I'm stumped - I've encountered a variety on ToC

I managed to squeeze in time for one simple card tonight. I spent most of the evening at my mother’s house – working on crossword puzzles with her and my husband. I don’t particularly like crossword puzzles – probably because I’m not very good at them. But better a crossword puzzle than a jigsaw puzzle or God forbid – a LOGIC puzzle or Sudoku!!!

Found a challenge on SplitcoastStampers – a ‘Ways to Use It’ challenge that was right up my alley – to incorporate vintage elements into a card (or for some a craft item or scrapbook page). Don’t get me started on the subject of scrap-booking! I could be up all night disclosing my ‘nightmare experiences’ with three, wee little scrapbooks. I knew when I started the little devils I wasn’t going to like it – did THAT stop me? Oh NO – and not only did I NOT not make them – I made THREE (3) of these spawns of evil. Three count ‘em THREE – all the same theme! If I wanted to work in a factory I would have kept that job at the jeans manufacturer. (Ahhhh yes – another blog topic – my ONE day as a factory piece-meal worker. My friend who worked there for several years, encouragingly said, “That’s okay, at least you lasted a whole day. We’ve had people who started work in the morning, go on break and never come back. It’s really GOOD you put in a whole shift!”)

Anyway, where was I? Oh the challenge. And remember I’m double dipping. I'm seeking challenges that will pair up with my goal to get Mary Lee her 'Autumn, Thankful for her Employees' cards.

So just what is the Ways to Use It Challenge? It is simply an invitation to create a card using a particular product or tool.

This simple little ditty is:
~Base card – PaperTrey
~Layer of Studio paper – a light filigree design
~Strip of very substantial white lace (I’m not sure if the lace actually qualifies as ToC because I willingly took the lace without it being hidden as part of a mystery bag of pieces, shards, clips, snippets, remnants, of crap…I’ll have to give this some thought and get back to you.)
~Layer of brown cardstock under the lace for more contrast
~Sentiment is a rescued thank you from a store-bought thank you card (OMG – I think these are left-overs from one of the kid’s high school graduation packets! It is layered on cardstock, text from a vintage book, and more cardstock
~Swirl brad is the final touch

I have to get to bed – LONG day tomorrow. It involves college freshman, a hill, a ceremony, candles, and chapel. Besides, I think my Tylenol PM is starting to kick in. Gail – proofread this for me SOON!!!

You can get up close with the card by clicking on the image. Thanks for popping by!
All good wishes,
Nancy

TOC, and YES I'm LATE for WORK

Yes, I should be in the car headed to the Cliff. Okay, I am going for the fashionably late arrival.
It just means one less blue bin to carry upstairs for a parent and student.
REALLY a U-Haul???? Have you SEEN the size of the dorm rooms? Do you REALIZE you have to share the room with another person who ALSO brought a U-Haul? When do you have time to use all these hair products? You want the desk moved out to make room for your SOUND SYSTEM and Guitar HERO? You brought a Lazy-Boy recliner??? That and a microwave will reduce the walking space in your room to 1.6573 cubic centimeters! Enjoy!

At least the weather is wonderful. Especially wonderful if you are helping the students move in to 4th floor Toller (no AC no elevator – need I say more?).

For those of you not familiar with TOC it is a symbiotic relationship between family and (only invited) friends. Simply put TOC is the Transfer of Crap. For more on TOC see previous posts. The card is for the Mary Lee Autumn Series. One of the members of the TOC (not sure which one - but THEY know who they are) sent a rather large HUNK of …. Something….what the heck is this anyway? It’s woven, it’s tweedy, it ravels, it’s heavy, does burlap come in purple? Regardless of what it is I used it on a card:

~Base card – PaperTrey
~Layer of Stampin Up Eggplant cardstock
~Layer of unknown fiber/fabric – edges raveled (intentionally)
~Sentiment is from Michaels – a Hero Arts stamp layered on three colors of cardstock
I really liked the threads that came loose when I raveled the edges of the unknown fiber so I kept them – bundled them and attached them using a metal brad.

Now, I REALLY DO need to leave for work!
You can get up close with the card by clicking on the image.

Thank you for checking in.
All good wishes,
Nancy

Hello Bubble, I've Missed You

Finally. I got to spend a short time in my Bubble. No one to stealthily creep up behind me, no nebulizer treatment to prepare, no feeling like Cinderella (with no chance in hell of attending the ball). I’m not really complaining about spending time with my 92 year-old mother – helping out as she recuperates. I just miss my bubble time. And card making? NOT exactly portable. Since I don’t plan ahead – I would have to take the whole bloody room with me!

Mother – daughter relationships. They are as varied as quilts and cards. I’ll leave it at that. THE slippers are back – center stage – and on the feet of their rightful owner. Again, I’ll leave it at that.

I love challenges – and now I have a new one!!! Friend Mary Lee has ‘challenged’ me to Autumn/Thankful cards. I actually got started on that project while double dipping in the challenge pool. I have been secretly applying to different stamp companies to become a temporary ‘design team’ member. I’ve never made the cut – but I still keep trying. So, I decided to submit the cards I am making for Mary Lee to the different design companies. Let me clarify – Mary Lee will get the cards – the companies only get images of the cards. Did you think I was going to make two of each? One for ML and one to send in? Now THAT would be a fun sucker! I don’t have a chance at getting accepted but it is a good excuse to challenge myself.

Here is the first card that will head to Omaha for Mary Lee.
~Base aard PaperTrey
~Edges of card smudged with Ranger ink
~Layer of Archiver’s textured brown cardstock
~Pumpkin paper by Paper StudioStamp Sentiment: May the bountiful blessings of this special season fill you home, by Stampabilites from Michael’s
~Sentiment layered on orange then brown cardstock. Leaves colored with General’s Kimberly watercolor pencils, berries filled in using Copics
~Assorted ribbon threaded using paper punch (it is really hard to find RUST colored ribbon!) You can get up close with the card by clicking on the image.

Now I'm off to work (yes it's Sunday). Move-in on campus DAY 2! Don't know who is more stunned at the price of textbooks - the students or the parents...

Thank you for checking in.
All good wishes,
Nancy

I Fear A Mystery is A-FOOT (AKA - I've never seen those slippers in my life!)

WOW. Finally I logged in some bubble time! I get a wee (?) bit crabby when I don't get some bubble time - my time to myself. Actually, there is a psychological/sociological reason for me to NEED my bubble time. According to Myers-Briggs – I am an introvert. And as some of you know, contrary to popular belief, introversion does not necessarily imply shyness. Introverts need their personal space and some alone time to recharge their batteries. THAT would be ME – Introvert. I could tell you the rest of my Myers-Briggs analysis (three more letters) but I think I’ll keep you guessing.

Me crabby??? Just ask sista G! In case you are curious or have never experienced the wrath of Nancy – here a few situations you may want to steer clear of:
~Nancy experiencing environmental heat
~Nancy experiencing internal heat (aka HOT flashes)
~Nancy being asked lots of rapid fire medical questions (“cuz’ yer a nurse…you’ll know…”) First off – I spent MOST of my ‘nurse days’ in a burn trauma unit – if it doesn’t involve skin, lungs, extreme high caloric intake, or ‘what does pseudomonas smell like’ DON’T ASK ME!!!! I don’t know nuttin’ bout’ birthin’ no babies, pediatrics, broken bones, or hip replacements!!!! (See? I DO get crabby…)
~Nancy trying to cook for holiday meals – she never learned the art of having everything ready at the same time. More than once an entire side dish was never served because it was left uncooked in the refrigerator or left VERY cooked in the oven.
There are more crabby provocations – but let’s just say - it’s time to move on.

Before I really get into my rants or the evening – please note that I did indeed fix the typos in my previous posts. Thank God for sisters willing to point to your flaws (lovingly of course) and say – ‘hey stupid – fix that typo’!!!!

Our mother is in the hospital right now with pneumonia. She seems to be on the mend even without the help of her favorite slippers. There is a story about a pair of slippers I would love to share with you; however, I’m not sure even Erma Bombeck or Walter Cronkite could do this tale justice. I wouldn’t even know where to begin. Maybe I should just wait because I don’t think the Tale of the Straw Slippers has a conclusion yet. I’ll keep notes and write a complete short story once we know the solution to the Mystery of the Disappearing Slippers. Suffice it to say – that when you hear our mother say, “WELL, _______ “ (fill in name of appropriate daughter - ALL UPPER CASE) – you know you’re doomed!

Here is another blip about Facebook. With the help of neice-in-law Tamarah we set up a family (invite only) group to keep everyone up-to-date on the Mother/Charlotte/Memere 2/Memere Old health status. In the process Sissy G and I searched and located cousins and added them as ‘friends’, read the well wishes of invitees, and reconnected with one cousin in particular. I like feeling a little more connected with family – without the awkwardness of family reunions. Way to go Facebook! It was a little challenging explaining Facebook to our 92 year old mother – but I think she likes knowing we have a “group” dedicated to keeping up on her. Wait till she finds out I mentioned the slippers on the Facebook group account. I hear another, Well, NANCY!!!! in my future.

Okay, time for a card update. This card is a “Christmas in August” challenge from Our Creative Corner.
Here are the details:
~Vanilla base card
~BasicGrey design paper – Wassail Collection Pack
~The song I downloaded years ago – I have several Christmas Carols saved as jpgs if you want me to share them – just drop me an email – can’t remember or find the source
~The “tree” is actually not a tree at all – it is a stamp tab that I USED for a tree – it is from Autumn Leaves “Doodle Tabbed” by Tia Bennett

The dove tree topper is a Martha Stewart punch that I punched through a vanilla colored thank you card - including the scroll of the T in Thank You so it the swirl of the gold is part of the dove
You can get up close with the card by clicking on the image.
I have GOBS of college students to face in the morning – so I’m done for the evening. I don’t even think I’ll take time to tend my crops on FarmTown tonight! Thanks for stopping by!

All good wishes,

Nancy

The BEST cardstock EVER

Yay!!! Miss Amy is home! Went to dinner at El Fredo Pizza with Memere Old, Amy, and John. Glad to see there was no apparent economic down-turn there! Man they were busy!!!! Yummy pizza, cold beer, BAD Coke-a-Cola (had a eucaliptus flavor to it) - What's THAT about????

Amy and John, Jenny and her dad all went to a movie. I RARELY go to the movies with them. I'm not a fan of going and they really don't like me to go... OKAY they don't WANT me to go with them. I fidget and I talk....during the movie... I can't seem to help myself. I ask - who is that - is that a good guy or a bad guy, is this a time travel thing, what did they say?

So, since it was movie time for them - it was card time for me. I ordered cardstock from PaperTrey Ink -WOW it is perfect in every way! It is the nicest cardstock EVER! (110#)

Base card is Berry Sorbet

Layer of black

Layer of Rapsberry Fizz Mix - I used two coordinating pieces from the set

The cupcake was colored in with Copics the frosting is puffed up applique liquid and glitter, the flower is popped up with a dimensional after coloring in with Stickles

An assortment of ribbons - as the final touch

If you want to get up close with the card click on the image.

Even I can use an apron

I'm hoping to get better at being a regular blogger. But until school gets started that is doubtful. I did manage to squeeze in one card or two this week. There was a wonderful challenge over at Splitcoaststampers. The challenge was to get inspired by one of the aprons at Heavenly Hostess. It is such a fun site I bookmarked it for future inspiration.

So...any of you have fond, or otherwise, memories of apron clad women? Like memere's (grandma's) bakin' sugar cookies or the church ladies servin' up church fundraiser meals, or the ladies who cooked 'hot lunch' at school (oh no - I feel another Blog subject coming on...Shepard's Pie) or Flo and Alice from Alice's Restaurant???

You'll may read about Shepard's Pie at a later date! It has something to do with attending Catholic grade school, nuns in full habit, and priests who thought it was a sin to waste food. Where did Fr. D GET that big spatula anyway? The scrape table, that brown robe, GIANT wood rosary, knotted cord, sandals (with socks)....OMG it's all coming back to me!!!!! Why didn't I just pack a lunch and buy milk for 3 cents a carton????

Deep breath....back to the cards.

I saw the white apron and immediately thought - wedding. So naturally I made a wedding card. The gloss white is embossed using a Cuttlebug folder. The 'bouquet' is stamped, embossed, then 'fussy cut' (as quilters would call it) and layered to create a bunch of flowers. The ribbon I almost DIDN'T buy at the Dollar Tree. I picked it up then rejected it because it was too wide. Then I picked it up again because it was so pretty and because...yes, let's hear it you Dollar Tree junkies..."it was ONLY A DOLLAR!" I gathered it a bit, added the silver white brads. The sentiment was from a dollar bin at Michael's.

The brown card is stamped with Versamark for a watermark image of the argyle stamp from Stampin Up. The flowers were 'fussy' cut from a scrap book border paper from Oriental which I've have for several years. Hurray - finally had the perfect reason to use it!

You can get up close with the cards by clicking on the image. Thanks for clicking in!

Cupcake for Breakfast

Cupcake for breakfast...reminds me of the Bill Cosby monologue about serving cake to his children for breakfast. What a hysterical schtick! If you've never heard Bill Cosby "Himself"...I highly recommend it. If laughter 'is the best medicine' then this should be administered to everyone - annually.

I am on my way out the door to work (will pray in the car on the way and hope that suffices for church time!!). It is MAJOR CRUNCH time at work and I rather foolishly spent yesterday participating in a Blog Hop rather than go to work! So here I am with my twisted priorities... I spent all day in the bubble rather than my office.

I'll fill you in on the Blog Hop later (mixed review on that endeavor). I have a student government constitution to edit, reformat, and get to the executive committee before this afternoon! (Did I mention I' m a Student Government advisor?) It's a collateral assignment - AKA 'duties as assigned'. I'm not complaining, I enjoy it. PLUS it's a whole other BLOG story! (Bet you can't wait!)

About the card of the day:
Lime green base card
Layer of white cardstock - thinly frames the design paper from DCWV - I added Stickles (glitter glue) to the flower centers
Scallop circle punch with smudging - using pink ink
Cupcake colored with watercolor pencils, frosting tutti fruitti Stickles, flame yellow stickles
Cupcake stamp from Michael's dollar bin - stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black then fussy cut
The happy birthday is a sticker from the Dollar Tree
Assorted ribbons
Easy Peezy Lemon Squeezy!!! Another cupcake card for the series is in the bag! You can get up close with the card by clicking on the image.

I'm off to the Cliff...
Thanks for stopping by!

My First Blog Hop

Welcome to the first ever official Anni-VERVE-sary Blog Hop. Verve turns two today and we’re celebrating with a hop, hop, hop! The party kicked off over on the Verve blog, so if you’ve just happened along, be sure to hop on over there to start from the beginning! And to make this party a real shindig, there’s a mystery jackpot hidden at one of the stops along the hop. One lucky commenter on that blog will win Verve’s entire August release! But of course, it wouldn’t be a mystery if you knew which blog, would it? So if you’re feeling the love, give a little shout out to the bloggers in the hop and you just might have a reason to jump for joy!

Here is my submission to the Verve Stamps Blog Hop.
Verve Stamps: Pointsettia Christmas stamped directly on to BasicGrey's 'Wassail'. I used the solid color side of 'Noel' from the BG pack.
Inks: Ranger and Memento
I used the positive pointsettia to create Verve DP on the inside - by over stamping using different shades of pinks/reds.
Glitter Centers: Elmer's 3D Jumbo Pen
You can get up close with the card by clicking on the image.

Thanks for stopping by! Now it’s time to hop on over to
Tanja's blog - http://lovepapernstamp.blogspot.com/ for a little more Verve-y goodness.

Anni-VERVE-sary challenges

I particpated in a month long Verve Stamps Challenge with a Twist. These are my July submissions.

Tree card - twist was to add fiber...I swirled DMC floss on the Verve Swirly Tree.

Ghandi quote card - twist was to use vellum (one of the doves is vellum)

Picasso quote card - twist was to use distressing

Black and White card - twist was to use scoring - so I scored the tic tac toe board

Blue/floral card - twist was to use Poppin Pastel technique.

You can get up close with the card by clicking on the image.