Thank God It's Friday!!

I don't know about you but this is kind of how I feel.  What a week!  Sure am looking forward to a little R&R and more specifically a little time in my craft room.

Made this card for my Dad for his birthday.

And then made this version for my uncle, his twin, aka "Daddy Bill".  

I kind of messed up on his - or should I say my Copic marker messed up - it dumped ink all over as I was coloring the recliner.  So I did a little trimming and "presto!, magic!" a creative deviation was born.  Can't really decide which version I like??  How 'bout you?

Have a great weekend Gal Pals.  See you back here next week.

Hearts Come Home

My Honey-Bunny is coming home tonight - YEA!!!

Thought I'd share the birthday card I made him back in December.  It looks a little busy here (maybe it was in real life too??)  I tried to do more layering and textures than I normally do and use up some of the metal embellishments in my stash.  Also wanted to use the heritage 6x6 paper pack I bought a long time ago because it reminds me of all the genealogy work he does.

Getting near the end of week.  Hope you enjoyed the beautiful day yesterday.  Maybe we'll have another today?  Let's hope!

Lots to Like

Good morning Gal Pals.  Hope everyone had a good weekend.

Found some card pictures this weekend and wanted to get them posted on the blog for safekeeping.

This is one from Tuesday card group.  It has so many things on it that I like: the color combination, the cool fonts on the sentiment, the hole-punched border strip, the embossing technique, the circle theme. . . I could go on and on.  This one's an inspiration for sure!

Another from Paper Wishes

Here's another from the Paper Wishes card kit I have with me.  It was fun to make.  Nice masculine card don't you think?  It's hard to tell in this picture but the "Happy" part of the card is actually a pre-printed transparency sheet with different patterned papers behind it.  Definitely looks much better in real life.

And the one cool thing I discovered in making this was how cool the glimmer paper is - especially the blue and emerald green.  I think I might be ordering more of that very soon!

How was craft night by the way?  E-mail me with the details if you have time.  Always warms my heart to hear from home.  Can't wait to get back.  I take off at 6:30 tonight and land around 11:30 p.m.  Can't wait to see Maddie and snuggle down in my own bed for a few days.  Even if it has to be without Cricut Man.

Birthday Traditions

I don't know about you but I'm really looking forward to seeing you guys tonight, singing "Happy Birthday" to Mona and indulging in an Iron Horse cheeseburger!  Aren't birthdays a wonderful thing? - - - even when they're not yours!

Here's a card that I made for my Dad's birthday last month.  I tried a new technique I saw on Pinterest.  I used the Lovely As A Tree stamp set and a bunch of miscellaneous birthday sentiment stamps that I found in my stash.  I really liked how it turned out.  I may have to give it a try with some softer girly colors.

See ya' tonight.

Griz Themed

A month or so ago I *finally* got around to using my Tim Holtz medallion die and made these cute little embellishments for a Griz themed card.  It sure does make quick work of things and those Griz stickers they sell at the Bookstore fit perfectly for the center.  I used a bear paw stamp I picked up at Memory Lane and Versamark ink to make a background paper.  And I found some decorative scissors from way, way back that made a decorative border that kind of reminded me of teeth.  I thought it turned out pretty cute.  I have a few more embellishments which I'll be using for toppers on some paper candy boxes I'm making for some folks at work. 

See ya at the shop tonight.

Another distressed wood

Remember the Father's Day card I posted last week?  Well here's another using the same technique and sketch. The technique really reminded me of weathered wood in a seaside cottage.  The image is another digital download from Stampin' Up - "By the Seashore".  Instead of the brads I did something a little different as this card was a family newsletter card and I try to keep those flat.  I took my mini-hole punch and punched tiny circles and then glossed them up using Crystal Effects.  I really like how that turned out.  May have to do more of that.

Hope you enjoyed the long weekend.  See ya' tonight.

Father's Day

I couldn't find where I posted this card I made for all my father's this year - my Dad, Hippy Bob and Ernest (Allan's father).  I loved how it turned out!  I used this technique I saw on the Gina K blog where you score every half inch and then rub an inkpad over the raised surface until it looks like barn wood.  I downloaded a digital stamp set (Countryside) from Stampin' Up and did just minimal colored pencil work on it.  With the brads and twine it just seemed perfect for a Father's Day card.  I'm not sure how I'll top this next year.  Glad I got some prep time :-)

For the Men in Our Lives

Here's another birthday card from Mona that has a bit of a masculine appeal to it.  Love the clean, simple lines of the card and the touch of metal really balances it out.  Also love the use of the patterned paper as part of the focal point of the card.  I plan to keep this in mind for those pretty papers that I have that just need to shine on their own and not be covered up by layers or a stamped image. 

See you tonight.  And hopefully the weather during the drive home won't be as bad as last night.  Eeesh! was that ever an adventure!

Birthday Easel Card

Happy Monday My Gal Pals,

Hope you had a good weekend.  Mine was pretty good.  Spent 3 hours on Saturday morning putting together my Stampin' Up order.  Tried my best to control myself and set a firm budget but just like congress I kept raising the budget ceiling! 

But I'm pretty happy with the collection of tools and supplies I ordered and was really excited to see how much I was saving with this one-time 30% discount.  Guess I can justify it if I don't spend another dime on craft stuff this year! :-)

Continuing on with the Birthday theme I started last week, here's my first attempt at an easel card.  I made this for my Dad's birthday in December.

Love this color combination for a masculine card.  I intended for the big brads to be the way to hold up the easel part of the card but I guess my measurements must have been off because it made the card front lay too low.  Thank goodness the sticker border had some thickness to it.  Learned lots about what to do and not do for the next one I make.

And here's the sentiment I put inside.  It's also a wish I'm sending to you today. 

Have a good Monday! See you tomorrow night.