Tropical vacation

Hi everyone! Gosh I don't know how I'm ever going to feel like I've got time to make cards again! there is absolutely not time for much after I get home from work, and right now I'm still going in to work at my old company one night a week and on Saturdays to help finish stuff up. So, today I have two cards for you but I might not have any on Friday as I had planned!

These two cards use images from the Tropical Fun Pack. Talk about a deal! This set has eleven different images in it for $4.00!

(click to enlarge)

This first card uses the umbrella chair. I colored with Copic markers and used chalk for the background. Then I used a speckled background stamp in some dark brown ink to get the speckled look in the sand. I paper pieced the umbrella, but once I had it on there the underside looked weird, so I used a craft knife to cut out the top layer of the paper and then I used a marker to fill it in. You can see how it looks now below. The sentiment is computer generated.

(click to enlarge)

The next card uses the same umbrella chair, but I cut it out and cropped off the umbrella. I paired it with the palm tree in the same set. Is it called a palm tree if there are coconuts in it or is it a coconut tree?

(click to enlarge)

This one was colored the same way with copic markers and chalk. The sentiment was computer generated, and I hope you do have a fabulous day! Thanks for looking!

What about the inside?

Hi everyone. Someone asked me what the inside of the card I made using the Goodbye Cruel World image said, so I thought I'd let everyone know. To refresh your memory (and just to keep you from having to click back to see), I'll post the card here again.

(click to enlarge)

On the inside it says

"I needed more than Calgon to take me away!"

My day yesterday was very busy, but I learned a lot. Hopefully I'll remember everything I learned and it will get easier and easier. Thanks for the good thoughts!

Hope your day goes smoothly, and thanks for looking!

I'm A Trained Monkey

Hi everyone! I'm back from my training in Tyler, Texas and I can't begin to tell you how nice it was to get back home. My week in Tyler was exhausting and overwhelming! I have had so much information thrown at me from so many directions, and I feel lucky to have retained a third of it. I do however think that once I learn everything I will really enjoy my new job.

Saturday I spent the day catching up on a few things around the house, and also going in to my former place of employment to do a few things. They haven't yet completely closed so my services will be needed there a bit longer. Then I went to the grocery store and did the weekly shopping. I organized the notes I had taken while training, and then we went to visit with my brother and sister in law.

Yesterday morning I was determined to get the weekly cooking done so I could have some card making time in the afternoon! I hadn't made a card in over a week and I was having serious crafting withdrawals!

Did you see the new images that were released at Squigglefly on Saturday? I could so relate to the Goodbye Cruel World image! That was how I felt on Friday night with all of that information swimming in my head! So, I decided to make a card for the girl who trained me using it.

(click to enlarge)

One of the things I love about making your own cards is the ability to personalize them to the occasion, and this is definitely one of those times when I never would have been able to find the perfect card in a store!

I also wanted to make a card for one of the cashiers who helped in my training. She is a really sweet, young girl who went out of her way to help me. I came in one morning to find that she had copied some things for me and had taken some notes on points she noticed I was having trouble remembering. It's not often you run across people who go out of their way to help someone like that. Here's the card I made for her.

(click to enlarge)

I used the Gone Bananas image by Jackie Mathews for her card which is another image that totally describes how I was feeling!

Both of these were colored with Copic markers and the sentiments were computer generated.

Today is Vicki's team's last time at the Squigglefly Blog Challenge. I hope you'll go by and let them all know how much you've appreciated them sharing their creativity with us and a special thank you to Vicki for giving us such fun challenges for the past six months!

I am not going to have as much crafting time as I used to have until I learn my new job better, so please bear with me! I will try to have something for you to see every other day. This is also cutting majorly into my time to visit your blogs and comment - so please don't get your feelings hurt if I don't get by for a while!

Have a wonderful day, and thanks for looking!

Woof!

Happy Friday! I should be on my way home from Tyler, Texas today! Hopefully I've learned a lot and I'm excited about starting my new job on Monday.

Today's card is one I made on Sunday right before I was leaving for my week long trip. It was for the featured stamper challenge on Splitcoast Stampers. Tami Mayberry had a lot of cute cards in her gallery, but the one I picked was THIS ONE.

Here is my version

(click to enlarge)

The image I used is one from Squigglefly called Fetch What?http://www.squigglefly.com/index.php/shop/fetch-what I used copic markers to color the dog, and the sentiment was printed with my computer. The little paw print is from the paw print paper freebie that is available at Squigglefly.

I wish you all a great day, and thanks for looking!

Bloomin' Happy

Hi everyone! If blogger is playing nicely it should be Wednesday morning and I'm still in Tyler, Texas hopefully learning everything I need to know to begin my new job when I get back home on Friday.

The card I wanted to share with you today is one I did for the Featured Stamper challenge a couple of weeks ago on Splitcoast Stampers. You can see the card I CASED by clicking HERE.

(click to enlarge)

The image I used is a new one at Squigglefly called Swirly Bloomer. I colored with Copic markers and then also colored the scalloped layer with a Copic to match. Each scallop was pierced with a piercing tool. I embossed the green layer with a swirl pattern and tied a ribbon around it.

I hope you are having a great week, and I can't wait to get back home and tell you all about my new job! Thanks for looking!

Birthday Hearts

Happy Monday morning everyone! Lots of stuff going on today! In just a couple of hours I will be driving to Tyler, Texas for a week of training. Yes, I got that job! Thank you for all of the prayers and support you've given me this past month while I was job hunting. This whole last week was a whirlwind of interviews and I found out Friday evening that they wanted me to start on Monday with a week of training in Tyler. Now, keep those prayers going just a teeny bit longer that I don't get completely lost driving there and back! LOL!

Today is also a brand new challenge on the Squigglelfy blog. This week is Chelsea's groups last time before the new design team takes over in July. Please be sure to go by, see what the challenge is and what they've done - and take the time to thank them for all the inspiration they've given us the last six months.

It's also an exciting day because today we reveal to you the new design team! Some of these names will be familiar to you, but there are a lot of fresh faces too. It is my honor to present to you Squigglefly's next group of unequivocal talent

Heather's Headliners

Heather Strenzwilk

Tammy Hair

Holley Barnhart

Loretta Rodger

Stephanie Mino

Terri Fleming

Pat Martin

Debbie Ebat

Peggy Elms

Jill Dian

AND

Marlene's Marvels

Marlene Shaw

Dani Chapman

Janice Richardson

Rebecca Grohall

Kim O’Connell

Linda Weber

Deena Perreault

Rhonda Zmikly

Stephanie Clark

Jane Westling

Please go by their blogs sometime soon and give them a big welcome to Squigglefly!

Now after all of that, I do have a card to share with you!

(click to enlarge)

This is an image drawn by Joy Hall called Be Mine Mini Tree. I colored it with Copic markers and hand wrote the "happy birthday" sentiment on the tag. I wanted the ribbon on the card to match the ribbon tied around the pot, so I used some white gesso to paint white dots on my red ribbon. I like how that turned out!

My daughter shared a hilarious video with me and I just had to share it with you

If you can't see the video on my blog, you can view it on YouTube here

Well, I won't be back from my training until Friday, but I do have a couple of cards I've made that I'll set to post while I'm away. Have a wonderful day, and thanks for looking!

Sweet Spring

I am running late this morning! Happy Friday to you all!

(click to enlarge)

Image is the row of flowers from the Spring Suite II set. Colored with Copic markers and stickles added to flowers The sentiment is computer generated. Big butterfly is a Martha Stweart punch that I embossed and the little butterfly is from a Fiskars corner punch.

Hope your Friday is a great one! thanks for looking!

This Is A Real Gas

Happy Wednesday everyone! Today is my hubby's birthday, so I'd like to wish him a really big Happy Birthday! Now here is his card

(click to enlarge)

It's not a very "mature" birthday card, but anyone who knows my husband knows that this is just his type of humor. I was really glad when I saw Marlene's Gassy Gramps image because I knew it was one he would get a kick out of.

I colored with Copic markers and computer generated the sentiment.

Okay all you wonderful followers of mine - I need your prayers and good vibes to start working again. I went on a job interview yesterday, and I really think this is a job I would like. I REALLY like the fact that it's in North Little Rock instead of in Little Rock which is where almost every call I've gotten has wanted to send me! The interview went really well, and the man told me he had two more people to interview, but that I was the front runner as of then. So, keep your fingers crossed and pray this one comes through! I really want to stop job hunting!

Have a great hump day, and thanks for looking!

Teaparty and Blogaversary!

Hi everyone! Today is Tuesday so that means another Mothermark Teaparty! This week we are all taking horses to the party, doesn't that sound like fun? Jessica is the daughter of a fellow teapotter and she recently took a bad fall from her horse, Max and is in the hospital with a fractured skull in the back of her head, fractured her right temple and has two fractures on each side of her spine by her pelvis so all of us are making her cards to wish her a speedy recovery!

I used the cute Horsing Around image from Squigglefly for my card.

(click to enlarge)

I colored with Copic markers and used chalk on the sky and grass. Then I stamped some grass sprigs over the green chalk. I die cut the image with a nestabilities die and wrapped some cording around the card.

The sentiment is computer generated and the inside says

"and get back in the saddle soon!"

Today is also my blogaversary; I've been blogging three years now! I will have some candy up soon to help celebrate so stay tuned for that!

Don't forget to play along in the Squigglefly Challenge, and remember that if you'd like to help out a great cause artist Jane Beljo is giving all proceeds from the sale of her Fairy Klara image to Caylin's Cure .

Thanks for looking, and I hope your day is a wonderful one!

Ship Happens

good morning and happy Monday. I hope you all had a fabulous weekend. Mine was pretty good. Saturday was super busy. I told you I had a baby shower to attend, and it was a lot of fun. I piped up during the present opening time to claim any unwanted tissue, wrapping paper and ribbon! I came home with quite a haul too!

Yesterday was play day. I spent a lot of time making a few cards. Since it was Sunday, there was a featured stamper challenge on Splitcoast Stampers challenge and I played along by making two cards. I noticed that a favorite image of the featured stamper was a sailing ship, so I used the Tall Ship image from Squigglefy and CASED two of her cards.

The first card I picked was THIS ONE, and here is the card I came up with.

(click to enlarge)

I used Copic markers to color with and used the Distressed Stripes embossing folder to emboss the background. The sentiment was computer generated. I hand drew the birds, which is about the extent of my drawing capabilities.

The next card I picked was THIS ONE

(click to enlarge)

I really liked her card a lot. I used some plastic that came from a bag someone used for their baby shower gift. I think I would have liked mine a little better if the plastic wasn't wrinkled, but the colors and stripes were so perfect I had to use it.

Today is a brand new challenge on the Squigglefly blog, and Vicki has come up with a masculine challenge for everyone! I think both my ship cards fit in perfectly with that theme, so I'm ahead of the game today! I hope you have a really wonderful Monday, and thanks for looking!

Up and about

Good morning and happy Saturday to you! I've got a busy day ahead of me today! I've got to get to the grocery store this morning, go to a baby shower this afternoon, and then early this evening we are going to be hanging out with family members watching a show and playing games. In between all of this I'd like to clean my house up some so I can have tomorrow as a play day!

There are some wonderful new images at Squigglefly this morning. One of the images is a cute Fairy Klara by Jane Beljo and all of the proceeds from the sale of this image will go to Caylin's Cure. I had hoped to have something made with one of the new images, but it just never happened.

I needed another get well card for someone, and was told that she loves giraffes so I used the African Giraffe image to make her this

(click to enlarge)

I printed the sentiment at the same time as the image, and colored with Copic markers. The beads were some wooden ones I found in my stash.

There have been a few more entries in Squigglefly's blog challenge and you really should go see what people are doing. I am loving seeing such creativity and thought put into them! There's still time for you to play along too!

Enjoy your weekend, and thanks for looking!

A Little Self Encouragement?

Hi everyone and happy Friday to you. Before I get on with today's card I want to go on a little rant. You can skip over it if you want, but I just want to say this.

You know I've been job hunting and I've told you how different job hunting is now a days. Everything is on line. Well, I am SO SICK of every single insurance company sending me spam e mail wanting to hire me as an insurance salesman. What could they possibly be reading in my resume that would make them think I am in any way interested in selling insurance?

The next thing I've noticed is a really sneaky, and I think so wrong thing they are doing. They send you e mails saying they've found a job in your area that you qualify for. You read it and think "Well, this sounds like a good job. This sounds like one I could do." So you click on the link and apply and fill out all the information and upload your resume. Then you're taken to another page that says there's one final step you need to take to submit your application - you have to call this number so they can verify information. So you call the number and they ask you a few things that you've already answered in the application process - how them asking you and you telling them the same thing you already wrote in the application verifies anything is mystifying. Then they ask you if you want to continue further education - AHA! This is the thing - they want to offer you financing on furthering your education! There never was any job and they just wasted a bunch of your time! It's infuriating!

okay, rant over - I feel a teeny bit better.

Now today's card is for the Twisted Sister Challenge on Splitcoast Stampers. We were supposed to make a baseball themed card using our favorite teams colors. Well, I don't have a favorite team, but I went with the Kansas City Royals because none of the teams have lavender, and blue is second best.

I did have a great baseball image though! This is Sorrowful Slugger from Squigglefly.

(click to enlarge)

Once it was colored (I used Copic markers and chalk for the sky and grass) I thought and thought about what kind of sentiment to use on it. I finally came up with the "So, you had a bad day " for the front and I made it look like the baseball ball in the card by sponging some red on it. and it made me think of the bad days I've had recently striking out in the new job department, so I made this as a little encouragement card. Here's the inside

(click to enlarge)

Wishing every one of you a great day and hope you keep swinging that bat! Thanks for listening - and looking!

On the Mend

Good morning everyone! I'm still on the job hunt. I went and filled out another application yesterday afternoon and will have to wait and see if I get a call back for an interview. I appreciate all good thoughts and payers!

I can't believe more of you haven't played along in Squigglefly's challenge this week! I'll admit it does make you think a little bit, but that's why it's a challenge! I do encourage you to try though, because it is a fun one and I'd love to see what you do.

I was in need of a get well card for a friend, so I made this for her

(click to enlarge)

The image is just one of TEN in a set from Squigglefly called Stitched With Love. I colored it with Copic markers. The sentiment is computer generated.

The background is different designer papers that are embossed after they were adhered to the card base. Then I punched holes and did some faux stitching with a sharpie pen.

I hope you have a really great day, and thanks for looking!

Clean and Simple Floral

Good morning everyone! Today is Tuesday and that means it's another Mothermark Teaparty! This week we are all bringing simple floral cards. I went with the Dogwood Delight image from Squigglefly. I colored it with Copic markers and added the sentiment before printing it.

(click to enlarge)

The corners were punched and then I wrapped the card with some iridescent thread. The cards are all going to Lindsey who will be in the hospital undergoing treatment for about a month. Lindsey loves to give cards to people, but she's not a card maker herself so all of the teapotters are making a simple card for Lindsey and then including the parts of the card so she can make some herself and have our card as a guide! Isn't that a wonderful idea?

I included four images with the corners already punched for her, as well as the thread and the card bases. I'm sure making cards will help her pass some of the time she has to be there, and by the end of her treatment she will probably be a full fledged card maker herself!

Did you get a chance to see the Squigglefly challenge this week? I was really impressed with the design team's projects and I hope you took the time to go see for yourself. Please try to play along because I'd love to see what you come up with!

Have a wonderful day, and thanks for looking!

What Holiday Is It?

Hi everyone! I hope you had a nice weekend. Ours was a lazy one. We celebrated our 35th anniversary yesterday by just hanging out in the air conditioning. My husband did fix me a nice dinner though!

Today is a new challenge on the Squigglefly blog, and it's fun one! The challenge is to make a holiday card, but use an image for a holiday other than the one it was intended for. The design team really did a great job with their cards. They got so creative with it, and you need to go by and see for yourself!

I picked out a birthday image from Squigglefly called Ant Birthday and turned it into a 4th of July card.


(click to enlarge)

I left off the ant carrying the birthday cupcake and turned the candle into a firecracker. I colored everything with Copic markers and printed the sentiment with my computer.

I hope you'll get a little creative and play along too! It's fun to do!

Have a fabulous Monday, and thanks for looking!

Turning Fifty

Good morning everyone! Well, thank you so much for the good thoughts on my interview yesterday. The good news is that the interview went well and the man was ready to hire me on the spot. the bad news is that the position didn't offer health insurance, so I politely turned the offer down. Some more good news is that I had sent my resume out to several different veterinarian offices last week, and while getting ready for my interview yesterday morning one of the vet offices called me in for an interview, so I went to that interview after the first one. I really liked the place, and as it turned out the veterinarian practice is a husband/wife team and i graduated high school with the wife! I was interviewed by the husband and he told me that they were really looking at hiring two part time people, and I'm looking for a full time position. He said they would discuss it and think it over, so maybe I will still hear from them.
I wasn't as nervous at these two interviews, so that was a good feeling!

Squigglefly did have a new release today, and I am excited to show you a card I made with one of them.


(click to enlarge)

You probably recognize Mrs. Murphy, but the sentiment about turning fifty years old is a new one from Marlene Shaw. My younger sister is turning 50 later this month, and she's not too happy about it. I couldn't resist sending her a card that teased her a bit about it. I used Copic markers to color her with, and I added a bit of crystal effects to her eyeglasses.
Here's the inside of the card


(click to enlarge)
I hope you enjoy your weekend to the fullest, and thanks for looking!

Friends Make Life Better

Hi everyone! Well things are really getting real at my office. Yesterday people were coming in to look at our inventory to buy, and the people renting the building next door came in to see if they were interested in renting our building. It's still very sad. I have another job interview to go to today. I've been called in for several interviews this past week, but I've turned them down because they have all been located in Little Rock, and I do not like driving to Little Rock on a good day so I know I wouldn't want to fight the traffic every morning and evening.

The job I'm interviewing for today is nearer to my home and is for an accounting position. I spoke to the man I'll be interviewing with on the phone and he told me a bit about their accounting system which is one I don't know, but he seemed confident it would be easy to learn and I am pretty sure I'd be able to too. So we shall see how it goes.

One thing I know for sure is that having friends makes going through life's little crises more bearable, and that's what I had in mind when I made this card.


(click to enlarge)

I combined two of Nate Owen's images to make this. Cat Talk and Pup Dog make a cute pair don't you think? They're colored with Copic markers and I added chalk for the sky. The sentiment is computer generated and sponged with some Glorious Green ink.

Wish me luck on the interview, and thanks for looking!

Relaxing at the teaparty

Hi all! Yesterday was a new teaparty and Cindy wanted us to all learn synchronized swimming if you can believe that! I brought another little shy bear who tried to get into the spirit of things, but all that splashing was diluting my tea and making the cookies soggy, so this bear opted to paddle out to the deeper water and relax the day away. As hot as it's been relaxing in a pool of cool water sounds perfect!


(click to enlarge)
This image is Floating Bear and I used Copic markers to color him. The sky was done with chalks. I used some shiny origami paper to cut some flower shapes out of and used that to look like the hot sun shining down on him. A big yellow button in the center completed that.
My sentiment is computer generated.

The "synchronized" part of my card is the two rows of pierced scallops along the sides of the card.

Hope you are having a cool and relaxing day. It's supposed to be another sizzling hot day here!

thanks for looking!