Totally fabulous (oh yes you are!)

Today, a card for all of you, my friends.  Thank you so much for all of your kind words about my job, both on yesterday's post and over on Facebook.  I know that it won't be the end of the world, and I'm fortunate to have so many other things in my life to be thankful for, but I appreciate all of your words of support and encouragement.  Onward and upward, right?

I've been inspired by all of the tilted designs out there and had to try one for myself.  I thought the chevron border from Avery Elle's To the Point would work perfectly with the word bubble from Hello and the Flashy Letters from Mama Elephant.

The letters were so easy to line up--I just drew a line lightly with pencil before stamping, then erased it once the ink was dry.

Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! (Calypso Coral), WPlus9 Design Studio (White)

Stamps:  Mama Elephant (Hello, Flashy Letters), Avery Elle (To the Point)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Not Quite Navy, Calypso Coral, Basic Gray)

Thanks for stopping by, fabulous friends!  I hope you have a stellar Thursday.

My true north

Hi there friends.  We're halfway through another week, and I will certainly be glad to put this one behind me.

Most of you probably know that I work as a lab technician at the same college where my husband is a professor.  I started there almost two years ago, and it has been the perfect job for me for many reasons.

Unfortunately, our college has had to make a number of staffing cuts in the past year, and I learned last Friday that my position will no longer exist as of July 1.  It didn't come as a total surprise, but I'm still struggling to come to terms with the finality of the decision.

I'm trying to stay positive and focus on all of the projects around the house that I've been anxious to tackle, and I'd like to think I'll be able to spend more time in my craft room.  But I definitely feel as if I'm at a crossroads, especially since my son will be starting Kindergarten in the fall, and I had not envisioned being home once my kids were in school full time.

What does all of this have to do with my card today?  Well, this one is for my hubby.  Needless to say the events of the past week have been hard on him, especially since he will continue to work with the people who ultimately made this decision.

I just love this saying from the Knotty stamp set by Avery Elle.  My guy is my true north, without a doubt, and I know he'll help me find my way again.

Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! (Not Quite Navy), WPlus9 Design Studio (White)

Stamps:  Avery Elle (Knotty), Papertrey Ink (Faux Ribbon)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Not Quite Navy, Real Red)

Tools:  My Favorite Things (Insert It 3 x 4 Insert die), Spellbinders (circle die)

Thanks so much for letting me share my news with you today.  I promise to have a much more upbeat post with a fun and "fabulous" card very soon.  Stay tuned!

Happy Mother's Day--CASE Study #140

It's Mother's Day here in the U.S., so I hope all of the mothers out there have a wonderful day!  We're planning on a low-key day at home, which is just the way I like it.  We usually do a gardening project on Mother's Day weekend, but with rain in the forecast we decided to do it early last week, so now I can just sit back and enjoy it.

I used this week's CASE Study card by Maile Belles as inspiration for another Mother's Day card.  

I reached for my only dogwood stamp (from WPlus9), piecing it with papers from My Mind's Eye.  I tried to keep the neutral tones of Maile's card with just hints of pink in the flowers and pearls.

In place of the ribbon under the sentiment, I stamped a pair of thin lines from PTI's Faux Ribbon, which complement the striped paper perfectly.  The sentiment is from Waltzingmouse's Roses in Bloom.

Cardstock:  WPlus9 Design Studio (Oatmeal)

Patterned paper:  My Mind's Eye (Lost & Found Two: Blush)

Stamps:  WPlus9 Design Studio (Woodgrain Silhouettes), Papertrey Ink (Faux Ribbon), Waltzingmouse (Roses in Bloom)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Chocolate Chip)

Tool:  corner rounder

Other:  pearls

Have a wonderful day, moms!  I hope you all get spoiled today.  :)

Thanks for visiting!

A very late CASE with a Waltzingmouse rose

What's up, friends?  I've been busy this week finishing up the semester and submitting grades, but I've also been doing some gardening.  Our soil is very poor and filled with rocks, so every landscaping project involves a lot of work, but it's so rewarding when it's finished.

I started this card for last week's CASE Study challenge with Maile Belles, but I didn't get to finish it in time.  Still, I wanted to share it with you.

I used the beautiful Roses in Bloom from Waltzingmouse, stamping the large flower onto cream cardstock and cutting around one edge.  Then I stamped the flower twice onto patterned paper, added shading with Prisma pencils, and cut out the layers, assembling them with foam tape.  The leaves were stamped on patterned paper, colored, and adhered directly to the cardstock.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Vintage Cream)

Patterned paper:  My Mind's Eye (Lost and Found Two: Blush)

Stamps:  Waltzingmouse (Roses in Bloom)

Ink:  Memento (Tuxedo Black)

Tools:  Papertrey Ink (Linen & Canvas impression plate), corner rounder

Other:  Michaels (pearls), Prismacolor Premier pencils

That's all for today!  Hope you have a wonderful Friday!

Paper Smooches Sparks--Anything Goes!

Hey there!  It's been a while since I made a card for a challenge, but I already had this idea floating around in my head when I saw that the latest Paper Smooches Sparks Challenge theme is Anything Goes.

Nothing fancy about this card, just some stamping and simple coloring on patterned paper.  Love the happy face on the hippo.  All stamps are from Paper Smooches.

Patterned paper:  Echo Park (A Boy's Life), Fancy Pants (Off to School)

Stamps:  Paper Smooches (Zoo Crew, Boob Tubes)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Chocolate Chip), Copic markers

Tool:  corner rounder

That's all from me!  Hope you have a wonderful Friday!

The 12 Kits of Holidays--April 2013

It's time for another round of The 12 Kits of Holidays!  This month's hostess is Sharron, and she sent this wonderful packet loaded with cute images, papers, and die cuts (and she took this month's picture, too!):

I've made 3 cards so far, but I have so much wonderful stuff left to use.  I'm hoping to keep working with this kit over the next week or two like I did with Tracey's kit last month.

I'm battling a sinus infection that has me wiped out at the moment, so I'm going to keep the chit chat to a minimum and just show you the cards:

Cardstock:  Red shimmer

Patterned paper:  My Mind's Eye (Winter Wonderland)

Tools:  WPlus9 Design Studio (Joy die), Fiskars (star punch)

Other:  Michaels (star gems), thread

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Ocean Tides, Pure Poppy), Stampin' Up! (Old Olive), Neenah (Classic Crest White)

Patterned paper:  My Mind's Eye (Winter Wonderland)

Stamps:  Papertrey Ink (Merry & Bright Additions), Technique Tuesday (Jingle All the Way)

Tools:  Lil' Inker Designs (Stitched Flag Sentiment die), Papertrey Ink (Merry & Bright tree die), Memory Box (Resting Birds die), Cherry Lynn (Zig Zag Ric Rac die), Sizzix (snowflake embossing folder)

Other:  thread

Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! (Baja Breeze), Papertrey Ink (Pure Poppy), Neenah (Classic Crest White), Hobby Lobby (silver glitter)

Stamp:  Technique Tuesday (Jingle All the Way)

Tools:  My Favorite Things (Stacking Stars dies), Memory Box (Cosmic Star dies), Sizzix (Snowballs embossing folder)

Be sure to visit the rest of the crew to see what they created this month:

Joyce: Cards-by-the-Sea
Renee: ItsAPatchworkLife
Tracey: InMyCreativeOpinion
Sharron: OnPapillionWings
Marybeth: Marybeth's Time for Paper
Jeanne: AKeptLife
Amy: Stamp-n-Paradise
Kim: CupcakesCardsandKim
Kara: KandRDesigns
Kelly: GinghamGirl
Jessica: The Paper Parade

Have a great day!

More Darling Diamonds

Hello!  It's been a gorgeous weekend here, and we're just about to duck out to my son's soccer game, so I wanted to quickly share another card I made with Lil' Inker Designs' Darling Diamonds and the coordinating stitched pattern die.

I started by using the Circles & Diamonds Stitched Pattern die to impress the stitched pattern onto a piece of white cardstock.  Then I used MFT's 3 x 4 Insert die to cut a piece sized perfectly for my card.

Just a tip:  I think it's better to die cut before adding the stitched impression, as the process of die cutting smoothed out the cardstock and made the stitched detail less prominent.

I used several of the stamps from Darling Diamonds to create the pattern in red and aqua, a favorite color combo of mine.

Cardstock:  WPlus9 Design Studio (White), Papertrey Ink (Pure Poppy)

Stamps:  Lil' Inker Designs (Darling Diamonds)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Real Red, Pool Party, Chocolate Chip)

Tools:  Lil' Inker Designs (Circles & Diamonds Stitched Pattern die), My Favorite Things (Insert It--3 x 4 Insert die)

Enjoy your Sunday, and have a great start to your week!