Mother's Little Helper

TCB But Hardly in a Flash

Several years ago -- pre-kids, which feels like a different lifetime -- DH and I stopped by Graceland on one of our cross-country road trips between Oklahoma and Washington, D.C.  Have you ever been?  It's fabulous -- so kitschy and nutty!  So much crazy goodness in one place should be illegal.  I'm not sure what my favorite room was, but the TV room in the basement ranks in the top three. A mirrored ceiling, three TVs set into the wall, a wet bar covered in Yo-Yo Yellow vinyl, blingy pillows, that jacked-up monkey on the coffee table; I ask you, what is not to love?  The pièce de résistance, however, has to be the lightening bolt mural on the wall.

For those of you unfamiliar with the King's personal philosophy, the lightening bolt was symbolic of Elvis's slogan, "TCB," which stands for "Taking Care of Business."  TCB + the lightening bolt = Taking Care of Business in a Flash.  Elvis and Priscilla created a logo for this creed, and even had a TCB Oath that members of his Memphis Mafia had to take (the last line of which was "freedom from constipation" -- I kid you not.  Clearly, Elvis had a sense of humor.  Still, freedom from constipation is a worthy goal...).  The TCB logo was emblazoned on everything from his karate uniform and jewelery to the tail of Elvis's private jet, the Lisa Marie.

For some reason, that logo cracks me up.  I don't know why -- it just makes me smile.  And I also like that it kind of looks like CTB (my initials).  I'm not really the tattoo type (nothing wrong with 'em, just can't bring myself to do it.  Although every time I go to Vegas and knock back a couple of drinks, I threaten to get one), but if I was, I would totally get the TCB logo just for kicks and giggles.  Apparently, this is not an original idea by a long shot.

So why am I telling you all of this?  Well, I'm taking care of some business these days, but nothing I can really share because it's either for an upcoming release or I'm only half-way finished with it.  Additionally, I'm trying to prepare for the Arlington Shoebox Swap next weekend, and that's a little time consuming.  And by the way, when I TCB?  It's hardly in a flash.  I'm slow.  I wish I wasn't, but I am.  About the only thing I do in a flash is eat.

I do have one thing I can show you, though, that has not yet graced ye olde blog.  I made this for last week's color challenge to use Groovy Guava, Basic Gray, and Blush Blossom.  Isn't she adorable?

Supplies used -- Stamps: Ohsopretty Bella by Stamping Bella; sentiment by River City Rubberworks, Cornish Heritage Farms Pretty Pattern Backgrounder, A Muse oval; Paper: Groovy Guava, Basic Gray, Blush Blossom, Strathmore Bristol white cs, Afternoon Tea dsp, gray dp by Creative Memories; Ink: Brilliance Archival Graphite Black, Basic Gray, Blush Blossom; Accessories: Copic Sketch & Spica Markers, Art Glitter, sewing machine, ribbon, Bella Baubles, Dimensionals.

Oh, and I still have to show you the cake from Sean's Birthday party last weekend!  Hee hee!

Pretty funny, huh?  They definitely got the eyes right, but in real life his eyebrows don't go down to his nostrils.  (Not quite.)  Well, since I'm lifting photos left and right for this post, I might as well just let you judge for yourself.  Here's my cute 40-year-old hubby, Sean:

And last but certainly not least, the new Verve Visual sets I was telling you about yesterday (Father Figure and Great Expectations) go on sale today -- AND -- Verve is having a Star-Studded Sale where you can get 15% off all star-themed sets (and there are several) between now and May 15th!  Again -- perfect for making those graduation themed cards. 

Elvis would approve.

A Blissful Sketch For You To Try

I was so happy when I saw this big rectangle on Jen's SFYTT this week.  I thought "Oh, good!  I can use one of my new Bellas..."  And here she is, Yogabella!  Isn't she cute?  I like her grown-up pig tails.  I wanted her to look like she was levitating, as if she's reached Nirvana, so I masked her with Eclipse tape.  I then stamped the clouds over and around her in Versamark, and then heat embossed clear embossing powder on top of that.  Next, with the mask still on her, I sponged the sky in with bashful blue ink.  I rubbed the clouds with a tissue to wipe off any extra ink, and then finally I took the mask off Bella and she was able to breathe.

Be sure to go to Jen's blog to see her sample as well as her Guest Designer Sarah Green's sample, and of course you'll need to wander around and see what fabulousness Shannan, Susan, and Amy came up with.  If you get a chance to play with the sketch, be sure to use SFYTT if you post it to your Splitcoast gallery so we can swing by and check it out. 

Have an enlightened weekend!

Supplies used: Stamps: Yogabella by Stamping Bella, clouds and sentiment by River City Rubberworks; Paper: Brocade Blue by SU!, Strathmore Bristol Smooth,Basic Gray Lily Kate 6" x 6" paper pad; Ink: Brilliance Archival Graphite Black, VersaFine Archival Onyx, VersaMark; Accessories: Prima flowers, oversized gem brad from Gina K. Designs, clear embossing powder, ribbon, paper piercer.

This is a test...

I made this birthday card for my dear friend, Marguerite, who also happens to be my next-door-neighbor (isn't that cool?  So Happy Days/Leave it to Beaver, huh?!).  We have a little foursome of girlfriends who get together fairly often to hang out, drink a few margaritas, and decompress.  We're going to dinner on Friday night to celebrate Marguerite's birthday.  So why I am showing this card tonight?  Well, as I said it's a test: to see if my girlfriends really read my blog.  I know they don't -- which is truly okay with me, because in general, I'm not one of those people who likes worlds to collide.  I'd prefer everyone to stay in the little box I've assigned them to, while I flit from here to there, visiting without overlap.  This blog is primarily for me and my stamping friends, not for my IRL friends. But I digress... Back to the test: I know they don't read my blog, but they claim that they do.  So, when they don't recognize the card while simultaneously stating that they faithfully read my blog, I will be able to bust them! 

I used today's SCS sketch challenge and the Huggybellas, as well a sentiment from River City Rubber Works (they have the greatest line of humorous sentiments!).  The Bellas were colored with Copics and grounded by an A Muse oval.

Supplies used -- Stamps: Huggybellas by Stamping Bella, sentiment by River City Rubber Works, oval by A Muse; Paper: Creamy Caramel, Pixie Pink, Chocolate Chip, Georgia Pacific White, patterned paper by Heidi Grace; Ink: Brilliance Archival Graphite Black; Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel; Accessories: swirl clip, ribbon, Copic Sketch and Spica markers, bling, Dimensionals.

Wild Thing!

Can you honestly tell me this little guy doesn't make your heart sing? 

Nope, didn't think so.  This cuddly little lion is by C.C. Designs, and the awesome sentiment is one of Verve Visual's latest releases.  I used today's SCS Color Challenge for my palette: Rose Red, Apricot Appeal, and Sage Shadow.  I just happened to have this spot-on patterned paper in my "new" stack -- unfortunately, I don't know who it's by, but is is just yummy.  A little velvet-y ric-rac, a tiny bow, and a few scallops later, and here's a sweet and simple Valentine perfect for the wild thing in your life.  This one has Carter's name all over it!

Supplies used -- Stamps: Love Ya Lots Little Bit Kit by C.C. Designs, Wild Thing by Verve Visual; Paper: Apricot Appeal, Rose Red, Sage Shadow, Georgia Pacific White, patterned paper; Ink: Brilliance Archival Graphite Black, Sage Shadow; Accessories: Nestabilities, Copic Sketch Markers, velvet ric-rac, ribbon, Dimensionals.

Stamping in the Wee Hours

It seems like almost every night I wake up at around 2 or 3 a.m. Rare is the night when I sleep straight through. If it's Tuesday or Wednesday morning, there's a good chance that the Splitcoast challenge for the next day has already been posted. I lay there in bed on those mornings thinking, "I wonder if the challenge has been posted?" Then I tell myself to go back to sleep. Then I wonder some more. I repeat that same process about fifteen times. It varies which little voice inside my head I listen to. This morning, the Stamper beat out the Sleeper. I got up and checked, and sure enough, the challenge had been posted. What's a girl to do but stamp?

Today is Color Challenge day, and the combo to use is Taken with Teal, Always Artichoke and Purely Pomegranate. I vaguely recalled that I had a package of paper from CTMH with similar colors. The teal and pomegranate are such cool tones that I was leaning toward something wintery, but as I rummaged through my stamps for an image, this cute little A Muse ice cream truck caught my eye. After all, what's cooler than ice cream?!

The image is colored with Copic Sketch markers, and the scoop of ice cream and truck are outlined with Copic Spica glitter markers. The teal-ish Spica marker didn't blend as well as I would have liked; if I had to do it over, I'd use the clear Spica marker next time or forego the sparkle on the truck. The ice cream man needed some shiney brad hubcaps, too. I feel sorry for him, though, because that ric rac road sure is bumpy. I hope his truck has good shocks...

Supplies used: Stamps -- image and sentiment by A Muse; Paper -- Taken with Teal, Always Artichoke, Purely Pomegranate, PaperTrey White, dp by Close to My Heart; Ink -- Palette Hybrid Noir Black; Accessories -- Copic Sketch and Spica markers, Creative Memories cutting system, Marvy Uchida Mega scallop oval punch, brads, ric rac, ribbon, 3-D Dots.

I did go back to sleep. At least until Truman (my 10 year old) started blaring Sportscenter from the family room at about 6:45 a.m.

If I can keep my eyes open, today should be fun. It's a birthday lunch day with my dear friends, Kayla and Joan. For years, the three of us have had a little birthday group. The birthday girl picks the restaurant of her choice and the other two treat her to lunch (everyone MUST order dessert) and shower her with presents. Kayla's birthday was on Saturday, and I think we're meeting at In the Raw, which is my favorite place in Tulsa to eat sushi. Mmmmm!!! I'll take photos of the loot she gets so you can wish you were in our little birthday group, too. :) Here's the birthday card I made for Kayla this weekend.