Mother's Little Helper

Michigan Mojo

Carter and I have been traveling all weekend, driving a total of 18 hours to get from Durant, OK, to Pontiac, Michigan. We're back for another two-week stint at Euro-Peds Center for Intensive Pediatric Physical Therapy. This is, I believe, our fifth time to come to EuroPeds, and Carter makes wonderful gains in strength, balance, and mobility every time we're here. It's a good thing, so let's celebrate with donuts!

This week's Mojo Monday Sketch (#416) was the perfect opportunity to break out My Favorite Things' tasty LLD Donuts & Sprinkles stamp set and coordinating dies.  Take a look at the sketch, and you'll see what I mean:

Circles galore! Because I wanted to use the long sentiment above the donuts (perfect to send to my college freshman, who I'll have you know is actually going to his mailbox to retrieve my cards/packages! Of course, I have to text him that it's probably there, and I always add a little present to sweeten the pot) I had to figure out that element in the lower right hand corner. I came up with adding a tiny trio of donuts, and threaded baker's twine through two of them before tying up a bow.

Other card facts:

• The sentiment was heat embossed in white detail embossing powder on a Blu Raspberry scalloped die cut, made using Blueprints 23 Die-Namics.
• The background was created by stamping MFT's Pin Stripe Background stamp in Daffodil Premium Dye Ink on Smooth White card stock.
• This card also fulfills the current MFT Color Challenge:

And now?  I'm a bit tuckered out after driving all those hours, unloading the car, and unpacking/nesting in our abode, aka a 2 bedroom unit at The Residence Inn.  Oooh -- want to hear something fabulous (at least, to us)? Get this: we always stay at this particular Residence Inn when we come to EuroPeds. Previously, the clinic was located in a hospital near downtown Pontiac, about 20 minutes away from our hotel.  Within the last few months, EuroPeds relocated to a new, stand-alone building. That building is DIRECTLY ACROSS THE STREET from our hotel!

I'm going to wrap this up before I head off on another tangent.  (I think I'm getting a little punchy from fatigue...) Head on over to Mojo Monday Blog to see how you can participate in this weeks challenge, and be sure to visit my fellow Mojo Makers for inspiration:

• Julee Tilman (Owner)
• Justin Krieger
• Lori Tecler
• Marisa Ritzen
• Mary Fish
• Sarah Bigelow
• Teresa Kline
• Wanda Cullen

Thanks for visiting me today, and wish Mr. Carter good luck on his therapeutic journey, if you would. I'll be back later on in the week and fill you in on his progress and our adventures. :)

Mojo Monday -- Woof!

Howdy, pups!  It's Monday, so you know what that means: time for a brand-new Mojo Monday Sketch to spark your creativity. Know what else it means? That tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day!

How do you plan to celebrate? Me, well, I've got good news and bad news. The bad news: Carter will be undergoing another surgery at Gillette Children's Specialty Hospital in St. Paul, MN. Fortunately,it's not a "major" surgery, according to our orthopedic surgeon. Of course, the last time he said that, it took Carter 3 or 4 months to get back on his feet. But the doctor promised this surgery was much less invasive than the last, so we'll see. Speaking of Carter, it's been a while since I showed a picture of him, and he's grown quite a bit. And gotten even more handsome, if I do say so myself.  Don't believe me? Then check out this cutie-pie...

Now for the good news: since we'll be in MN, and my BSF Amy Rohl lives just over the border in Wisconsin, she's coming to visit me on Tuesday! Yay! It's been far too long since I've had a chance to see her, so I'm looking forward to hugging her neck.

So that's what I'm doing. Not so fun, then fun. Kind of a metaphor for life, no?

Ready to see the card I made for Mojo Monday?  It's a two-fer, and I have to admit, I think it's pretty darn cute.  I combined this week's sketch with the current My Favorite Things Color Challenge, which looks like so:  Here's what I put together:

As a mom to two rescue girlies, the new Pure Innocence Woof You set is a must-have. First, I stamped puppy Daisy (there are lots of ways to tell my dogs apart if you know them, but to the unitiated, Daisy is the dog with the brown patch on her eye) and masked her, then stamped Miss PI. That step ended up not being necessary, because I decided to stamp Daisy out again on Primitive White card stock (because she's more Primitive White than stark white in color). I then colored her eye, nose, collar, and shadows with Copics, cut her out and put her to the side. I colored Miss PI in, using Color Challenge-friendly colors. 

To create the various patterns on the different shades of card stock, I used three different MFT Background stamps (Linen, Small Brick, and Paw Print), inked in Coral Crush Pigment Dye Ink, Steel Blue Hybrid Ink, and Tropical Teal Pigment Dye Ink.  I used a stitched-scallop Die-namic from Blueprints 23 for the Steel Blue horizontal detail, topped with a strip of Primitive White. The side embellishment was created using Pet Accents Die-namics, Platinum Shimmer bakers twine from The Twinery, and a button from my stash.

Here's a look at the brand-new Mojo Monday Sketch (#389!):

Be sure to visit the Mojo Monday blog to learn how to play along with this week's sketch, and go see these lovely ladies interpretations for more inspiration:

• Debbie Carriere
• Julee Tilman (Owner)
• Marisa Ritzen
• Mary Fish
• Sarah Bigelow
• Teresa Kline
• Wanda Cullen

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Erin go Bragh!

MOTHER'S LITTLE HELPER: I always like to make the hair color of the images on my cards match those of the eventual recipient.  Most of the time, however, I don't know who will receive a particular card when I initially make it. My solution: color everyone blonde at first. It's super-easy to go back in and darken hair color, but you can't go back and lighten it.  

Mojo 388: A Stamping Tragedy Narrowly Averted

Oh, friends. It is with a fried brain and a weary soul I greet you this Monday. I was in an accident just prior to writing this. No, not THAT kind of accident. It was... *sigh*... a papercrafting accident. In fact, it was a rookie mistake. I was walking upstairs from my basement lair with my completed Mojo Monday/MFT Color Challenge sample in one hand, and a beverage in the other. And, I tripped. I didn't fall, but you know what happened, right?  MY CARD GOT WET!!!

I finished my journey upstairs, and immediately got mucho sympathy from the husband and Carter. In fact, Sean grabbed the card and started spouting all sorts of ways it could be salvaged (he knew I'd been working on it for a couple of hours). I ended up only having to re-do the tiny sentiment panel, and Sean took it outside to his grilling area to blow it dry with some fancy Big Green Egg-related tool.  Thus, I bring to you this battle-worn-but-hangin'-in-there card:

It's a little lumpy-bumpy from being wet, and you can see a few dings (the ribbon is no longer perfectly straight, there's one jellybean that is a darker purple than the others, and there's a bit of staining on the right side of the Green Room scalloped-edge accent layer), but considering the fact that it was dripping in Margarita just a few momentos before this photo was taken, I feel okay about it. Things could always be worse: I could have been drinking RED wine!

As I said before, I created this card as a sample for Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge # 388 and as my entry for MFT Color Challenge #16. The parameters of each challenge are like so:

In early February, I was lucky enough to take a long weekend and go visit my dear, wonderful friends Kim (aka The MFT Lady) van der Sanden and Jody (Eagle Eye) Morrow in Florida. We had such an awesome weekend of catching up and making new memories, including an incredible night communing with the giraffes, zebras, et al at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, followed by a day trotting the globe at Epcot. I'd tell you more, but then I'd be breaking the Girlfriend Code, and Kim & Jody would have to kill me. I still have a young child at home, so I kinda have to take that into consideration. One day, I'll write a crafty tell-all and silence all those haters who think those of us who like to make stuff with our hands are dowdy and boring. Little do they know!

Anyway, where was? While in warm and wonderful FLA, I had a chance to take one of Jody's monthly card classes at the My Favorite Things bricks and mortar store, and then go shopping afterward. I shopped to my heart's content, and later informed my husband that Valentine's Day was more than covered! In other words, I. Loaded. Up.  Almost everything (including the adhesive) I used on today's card was purchased at that little piece of heaven on earth.  I'll start a list:

• Die-namics Candy Jar
• Candy Jar Companions
• Swiss Dots Background Stamp
• Die-namics Blueprint 20
• Die-namics Blueprint 22
• Brown Paper Bag Card Stock
• Lemon Chiffon Card Stock
• Lavender Fields Card Stock
• Green Room Card Stock
• Primitive White Card Stock
• Lavender Fields Premium Dye Ink
• Lemon Chiffon Premium Dye Ink
• Gem-Tac Permanent Adhesive

All that leaves is a little bit of twine, some acetate, a couple of brads, and Jody Boosters. 

As far as the how-to's, the most difficult thing was creating the candy jar full of jelly beans.  I die-cut a couple of layers of acetate, and on one of those layers, I started adhering jelly beans in random-ish order.  I topped that layer with the second layer of acetate, then adhered the Brown Paper Bag bottom and lid.  The rest is pretty self-explanatory.

(You can still see a bit of moisture in between the layers of acetate.  Drunken lil' jellybeans!)

Head on over to the Mojo Monday Blog for more information about how you can play in this week's sketch challenge, and also visit these lovely ladies for their (hopefully less traumatic) interpretation of Sketch # 388:

• Debbie Carriere
• Julee Tilman (Owner)
• Marisa Ritzen
• Mary Fish
• Sarah Bigelow
• Teresa Kline
• Wanda Cullen

Super Friends

Growing up I was a huge fan of the Super Friends cartoons. I loved to pretend to be Wonder Woman, flying my invisible jet and forcing the bad guys to confess by tying them up with my Lasso of Truth. Occasionally, I would get exotic and become Isis ("Oh, zephyr winds that blow on high, lift me now so I can fly!"). We girls didn't have nearly the number of characters to morph into that the boys had, but we made do.

Fortunately, in the world of stamping, there are LOTS of super hero gals we can ink up and identify with. I tend to collect these images as I love them so.  My latest is BB YOU'RE SUPER with coordinating dies from My Favorite Things:

Isn't she simultaneously adorable and bad-ass?  I {heart} her!  In addition to being my sample for this week's Mojo Monday Sketch, #382 -- like so...

-- she's also my entry into the current MFT Color Challenge:

I paper-pieced the Star Child (not to be confused with Paul Stanley, of KISS fame)'s bodysuit/skirt and boots.  Wouldn't you like a cute pair of similar footwear?

I'm pretty sure I could kick some major booty with those badboys on.

Soar on over to the Mojo Monday Blog for more information about how you can play in this week's sketch challenge, and also visit these card-making crimefighters for truth, justice, and inspiration:

• Debbie Carriere
• Julee Tilman (Owner)
• Marisa Ritzen
• Mary Fish
• Sarah Bigelow
• Teresa Kline
• Wanda Cullen