Thankful to be on a Mission

Herb Rack
~Base Card is PaperTrey ‘Vintage Cream’
~The stamp is unknown brand – purchased in lot form from eBay by sista Gail
~I colored it in with Copics (I was a very naughty girl and spent a few dollars to boost my Copics inventory) They are so amazing!
~Herb stamped on vanilla cardstock then smudged with Ranger ‘Old Paper’ ink then layered on to cranberry cardstock, then metallic green cardstock, then a layer of a ‘rescued’ file folder.
~The teal-blue is from daisy d’s Halloween Collection.
~The way-cool ribbon (American Crafts) was a surprise gifty from sissy Gail

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

A Little More Thankful

Wreath
~Base card – Stampin Up
~Layer of orange cardstock
~Layer of Bo-Bunny Press ‘Shabby Princess’
~I was wishing for a fall wreath stamp – don’t have one – so created one – one stamp at a time. I made the ‘wreath’ by drawing a circle then stamping in a circle with various leaf stamps. Then I stamped using a ‘berry’ stamp from the Stampin Up Peaceful Wishes set. I applied Stickles gold glitter to the berries.
~The ribbon was a from a sale bin at Archivers

Thanks Tag

~I used a pre-made cardstock tag and then colored it in with 'ToC' acrylic paints from sista Gail

~Thanks stamp is by Stampabilities

~Assorted ribbon

~Purple layer is from dasiy d's Halloween collection

Simple - but I like it!

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

More cards will be posted today as I complete them.

B4 & After ...Thankful Series Day

It's Saturday! Jammies, cards, and my favorite coffee! I'm on a mission! I want to complete the Thankful Series because I am driving to Omaha on Wednesday.

I'm going to just post cards and will bore you with random thoughts that spill onto the keyboard later this evening.

This is a before and after posting. I thought this card was finished - I photod it - then I uploaded it. When I saw it on the blog I thought it looked oh so blah... So I tweaked it a little. I added a button to the center of the larger flower; glitter centers to the smaller flowers; and Stickles 'diamond' to the embossed tear-drops on the outside of the oval.

~Base Card – oval cut-out (die-cut pre-made)
~I smudged up the edges with bronze acrylic paint
~In the center of the die-cut area I placed design paper from Bo Bunny 'Shabby Princess' collection
~Around the edges of the oval – Prima leaves and a few tiny buttons

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

Watch for more postings today as I work on Thankful Cards for friend Mary Lee.

Green Gables & Dogs

Another short note. I shouldn’t start out with that comment as I have no idea what I am going to write about. But, I will try to keep this brief. Can’t have the editor slicing and dicing my blog or setting a word limit on me!

Had lunch today with a friend from high school. He was here from Chicago, visiting his mother – pulling weeds, painting the porch (in other words – working like a DOG). I don’t know about you but MOST dogs I know – don’t really work. They play, they eat, they potty, and they sleep. Why do dogs get all the credit for working? My daddy had dogs – now THEY worked – they were huntin’ dogs. But for the most part – dogs – and work???? I’m not seein’ it.

Anyway, when Jim called me at work to see if I could get away and go to lunch the only ‘rule’ was the restaurant couldn’t be a chain restaurant. AND he promised me he would leave the ‘bubble’. Now don’t be confused he doesn’t have a fiber bubble (therapy room). This reference to a bubble is entirely different than MY bubble. Jim was raised in Morningside (otherwise, generally, known as God’s Country). MOST people never leave Morningside and those who don’t – won’t even drive across the viaduct to shop or eat in Sioux City.

Morningside is an area of Sioux City. I guess they didn’t like the name East Side so they went with an uppity version of East Side…Morningside. Through high school I thought Morningside was a different city than Sioux City. I thought their mail was addressed: Morningside, IA. I actually remember the day I found out their mail came addressed Sioux City. If I hadn’t become friends with two kids in Morningside – who knows I might still, to this day, think Morningside was a city.

Back to lunch – we ate at Green Gables. Not a normal haunt for a Morningsider – but he did manage to find the place nonetheless. Green Gables is a Sioux City landmark – being in business since the 1920’s. Jim had a hot beef sandwich and gobbled it up before I had the salad dressing on my Custer Special! We had a great visit and evidently Jim had a great meal. The trademarks of the restaurant are matzo ball soup, hot fudge sundaes, slow service, and waitresses that worked there when my sisters were in high school. Weekday afternoons there are usually a couple of tables, in the back, filled with white haired Jewish ladies playing mahjongg.

Jim was on a mission to find Templeton Rye Whiskey. (Evidently very top shelf stuff) It is only sold in Iowa and Illinois. The distillery is in Templeton, IA and has been around since before prohibition. He told me he discovered it during a “brown liqueur taste testing party”. (don't ask) I would bet anything he will be driving through Templeton on his way back to Chi-Town!

I’m still working on the Mary Lee Fall Series – here is another one.
Mulberry Trees
~Base card – vanilla PaperTrey
~Layers of Orange then Brown card stocks then a layer of design paper
~The tree trunks are a tree stamp from the dollar bin at Michael’s. I stamped the trees, using brown ink, three times, then covered the leaves area with assorted mulberry papers. After the mulberry paper was dry and attached, I stamped over the top with the tree stamp using Versamark for a shadow of leaves.
~I stamped a ‘horizon’ under the tree trunks and tore the base card stock. This is attached to the card with dimensional – raising it up off the card – slightly.
~Assorted ribbon added last.
You can get up close with the card by clicking on the image.
All good wishes,
Nancy

Renaissance Gratitude

I was' told by my 'editor-in-chief that my previous post was a little lengthy. So tonight - just a quick post! (Geez - maybe if I paid her by the word she would APPRECIATE my verbosity...)

Made two thank you cards to send to BCU's new friends with the Siouxland Renaissance Association. They volunteered their time and talents to our Homecoming Renaissance Festival on campus. One is for the Renaissance group, the other is for Mirage a Trois the belly dancing troupe that also volunteered time, talent, and flames to our campus event. I don't think I mentioned the belly dancers in my Homecoming re-cap below. But since I am attempting brevity I will save that description for another day.

I tried for a Renaissance feel to the cards.

~Both cards: Once Upon A Time by DCWV & tulle

~Small card center medallion is a genuine article from ToC (it was a button cover - remember when they were popular? - I pried the medallion off of the button clip - thank you sissy G)

~Scalloped squares made with my Cuttlebug

~Large card crown is DCWV chipboard

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

All good wishes,

Nancy

Football, Fanfare, & Fall

It’s finally over! Homecoming 2009 is now just a fond college memory. My last year as homecoming advisor – hurray!!!

The planning started last spring – getting together a student committee and keeping them focused over the summer. We had to start last spring because homecoming was SO early this year. This was the school’s second autumn homecoming. Until last year homecomings were held in January (yes, in Iowa). "Why?", you might ask. Because until six years ago the school did not have a football team so the beckoning to alumni was during basketball season in the dead of winter.

First I have to vent. The first full week of classes is WAY too early for homecoming! Freshman have barely found their way to all their classes and returning students aren’t in an academic rhythm yet and are still morning the loss of summer and sleeping in. There was no school newspaper being published this early; we have a new no-posters ruling in response to global warming (SERIOUSLY???? a campus with no posters?????????? BRILLIANT!!!); and a student intranet that students HATE. So between homework-stunned students and no dynamic way to market the events …. I’m surprised we had any attendance at all.

My co-advisor and I spent every lunch time sitting near the cafeteria selling homecoming t-shirts and encouraging kids to vote for royalty…(yes, I’m behind on my ‘real’ work!!!!)

Without listing all the details of the week – here are a few of the highlights.
Sunday – decorated the commons – theme this year was Renaissance – “Chargers of the Cliff (the school sits on a hill – the athletic teams are ‘chargers’) Kickin’ It Old School”. We borrowed madrigal decorations from the music department. (This could be an entire blog on its own – working with one of the music department nuns… WOW… I SOOOOO need to find a confessional about now.)

Sunday evening – movie night – Robin Hood Men in Tights – shown in the commons.

Monday through Friday during the day – we have “Fan of the Day” with designated ‘dress as’ themes. Judges pick the best ‘dresser’ and that student is designated as “Fan of the Day”. Each ‘Fan of the Day’ wins an inflatable crown, a LOVELY certificate, and a $20 gift card to Wal-Mart. Monday was ‘Dress as Your Favorite Faculty’. Tuesday – Dress Renaissance; Wednesday- Dress opposite gender; Thursday- Dress as Your Undergraduate Major; Friday – Dress Blue & Gold (school colors).

Monday evening was Lord and Lady BCU (traditionally Mr. & Mrs. BCU) a lighthearted talent competition. Laughed til I cried at this one.

Tuesday evening we hosted a Renaissance festival. A twenty member Renaissance troupe from Sioux Falls was on hand to add to the mood – including ‘knighting ‘the men on the court and instructing the ladies of the court on proper curtseying. Large attendance at this one – people had a hoot!

Wednesday evening – Faces of BCU – calendar competition. This was sponsored by the Student Government Association – which I am also an advisor to.

Thursday evening – Search for the Holy BCU Grail (okay – it was a light up plastic pilsner glass decorated with genuine gems from the Dollar Tree). This scavenger type event was complete with inflatable bam-bam sticks (homage to the coconuts of Monty Python and the Holy Grail).

Friday evening was coronation. It included a darling skit – Chargers in Tights. If you have never seen the movie Robin Hood Men in Tights – you must at least watch this. The students were hysterically funny and amazingly good at a chorus line! A senior slide show followed. I put the show together using each of the senior’s freshman ID photos – then candid shots through the years. One of the junior students put music to it. The students loved it. The end of the evening was the actual coronation of king and queen. Last year’s king and queen were on hand to do the actual crowning. The slate of royalty was wonderful this year: all genuinely nice kids, all dean’s list students. The M.C.’s were male students dressed in homecoming t-shirt’s and child-size ‘armor’ from the Dollar Tree….they were VERY funny.

Saturday – the football game – announcing the homecoming royalty during half-time. No stress there - right? WRONG! The King and Queen were in Madison, SD at a cross country meet!!! I called the coach on Friday as soon as I realized he was going to have our extra special cargo in a van at a meet that started at 10 for the women and noon for the men…he promised to do his best to get them to the football field by half-time. I got mile by mile updates via text during their rapid transit home. Before the whistle ending 2nd quarter – I told the dance and cheer squads the line-up for half-time activities was officially changing to have the royalty be last on deck. After a dicey ‘conversation’ with the dance advisor and using the ‘my advisor role trumps your dance squad advisor role’ card…I am happy to say no one ended up in the pillory. The king and queen LITERALLY jumped out of the school van and had to RUN to the staging area - just in the nick of time! As the king and queen were RUNNING to the staging area - a junior (male) student stripped out of his black homecoming t-shirt and tossed it to the king who had left his homecoming t-shirt in the school van....The royalty made their entrance, wearing their black Chargers of the Cliff homecoming t-shirts and jeans, using this as their inspiration. The crowd LOVED it.

Saturday evening – the dance. Loud music, largest attendance BCU has ever had for a homecoming dance. Had SEVERAL students stop and say thanks or ‘best homecoming ever’. As tired as I am – it was all worth the worries, hassles, loss of sleep, frustrations, and last minute adjustments.

Sometime in this non-stop action packed week I found time for a card! Here is another 'thankful' card for the Mary Lee series.
~Base card is vanilla PaperTrey (did I mention - this cardstock is THE BEST?)
~Layer of design paper
~A couple layers of mulberry paper
~Stamps are from Stampin Up!
You can get up close with the card by clicking on the image.

Now that homecoming is over I hope to get more bubble and blog time in.
Thanks for stopping by!
All good wishes,
Nancy

Tea Time - Making and Remembering College Memories

College homecoming is next week. How did I get to be co-advisor anyway? My office is FILLED with stuff that I can’t wait to be rid of …homecoming t-shirts, props, tickets, prizes, 3 laptops, decorations, and 12 swimming pool noodles… I practically have to climb over my desk to get to my computer. Swimming pool noodles you may ask… I’ll explain next week.

Ten candidates nominated by their peers today for Homecoming Court. I had the privilege of telling several of them – it made my day hearing/watching their reactions. Wonderful kids nominated – all of them – no ‘plastic people’, no phonies, no snooties – all good decent kids. Glad I don’t have to vote on just one of them next week!

Yesterday was Miss Amy’s birthday. She is on her way to Chicago for a U2 concert. She stopped in Iowa City on her way. I got a text message from her, it said, “so many memories”. Ahhhh…college days…. If I thought she wouldn’t get mad at me I’d tell you about a freshman experience of hers and her pals on ‘the drunk bus’. Trust me, it is chuckle-worthy!

Miss Bailey is spending the night with us this evening. She came up to Briar Cliff this afternoon after school. Once there she got invited by several of the college kids to go work on homecoming decorations. She of course went running off with them – completely delighted. They came back to my office saying they were going to the cafeteria for supper and were taking Bailey with them. She went with them – completely delighted. After dinner they went back to the lounge to continue creating decorations. Finally talked her into going home around 8! (and I thought she was coming over to see me…..)

Info on the card:I was in the mood for an old-fashion look. I had the image colored in and varnished from an earlier day in the bubble. I woke up early and assembled the card this morning before Miss Bailey awakens.
~Base card is vanilla

~The base design paper reminds me of old-time wallpaper

~Layer of cardstock and then layer of another design paper

~The image is Stampabilties ‘Tea Time’. I colored using Copics and watercolor pencils~I painted over the entire image area with a water-base varnish then adhered this to a slightly larger piece of black cardstock to ‘frame’ the image

~The ‘clump’ of buttons is from my vast button collection – I tried to use vintage-feel buttons in complementary colors – assorted ribbons (because I can’t seem to make a card without ribbons

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

All good wishes,

Nancy

MTV witch

This will be a quick post. I have to admit for once I’m not looking forward to going to work. Being gone from a one-person-department is nasty. When I left last evening I still had 600+ emails staring at me in my inbox.

Last night I ‘volunteered’ (?) to drive a 16 passenger van full of freshman to the president’s (of the college) home. Over the course of several weeks she hosts a catered dinner at her home. By the end of the month EVERY freshman will have had dinner at her home. They all seem to enjoy it – at least the ones I ferry across town. There is always lively discussion in the van to and from the event. Last night one of the students asked me if her house was ‘cool’ enough to be on MTV Cribs. I did not admit to the fact that not only have I never seen the show, I don’t even have cable television. Luckily I’m cool enough to know what they meant by ‘crib’, am vaguely aware of the type of programming MTV has to offer, and could make the leap that if the program is on MTV – it probably has to do with celebrities. They launched into a discussion about cribs they had seen on the show – so that got me off the dialogue hook and into the active listening mode – thank God.

I had a different group of students in the van for the return trip so I didn’t get to ask how the president’s ‘crib’ would fair on MTV. I’m sure her husband’s den AKA ‘the baseball museum’ would get high marks.

Another late night on campus this evening - 8 PM Homecoming Committee meeting... (8 PM???? ahhhh the life of a student...)

On to the card…

Base card: Stampin-Up Black cardstock
~Layer of orange cardstock
~Layer of DaisyD’s Design Paper
~Brads
~Teeny little brown paper sack – stamped with cob webs (dollar bin – Michael’s)
~Circle punch with SU witch – colored in with watercolor pencils – edge smudged with SU ink – crackle added over the top
~The inserted tag slides out, has assorted ribbons and is edged with Stampabllities orange ink, and is stamped with the sentiment

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

All good wishes,

Nancy

Thankful for Stars & Stripes

Popped in to check on the Our Creative Corner weekly challenge. The challenge is to create a card using stars and stripes. Since I’m still in a “Thankful Series” mode for friend Mary Lee I decided to not go with the first thing that comes to mind with ‘stars and stripes’ – USA patriotic. I went with striped background paper, a thank you stamp that happens to include a star, and a few punch stars.

This is the result:
~Base card – white PaperTrey cardstock
~Stripe design paper is from DaisyD
~Sentiment was stamped with Stazon Teal Blue on white mulberry paper
~The sentiment "Thanks a Million" by stampcraft (purchased at Wal-Mart)
~I cut the mulberry into a rough circle shape and did the mulberry paper thing - soaked the edges, waited a couple seconds and then frayed the circular edge
~The mulberry circle was then attached to layer of teal cardstock on a layer of dark brown cardstock. I roughed up the edges of the two layers of cardstock. Then – tried something different…I smeared the Versamark pad over the top of the three layers and added Tsukinek Turquoise embossing powder and heat embossed the entire sentiment rectangle. The mulberry paper looks rather filmy and shiny.
~Three Fiskar punched stars with edges colored with Copic markers.
You can get up close with the card by clicking on image.
All good wishes,
Nancy

Daughter, Dives, and Dozens of Cards

Labor Day Weekend Review: Well okay maybe not DOZENS of cards but I did spend some quality time in the bubble. Let's hear it for Fiber Therapy!

Miss Amy was here! We had a great time. We watched a couple old DVD movies. Friday night it was Sneakers (1992) starring Robert Redford, Sidney Poitier, Dan Aykroyd, Mary McDonnell, and Ben Kinglsey. Nice evening - good flick, popcorn, mama and Amy time. Both of us attached to our laptops.

Saturday evening another movie – The Ice Pirates (1984). A cult classic no doubt – but not a do-over in my book. Even starring Robert Urich I can’t believe I sat through the WHOLE thing. Amy and I did have several giggling episodes regarding the campy-low-budget cinematography. What a HORRIBLE, goofy, insipid movie. But I got to watch it with ‘my girl’. A simple quiet night. Pizza from the Town House, mint chip ice cream for dessert! Both, again, attached to laptops: Amy checking US Open Tennis Scores, me checking in on facebook, work, and blog hopping.

Sunday morning. We took Memere Old to breakfast at Harvey’s Restaurant in Riverside. Harvey’s is a total dive. Good home cookin’. but wouldn’t make the radar of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives… Nothing fancy except the individually wrapped tooth picks at the checkout.

Mother seemed to enjoy getting out of the house for a few hours. Here are a few of the cards I managed to create this weekend. I vote for mandatory 3 day weekends!!! Let’s hear it!!!

Card details:
Vertical Sunflower Card~Base Card - gold Stampin Up cardstock
~Layer of olive green cardstock which frames the design paper
~The sunflower image is stamped on PaperTrey White. Image colored with watercolor pencils. Dots added to center to make the appearance of seeds Also dotted a little SU Crystal Effects. Once the image was colored in I lightly passed the 'old paper' ink pad over the top for a smudging effect. The sunflower images i layered on two colors of cardstock and attached with dimensionals.
~The sentiment 'thank you' is from Hero Arts.

Horizontal Card
~Base card is SU Cardstock
~Striped design paper on layer of orange cardstock
~Several off-set layers of design paper layered on coordinating cardstocks
~The sunflower is heavy felt - it was on a stem - I yanked out the wire stem and there you have it - a card embellishment! The flower was from a package of stemmed flowers - bought off season - deeply discounted - 80% off at Hobby Lobby
~Three tiny buttons along the lower edge complete the card

You can get up close with the cards by clicking on the images.
All good wishes,
Nancy

Movies, Titles and more on ToC

The good news is I'm heart healthy the bad news is 'now what'? Is it just a coincidence that I started experiencing chest pain about the same time I was denied my bubble time? hmmm... Is there a test for that? Does that make me a 'little bubble off plumb'?
Because, in my heart of healthy-heart, I believe there is at least some correlation so, I'm thinking I should re-name my blog from Fiber Bubble to Pulp Therapy. I can't really say the new prospective title is in reference to the movie Pulp Fiction as I've never seen the movie or read the book. I think I did mention in a previous post my 'thing' with attending movies... I'll check and if I didn't you will find out WHY my family REFUSES to watch movies with me.

Contemplating changing Fiber Bubble to Pulp Therapy has to do with my belief that while I joke about my card creating is my 'therapy' there may be more to it than I ever gave it credit.

As the title of this post promises - MORE on ToC. (Transfer of Crap) Daughter Amy came up with that term. She also determined this ToC is a genetic trait shared by some members of our family. While I believe in her unscientific pronouncement that this gene would somewhere be located in the official Genome Mapping Project – I now believe this characteristic is also viral. A gene/trait that can be spread??? That will put the scientific world in a sequencing spin!

ToC even has its very own special basket. The basket rarely sits empty. Sista Gail maintains the “Sioux City Basket” as it contains the ‘crap’ to be ‘transferred’ at every possible Omaha/Sioux City or Sioux City/Omaha rendezvous. It is a huge responsibility but she shoulders it with grace and tenacity. The ToC has recently accepted a new member into the Circle of Crap. Friend Mary Lee is now included in this exclusive Transfer of Crap ‘club’.

I hope Mary Lee reads the fine print on the ToC contract:
~All items submitted for transfer must never be scrutinized by the receiver while in the presence of the giver
~All items are given with the knowledge that some piece or part of a piece of crap may be returned to the giver in the form of a card embellishment
~Once items are given to the ToC recipient - the recipient has rights to do with the items (crap) as the recipient sees fit (use, store, pass along to some other unwitting sap)
There are other lines of legalese in the contract but the fine print is so fine you need to log in time with the Hubble Telescope to decipher it.

Official ‘members’ of the ToC: Sister Gail, Friends Nila and Mary Lee. I’m a member but always seem to be only on the receiving end… What’s up with that????

I’m also a member of another exclusive ‘club’. The 3/5’s Club…that is a topic for another blog.

Now it’s time for the card details.
These are a continuation in the Fall – Feeling Thankful series for Mary Lee’s work peeps.
Horizontal card:
~Base card is Stampin Up Eggplant cardstock
~Oak and maple leaves stamped with Versamark then embossed with copper
~Center leaves embossed with thick copper embossing powder
~Outer frame is most likely an item from the infamous transfer of crap: it was a card window frame for cross-stitch (like THAT would ever happen!) I used acrylic paints, purple, metallic copper, and olive, and sienna. I then smudged it onto the frame using a small sponge. (Yes, the paints are from Sista Gail transferrin o' the crap.)
~Random ribbons complete the card...
Vertical card:
~Base card is Stampin Up cocoa colored cardstock (don't remember the name)
~Coordinated design paper by Bo-Bunny
~Stamp is from the 'Around the Block' set by Stampin Up
~The edges of the stamped square - I 'roughed up', then tapped the edges with Versamark, then embossed with copper. I have never done this before - I think I like it - it is difficult to see the result in the photo. This is then layered on an orange layer of cardstock.
~The ovaloid rectangle was punched with a Stampin Up punch
~Three brads complete the card...
You can get up close with the cards by clicking on the images.
All good wishes,
Nancy

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.