Happy Birthday My Son

It is my son's birthday today - Happy Birthday, Kurt!

I thought Kurt should eat his piece of birthday cake, along with his 8 friends, on a "special" plate! Ha ha ha, I know I am a mean Mom. When I went to serve the cake, I saw there were not enough normal plates, so I just couldn't control myself.

Kurt took it as good fun and his friends had a laugh too. To think my girls used to fight over who would eat off of this Disney Princess plate. They fought so often, I had to buy a second one!

Here is my standard entry for cake baking. The magic One Bowl Chocolate Cake with a Mocha twist. Nothing too earth shattering, but is seems to continue to get compliments no matter if its square; round, one layer or two.

We LOVE you Kurt and wish you every happiness this year will bring!

Mojo Monday 184

I have finally managed to get a Mojo Monday sketch done again. I diligently draw a thumbnail of the sketch each Monday, with the intent of creating a card. Lately, I just haven't been able to get it together....but this week....VIOLA!

I saw the card Gina Brandstetter made for last week's Play Date Cafe challenge and I knew I needed to ink up this set called, "Paper Lantern".

I started with Pear and Cotton Candy ink stamped on Colonial White. The background was too pristine for me, so I stamped the script image from "Universal Backgrounds" in Desert Sand over top. Then I restamped the lantern in Pear and popped it over top of the original.

I used our wonderful NEW Kraft Borders across the bottom. I inked up the border with Cotton Candy ink and got this rich; deep; almost Vineyard Berry colour. I punched with my 2" scallop punch from Kraft cardstock and stamped with a retired favourite, "My One & Only" in Black.

Our new buttons and some Pear ribbon finished off this card. The patterned paper is from Sophia. Below you'll find the Mojo Monday sketch.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Patterned paper: Sophia

Stamps: Paper Lantern; Universal Backgrounds; My One & Only

Cardstock: Pear; Kraft; Colonial White

Ink: Black; Pear; Cotton Candy; Desert Sand

Embellishments: Pear ribbon; Pink and Green assortment buttons; White Hemp; Cotton Candy brads; Pear brads; Kraft Borders

Tools: 2" Scallop punch

We interrupt this blog for S-P-R-I-N-G.....

To those of you still experiencing traces of winter, I am deeply sorry. This is the view I have been waking up to, out my front window, for the past week. Cherry blossoms of so many different colours and in so many spaces.........I LOVE VICTORIA, BC!

My daughters and I enjoyed several hours, with friends and these trees, this past weekend. My children were finishing up their second week of Spring break. With the graciousness of a friend, my girls were able to skateboard and learn to roller blade. Here are my girls on roller blades.

Dawn, a preschool Mom with me 7 years ago, invited us to join her and her girls for the afternoon. Dawn and I became fast friends and she always invites us to participate in outings. My girls were gleeful with the day they had in the park, learning new activities. Thanks Dawn!

This last picture is the park outside our living room window. If you look to the left side of the picture, you can see our white front door and a bit of the light blue of our house. We have the school yard and a younger kid's park out the back of our property, too.

HAPPY SPRING!

Hostess Club gift

I wanted to create something for my Hostess Club members every month. This month I brought home some empty mug boxes from work and got to decorating.

I used 5 of our new paper packages to acheive the same, but different looks. I punched 6 scallops from our 2" scallop maker and crumpled them up. After opening, I coloured the edges with my 2 way glue pen. When the glue was tacky, I schmered on Prisma glitter.

To make the flower I start by laying out the shapes with 3 showing one side, and 3 showing the reverse side. I take the first one and pinch a point in the middle and squish the shape together. Then I take the next shape and put it over the first, with the point in the middle of the circle. I continue to do this until I have all 6 scallop circles together.

Then, I do my fluffing and and rearranging to get it to look the way I want. I remove the last shape and put Liquid Glass in the bottom. I set the rest of the flower in and then remove the rest of the flower, leaving the next layer adhered in the Liquid Glass. I add another drop of LG and set the flower back in again. I continue on this way until the entire flower has been stuck together with LG in each layer.

I LOVE these flowers and keep making them for almost everything now...it is crazy! I covered each box with patterned paper. Before I adhered the front panel, I stamped with Dreams Come True in black ink. I filled each box with some embellishments.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamp: Dreams Come True

Paper: Wings; Sweetheart; Sophia; Miracle; Fanfare

Other: 2" Scallop Punch; 2way glue pen; Prisma Glitter

You Otter be in pictures

I have a dear friend who I think of everytime I see otters. I was using my "Down by the Sea" stamp set and put together this sweet card, using the otter image.

I used Mayberry striped and the flower paper. I stamped the otter in Cocoa ink and embossed her in clear powder. I punched two scallop circles with my 2" punch and then creased each of them between each bump. This kind of made them stay fluffy....if paper can be fluffy!

I added our wonderful kraft borders over a scalloped edge. I also continued on over Hollyhock cardstock that was scored and sanded to create the striped piece. Then I loaded up with buttons from our retired packages in Honey; Hollyhock; and Olive.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Patterned paper: Mayberry

Stamp: Down by the Sea

Cardstock: Honey; Hollyhock; Cocoa; Colonial White

Ink: Cocoa; New England Ivy; Versamark

Other: Clear embossing powder; Buttons; Kraft Borders; 2" scallop punch

Spring is blooming

This was a quick card I put together with some bits and pieces I had laying around.

After watching a tutorial by another CTMH consultant, explaining the creativeness of inking up your acrylic blocks to stamp with.....I did this a lot.

Here I used the 2 x 3 1/2 block inked with Cotton Candy ink. I paired it with my Blooming Flourishes stamp set and Sophia polka dot paper. I punched 4 scalloped circles with my 2" punch then folded them in half between every scallop. This gave a scored looking circle and then I folded them in half and pinched the bottom point. I layed 2 on the bottom with their points together. Then I staggered the other two on top. I added one of our new buttons in green.

Before putting the flower together, I scribbled with our glue pen. Once the glue became tacky, I rubbed Prisma Glitter on top for some understated bling. Then I added Bitty Sparkles to the flourishes of the stamp.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Patterned Paper: Sophia

Stamps: Blooming Flourishes

Ink: Cotton Candy; Pear

Cardstock: Colonial White and Hollyhock

Embellishments: Prisma Glitter; Bitty Sparkles

Tools: 2" Scallop Punch; 2-way glue pen

Jellyfish FUN!

Ha, after typing that title I can't imagine how an encounter with a jelly fish could be fun.....unless it is a whimsical image to be stamped!

I love the wavy tentacles of this jelly fish, along with its mushroom looking top. I stamped the focus one in Lagoon ink and the rest in Sky ink. I over stamped the Lagoon one with Versamark ink; covered and tapped off excess clear embossing powder; then sprinkled on some prisma glitter. I hoped to keep some of the glitter in the melted powder and although you can't see it, there is a sparkle and shine to the jelly fish.

I added patterned paper from Magnifique, then followed the paper kit's suit by adding Bamboo; Pacifica and Sky cardstock. The word "KIND" is made from our Friendship alphabet and the "One of a" is from Circle Together. Both are stamped in Lagoon ink.

I used our corner rounder to make the scallop border. I twisted; tied and added White hemp. The Pacifica scalloped circle was punched from our 2" punch and the Sky one, from my Cricut.

All supplies are Close To My Heart, unless noted.

Stamps: Down by the Sea; Circle Together; Friendship Alphabet

Patterned Paper: Magnifique

Cardstock: Pacifica; Sky; Lagoon; Bamboo; Colonial White

Ink: Lagoon; Sky; Versamark

Embellishments: White Hemp; Prisma Glitter; Clear Embossing Powder

Other: Cricut

Miracle and Down by the Sea

I am enjoying all of the images from "Down by the Sea". I decided since I had so much fun with the shark image, that I would try to make a card with every other image in the set.

The whale is inked in Sweet Leaf ink and then I rolled the edges in Twilight. I was pleasantly surprised to find a wave like shape in my NEW Kraft paper borders.

I used my 2" scallop punch and circles cut with my Cricut and stamped the sentiment with Twilight ink. I added Bitty sparkles to the scallop circle and the whale's eye. I braided some white hemp and fit it in with the patterned paper from Miracle.

All supplies are Close To My Heart, unless noted.

Stamps: Down by the Sea

Paper: Miracle

Cardstock: Pacifica; Colonial White; Sweet Leaf; Sky

Ink: Twilight

Embellishments: Bitty Sparkles; White Hemp; Kraft Borders

Tools: 2" scallop punch

Other: Cricut

Let's go "Down by the Sea"

I recently received my new, "Down by the Sea" stamp set from CTMH. I love how whimsical it is and felt my card should be the same.

I stamped the shark in Cotton Candy; the waves and sentiment in Pacifica, on our retired textured White Daisy cardstock. The waves are attached to the otter stamp, which I will post a card or two with that image, in the days to come. I added Bitty Sparkles and the patterned paper is from Sophia on a Pacifica background.

I used one of our wonderful, new pink buttons with two Goldrush ones, from last year. I strung them on some white hemp. The seastars are stamped in Goldrush, while the shell stamped in Cotton Candy.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Paper: Sophia

Stamps: Down by the Sea

Ink: Cotton Candy; Pacifica; Goldrush

Cardstock: Pacifica; Goldrush; Cotton Candy

Embellishments: Pink NEW and Goldrush OLD buttons; White hemp; Bitty Sparkles

I'm singing in the rain......

I know I have been away for a while.....I never seem to find time to get it all done. I have been working on lots of things lately. Here is a card I made for a recent gathering.

I LOVE my "Springtime" stamp set so much, since living on the "Wet Coast" of BC, we see lots of rain! I paired it with Sophia paper and some of Close To My Heart's FANTASTIC new buttons.

Umbrellas were stamped in Cotton Candy and Pear. The cardstock was first scored and then sanded to give it that panel look. I added Goldrush cardstock in the background and some Hollyhock stitched ribbon, along with the buttons.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Paper: Sophia

Stamps: Springtime

Cardstock: Hollyhock; Pear; Goldrush; Colonial White

Ink: Cotton Candy; Pear

Embellishments: Hollyhock stitched ribbon; Pink and Green Assortment Buttons

Our NEW Foster kittens

Yesterday I was invited to take photos of some older kittens rescued from a kill shelter in L.A. by our local Cats Cradle Animal Rescue.

While I jump at the chance to photograph kitties and pet them, I have also become a sucker for fostering them. Above is Petee and Sasha is below. When I saw each of them, I knew I had to take them home!

Petee is the most handsome, splotchy, polydactyl kitten I have ever seen. He is a complete love duck and spent 5 hours snuggled up to my son and I tonight.

Sasha, the gorgeous white bounding kitten, looks almost exactly like my beautiful 18 yr old Sasha we lost 2 years ago. I worried how my children would react to having a very similar kitten to their beloved Sasha, but we have all been enjoying her company.

Our resident three cats, however, are enjoying them less than the humans. Our oldest, a long haired ginger, doesn't really care much. He has been nose to nose with each and seems to know they are not a threat.

Our Siamese boy, on the other hand, has his nose bent a bit out of joint. He'll hiss and complain for another day or so and then be cuddling up to one or both of them for naps.

Finally, our 1 year old Princess is none too happy at all. She is so distraught, she even waltzed up to Petee sleeping on my lap tonight and took a swat, while hissing at him. I feel for our poor Princess....she has just settled in to her reign and this is the third set of fosters I've brought home.

We'll see if both of these babies go back......ha, I say this every time! Tomorrow, I will be back to artwork!