Father's Day Card

I spent the morning (most of the day actually!) making this "card" for my dad.

I spent the afternoon baking a home made apple pie (his Father's Day gift from me) and a couple of side dishes to take to their house for supper.

I had the intentions of making a simple card, nothing too time intensive. Definitely nothing with cars or trucks this time since it seems I am always using the Classic Convertibles or Classic Pickup stamps sets from Stampin' Up! for his cards.

Once I got to the craft dungeon though, things evolved and I made this - the card that won't fold =)

Since I was on a roll, I made one similar to it for my mom. I wanted to make her a Thank You card for taking care of Kitty and my flowers while we were out of town. I'll post that card tomorrow.

Dads card started with going through some scraps of decorative paper. I think I spent an hour alone trying to decide what scraps to use, trying to match them with card stock colors. Yes, the decorative papers were not from Stampin' Up! so most of my card stock did not coordinate.

Anyhow, long story short, after much fiddling around and changing of my mind, this is what I came up with.

I used precut chipboard letters (you'll see what they look like on my moms card when I post it later). They were flowery ! My original intention was to cover them with decorative papers, but I was having a tough time finding something I really liked and that would work with other papers, etc. In the end, I drug out my trusty craft paints and crackle medium.

Lightly sand the chipboard letter because there is a semi glossy like surface to it. Coat with Gesso, basecoat with dark gray craft paint, coat with crackle medium then add a thick coat of white acrylic craft paint. Lightly "fly speck" with dark brown acrylic craft paint on an old toothbrush; run your thumb across it to splatter. Allow to dry well between each step !

Distress edges of the decorative paper and adhere to the base card. Mine was Night of Navy card stock, 12" long, scored at 4" and 8".

Hot glue (or super sticky double stick tape) the letters onto the papers.

Add a little bit of white acrylic paint to the top of the decorative brad (Stampin' Up! Hodge Podge Hardware), lightly wipe off so the paint stays in the depression.

Stamp (Night of Navy ink) saying onto strip of card stock (Going Gray), trim then sponge White Craft Ink onto the edges of the card stock. Happy is from the Happy Everything stamp set by Stampin' up! and Father's Day was made with Snap Stamps. 

Attach the brad to the strip of card stock with the saying to the top of the chipboard letter with hot glue. 

Thanks for looking =) 

You're Sweet

as freshly baked chocolate chip cookies =)

I made this card quite some time ago for a Clean and Simple sketch challenge at Splitcoaststampers.com . I've always liked this card, keeping it in my special cards stash for the perfect occasion. Well, that time came when I wanted to send a thank you to Margaret of Blackshadowcreations (thanks again!). Be sure to visit her blog; always a fun read and great ideas shared, especially for scrapbooking. 

All supplies used,  other than the tan plaid card stock, were from Stampin' Up!

Stamps: Itty Bitty Backgrounds, Mini Mates

Paper: Kraft, Silver, unknown tan plaid

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel; Going Gray marker

Accessories: 3/4" circle punch

The tray is a 2 1/4" x 3 1/2" a piece of silver card stock that I cut two "handles" with scissors into by tracing a circle first. I drew lines with a Going Gray marker then lightly sponged Going Gray ink onto the edges.

The cookies are made from Kraft card stock punched with a 3/4" circle punch. I lightly sponged Creamy Caramel ink on the edges and stamped bitty dots (from Itty Bitty Backgrounds stamp set) with Chocolate Chip ink.

I stamped "You're Sweet!" from the Mini Mates stamp set with Chocolate Chip ink on the front.

The little tray of cookies punch art could easily be incorporated into a fun scrapbook page !

Thanks for looking =) 

Milk Can Redo

before

This is the milk can I found at a yard sale earlier this year-

I paid $2 , yes two dollars, for it !

I did a quick, rough paint job to it using outdoor

acrylic crafts paints, paintbrush and home made 

star stamp cut from a craft sponge. 

 I think I will totally repaint it eventually.

At first I thought I'd leave the old rust and such on it,

but afterwards decided maybe I ought to clean it better and

 start with fresh paints all over the can to protect it.

I'm anxious for the petunias to grow and spill out

over the edge of the pot I found in an old barn

that I sat on top of the can.

I think it is too tall,but will do for now . 

There are also white impatiens and blue salvia in it. 

The huge basket full of flowers next to is a small

drop in refill container that I bought on sale for half off 

then sat inside an old bushel basket.

$8.49 for this gorgeous, full pot of flowers that filled

the old basket really well. 

I haven't been able to find my old "Welcome Friends" sign yet

to hang on the fence section so I guess I need to make something else.

This is the opposite side of the porch.

The stamped and painted chair project  was posted 

a couple of years ago on my blog.

The potted plants on top of the old table are another half off bargain.

The geraniums in the chair were also half off, $6.50 for a hanging basket.

I never see baskets of flowers so full and healthy on

clearance. I was thrilled to find these !

The flowers in the basket sitting on the porch were 

all bought separately then I repotted them. 

The red wave petunias were bought in a flat;

I planted them in four places around the house. 

The white geranium was damaged on the way home,

breaking off the tallest flowery stem.

I snipped it and have it in a container of water,

hoping it will take root so maybe I can replant it.

This is the first time I've ever done that, maybe it will work. 

Flag Day

Created with My Digital Studio from Stampin' Up!

The photo is one I took on our recent road trip. It is a HUGE American flag flying near the interstate. 

Lovely Card I Received

What a wonderful surprise to find this beautiful card along with the new Stampin' Up! Idea Book
in my pile of mail to sort through after vacation =) I'm taking the Idea Book with me to an appointment tomorrow; there will be lots of time while waiting there to drool over all of the fabulous new items and samples in it.

THANK YOU SO MUCH, MARGARET ! 

Armed Forces Day

 In Honor of  Armed Forces Day

From the May 17, 1952, New York Times article:
"It is our most earnest hope that those who are in positions of peril, that those who have made exceptional sacrifices, yes, and those who are afflicted with plain drudgery and boredom, may somehow know that we hold them in exceptional esteem. Perhaps if we are a little more conscious of our debt of honored affection they may be a little more aware of how much we think of them."



Details about the above image:

I created this 5" x 7" card size image with My Digital Studio from Stampin' Up!
and a camo background image that I added.
Whisper White square punch made into a rectangle base.
Summer Sun mat with a drop shadow, centered with 75% opacity and medium blur.
Lots of square punches altered into thin rectangles, filled with Real Red for the red stripes.
Brilliant Blue square punch made into a rectangle.
Star punch reduced in size, copied and pasted over and over.
All punches, other than the base rectangle, have a black centered drop shadow of 25% with a 5% blur; the original image with no drop shadows on the small punches is below.

this just doesn't look right, 

but it was supposed to resemble the

"backwards" flag patch on military uniforms.

"Insert Duplicate Page Mirrored"  feature makes it 

easy to copy the page in reverse. No need to make another flag from scratch !

Thanks for looking =) 

Around The Yard - Mid May

The sizes of the plants - and the number of blooms - this year are unreal !

 I've been lucky to have a bloom or two on the hydrangea bush

over the years, never over a half dozen that I recall.

This year it seems as if there are going to be hundreds !!!!

I've never seen so many, ever. Wow.

"Snakes" Alive ! EEEK !!!

I'm Not Going Down There........ No I'm Not Going Down There .... I'm Not Going To The Basement, Anymore !!!!!!!!

Actually, I have no choice, I must go to the basement to do laundry, access the deep freeze, tend to the cats food, water and litter box, even to work on craft projects. After today's discovery while vacuuming the old unfinished basement (in my "craft dungeon" area no less!) I don't really want to:

a live snake - in the basement !!!!!!! It's caught in the container here, ready to be released back out into the field.

I know, after seeing it, you are thinking "quitcherbeeching, it's just a little one!". To those of us that dislike snakes, any size of snake, shoot huge night crawler worms even are too big, especially when found in a house !

It is one thing to find spiders down there, that's to be expected (eeew, don't like those either! my skin is crawling).

It is another to find lizards in the house - really!???!!! EEK ! They are too fast and snake like. I shudder... ugh.....

But seriously, a snake ?!??

I was vacuuming along, saw what I thought was a bug scurry under my tower of paints so I moved the vacuum wand over there, then peeked over to it to make sure I got the bug up. Needless to say when I saw what it really was , I jumped and flew up the stairs yelling "snake in the basement!" to my daughter who was on the computer and again out into the garage where hubby was. I assume what I thought was a bug was the snakes head as it backed itself up into the nook between by paint towers !

I should maybe have tried to just vacuum it up (yeah, I had visions of it not getting sucked up completely by the weak old shop vacuum, instead staying stuck in the hose!)

I should have taken a photo of it in the little nook, likely hiding from me and the noisy vacuum (right, and have it slither away?).

In the end hubby came to the rescue (see, men are good for something on occasion ! ha , ha !) , scooping it into the coffee container. Of course he was jumping and cussing, too. Where was I ? Standing balanced on a chair with one foot and the craft table with the other.

What would I have done if he had not been home ? Not sure, maybe whacked at it with the vacuum hose to stun it and try to vacuum it ? I know I would not have been brave enough to try to pin it, pick it up with my hands !

Better question: what would have happened had I not found it yesterday? Perhaps it would have been in a far more frightening to me place when I found it, such as one of my drawers ? Maybe it would have made it upstairs somehow ? Would it have gotten bigger eating all the bugs it would surely find down in that old basement ? Then again, maybe it would have never been found, making its way back outdoors somehow ? All I know is, we need to figure out how all of these critters are getting in the house. We've been here a dozen years and have never had as many critters in the house as we have had the past year. Possibly because I have lost two cats and a dog this last year, down to one indoor only cat now ?

Ah well, another one of those things to remember, a joy of living in this 100+ year old farmhouse in the bottom lands along a creek.

Yep, I really need to win that Better Homes and Gardens Pin and Win contest so I can move my crafty area up to the attic =)  

Happy Mother's Day

 A funny from our local newspaper in March of this year. 

As soon as I saw it I knew I was going to share it on Mother's Day =) 

I've had this funny saved for years - 

it was sooooo true for me !

I'm constantly being asked 

"What do you do all day?"

Cut this out of a local paper so long ago.

I finally had a diagnosis ! Ha ,ha !

This funny is really an oldie!

I cut it out when I was in high school and had it my locker.

I imagine my sister and I made mom think she was "losing it" at times back then. 

  Have a wonderful day ! 

Mother's Day Cards

More details about the above card can be found here

http://craftysahmiam.blogspot.com/2012/02/suspendedspinning-heart-card.html

Super simple card, I've made many this way over the years.

The stamp image was colored with markers.

The blue square was made by sponging ink through a square mask I made.

Such an old card I came across recently,

 I'm sure it was copied from another idea seen elsewhere.

I used bleach as my ink on the green card stock.

It bleached out to the pale yellow color.

I just added the rhinestones to it.

This is the inside, created with My Digital Studio.

I was reminded WHY I don't print projects made

with MDS at home:

they never print properly , ever, for me.

I used the HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY stamp from the All Holidays set.

Create a small rectangle punch, filled with white, to cover HAPPY.

Insert a Text Box and type DELIGHTFUL.

Insert another Text Box for WISHING YOU A 

Die cuts , paper punches. Sponged ink sky. 

Thanks for looking =)