Mother's Little Helper

Perk Up!

Hello from beautiful and temperate Pontiac, Michigan! The weather has been insanely glorious since we arrived on Sunday. Lows in the high 50's/highs in the mid-70's, sunny and clear. Perfect! I've been taking advantage of it while Carter's in therapy by taking long walks and getting lots of steps logged with my FitBit. Afterwards, I head back to the room, take a shower and get ready, then walk back over to the EuroPeds clinic. I sit and read for a few minutes, then Carter and his physical therapist come out and tell me what they've been up to over the past few hours. We head back to our room, grab a little lunch, do some homework, and then head out for the day's adventure. Not a bad way to spend a couple of weeks!

We're both excited for tomorrow (which is today, by the time you read this) -- a few months ago I bought tickets for us to see MARVEL UNIVERSE LIVE; can't believe the time has already arrived!  (Why does that same time seem to be dragging with regards to the house we're remodeling?! More on that in a different post...)

Anyway, I created today's card before I left Oklahoma. It's for the current Your Next Stamp Challenge (#23); YNS Challenges always have a sketch or color component, and if you're feeling really ambitious, you can incorporate both. This time, I went with the color challenge, which is:

Very autumnal, no?

I broke out the new PERK UP stamp set, which I had yet to use.

I like a cup o' joe in the a.m., usually, but if I don't get one, it's not a big deal to me. I'm definitely not one of those coffee fanatics that lose their minds this time of year because Starbuck's Pumpking Spice Lattes are back on the menu. Still, I couldn't resist this cute, kawaii caffeinated stamp set. Have you ever seen such a happy little coffee bean grinder or french press? I think my favorite is the standard coffee maker. I watercolored backgrounds for each image panel -- on trend and SO easy!  Win-win.

My card was inspired by this sweet card by my wonderful friend, Wanda. One of the things I like best about Wanda's card is how it features lots of images from a single set.

YNS products used include: Perk Up stamp set, Stitched Rectangles die set, Stitched Squares die set, Spellbound Gumdrops, and Silver Tinsel Gumdrops.

Go to the YNS Blog and see what the other participating designers made with YNS Sketch/Color challenge #23. There, you'll also find graphics for the sketch, as well as info about how you can play along and possibly win FORTUNE & FAME (up to $20 in YNS moola and/or be selected as the YNS Top Pick. Top Pick-ers get featured on the YNS Blog and a nifty badge to wear on their blog, proclaiming them as a winner of this major award).

Thanks for stopping by today, friends! Have a fabulous first weekend of Fall.

 

Stalker Moms Are the New Soccer Moms

I'm back! From Monday through Wednesday, Sean and I took a whirlwind trip to Boston/Cambridge, MA. We helped Truman get moved into his dorm room, took a look around campus, heard various Deans and college administrators talk about the First Year, and ate some awesome seafood that is just not available here in landlocked Oklahoma. It was a great trip, and though I'm sad I won't get to see my eldest until Parents' Weekend (a couple of months from now), I'm so excited for him to embark on this big adventure. My heart is full!

Here's a pic of Truman, standing in front of the library on Monday evening:

Next is me and my baby, right before we said goodbye on Tuesday evening. I'm sweaty (no A/C in those dorms! Never so happy to see a box fan in my life...), sans makeup, and puffy from being teary-eyed all day, but he looks pretty cute:

It's probably a good thing that we live so far from Boston; if I was closer, I might be tempted to do a little spying or "just happen" to bump into him, from time to time. You've heard of soccer moms, right? If geography cooperated, I would become the first self-admitted stalker mom. That's the inspiration for my Fun Friday card for this week, using the current Your Next Stamp sketch challenge (#21):

If you see someone slithering around Harvard Square in Groucho Glasses, with her hair tucked into a baseball cap, you'll know it's me. But don't tell! Sadly, this really does look kinda like a selfie:

Please note my beautiful ribbon hair. Oh, well. I'm pretty on the inside! All of us are beautiful in God's eyes! Etc.!

(It's been a while since I used the vomit smiley; you have no idea how happy it makes me to be able to that. I wonder what that means?)

Go, go, go to the YNS Blog and see what the other participating designers made with YNS Sketch/Color challenge #21. There, you'll also find graphics for the sketch and color scheme, as well as info about how you can play along and possibly win FORTUNE & FAME (up to $20 in YNS moola and/or be selected as the YNS Top Pick. Top Pick-ers get featured on the YNS Blog and a nifty badge to wear on their blog, proclaiming them as a winner of this major award). How can you resist?

YNS - Silly Monsters Incognito One stamp set	YNS Silly Monsters Incognito One coordinating die set	YNS Circles die set	Taylored Expressions - Pinking Circle Stacklets
Taylored Expressions - Say What Dies	Doodlebug Designs - Day to Day 6x6 pad	MFT Card Stock	Copic X-Press Blending Card Stock
Copic Sketch Markers	Memento Tuxedo Black	MISTI	Jody's Foam Boosters

InLinkz.com

From Awesome to Paw-some

I have survived this week! That definitely calls for a

Whew! First up was a day I've been dreading for almost 19 years: my oldest has flown the coop and left for college. I've had lots of teary moments, but ultimately, I'm grateful for the opportunities he has before him, for this exciting time in his life (I LOVED both college and law school -- good times!), and that he's launched in a way I couldn't have even dreamed of when he was a baby. So far, so good -- so what's the use of belly-aching, right?

Next up, Pinterest and what-not convinced me I had to make all sorts of teachers/para/staff gifts for Carter's 1st Day of School (grade 5). And, believe it or not, I did it! They turned out pretty cute. I will try to show you them in a post this weekend, however, if you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you've seen them and/or can check them out now. If you don't follow me, you should (not to shame you, or anything, but I am a teeny bit entertaining. I mean, you're reading this -- that social media type stuff is way shorter... ;) ). But just in case those venues aren't your thing, I do have a sweet 1st Day story later on in the post. 

So, back to where we started: TGIF!  And not only is it F, it's FF!  Meaning: Fun Friday, in Your Next Stamp speak.  This week, I opted to make something with the newest Color Challenge, which looks a little something like so:

Here's what I created with this summery-scheme, using the adorable new Pheobe With Her Wagon stamp set and coordinating dies:

I can't tell you how thrilled I am that YNS's longtime illustrator, Fhiona, is creating new characters and stamp sets for YNS. Fhiona was the initial flagship illustrator for YNS, and a big reason why I fell in love with this sweet company. And the fact that her first set in a long time has a Daisy-looking dog?

To get a gander at how this week's participating YNS Design Team members interpreted the current sketch and/or color challenge, head on over to the YNS Blog. You'll also find information there about how to participate in the challenge and be eligible to win up to $20 in YNS moola and/or be selected as the YNS Top Pick. Top Pick-ers get featured on the YNS Blog and a nifty badge to wear on their blog, proclaiming them as a winner of this major award. FAME & FORTUNE could be YOURS!

(Insert seamless transition...) Check out this first day of school photo, taken early a.m. yesterday:

That good looking young man to the left is my youngest son Carter. The guy to the right is a friend of Truman (my oldest son)'s, named Neil Patel. Neil is a great friend to Truman, and Carter, too. Like a few of Truman's friends, he sees Carter as a little brother. Neil will be a senior in high school this year, and a couple of weeks ago, he contacted me via Messenger on FaceBook. He told me how he remembered how sad & lonely it was to take 1st Day of School pictures right after his older (and only) brother left for college, and he volunteered to come over and take 1st Day photos with Carter.

Is that not one of the sweetest, most thoughtful things you've ever heard a teenaged boy do? I will tell you, I've adored Neil since the moment I met him. But now? I'd seriously consider adoption...

Thanks so much for stopping by today, friends.  I'll be seeing you very shortly!

YNS - Pheobe With Her Wagon stamp set	YNS Phoebe With Her Wagon coordinating dies	YNS - Rainbow Fun die set	YNS Fun Faces stamp set
YNS Silver Tinsel Gumdrops	Doodlebug Designs - Hello, Sunshine 6"x6" pad	MFT Card Stock	Copic X-Press Blending Card Stock
Memento Tuxedo Black	VersaMark	Copic Sketch Markers	Jody's Foam Boosters
PTI - Rustic Cream Button Twine	MISTI

InLinkz.com

You Light Up My Life

No, I'm not going to force you to watch a Debbie Boone video. Although here's a fun fact to know and tell: I did perform that song, acapella, with Lori Souza and Patricia Breedlove for the Belle View Elementary School talent show, when we were in the third grade. So there you go!

Let's make this interactive: see if you can figure out what that song has in common with my sample for the current Your Next Stamp Sketch/Color Challenge:

Figure it out?! 

You're so smart. 

I'm thinking this one is going to be part of my 100 Card Challenge for Truman. I honestly can't believe that sweet little baby who was taking his first steps what seems like yesterday is leaving for college in a mere 18 days...

I'm trying to be a big girl and tell myself that this is exactly what's supposed to happen at this stage in his life, that all is right with the world, and I've done my job thus far to get him launched into adulthood. This is good! This is positive! And it's also okay to be a little weepy.

I could go on and on, but I'll spare us both. How about a look at the sketch I used to make my card?

We've already established that you're smart; now, show us how talented you are by participating in YNS's Sketch/Color Challenge #19.  You just might win up to $20 in YNS Bucks or be selected as the Top Pick and get an extra-special badge for your blog. Get all of the details re: how to play on the YNS Blog, as well as more inspiration from YNS's handy-dandy design team members.

Thanks for stopping by to visit me today!  MWAH!

YNS - Perfect Chemistry	YNS - Fast Food Fun Sentiments	YNS - Stitched Rectangle Die Set	YNS - Whatnot Seasons Die Set
YNS - Candy Apple Red Glittered Gumdrops	YNS Sketch Challenge #19	Doodlebug Designs - Day to Day 6x6 pad	Taylored Expressions - Say What Dies
Stampin' Up Card Stock	UltraSmooth Premium White Card Stock	MFT Electric Red Premium Dye Ink	Memento Tuxedo Black
Jody's Foam Boosters	Copic Sketch Markers	MISTI

InLinkz.com

Happy Beer Day

Happy Beer Day! What? You don't know what Beer Day is? It's another name for "birthday" for the beer drinkers in your life. See?

I used the current YNS Sketch Challenge (#18) to make this for Your Next Stamp's Fun Friday.  Here's a look at the sketch:

YNS products used for my card include For the Boys and Clowning Around stamp sets, and the YNS Circles Die set.  Here's a close-up of the tipsy pitcher:

I sure hope he has a designated driver...

I kept it pretty true to the sketch and didn't frou-frou it up too much as it's intended for a masculine recipient.  The pitcher is colored with Copic markers and popped up on Jody Boosters. The patterned paper layers were sponged inked on the edges with Pumice Stone Distress Ink. The patterned paper itself is from a couple of years ago -- Simple Stories' I {Heart} Summer 6"x6" pad. 

I'd add more chatter, but my allergies are going cray-cray and I'm going to hit the hay.  Forgive me for not being my normal, long-winded self.

Be sure to head over to the YNS Blog, where you can see several other Fun Friday projects and get all of the details about how you can play along with us. You just might win up to $20 in YNS bucks if you do!

Orange Sherbet and Purple Socks

Ice cream makes everyone happy. Except maybe the lactose-intolerant; I imagine it makes them sad, or even angry.

I wonder if Lactaid, and the like, actually work? Any of you know? Please leave a comment and tell me. I'll report back to the rest of you.

Assuming you are not lactose-intolerant, what's your favorite ice cream flavor?  I love a good coffee ice cream (even more than I love actual coffee, which to be honest with you, I can take or leave most mornings; I don't miss it when I don't have it), and orange sherbet has been a favorite from my earliest memories. I actually worked at a Baskin Robbins, briefly, when I was in high school. I even waited on Donny Osmond, once, who was the first male I ever recall having a crush on. He is teeny-tiny, in real life. Thanks to ice cream, I know these things.

Are you wondering why all the ice cream talk?  Well, it has to do with my YNS Fun Friday card.  See what I mean?

Triple scoop with sprinkles and a cherry on a sugar cone! Well, not for real (it's made of paper, you know). But it looks pretty luscious, thanks to Your Next Stamp's BUILD-A-TREAT die set and STRAWBERRY GUMDROPS.  I used the current YNS Sketch Challenge (#17):

The patterned paper is from Doodlebug Design's Sugar Shoppe 6x6 pad, and the sentiment is from a discontinued YNS stamp set called "Total Sweetness" (I believe). 

Head on over to the YNS Blog to see what half of the design team has put together for this challenge, and for all the info about how you can play along and be eligible to win up to $20 worth of product from the YNS Store.

See you tomorrow when I'll be back with a very patriotic sneak peek from the YNS July Release!

Hello, Is it Me You're Looking For?

No, Lionel Richie, it is not. Though I do wonder if you kept that creepy sculpture from your "Hello" video. Nevermind. I really don't have time for all the different directions this particular tangent could go...

Yep, yep, I'm a busy little bee at the moment, trying to get ready to hit the road for two-weeks. It's once again time for our bi-annual Navarre, FL multi-family getaway, which I've written about in the past (2013, 2011 - here and here, and very briefly in other years probably due to the fact that most condos didn't have wifi then). Despite the fact that I've gained a more than a few extra pounds over the past couple of years that I'm very self-conscious about¹, I'm so looking forward to this vacation. For one thing, I no longer live near all of these wonderful friends, so getting to spend time with them is extra-sweet. Number two: we are staying for TWO -- count 'em TWO! -- weeks this time². And, lastly, it's our last big vacation before Truman leaves the nest, and he's staying for both weeks, which makes his mama happy.

 On to business... it's Your Next Stamp's FUN FRIDAY, which means two challenges for you to choose from.  This week, I decided to take on both challenges with one card...

Ta-da! See for yourself how it meets both YNS Sketch and Color Challenge # 15.

One more thing I want to show you - I die cut YNS's FANCY HELLO DIE six times, then glued the die cuts one on top of the other to give them that wood-cut look that I love. Nice & thick! (<--- Ugh!  Don't say it like that... ;) A little "Regular Show" reference, there, for anyone else who happens to live with a 10 year-old.)

The circle border separating the top of the oval from the bottom oval layer was created using YNS's WHATNOT SEASONS dies. Head on over to the YNS Blog to see how you can play along with us and be eligible to win a YNS Gift Certificate, as well as to see some awesome inspiration from other YNS designers.

Okay, friends. I must go and finish the worst part of going on vacation: packing! Next time I visit with you, I will be miles and miles away.

Footnotes:

1.  I'm telling myself to breathe deep, know that I'm working hard on losing this weight (most of which was put on due to funky medication... grrrr... and maybe stress & age, too, who knows?) (exercise parenthetical: I've started running again), and that my friends aren't going to judge me or think about it for more than a split-second, if they think about it at all. It's MY hang-up and only an issue if I make it one...

2. We're staying two weeks this time to accommodate older children's schedules so that all who want to can come down and hang out. Not every working-adult child could make the same week, so a couple of moms decided to stay for two weeks. That sounded good to a couple more of us, so all but one family are doubling down this time. Most of the dads will have to go back and forth at some point, including ours. 

Fun Friday -- Sweet Hello

Hey, friends. I've got a quick Your Next Stamp Fun Friday post to help you welcome the weekend.

The current YNS Color Challenge inspired me to make this sweet spring scene, featuring the new Woodland Cuties stamps and dies. 

 

Other dies used include Whatnot Seasons and Spring/Summer Scene. Lemon and Ivory Gumdrops were used to embellish.

Head on over to the YNS Blog to see what the other participating designers have put together, and find instructions about how you can play along with us. 

I apologize for the unusual lack of chatter. I'll be back to my normal, long-winded self after this weekend.  I think I've mentioned once or several hundred times that my son is graduating on Sunday, haven't I?  Plus, school is officially out for both boys tomorrow, so it's busy-busy In Carole-ville for the next few days. Wish me luck!

(Tear) Splattered Thanks

It's the last Friday in April -- can you believe it? This time next week, we'll be starting the merry month of May. Three weeks from this coming Sunday, my eldest will be graduating from high school. I really don't want to think about that right now, so instead, let's focus on something a little less fraught with emotion: Your Next Stamp's Fun Friday Challenge. We can all agree that's a good distraction from the relentless march of time, no?

For the first time in a while, I decided to forgo the given sketch and instead try my hand at Color Challenge #12.  Here's what I came up with:

And here's the inspiration photo/palette for Color Challenge #12:

I created a splattered background using re-inkers in the four lightest of the given colors. To do so, I put drops of re-inker in individual paint wells, then added several drops of water to them.  With a cocktail straw, I flicked and blew the colors on paper until I was satisfied by the coverage, then I dried it with my heat gun.  A border of garnet (PTI Scarlet Jewel card stock) was cut out using the Stitched Rectangles die set.  I also wanted to try the current trend of stacking and gluing several of the same word die cuts to give the sentiment some heft and dimension, and I used the Fancy Thanks die to do so.

I believe I used six or seven sentiments to create this effect.  It looks and feels a lot like a wooden accent die cut.  Pretty cool!

Visit the YNS Blog to see what the other participating YNS Designers have created to inspire you.  Why not play along with us? You just might be selected as the YNS Top Pick and get a nifty blog badge plus a write up all about YOU on the YNS Blog.  As always, one random selected participant will win up to $20 in gift certificate moola to the YNS store. So, whether you want FAME & FORTUNE or FILTHY LUCRE, we've got you covered. You just need to make a measley card. How hard is that?

Jackson Pollock, eat your heart out...

Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'm going to cry about how that sweet little baby turned into a legal adult while I blinked...

YNS Fun Friday: Delicious Beer...

I seem to have beverages on the brain when it comes to the most recent Your Next Stamp Fun Friday Challenges. Last time, I made a series of pop bottles. For challenge # 11, I'm serving up brewskis...

As you know, the Fun Friday Challenge lets you choose between doing a sketch and/or a color challenge.  I opted for the sketch challenge, yet again, which looks like so:

I tend to like repetitive images/making patterns, so when I saw the three stars in a row, I went looking through my YNS dies to see which caught my fancy. These sudsy sippers from the Irish Fun Die Set quenched my creative thirst, and it seemed right to use the eponymous sentiment from the Magically Delicious stamp set.

Frosty mugs of beer... they're magically delicious!  (<--- Sing to the tune of the Lucky Charms jingle, then try to get that ear worm out of your head.)

For the circle element dictated by the sketch, I thought a tipsy happy face was appropriate. He has a 'Man in the Moon' quality to him, don't you think?  Like he's looking at a constellation of beers in the stars... Moony was created using the smallest YNS Circles die and a face image from the Create-a-Character set.  I cut the circle out of white card stock then stamped the face in Momento Tuxedo Black ink. I colored it in with Copic markers, as this seemed a lot easier than using a yellow card stock circle and having to paper-piece the eyes and tongue. See that stitched rectangle die cut in Safety Orange that creates the background border? Well, that's an extra early sneak-peek of a die set YNS is releasing next week. Shhh... don't tell I shared it with you ahead of time!

It was such a pleasure to cut these dies using my NEW Vagabond die-cutting machine. I have been fighting with my very temperamental first Vagabond for months now. First, it wouldn't emboss evenly, then it got to where it would only cut on one side of the platform, and finally, it would selectively decide whether it would allow the sandwiches to run through from one side to the other. Lately, every time I wanted to die cut something, I held my breath. It seems like I make dozens of die cuts per card, so that's a lot of breath-holding. Last week, Vagabond 1 went down the poop shoot to the crap swamp (as Carter would say -- he makes his mama proud), so I quickly ordered a replacement from Amazon, as well as a Sizzix magnetic platform, which is LIFE CHANGING. Long live Vagabond 2!

Mosey on over to the YNS Blog to see what my fellow YNS DT members have created to make your Friday more fun, and get info about how you can play along with us in YNS Challenge #11. You might just be the lucky participant who wins up to $20 in free YNS goodies.

Have a great weekend, friends.  Cheers!

YNS Fun Friday: As Close as I'm Going To Get...

... to having a six-pack in this lifetime is this card:

It's Your Next Stamp's Fun Friday, don't you know, and I've opted to play using the sketch challenge, which looks like so:

The thing I really like about Fun Friday Challenges is that you have choices; there's a provided sketch and also a color challenge. When I'm feeling extra ambitious, I combine them for a two-fer. But ordinarily, I "feel" one more than the other, and that's what I opt to do. No pressure, and still participatory -- win/win, which, as Stephen Covey (RIP) would tell you, is one of the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. (Kudos to Karen!)

I really wanted to use the Fast Food Fun Soda Pop Bottle die for this card.  To accommodate, but still adhere to the sketch, I made the card larger than the usual 4.25" x 5.5" size and started with a 5" x 7" card base.  I cut out the pop bottles in various colors of card stock [Red Hot, Sour Apple, Field Day (MFT); Summer Sun, Taken With Teal (SU!); Suede Brown Dark (Prism)]  and created their "labels" with scraps from Doodlebug Designs' Day by Day 6"x6" pad.  I initially came up with the color scheme thinking I was going to use a particular piece of patterned paper from that pad as a background layer, but when I got to the point of assembling, it seemed too busy, so I opted for the Sno Cone (MFT) background, instead.  The sentiment -- from YNS's Fast Food Fun Sentiments set -- is inked in Taken By Teal ink.  The teal accent layer was die cut using YNS's Criss Cross Border die (FYI - this die is currently on sale for only $2.98, way down from its original price of $13.95. You should definitely throw it in your cart if you don't already own it!).

Here's a close up of the sentiment and bottom row of bottles:

Be sure to visit the YNS Blog to see what the current color challenge is, for inspiration from today's participating YNS designers, and for information about how you can play along and be eligible to win up to $20 in YNS goodies. Another possible perk of participation: you could very well be deemed the "Top Pick" for Challenge #10 and get a fancy-schmancy badge for your blog and bragging rights for life.  Pretty cool!

Thanks for stopping by to visit me today. Do you have fun plans for the weekend?  I'm off on a quickie trip to Chicago (hubby has a work-related conference, and I have much-needed shopping and restaurant-ing to accomplish).  The high temperature for half of our visit is a blustery 31 degrees F -- one last hurrah for the sweaters and Uggs!

PS -- I'm also considering this 5/100 in my 100 Card Challenge. :)

 

It's Fun Friday - You'd BETTER Be Having Fun!

That's right -- I DEMAND you have F-U-N, all day long. And if you don't? I will find you, and I will make you wish you had. Don't mess with me. You know I'm the mom who sent her son to Survival Kamp when he forgot how to behave one too many times...

A good threat is always the best way to get people in a happy mood, wouldn't you agree?

Anyway, anyway: Fun Friday. It's Your Next Stamp's bi-weekly sketch and/or color challenge.  Those who participate are eligible to win up to a $20 gift certificate to the YNS Store.  Sounds pretty good, don't it? Yeppers!  So go to the YNS Blog for all of the info re: how you can play along, as well as to see lots of inspiration from the rest of the YNS Design Team.

This week, I chose to follow the sketch challenge, which looks like so:

And here's my interpy-tation:

The only thing I like better than a Peep is a stale Peep -- the outside gets crunchy, but the inside is still ooey-gooey; the best of all worlds!  Here's a close-up of the cute-cute die-cut from YNS's EASTER GOODIES DIES...

Just makes my mouth water, thinking about chomping into this sweet little appendage-free marshmallow puff.

YNS supplies used include: Easter Goodies Die Set | Easter Goodies Sentiments | Circles | Piercing Holes | Flower Fun Scallop Die

I said it before and I'll say it again: it's FUN FRIDAY!  Go and have fun, which includes visiting the YNS Blog for information and inspiration, and then getting your own crafty groove on and playing with us.  You hear what I say?  You do what I say!  That's an order, peeps.

At ease until next time, soldiers!

YNS Fun Friday - Congratulations

It's been a couple of weeks since I've blogged, and it feels like LOTS has happened. First and foremost, I'm so excited to say that we have a contract on a new (to us) home!

Yes, yes, it's true that we just moved this past summer. We've been living in a house on campus, and therein lies the problem: it's on campus, and it belongs to the University, not us! You ladies out there can agree that our nests are important, and if at all possible, we prefer to have one that's our very own.  8 months of living in "the peoples'" house has made me very desirous of one that was more "me" and more private. I found exactly that in a home that was custom built in 1975 and being sold by it's original owners. It's funky (Mike Brady himself could have been the architect), and spacious, and absolutely immaculate.  Plus, it has a gorgeous backyard with park-like views from every window.  Yippee!

We won't be moving in for a couple of months, but that's okay. I like just knowing it's going to be happening soon, and making plans in my head for all the ways we will make it our own. It makes having sold our longtime, beloved home in Claremore much easier to bear.  With all of this in mind, I created my card for this week's Your Next Stamp Fun Friday:

I used Sketch and Color Challenge # 8 (both), which look like this...

As you can see from the sketch, I took it very literally.

I really like the fonts used in YNS's new WHATNOT SENTIMENTS FOUR set, and there are 10 different lines you can add to "Congratulations," which makes it super versatile.  Dies used include YNS's Circles and Piercing Holes die sets. 

One other thing I used: my new MISTI, which arrived in the mail last week. I bought it because it came highly recommended by many people I like and respect, though I wasn't necessarily convinced how handy I'd personally find it. OMG -- I eat those words! See how perfectly centered and evenly inked my sentiments came out?  I'd like to take credit, but I can't. It's all due to my new BFF, MISTI! I've always loved my Stamp-a-Ma-Jig, but MISTI blows that tired old thing out of the water.  And just so you know, this is pure enthusiasm on my part -- I have no sort of affiliation or remuneration from MISTI, and I paid the same price for it (her) that everyone else does.

Okily-dokily, folks. You have a wonderful Friday, and be sure to visit the YNS Blog to see how the other participating YNS Designers interpreted Challenge # 8.  While you're there, learn about participating in Challenge #8 and how you could win a gift certificate to the YNS Store.

Thanks for visiting me today! HUGS!

YNS Fun Friday: Wild Ride!

Howdy, partners!  Happy Friday!  It's Friday the 13th, you know. Does that make you nervous? Are you the superstitious type?

Me? Nah. I break mirrors and walk under ladders on purpose. Spilled salt? Who cares? Of course, now that I think about it, I have been having a rash of bad luck for the past couple of years... Maybe I'd better rethink my ways. Dang it! Now I'm getting wigged out about it being Friday the 13th! See what happens when you think too much?

One good thing I know will happen today: four of my dearest friends from my previous hometown of Claremore, America, are driving all the way down to Durant (pronounced Doo-rant by old-timers and natives; I still and will forever pronounce it like Kevin's name -- Thunder Up! -- or the first part of Duran Duran with a 't' at the end) to have lunch with little ol' me. Isn't that sweet? It's a 3+ hour drive, so to say it's out of their way is an understatement.

Another good thing?  It's Your Next Stamp Fun Friday, which means it's time for another Sketch and Color Challenge. This is #7:

And here's what I've got for you today, featuring the adorable new WILD RIDE stamp set:

Don't try to figure out how I got from the sketch to the actual card -- it will make your brain hurt. Just know that it's a very loose interpretation.

Don't you love that sweet zebra? I can't wait to make a card using just it and perhaps mask a whole stampede of them. That's the great thing about fresh stamps: such possibilities!

Because this is a baby card for a new little boy (my niece, Amanda, whom I've bragged about for years on this blog -- she was the illustrator of MFT's a la modes line of stamps -- just had a baby boy. Kiddo #3!), I kept the color scheme baby-masculine (minty green and bright blue, with gray accents). I used off-white card stock for a base and for the image and sentiment panels because I think it's a little softer than stark white, which is in keeping with the baby theme.  Button embellishments are always appropriate for babies, too.

I 'threaded' the buttons with thin strips of gray card stock to reinforce the color scheme, then attached the buttons with red line adhesive dots from Jody's Sticky Stuff Store.

Have a wonderful Friday the 13th and try not to open an umbrella indoors.  Be sure to visit the YNS Blog to see what the other participating YNS designers came up with for Challenge #7, and learn how you can play along and possibly win a YNS gift certificate worth up to $20.  I'll be back tomorrow with a sweet Valentine treat for you.  Thanks for stopping by!

Panda-monium

Hello, hello!  How are my friendlies today? Are you happy it's Friday? Do you have big plans for Superbowl weekend? Me? No. I could not care less which team wins the Superbowl. Maybe I need to make a bet on it with someone, just to make it a little more interesting?  If I were to do so, which team should I root for?  On the one hand, I could root for Seattle because I love that city, and because my wonderful stamping-and-real-life-friend Karolyn Loncon is a Seahawks fan.  On the other hand, I could root for the Patriots because I'll be spending a lot of time in Boston over the next few years¹ and Tom Brady is very cute. Decisions, decisions! 

Enough football talk.  Let's get back to today: Friday!  Or, as those of us on the Your Next Stamp design team call it, "FUN FRIDAY!"² Every other Friday, half of the design team plays in the current YNS Sketch and Color Challenge.  Here's the sketch and/or color challenge:

 

This week, I opted to use the color challenge.  Here's what I came up with, using the new LOVE AND SMILES stamp set and YNS CIRCLES die set:

Here's a closeup of the cute little panda:

In keeping with the color challenge, he's colored in with dark gray Copic markers (from the cool gray family).

Pandas are some of my favorite stamp images, as Truman, my 18 year old, has loved pandas ever since he was a little, little boy.  In fact, one of the first cards I ever made for Truman was a Valentine that featured pandas, using a trio of panda stamps I purchased on eBay³.  Here's the card I made for him, almost 8 years ago to the day⁴:

I think that's a pretty awesome card, especially when you consider that I really only began stamping three or four months before making that. It kind of depresses me, in a way. I prefer to look back at my old stuff and think "Whew! That's terrible! I've come a long way, baby!" and then light up a Virginia Slims (even though I don't smoke).

This card makes me think, "Huh. That's pretty good. I don't think I've improved that much in eight years..."

Anyway, all this talk about pandas and Truman -- let me get to the point I wanted to make before I went off on various tangents: I was messaging on Facebook with a stamping/blogging friend⁵ of mine, Joan B.  When her son was a freshman in college, she embarked on what she called a "100 Card Challenge" to make and send 100 cards to her son before he graduated. Thinking about Truman going away for college, I told her I was considering embarking on her challenge and asked whether it was sustainable. She recommended I get started now and build up a stash for him. Her son loved getting the cards, but getting to 100 is harder than it sounds, especially with a full-time job, etc.

Fortunately, I have a TON of cards just sitting there, collecting dust. (Why, I don't know. I have no excuse!) But most of them, I doubt Truman would really like. Too frou-frou or girly or cutesy. Today's card, though, I know he would appreciate.  And now I'm going to consciously start making cards with him in mind. I always find that if I make cards with someone in mind, I end up liking them better than if I just make them for the sake of making them. So, in advance, consider this 1/100.  Thanks for the inspiration and great advice, Joan!

With this challenge in mind, I made my card (almost) as flat as can be, for mailing purposes:   One other card note: I used the current Sweet Sunday Sketch, #253.

Alright, alright!  This is by far the longest post I've written in a while.  I'll let you go!  Don't forget to visit the YNS Blog and see what fun creations my fellow YNS designers have created with YNS Sketch and Color Challenge #6.  Have a wonderful weekend, and I hope your team wins on Sunday!

 

Footnotes:

1.  Um, is this a convenient time for me to mention the fact that Truman will be attending HARVARD?!  Is that obnoxious of me?  I swear, I very rarely drop that factoid except for here on the blog-io. After all, I live on a college campus, and it seems inappropriate to talk about a different college under such circumstances. But still. I'm proud of him and excited -- you'll indulge me every once in a while, won't you?

2.  You can call today "Fun Friday," too, if you want.  YNS doesn't have a copyright on that term.

3. I also used a sentiment and heart image from the SU! set, Loving Hearts, and a lower case 't' from CTMH's Solo T set.

4.  I know this fun fact because I had to look it up in my Splitcoaststampers gallery.  I made it several months before this blog came into existence. It was waaay back in the day when you could upload a card to the SCS gallery and get lots & lots of views (1,322!) and lots & lots of comments (28!).  Makes me feel like breaking into the theme from "All in the Family."  Those were the daaaaaays!

4.  I've actually met Joan in real life, but it was so briefly (at a CHA several years ago; I believe I was helping out with a Make-N-Take at the Splitcoast booth, and she waved hello), that I can't really say she's an IRL friend.  But she's one of those cyber/crafty friends that I KNOW I would love to hang out with in real life as we seem to have so much in common.  We're both lawyers & stampers (a weirdo combination if there ever was one) and the mother of son(s), we've had complicated relationships with mothers who were "characters," etc.  If you don't yet read Joan's blog, I highly recommend you start.  She's a really good stamper, and an even better writer. She's wise and witty and just a cool chick.  ("Cool chick" is about the highest praise I have for someone.)