick rac (from one of Jody's ribbon shares) along the top of both pages; 2.) the frame for the journaling box; and 3.) the small stamped accent in the lower right hand corner.

The stamp is from the Photo Op! set from CHF's Rummage Bin line (was just looking for it to link it; I guess it's retired.  Too bad, because it's a great set).  It's popped up on Jody's foam boosters for a tiny bit of dimension.

See that shot above?  It was actually my favorite from the whole photo session, but alas... Truman's hair was cropped out of the shot by accident.  Wanna see the photo that actually made the cut?  Good, because I always appreciate an opportunity to show off my cute boys...

Cover Girl

Did you received your copy of Splitcoaststampers' Weekly Inking Newsletter in your inbox yesterday?  If so, did you notice a certain someone is featured as this week's tutorial writer? 

Hmmm?  You didn't? 

Oh.  How embarrassing. 

I thought surely this was going to be IT: the big break that would lead to my discovery, that would get me noticed, that would help me bust out of this one-horse town and secure my place in the Craft and Hobby Hall of Fame.  Not that there is such a thing.  Yet.  In this particular fantasy, I'm part of the first class of inductees.  I ride my unicorn into the ceremony wearing a flowing white gown created especially for me by Christian Siriano...

Yeah. Um...

So about that tutorial...  It's for a background technique I stumbled across while trying to create something 'Dirt Worthy' for the October 2008 'For a Song' Dirty Dozen gallery...

 

(This was made for that month's Inspiration Challenge, and my musical inspiration, in keeping with that month's theme, was 'Dog and Butterfly' by Heart.)

I've been scheduled to do this tutorial for over a year now, I think (it's been so long, I can't really remember).  Are you at all surprised that despite having such a HUGE window with which to work on it, I was still scrambling to finish up to the last minute?  Me neither. 

While doing the behind the scenes work to get it ready for prime time, Beate (SCS's Creative Director, member of the '69er club, and -- like Cher-- so famous she only needs to use her first name) suggested the title 'Faux Torn Mosaic.'  Well, I thought it was brilliant and readily agreed to it as I didn't have anything better to call Mod-Podging randomly shaped pieces of inked patterned paper onto cardstock.  Since the tutorial has been up at Splitcoast, however, it's been brought to my attention by some very observant stampers that the title is a misnomer: the background is actually made of torn paper and is actually a mosaic, thus there's nothing 'faux' about it.

They're right; I stand corrected.  I guess I was thinking of a mosaic as one typically does, made of tiles, stone, or glass.  Ashamed as I am to admit it, I was thinking 'inside the box.'  (I'm even more ashamed that I'm intentionally using that soul-corroding cliche.) 

And yet...

I feel the urge to quote the recently departed cheftestant from Season 6 of Top Chef, the arrogant-yet-somewhat-entertaining Mike Isabella who, upon being criticized for his undercooked leeks, said these wise words: "Whatever, whatever."

 

Call it what you will, here's the card I built and photographed to support the tutorial (which also did double-duty as the card included in my friend Rachel's baby shower gift):

If you're interested in giving it a try, head on over to the resources section of Splitcoast, where you'll find the tutorial, a questions and comments section, and a dedicated gallery.

Now, I must take my leave of you and admire the kitchen countertops that are being installed as I type!
 

Supplies used on Baby Mama card:

Stamps: TeddyBella by Stamping Bella, sentiment by Paper Trey Ink (Bitty Baby Blessings)

Paper: Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip (SU!), Perfect Paper Panels (My Favorite Things), Bitty Dot Basics patterned paper (PTI)

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Memento Rich Cocoa, Adirondack Latte

Accessories: Copic Markers, oval punches, ribbon, wooden button, twine, Jody Morrow’s foam boosters, Mod Podge, sponges, dauber, paper trimmer

A Collage-y SFYTT

Jen's really given us a challenge with today's Sketch For You To Try!  I thought about it for a long time before I actually decided what images would 'fit' and even as I was doing it, it went through several changes.  For example -- the Ruby Red layers and accents were an afterthought added for a little extra *pop* (just the brown, ivory, and aqua mist was a tiny bit too tame for my comfort.  If I were on Project Runway?  I predict the judges would sometimes say that they question my 'taste level.'  Consider me the card-making version of Santino).  Still, I like the way it end up; it's kinda different for me, but I think it works as a masculine card, which is what I was going for...
I used the just-released 'On the Desk' set from CHF's Rummage Bin line, designed by my sweet friend Julia Stainton.  It has a lot of vintage-y office images, and I just love that Emerson quote.  The pen is actually a very detailed image, but I sacrificed some of the detail in order to emboss it because I wanted the verdigris look on the brown cardstock. 

I challenge you to stretch yourself and see what you can do with today's SFYTT.  You'll need to head on over to Task Master Jen's for the Sketch and to see samples from her and August Guest Designer Megan Lock.  Then, blurf on over to my SFYTT Sisters' blogs to see their handiwork:

Susan Liles
Amy Rohl
Kelly Lunceford, and
Amy Sheffer

When you upload to your SCS gallery, be sure to use 'SFYTT' as one of your keywords so we can give you props. 

Have a great weekend, and make it work! :)

Supplies used:
Stamps: On the Desk by Cornish Heritage Farms (Rummage Bin line)
Paper: Aqua Mist (PTI), Suede Brown Dark (Prism), Ruby Red (SU!), Ivory (Neenah), patterned paper: Cerulean Chestnut Script by Scenic Route
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa, Ruby Red (SU!), VersaMark
Accessories: Nestabilities, Verdigris embossing powder (Ranger), red Copic Spica marker, gingham, Jody's foam boosters

Proud as a Peacock SFYTT

Another Saturday morning, another great Sketch For You To Try!  Thanks to my newly redecorated cyberhome, I'm feeling mighty proud.  Thus, it was time to ink up a new Kim Hughes Collection set -- Zooper Fun -- that I hadn't had an opportunity to play with yet.
The sentiment is from Verve's Great Expectations set.  (Gotta love Verve sentiments!)  Pretty self explanatory, but if you have any questions, let me know.

You know the drill: you can find the sketch and samples from Jen and May Guest Designer Julie Lacey on Jen's blog, then hop on over to my SFYTT Sister's places for a creative kick in the pants (that's a good thing, you know...):

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

Master Cleanse Day 3:
You'd be so proud of me!  I have a group of girlfriends that I get together with pretty frequently; we take turns hostessing happy hour and appetizers -- very low key and easy, but fun and necessary, too.  We've all got to make the time to get together with our girlfriends, or I'm convinced something in us becomes untethered and we forget we're people in our own right.  It's good for the soul. 

Anyway, the four of us got together last night, and while the other girls sipped their Pinot Grigio and noshed on crudites and crab dip, I was good and drank my 'lemonade.'  Fortunately, I was too taken by Heather's sweet baby boy (only a month old!) to be too jealous (actually, Heather only had water, so I wasn't the only tee-totaler).  I even got to feed and burp him -- I miss that so much! (Bottle fed, btw -- God bless her, I'm no Salma Hayek...)

After I got home, a fierce headache came on.  I've heard these happen a lot during the Cleanse due to caffeine withdrawl, but I'm not a huge caffeine drinker -- only a cup or two of coffee in the a.m., which I enjoy more for the ritual than anything else.  The headache lasted through the night, and I still have a bit of it this morning.  Hopefully it will go away soon.

I have some company on the Cleanse now -- Sean is home from the Senate (for the most part -- he has to go back on Tuesday to wrap up some unfinished business but should be coming home for good that evening) and started the Cleanse today.  I'm very grateful -- I can do okay with not eating what the kids eat, but watching him eat without me would be harder to take.  Isn't he a good guy to do this with me?  He's a keeper!

See you tomorrow, with a picture of the Blog Bon-Bons I'm giving away (see this post) and an update for Day 4!

Supplies used:
Stamps: Zooper Fun by Cornish Heritage Farms (Kim Hughes Collection) and Great Expectations (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Pacific Point, Pumpkin Pie (SU!), Neenah Solar White, Chatterbox 'Sunbursts' patterned paper
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: buttons from TCP's Great Outdoors Collection and PTI, Fashion Sense Posies (Sassy), Copic Markers, Nestabilities, SU scalloped border punch, satin ribbon from one of Jody's share, Jody's foam boosters