Wee Wellies!

Blogger let me down. I had this entire post ready to publish and it froze up! And it didn't save even though the SAVE button indicated "saving"! Grrrrr!!!! Who knows if I can be as pithy with this second go round of ramblings as I was in the first attempt! Trust me it was some FUNNY STUFF!!!

No not really - it was just my usual yadayadayada...

I love zinnias! I would love to take the time to start seeds in the house for transplant - but my house is not conducive to doubling as a plant nursery and I was not gifted with a green thumb! So I anxiously await the season of Farmers Market and the arrival of cheerful bouquets of colorful zinnias.

Last Saturday, one of the vendors was selling starter zinnias! I could not resist and bought one of each color and brought them home and 'planted' them in a container. She told me to 'whack off' of the flowers but I just couldn't toss these shorties! I found the perfect vase and POOF! My first bouquet (if 3 flowers count as a bouquet...) of spring!

Not only a touch of color and spring but a revisiting of memories. I bought this wee shamrock etched crystal 'wellie' in Ireland. A joyous trip that included my sistas, aunts, mother, and cousin! Oh the fun we had! Oh the memories we made! I have strolled down my Irish memory lane with fondness since putting this 3 inch vase to work on Sunday. Such a small token for such grand memories!

I know you are dazzled by my flower arranging skills! Admit it!!!! I promise to post a REAL zinnia bouquet as soon as they become available at the Farmers Market!

 

 

It's a bit too early for flowers but that doesn't keep me from loving the vegies! So FRESH!

 

 

THIS is the REAL deal...This is what I am waiting for!

And a card...also diminutive. If you are a regular to my blog you may know that I am on a mission to try to put a dent in the 400 coin envelopes that someone 'gifted' me. Not to mention the stack of remnant strips from making square cards.

Tiny Tag
~Base card - PaperTrey Ink - Kraft
~Layer of vanilla card stock
~Layers of card stock for Tim Holtz Tattered Poinsettia
~Two brads
~Punched tag with sentiment stamped using Just Rite stamp
~Hero Arts Dots embossing folder
~Perfect Pearls Blue Raspberry mist
Challenge | Inspiration
Just Us Girls - photo week
Shopping Our Stash - mist (I tried and failed to get the photo to show the shimmer on the flower petals!)
Kraft Journal - CAS embossed
Crafting from the Heart - anything

Here's to bigger bouquets, wee vessels of giant sized memories, and enjoying fresh veggies!

Nancy in Iowa

Waffle Cones and Bob Dogs

I occasionally blog about 'life in a small Midwestern town'! This post is no exception. We recently drove to the Ice Cream Capital of the World. Seriously!!! There IS an Ice Cream Capital of the World and it is HERE in the Heartland and the best part? I live a mere 25 minutes from it!

Our favorite 'drive-in diner' is Bob's! Home of all natural casing dogs (or as grand-daughter Bailey calls them - "Crunchy Hot Dogs") it is a family favorite! With a short drive to LeMars we can have dinner and dessert - both within just a few city blocks of each other! I'm getting hungry just thinking about Bob's!

The actual "small town living" story has to do with the railroad crossing that bisects the city. While in LeMars...we had to wait for a train. This is how you deal with a LONG train...you just get out of your car and go talk with a neighbor...

Life in the slow lane...it suits me just fine!

 

 And now it is card time! Still trying to use up my square card remnants! Here is another "coin card" (also trying to use up the mountainous amount of 'coin envelopes' I have).

 

 

Coffee with Friends
~Base card PaperTrey Ink Kraft
~Core'dinations Core Impressions: Graphic 45 Timeless Collection - sanded and gold embossing powder applied to edges
~Silver and gold glitter washi tape strips
~Stacked cups stamped with Versamark, embossed with gold embossing powder; colored with Copics
~Friends sentiment die cut

Challenges | Inspirations
Fusion Card - photo inspiration
Little Red Wagon - die cut
Shopping Our Stash - silver and gold
Retro Sketch - sketch #165

Here's to small town food options, making friends at railroad crossings, and a cup of java with friends!

Nancy in Iowa

Simply Tied Up

Well! I survived the graduation party! I think everyone had a good time. The weather was lovely. All I provided was the location. Amazing how 'easy' it was with that being my only task! The food was delivered! The wine coolers were premade! The meat and cheese was precut. All I provided was platters, bowls, tables, and chairs! Briar made these cute nom-noms! Edible mortar boards!

 

It was fun to meet her Colorado family. I had the honor to chat with her Korean War veteran grandpa! He was a member of the most recent Honor Flight so I got to hear all about that!

Briar's grandmother and both her aunts - all were sportin' her Bri's tie dye dresses! As a thank you she made me a tie-dye apron - she made one for my dear hubby too! FUN! Plus I love aprons. Which is odd...my cooking skills are limited and sporadic at best. I guess aprons make me feel more legitimate in the kitchen!

My sister told me I needed to include photos of the aprons...here they are. Ignore the plastic Wendy's spoons! I put them in the photo so you could see there are pockets! (Four pockets - only 2 spoons...I was too lazy to go back upstairs to get a real kitchen utensil for each pocket.)

My apron!

 

John's apron.

 

So...I have this stack of stub cardstock strips from making square cards... Every time I glance up and see the never diminishing stack...not to mention the mountain of coin envelopes I remind myself to use a strip now and then! Today was the day for a "coin card"... Pretty simple layout and card. I let the design cardstock do the work...Sometimes simple is good...right?

Simply Happy
~Base card teal cardstock
~Layer of DCWV Mango Frost glitter cardstock
~Happy birthday sentiment die
Inspirations|Challenges
Just Us Girls - color week

Here's to aprons, weird shaped envelopes, and chatting with a military veteran!

Nancy in Iowa

Work-Life Tie Dyes

I can't believe it has been nearly a month since I last blogged! It's not like I haven't had anything to say! It's not that I don't look longingly at my card making area as I make my way to the treadmill. I need to figure out a way to work on cards while steppin' it up on my treadmill!

I have to admit the new job is still kickin' my arse. I haven't gotten into a rhythm that includes Bubble Time yet! I will though! I keep hearing at my place of employment: "work-life balance". I need to embrace it for myself! Work-Life-Card-Blog balance!

This card is for a special graduate. Let me tell you about Briar! She was a student at my former employer. Four years ago she selected her college based on a Google search of colleges that included her name. Her first stop was Briar Cliff University. She loved it immediately and her mother, during freshmen orientation, indicated, as a Colorado resident was happy the campus visit started and ended in Iowa as the next stop would have been Briarcliffe College in New York!

Well, Briar and I, and her mother got close over the years. Briar is graduating on Saturday with her bachelor's degree. I'm providing a location for her graduation party. I'm looking forward to meeting the rest of her Colorado family! Her card had to be colorful because she is a colorful kid! She helped pay her way through college by making custom and assorted tie dye garments! Here is her Etsy site and here is her business Facebook page. So....colorful it is!

The outside sentiment is a little cryptic...The inside says "to celebrate". She is graduating with her degree in Radiology Technology. In case you are a little rusty on your anatomy information....there are 203 bones in the body. Hence...203 reasons to celebrate!

I struggled with figuring out what to do with her card...this was the best I could come up with. Corny right?! She'll get it - I guess that is what is important.

May 11 Update:  I just walked back into my Bubble... I looked at the card sitting on my photo area and was stunned! 203? 203? Oh Emm GEEE!!! There are 206 bones! I will be making the appropriate change to the card below! How embarrassing! I'm a nurse! But in my defense...NOT an ortho nurse. Burn nurses don't so much care about bone quantities...?? YIKES! Not as embarrassing if I had actually given her the card! I wonder which 3 bones I left out?

 

 

Plenty of Reasons

~Base card - PaperTrey Ink

~Layers of DCWV Glitter Stack

~Three flower buttons

~Metallic floss

~Strip of Recollections Glitter on a Roll

~Sentiment laser printed on white card stock

~Spellbinders ribbon banner die cut

Challenges | Inspirations

Retro Sketches - sketch

Just Us Girls - embossing (sentiment banner)

Come and Get It - flowers

613 Avenue Create - celebrate

 

Here is to finding my work-life-card-blog balance, working on better sentiments for my next card, and figuring out a way to make "treadmill cards"!

 

Happy Mother's Day everyone!

 

May 11, 2015

 

Briar's card....version 2.06!!!!

 

 

 

Seriously embarrassed - but happy I caught it before I handed it to my dear Briar! Same sketch - different scraps of the same glitter cardstock collection.

 

Here's to remedial anatomy lessons, noticing my 'boneheaded' mistake, and revisions!

 

Nancy in Iowa

 

 

 

 

 

 



Twine, Whine, and Wine

Current Score
New Job: 10          Me: 0

Awckkkk! Being new at a job sucks more than a brand new Dyson vacuum cleaner!

I am so busy I don't even have time to climb upon the pity pot and whine about how busy I am!!! I am however sitting here DRINKING WINE!

So - let's get to the card....which I managed to have time for while I was doing the laundry. I have NEVER looked forward to Sunday afternoon laundry - until I started this job! It is the only time I can carve out for card making.

Found a few minutes for this post...and a glass of vino! That is progress...

Awhile back I posted about the insane amount of 'coin envelopes' I have so here in another "Coin Card".

I love all the Power Poppy stamps! This one was a gift from sista Gailey! I stamped the image on kraft card stock and 'fussy cut' it. Cutting around the string was NO fun at all. (Hmmm...wondering if I NEED a Scan N Cut?)

Posies by the Bunches
~Remnant card stock PTI
~Layer of The Paper Studio Oops-A-Daisy
~Twine
~Spellbinders oval die/Cuttlebug
~Power Poppy Sunny Harvest stamp, colored with Copics
~Kraft card stock paper piecing
Challenges | Inspirations
Just Us Girls - Word Week: spring (FLOWERS - I can NOT wait for Farmer's Market to begin!)
Bunny Zoe's - spring colors
Card Mania - flowers

Here's to lovin' the laundry, dreaming of a ScanNCut, and wondering about my time management skills!

Nancy in Iowa

Time Shifter

New job or not...I have GOT to figure out how to schedule BUBBLE TIME! Jeepers Creepers! There just aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done - including making a card! But somehow...today...during the Sunday laundry ritual I actually managed to focus long enough to be able to say, "tadah"!

Since it was laundry time I thought it was only fitting that I use the bleach technique. I've used this technique before and really enjoy it! And since Spring is nearly 'springing' I went with flowers. Yes - it was frigidly cold last week (and Friday we had snow flurries) - but hope and buds spring eternal!

Laundry Card
~Base card - PaperTrey Ink Lemon Tart
~Green card stock stamped using Hero Arts Large Blossom with Versamark and white embossing powder - flower petals colored using Copics
~Die cut sentiment
Challenges | Inspirations
Just Us Girls - photo inspiration
AAA - Easter colors
Blessings Ink - anything goes
Crazy 4 Challenges - think Spring
Polkadoodles - die
Creative Knockouts - Spring is in the air

Here's to creating a time budget, sticking to my time budget, and always being open to transferring time from the 'cleaning and organizing' column to the Bubble column! How is that for creative bookkeeping!?

Thanks for popping by,

Nancy in Iowa

Hello Again Bubble! Hello Men...

Monday will be week three at my new job. This is the first time I've had time in my Bubble. I'm going to have to get a rhythm to this new job - one that includes card making time in the Bubble!

New kid on the block learning curves are rough I tell you! I'm not complaining! I think this job will be an awesome fit for me and me for them!

Excited to have time in the Bubble I immediately clicked into Just Us Girls to see what they were up to this week. So excited! Bubble time! Then...the dreaded challenge... "masculine". UGGGGHHHH! I usually fail at manly cards but that is what challenges are all about. Right?! Working outside the comfort zone.

(At least the word of the week wasn't....wait for it.... WEDDING!!!)

So here we go....

 

Detail of popped up ink pen.

 

Inky Hello
~Base card black card stock
~Layer of wood grain by Paper Studio -  The Garment District
~Four page flags (Target dollar aisle)
~Vanilla card stock stamped with ink bottle and pen image by Stampabilities using Versafine; pen popped up with dimensions, framed with black card stock
~Black card stock die cut 'hello'
~Twine
~Button
Challenges | Inspirations
Just of Girls - word week - masculine
Jo's Scrap Shack - sketch
Challenge Up Your Life - masculine....What is up with all Homage to Manhood this week!? Geez!

Thanks for clicking by,

Here's to starting a new job, a return to the Bubble, oh...and....men evidently!

Nancy in Iowa

Clothes Dusting - Who Knew?

I start a new job tomorrow. Mostly I'm excited but I must admit to being a little bit nervous too. I haven't started a new job for nearly 9 years! It won't be all new as I am returning to my very first employer!  I guess it's full circle time.

At least I won't have to worry about where to park, the location of the restrooms, or the cafeteria!

To prepare for this new adventure I did some culling and cleaning of blazers and blouses. My previous job was at a university so much of my attire was collegiate gear with nearly every article of my clothing bearing the school logo. Those items were packed away and sent to a local charity. Bye-bye casual wear in school colors. Hello business professional.

A check of the blazers/jackets situation revealed a decent quantity - all of which had a layer of dust on the shoulders and collars. Seriously!!!??? What good are closet doors!? Why do I have dust in my closets! How embarrassing!

I don't mind dusting furniture as I like any immediate gratification house cleaning project! But dusting clothing! Not so much! In fact - not at all! Sooo....off to the laundry room to 'air-fluff' these long neglected garments. I also had to hand dust the exposed part of each hanger...NOT FUN! Dusting hangers? What?!?

But now it is done and like a school kid anxious for their first day I have my 'outfit' laid out including shoes, socks, and accessories!

Now...on to the card!

 

Just Thank You

~Base card PTI Enchanted Evening
~Layer of PTI Sweet Blush stock die cut with Spellbinders scallop square; sentiment die cut
~Navy card stock circle punched
~Pink polka dot button with navy blue embroidery floss
~Two 'page flags' from the dollar aisle at Target - aren't they fun!?

Challenges | Inspirations
Just Us Girls - color week

Retro Sketches - sketch

Crafts 4 Eternity - circles (navy punch and button)

 

Thanks for clicking by!

 

Here's to dusting my clothes, new job jitters, and dressing like a grown up!

 

Nancy in Iowa

Indicision & Jars Filled with Memories

I love playing and working with paper. But I must admit... I HATE scrapbooking! I can admire scrapbooking that others do! I love all the journaling and embellishments! I just flat-out can't do it!

I find with scrapbooking that I am unable to make a decision! Put this here? How about there? Add this charm? Add that trim? I add. I subtract. I move this. I reposition that. I am more indecisive than a chameleon walking past a rainbow striped wall!

What is it with me and scrapbooking!? I did manage to make scrap books (okay scrap booklets) for my sisters. The books are filled with memories of our one of 'sisters club holiday' in Shellman Bluff. The good thing about our holidaying in Shellman Bluff is that life moves so slow - that the same memory book remains in effect year after year after year! I have to admit...they are very cute!

I also made them an 'old fashioned' photo album. This one commemorating a sisters trip to Okoboji. No embellishments....just photos and a few running comments. AGAIN...making three identical books....NOT FUN! But knowing they enjoy them...THAT is fun!

Instead of a scrapbook I got the idea to assemble scrapbook items and throw them into a jar! The lazy-man's scrapbook method! Maybe lazy - but SMART! We can add to the jars and update the key in a flash! 

But not a plain jar! I did 'fancy it up!

This is the tag...on the back is a pocket that houses the 'key' to the jar items. (Just in case the sissies didn't understand my thought process...that is an entire blog to itself!)

Gail's Memory Jar

Memory jar contents including wee bedroom slippers (stolen from my years of Barbie doll playing - made by my mother); punched leaves (the awesome beauty of fall at The Lakes (Okoboji); a seam ripper (we quilt - therefore we rip!); a bit of netting (shrimp fishing); coffee beans (we drink ALOT of coffee and it is a reminder of a FABULOUS shop in Esterville, IA 'Cool Beans').... 

MORE! A Florida license plate with punches half punched along the side (we were in Jacksonville, FL the year of the infamous 'hanging chads'); a skull & cross bones (our nightly boat bar stop in Okoboji "Pirate Jacks"); a little cooking pan (for all the amazing homemade cooking we enjoy - cooked by sista Judy); a snippet of a dryer sheet (Jimmy told us the way to keep the dock gnats away was to rub dryer sheets on our skin....I think this southern born and bred told us this KNOWING FULL WELL THAT THE GNATS WOULD LOVE dryer sheet slathered skin!); YES that is a bra hook.... That was a random moment that will NEVER be forgotten...

Here is a photo of the moment...one that can never be explained or understood! What the heck!?! It was too far from the beach (or bar) to make any sense! I just know it was a photo op made in heaven for my little 'traveling gnome' Bobbins!

Of course this 'random act of support' had to make it into the memory jar!

Are you tired of looking yet?

I started with a small jar. Upped it to a medium size jar when the small jar was overflowing. Then moved to a LARGE jar when I realized the number of memories was abundant! Here we have some bling (there is a bling-worthy memory that was WORTHY of the memory jar); a wine charm (yes - we drank lots of wine); a sugar packet (for all the times we NORTHERNERS would forget to order tea "unsweetened"); a Hostess cupcake top that represents a laugh meltdown; a Barbie wig (to memorialize the CREEPY mannequins we encountered in an Iowa fabric shop). Also...a wee roll of toilet paper, a peanut, a crown, a very important little red truck, some sesame seeds, an ice cream cone, a palm tree, a telephone, a tree spirit, a tiny passport and more!

Making these books and jars, made me so crazy that I ended up not making either of the memory books or jars for myself. THREE of each was enough! Lucky for me the memories remain so vivid and fresh that I don't even regret not having one for myself. I had my walk down memory lane putting them together...in TRIPLICATE!

Now...on to the card! AGAIN with the indecision! I made a card using vellum then decided to make another one using drywall mesh. I'm claiming it's not really indecision if I end up with TWO cards!

 Thinking Vellum

~Base card PaperTrey Ink Kraft card stock

~Sentiment by JustRite

~Strip orange card stock

~Vellum dotted with aqua Sharpie and edge smudged with Palette Beaux Arts Blue

~Image stamped using Stampin' Up Early Espresso ink, edges smudged with orange ink - Hero Arts Dandelion Frame

~Three burlap flowers by The Paper Studio

Thinking Dry Wall Tape

~Base card PaperTrey Ink Hawaiian Shores

~Image stamped using Stampin' Up Chocolate Chip, edges smudged with SU Sahara Sand

~Dry wall mesh

~Strip orange card stock with JustRite sentiment

~Colored craft wire

~TThree burlap flowers by The Paper Studio

Challenges|Inspirations

Just Us Girls - trend week - burlap

Retro Sketches - sketch

Stamping Sensations - anything

Fusion - color inspirations

Polkadoodles - kraft

Tuesday Throw Down - use metal

Thanks for clicking by and putting up with my rambling!

How blessed am I that I needed progressively larger jars to try to contain our sisters holiday memories! 

Here's to incredible and lasting sissy memories, dissolving into giggles at the mere mention of things like Hostess cupcakes and taking cheese from strangers, and indecision...I think...maybe...I'll get back to you on that!

Nancy in Iowa

Whimsical Neck Strains

I had some frustrations with this card. Yet another concept that was FABULOUS in my head...with the execution...well let's just say these were originally printed as one unit on another die cut piece. I already had these colored so I decided to try to salvage them...Much tiny snipping and a neck ache later...here is the reincarnation.

What is it with my lack of translation from concept to reality! Is there a Rosetta Stone for this?!?

I really like Lavinia Stamps! I have a couple digital ones - might have to add some of the actual stamps to my  'internal wish list'! They are so whimsical and quirky!

From My House to Yours
~Base card Papertrey Ink Simply Chartreuse
~Layer of Prima Doodle Deux
~Sentiment die cut
~Two layers oval die cuts
~Digital images by Lavinia, colored with Copics, highlighted with dots of Smooch
Challenges | Inspirations
Lavinia Stamps - bright and beautiful
Tuesday Morning Sketches - sketch
Crafty Calendar - anything

Thanks for clicking by!

Here's to ruminating on the synapse hiccup from conception to reality, wishing I lived in one of the houses on this card, and hoping for a neck message!

Nancy in Iowa

Christmas Coins

You have been warned! Plan on seeing many of these "coin envelope | remnant" cards! I need a snappy name for this "use it up" process! Coins? Remnant? Yesterday's post was the first in what I envision as a bountiful series of Coin Envelope Cards.

I REALLY need a better name for these! Coin Cards. Coin Remnants. Suggestions anyone?

I have been waiting to find the perfect perch for this flocked bird brad! He looks quite at home with his bird branch friends!

Christmas Readiness

~PaperTrey Ink Pure Poppy card stock "remnant"

~Salvaged gift-card front

~Doodlebug Design North Pole in the 'window' of the tree

~Red flocked brad

~Satin striped ribbon

Challenges | Inspirations

Little Red Wagon - window

Card Mania - add red

Crafty Hazelnut - anything + Christmas

Crafty Hazelnut - anything + design paper

Thanks for clicking by.

Here's to remnants, ribbon, and recycling! 

Nancy in Iowa

Remnants of 3 A.M.

I rarely have what you might call an epiphany - that ding-ding-ding I have a great idea moment! For some unknown reason, in the middle of the night, I was thinking about all the 3.25" x 11" card stock strips I end up with when making square cards. Then I remembered the nearly 500 "coin envelopes" I have sitting around (a transfer of crap item from a friend).

So with a wee bit of additional trimming I now have a source for cards that will facilitate the whittling down of my monumental stack of small envelopes! Sweet! I love it when an insomniac plan comes together! So watch for a series of  'remnant' cards!

Friendship Love
~Cream colored card stock, edges smudge, background stamped with Hero Arts Soft Leaf
~Three silver sequins
~Red punched hearts
~Pink card stock flourish die cuts
~Wink of Stella accents
~Dollar bin sentiment stamped using VersaFine (BEST stamp pad EVER for sentiments)
~Strip of ribbon
Challenges | Inspirations
Just Us Girls - word week: love
Amusing - Valentine
Come and Get It - love is in the air
Digi Designs - include heart
Sweet Stampin' - add a heart
{PIN|spirational - photo

Thanks for clicking by!

Here's to using remnants, culling an inventory of 490 coin envelopes, and 3 AM epiphanies!

Nancy in Iowa

Snowy Lottery Numbers

Snowy greetings from NW Iowa! At the time of this afternoon's photo the amount of snow was nearing 13 inches. And it's still snowing. Also...notice that my husband's method of moving snow is very....methodical....fastidious!

And this just in.....Another shout out from Just Us Girls! I am so excited! Is it a coincidence that I received the honors from "JUGs" on a post where I was ranting about tatas and bras!? TeeeHeehehehe!

This is my second Chic of the Week in resent history! Number 272 was for a PowerPoppy post, A Winter Solstice Merry Mulligan, on Dec. 21.

My first Just Us Girls honor was in 2012 for this card on my Ice Cream and Pirate Jack post for a Christmas wreath card.

So...let's recap: JUGs Chic of the Week #164 #272 #277. I think I have new lottery numbers! SWEET!!!

Now on to today's cards I wanted to play along with the challenge at Just Us Girls again and couldn't make up my mind which direction to take so I made two!

Shiny Thank You!
~Base card Gina K Pure Luxury Pure White
~All the layers are from an American Craft Specialty Paper Foil Collection (a long-ago gift from my sissy Gail)
~Ribbon
~Hero Arts Thank You die
~Two punched circles
~Cuttlebug
~Spellbinders Labels 2 Nestabilities 
Challenges | Inspirations
Moving Along with the Times - sketch
Cupcake Inspirations - color
Just Us Girls - wild card week - sentiment as the focal point
Sister Act - anything
Southern Girls - sparkle and shine

On to version two! I'm sure you are all wondering how I could possibly have time to make two cards - what with the snow....and The Super Bowl! That is today...right? Something about deflated balls, east coast, west coast? This one is headed to my sister Gail - she already called 'dibs'.

You Mean the World to Me
~Base card Gina K Pure Luxury Pure White
~Layer of black card stock
~Sizzix Word Labels stamps and die - outer ring stamped with Tim Holtz Fired Brick, sentiment stamped with Versafine Onyx Black; stamped on grey card stock
~Layer of DCWV Glitter Stack card stock - with center hole punched using Spellbinders Circle Scallops
~Two layers of grey and red washi tapes
~Strip of Far and Away garland by Teresa Collins
~Sequin and  pearl
Challenges | Inspirations
Just Us Girls - wild card week - sentiment as the focal point
Glittern N' Sparkle - anything
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - anything
Gem of a Challenge - layers
Fusion - sketch

Here's to snowy Iowa days (and nights), over-under, and perfectly inflated balls, and a string of new prospective lottery numbers!

Nancy in Iowa

Close to My Heart

Grab you favorite beverage I feel a rant coming on! I will eventually get to the card info but first I MUST vent some steam!

Is it just me or is finding the perfect (hey I'd even settle for ACCEPTABLE) bra too much to ask for? I feel like I am on an eternal quest for two items: The perfect purse and the perfect bra.

What is it with BRAS!? The minute you think you have found your 'sole mate' in foundation garb - the manufacturer redesigns or deletes it - so replacing it is out of the question. So...what do you do? Well in MY case I continue to wear 'my favorite bra' until it can hardly contain its original shape let alone contain MY shape! At this point it is almost pointless (no pun intended) to even wear it...but going bra-less is not an option (most of the time...)!

Sadly my "best" bras are rapidly gaining the dreaded "weekend" bra status!

Why is it so darn difficult to select THE PERFECT BRA? Why can't one bra have all the desired features? I can have this strap on that bra - but not that strap on this bra.... And what the heck does THIS mean? "Minimizes size not shape". WHAT? Is "shimmering microfiber" a good thing? What are "supportive inner slings"? I suppose that piece of engineering is less obvious that an "outer supportive sling"... Did you know there are bras that "reduce bust projection"? Did you know you can purchase bras with "wings"? I certainly didn't!

I will be honest I am not a fan of under-wires. The concept of hard plastic or metal next to my skin does not sound like a match made in heaven. Sounds more like a medieval torture item (well...except for the plastic...I am smart enough to know that there were no plastic cudgels, maces, jousting armor, or gauntlets. Or ....were hammered breastplates the precursors to under-wire bras? Hmmmm... Or the precursor to MINIMIZING bras....

I have watched bra fitting video tutorials! I have learned new terminology: quad breasts; mono boobs...Did you know there are more than 260 'names' for breasts?!

Suffice it to say after a failed trip to two specialty stores, and a box store, and failed online ordering I am still on the hunt for THE PERFECT BRA! My dear husband looked quizzically at "mountain" (pun intended) of bras I had to return to the store. I gave him "the look" and told him, "you would NOT understand...you buy underwear in packages of 6!"

In the meantime I will treat my one and only GOOD bra with kid gloves, respect, and reverential kindness. It will ONLY be hand washed. It will receive NO dryer time. I may even give it it's own drawer! I may pad the drawer with silky soft quilting!

Okay! Rant over! On to the card. Speaking of too big and too small...the heart shape doily was too large so here it is .... sideways. Don't mess with me DOILY! I've had a rough couple of days!

ValenTime
~Base card Kraft card stock
~Red card stock square embossed with Sizzix Frame, Hearts, and Vines
~Vellum embossed with heart stamp from the $Tree using Versamark and red embossing powder; faux stitches (pin holes) across top; ends of vellum "ribbon" cut using deckle square punch
~Heart shape doily turned on its side
~Two white buttons with red embroidery floss
Challenges | Inspiration
Just Us Girls - photo
Retro Sketches - sketch
Pile It On - hearts/flowers
Sunday Stamps - colors
Shopping Our Stash - love

Here's to ranting, continuing my search for the Holy Grail of brassieres, persistence, and questioning the genetic pool that endowed me with more than my fair share of "beacons", "coconuts", "oompas",  "twin peaks"....

Nancy in Iowa

Its a Tag! Its a Card!

Full disclosure alert! I don't personally use the cards I make to send. It is RARE that I send a greeting card. Ironically I am one of the WORST card senders on planet earth. I 'gift' my cards, in bundles, to 'card-worthy-friends'. I love making tags. But they are not greeted with enthusiasm by my usual card receivers...My sisters and 'card worthy friends' can't think outside the card evidently! This is my attempt at a 'compromise'. A tag...in a card...in an envelope.

Looks more like a card than a tag. Right?

Surprise! A tag! (The "card" is more like a pouch.)

Front of that pesky tag. 

Back of tag with place to write a note.

Sneaky Tag
~Base card PaperTrey Ink Kraft card stock - top edges distressed using TH 370 Paper Distresser, edges smudged with pink
~Washi tape
~Hero Arts Garden Flowers stamp/die set (Christmas gift!!!) colored with Copics, highlighted with Sharpie white paint pens, and Smooch
~Flower button tied in place with white/green twine (quit hoarding 'cute' buttons Nancy! USE THEM!)
~Tuft of some really cool green 'stuff' I bought at a floral shop (came in a 20ish"  x 30ish" sheet - paid a whole dollar for it!) It's HUGE - why am I 'hoarding' it!? I bought it last summer on a sister's trip...finally putting it to use. If we would just plan another sisters trip I wouldn't have to hoard stuff! #AlgonaRocks
~Tag base - Kraft card stock
~Tag design papers: Ki Berry Blast (back of tag); Prima Madeline Collection (front of tag)
~Assorted ribbons
Challenges | Inspirations
DRS - colors
Craft Hoarders Anonymous - create your own: ink; twine; Copics coloring, Tim Holtz 370 Paper Distresser; button
Crafty Cardmakers - something old | something new (old: button | new: stamp/die set)
Fairy Tale Stampers - flowers
Ladybug Crafts - flowers
Die Cut Diva's - anything
All Sorts - spring flowers
Docerela Creations - red or pink + embellishment


Potential future musings: There are actually Bed Bath & Beyond tips? Who knew? This is where my small-towness rears its small town head! 
Sharing one of my New Year Resolutions (Warning! It's a harsh one!) 
And ribbon prohibition.

Stay tuned for details!

Here's to thinking outside the tag, trips with sisters, cool shops in small Midwest towns, and keeping New Year Resolutions!

Nancy in Iowa

Mulligan of the Week!

So....this happened a couple of weeks ago....

 Chic of the Week at Just Us Girls! 

For this card: 

What a lovely surprise and honor! Sweet!!! Now...on to today's card. I wanted to play along with the Just Us Girls color combo of orange, blue, and green. I had a little difficulty pulling it off. But I guess that is the intention of a challenge! To make it CHALLENGING! I couldn't quite pull it together so I made one card then called a 'mulligan' when I remembered 'rescuing' orange mesh from the bag of produce I purchased yesterday. I decided I needed to put it to use!

This first one - I TOTALLY 'pinched' the stitching idea from JUG designer Vicki Dutcher! 

Celebrate Orange

~Base card - Cryogen White

~Navy blue and green plaid card stock layers

~Orange card stock - split using die cut

~Stampin' Up Perfectly Penned sentiment stamped on white card stock using Versafine Onyx Black

~Stitches across the top

Challenges | Inspirations

Just Us Girls - colors

Crafts Galore Encore - anything

Sisters of Craft - anything

Naughty or Nice - use something new (die)

Here is the second attempt at using orange, green, and blue. I'm longing for the Farmer's Market...can you tell? Yes. I am well aware it is only January. And yes. I live in Iowa. Farmer's Market is MONTHS away...

Market Fresh

~Base card white linen

~Layer of navy and white polka dot card stock

~Washi tape (present from daughter Amy)

~Sentiment by PaperTrey Ink

~Carrot image by TPC Studio - Victory Garden, stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black, colored with Copics

~Image stamped on white card stock, die cut using Cuttlebug and Spellbinders oval

~'Bunch' of green floral mesh and orange mesh from my huge bag of Clementines

~Three metal brads

Challenges | Inspirations

Tuesday Morning Sketch - sketch

Sentimental Sundays - new (Washi tape)

Crafty Hazelnuts - anything plus design paper

Here's to rescuing produce bags, dusting off my sewing machine, and calling 'mulligan'!

Thank you for clicking by,

Nancy in Iowa