See the Butterfly in the Window!

When I went to bed last night, I decided that no matter the sketch on 365 Cards, I would incorporate a square shape with the center cut open to make a window opening. Well, was I surprised to see today's sketch and it lent itself to my goal! This is the sketch I'm talking about for Sunday, August 30, 2009 Day 183 - Super Sketchy Sunday at 365 Cards.

And this is my take with the butterfly in my window.

I started to use a monochromatic scheme but decided that would be boring for this card so I added the pop of core'dinations teal CS. Sanded the butterfly to reveal the lighter teal. I used SU! DS Parisian Breeze speciality CS. And - TA-DA - I used SU! soft suede CS from the new demonstrator kit I rec'd yesterday! (I take orders anytime you want, tee-hee!)
For bling I used liquid pearls, a gift from my DD, Kim.

Off to do some more painting. Yuck, be glad when I quit coming up with ideas to refurbish!
Turn your face to the sunshine and enjoy your day! SAM

Celebrate Baseball, You Bird!

Please note, 3 challenges posted today, scroll down!

Starting with today's challenge, Day 182 - Sporty Saturday.

Slept late, woke up at 6 this morning and checked out the challenge at 365 Cards and saw Sports Saturday! Yuck, oh man, I hate sports, I don't own any gear pertaining to sports, shoot, might as well go back to bed! Well I didn't, I searched the Internet and found some clip art and a 'kinda-sort-of' baseball quote. Only took 2 hours - 2 hours after that I finished the card! If only I could get paid by the hour for doing this! Not knowing where I was headed with this card, it turned out to be a congratulatory card for a baby boy. Of course it's sort of retro, who folds diapers anymore!
Oh darn, I just noticed that I didn't get all of the quote pasted on! Oh well, you do understand don't you!

This card is made for 2 challenges, Day 181 - White Space at 365 Cards and Splitcoast Challenge for Friday, LSC235, It's all about Me!
It's a CAS card to leave white space and for Splitcoast the challenge is to use Chocolate colored CS and a butterfly. If you didn't know, I love both of those! The flower like trim on the bottom was made with my border fiskars punch on both sides of a 1" (I think) strip of CS.
I really like making CAS cards, sorry Patti J!


This is this inside of the card, the 3rd criteria was to make it into a gift card. Used my new nestie to do that.

And this is the bird in my title today. It is for Day 179 - Checkerboard Background at 365 Cards. This was one hard card for me. I must have started and trashed at least 5 cards. This is made with a vellum check print that I bought years ago at a scrapbooking store going out of business. I punched Maple leaves and placed them behind the vellum. Used a Martha Stewart glitter bird and painted another Maple leaf with metallic copper paint. And, added a ribbon!

I have already put more time into this today than I had planned, but at least I'm not posting at the last minute for this week! Have a good week-end. SAM

Wish You Were Here...

This is my take for the challenge at 365 Cards Day 180 - Going Vintage and the challenge at Splitcoast WT233 - Very Vintage. This card displays a postcard my dad brought home from the World WarII when he was stationed in Oahu on a medical leave. He was a medic on a boat and the elevator dropped to the bottom of the ship and he broke his arm. So I imagine the picture is from the late 1930's/early 1940's. The postcard shows the ocean view of the Moana (opened in 1901) and Royal Hawaiian (opened in 1927), also known as the Pink Palace of the Pacific. I tried scanning it to use it on the card but it was too small and the vintage look of it just wasn't there. So I used photo holders so I wouldn't use any tape on it.

I searched the Internet for pics of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, also know as the Pink Palace of the Pacific so you could see what it looks like today. It's obvious that is the one below!


This is a current pic of the Moana.

What stands out to us is the amount of trees on the postcard. Just look at the ocean view of the Royal Hawaiian and you can tell the major changes, needless to say, it is much more commercial. Both are located at Waikiki and are just amazing to see at night with all the lighting. We've been there to visit Kim during a couple Christmas vacations and I love how they decorate for the holidays. Quite the exciting place to be!

Hope everyone enjoys their day and upcoming week-end! SAM

Welcome to Kinder-garden!

This is a CAS card for Tuesday, Day 178 - Back to School. Well I just made a couple of Back to School type cards so I thought I had exhausted all my ideas...guess not, this is what I came up with!


I worked as a Kindergarten teacher assistant for 7 years till I decided I had to take the step and become The Kindergarten Teacher! I had my classroom for 5 years before becoming a counselor. I love the 5/6 years old age group because they are so excited about starting 'real' school and they taught me something new every day. To make this long story shorter, I've always like referring to it as Kinder -Garden because they students grow and bloom so much that year.

This is a simple card to make. Sentiment is computer generated from one of the 500 fonts stored on my computer! I sponged the sky and grass. Stamped the flowers and masked to stamp more in background. Colored with SU! markers (let me know if you need any!). Matted on primary colors blue, yellow, red and mounted on whisper white card base. Topped off with a red gingham ribbon.

Have a sunshiny kind of day no matter the weather! SAM

M is for McDonald's Messy Stamping Space... Or

Day 177 - Monogram Monday ! I've been wanting to make a monogram card for quite some time so thanks Pam for the push! This card ended up being 5 1/2" X 5 1/2" and I really wanted a smaller note size card to make multiples. But, I used my Just Rite stamp for the first time and it is 1 3/8" so it made it necessary for the larger card. Looks like I need to buy another set? OH, NO that calls for a shopping trip! (Can you tell I've had my first cup of 'real' coffee?)


I used the Mojo challenge layout for this week and turned it sideways. The matting is metallic copper CS, white is cuttlebugged whisper white. I used a sheer ribbon as an overlay on top of a satin ribbon to punctuate the white on white. Monogram is copper embossed to match copper paper.

Viola! Done! Me too, gotta get ready for work...till the next card...give the people you love a hug!
SAM

BIG NEWS!

Yesterday I attended a Stampin' Up! open house at my good friend and mentor (meaning she started me on this road to rubber stamping/card making) Sue B.'s and she talked me into being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator! Okay, I got the cheap $85.00 package but it does come with some perks, just ask my daughter...I think she will be my very first customer! I don't plan on expanding this business too fast - work demands too much of my time, but I will try to sell to some of my friends. Watch out people, you know who you are!

ps - I am a faithful demonstrator - please notice that today's sketch at 365 Cards is made with ALL SU! products!

Flapper Card!

Sunday, August 23, 2009 Day 176 - Super Sketchy Sunday . WOW! Done on the day of the sketch. One point for me! Down hill the rest of the week! This is the sketch...

And this is the front of my card. I used a 12' x 12" card stock and cut it down to 4 1/4" inches X 12". I folded it so the top would fold over to make the point of the card. Made a 'belly' band to keep it closed.

And the following picture is the inside of the card so you can see how it lays out. I put a So Saffron panel matted on Chocolate Chip for the inside writing panel.


I'm off to finish cleaning up my stamping space. First time since the first of June! Have a good week and if you live in the Midwest...keep enjoying our wonderful, cool weather! SAM

Peachy Teachers and Layers!

Please scroll down, 3 challenges posted here!
The title breaks down to the 3 challenges I have left this week for 365 Cards which need to be posted by midnight! I never, ever dreamed I could make 3 cards in a day 2 months ago, but, l@@k at me now!

The first card is for Thursday, August 20, 2009 Day 173 - Mixed Message. This confused me at first (I don't know why it was only 4 AM!) but this was the challenge: Incorporate THREE ways to create a sentiment to make one big sentiment. Mix and match things like stamped, alpha stickers, handwritten, computer-generated, transfers, etc. After a lot of thought and looking at other cards for inspiration, I came up with "Teachers Have Class". 'Teacher' is computer generated, layered on top of a staff photo. I'm in the middle back with my mouth open if you want to find me! LOL!!! 'Have' is cut with alphabet letters with cuttlebug, then I used the negative image. 'Class' is made with some fake diamonds! Fun card to make!



The next card is for day Friday, August 21, 2009 Day 174 - Just Peachy. Simply have peach as the main color...oh darn, I like to eat peaches but nothing in my life is peach colored including cardstock. So I picked the closest color I have, Apricot Appeal, and hoped the photo would look peachy. I think it's pretty close! The flower is from SU! Longed stem stamp set. I hand embossed with a rectangle nestie, too lazy to get the cuttlebug out. Colored with stamp pad ink with a blender pen.

The last card for this week's challenge is for Saturday, August 22, 2009 Day 175 - Stampin' Saturday. Challenge is to layer stamps, not needing to mask. But being the oppositional person I am, I did some masking which is covered up with all the stamping layers! I used soft sky and groovy guava to set the background base and then used flourishes, leaves, butterflies, and flowers in a variety of ink colors. The oval stamp I bought today from my mentor, Sue, at her SU! open house. Remind me to tell you what else she talked me into!

That's all for tonight. Has been a long week and I need a good night's rest! I think I'll dream of rainbows! SAM

School + Christmas = Vacation!

Day 171 - Tuesday's Trio and Day 172 - ABC's and 123's at 365 Cards.

I'm starting with Day 172, to create a card with ABCs and 123s or to use letters and at least 1 number on the card. I used my favorite saying for getting Kindergartner's attention. "1,2,3...Look at me!" Believe it or not, the softer you say it the faster you get their attention. Now we are using the 'Give Me Five' signal which just doesn't seem to work as well for me.


I used the black and white school theme background, with letter/number stickers and then school stickers to embellish. I also used cork board paper to give the appearance of a bulletin board.

The next card is what teachers do right after school starts! Count the days till our first big vacation, Christmas! This year it is especially difficult due to the high enrollment. As a school counselor, I am now up to 517 students that I am responsible for! I can only say, birth control must not be working or everyone decided to move to Farmington!

This card is for Day 171, Tuesday's Trio. We need to create a card with a triangle, button and sticker. I made a Criss Cross Card, tutorial found here on Splitcoast Stampers.



I've been wanting to make this type of card since my daughter sent me one. You can see her version here. I have 3 triangle shapes on my card if you look at the way the card is folded and then 1 more counting the Christmas tree. The red pop is the button and I added 2 star stickers. I used SU! Taken with Teal CS, Very Vanilla and Close to Cocoa. The tree and scallop are clear embossed. Happy Holiday is from SU! Riveting set and the trees/sentiment are Holiday Clear Stamps bought at the after Christmas sale at Wally World. Not sure where I bought the ribbon, I believe it was Hobby Lobby. If you look close at the pull out card (you made need to enlarge it by clicking on the picture) I stamped a flourish using Dazzel Versa Mark. It didn't give quite the effect I was looking for.

My color inspiration is for SplitCoast Color Challenge CC232. The colors are: Close to Cocoa, Very Vanilla, and Taken With Teal.

Well, it is very difficult keeping up during the week but I am hoping to post everyday in August just to say "I did it!" We'll see, I'm off to get ready for school. 9 classes today but NO duties so I consider myself blessed!

Have a peaceful day. SAM

Going to Paradise!

This is for Monday 170 - Double Duty at 365 Cards. We are challenged to make a card that doubles as something else. I made a card/gift bag for someone who is headed to Hawaii! That would be me and hubby! Actually we are planning on going to Hawaii to visit our daughter Kim this Christmas. It has been 2 years since we visited her and we can't wait. But now she tells me that they are cautioning plane travel due to the expected H1N1 breakout. Well, I'm thinking that should make plane tickets cheaper. If you know me, I always try to look for that silver lining, well, sometimes! LOL. On to the card/gift bag...

This is from a small 6" X 6" gift bag bought at Wally World. I cut the sides 2" from the top. Pulled the top portion out for the sleeves and left the bottom 4" pushed in. I used Hawaiian print paper Kim sent some time back to design the shirt. I made the DP 2" bigger than the sides, cut it in half, then folded each 1/2" , overlapped them to give the front a real shirt look. The collar was folded down and I used faux stitching up the front and bottom of the sleeves. I took the bag handle off and threaded flowers on it for the lei. Button brads, a pocket w/plane ticket and you're done!

I made another 'dressed' gift bag this past spring for a baby shower. It's not my entry for 365 Cards but I thought you might like to see another version.



This was made for my very good friend Joan's first grandchild. Therefore, the "I Love Grandma" bib. This is a kraft gift bag apprx. 10" X 7 1/2". I saw this idea on Splitcoast and thought it was a good way to have something different from everyone else!


Well, better get busy and get ready for work. I really enjoyed spending my summer making cards and this work schedule is just interfering with my card making schedule. Wait! I think work is paying for all my gear, so I guess I better adjust!

Have a great day! SAM

It's...

Sunday, August 16, 2009, Day 169 - Super Sketchy Sunday, at 365 Cards!
This is the sketch challenge for today...


And this is the front of my card...

And this is the inside of my card...

And this is what I did!

I used double sided designer paper from K&Company. The center of the front panel is one piece. I scored an inch from the right side and using my scor pal cut the angle to fold over the opposite for the light green to show when I folded it back. I used a cuttlebug trim die for the left side to take up some of the 'green' space. Used ribbon and a button to embellish.

Then I decided to decorate the inside of the card. I've seen so many examples that I thought I would try. So I cut the front green panel at 1" from the fold. Then glued the flower panel to it so the light green would show on the inside. Took the 3" left of the green panel and glued it to the back of the flower panel. Somewhere in there I put the ribbon on before it was all glued together. Clear as mud? Might be one of those times that "You should have been there!" Of course you can tell that I used the DP to finish the writing surface with a sentiment at the bottom from Perfect Harmony and the flowers from Gentler Times (SU!)

This is one time that I knew what I wanted to do as soon as I saw the sketch and it went together without giving me too much trouble. Maybe, just maybe, I getting use to the pressure!

Have a great week! SAM

A CAS Butterfly

This card is what started me on my journey this week to make CAS cards at 365 Cards. This card is for Tuesday, Day 164 - Color Scheme. I tried to find DP paper with the 5 chosen colors below, didn't have any...


Then I decided, OK, make it a CAS card and went for my little square stamp and stamped each color across the card front. Then I stamped this cute Stampendous butterfly on top. Glittered part of the wings to honor glitter week at 365. Stamped Thank You to make the card useful and Viola! I'm done!


I really need to keep CAS cards in mind and really simplify my life. Life is really too short to make it so complicated!

Till next week...SAM

Look To The Sky!

When I saw the requirement for Monday, August 10, 2009 Day 163 - Try a Technique: Masking I knew I wanted to make a cloudy sky. I've tried this before and I really like it. I used SU! scallop punch and moved it around as I sponged Brilliance Pearlescent Sky Blue around it. I did find it looks more natural if you just move the scallop quickly from place to place and sponge overlapping around the clouds. The butterfly is a Cuttlebug Die and Embossing folder. I sponged the raised area with Brilliance white and a little gold around the edges to make it stand out against the sky. I used double pop up dots to help created a shadow of the butterfly ( look close, you'll see it). An extremely easy CAS card. Good for when you need a card at the last minute, any sentiment would be appropriate.



Did you know that it is a proven fact that we need 12 hugs a day to be Happy and Healthy? Start counting.

SAM

A Victorian Designer Card

Ok, I set a challenge for myself to do only CAS cards this week. At 365 Cards, Day 166 - Card Recipe, really made that impossible for me! The recipe is to use (and mix gently!)

Ingredients -
4x7 card
5 blossoms
glitter
wet embossed sentiment
3 different patterned papers

No problem finding the designer paper, no problem deciding to lace cut the edge to let the 2nd designer paper show through. Then, I couldn't get the 5 blossoms to work or the 3rd DP. So after sleeping on it and fretting for several hours (can't be CAS if you fret)I looked at my DP and thought, there's the blossoms! Then I needed to emboss the sentiment, that took another hour to make that decision and, oh yeah, the glitter! Decided to punch out itty bitty butterflies and I thought, it' OK, go with it! I did use Ranger distress ink to soften and antique the paper some.



Two more CAS cards to post, ahhh, maybe I won't clean the house, but take a nap instead!

Have a sunny day!

SAM

Give me a Toile Tissue please!

Playing 'catch-up' this week-end and this is a card for Day 168 - Touch of Toile at 365 Cards. The picture is not too good, sorry about that, it's Saturday and I probably drank a little extra coffee! When I saw this challenge I thought I had some DP with a Toile design, but then, when I hit my ribbon and wrapping paper to make a Thursday's card, Day 168 - Touch of Toile, I found some Toile tissue paper and went "WOW" look what I've got! I really did say "WOW out loud! Since it is tissue, I took my card base outside and sprayed it with adhesive. Then I used my brayer to flatten it out and make it stick. To look at the card IRL you can't even tell it is tissue paper. Well it worked great, then I couldn't decide how else to decorate since I wanted it to be a CAS card. Finally found organza ribbon to go with it and discovered that if I use my heat gun the ribbon will curl up! Then I put the sentiment on it and it pretty well covered up all the curly ribbon!


Some more cards to post so I can finish laundry and clean the house, you know, that stuff that is NOT too high on MY priority list! Have a great day...

SAM

A Christmas Package Card!

An early Christmas card. I made this card for Day 167 - "Gift" Card. The card is 6" x 6". I used the Cuttlebug snowflake embossing folder and had to run it through twice to get it to cover the front of the card. I looked through my ribbon supply and just couldn't find the ribbon that looked 'Christmasy' enough so I tore into my storage of wrapping paper and ribbon. I used 'old' Christmas ribbon, bow, and holly embellishment. Wanted more sparkle so I added the glitter snowflake (silver glitter paper) and the red bling on the snowflakes.

This is another one of my CAS cards for this week. I'm beginning to like this plan of keeping my life simple!



Hope you enjoy your day and whatever you do, do not count the days till Christmas! It just creates a panic mode!

SAM

I'm A Star!

This is for 365 Cards, Day 165 - Shape Up! . The main image is to be a STAR!
I really don't have much in the star department until I found Sizzex die cut and the DP to use for the background. The sentiment from SU!, Heard from the Heart, fit perfectly.



Please note that I have gone back to work this week and I wasn't even sure I would be able to keep up doing all the challenges. I decided that CAS (Clean and Simple) cards would make it possible. So you won't see many layers or embellishments. Waking up at by 4:00 AM every morning helped too!

Thanks for checking by today. Have a great week-end!

SAM

Bird Call

This card is for Sunday, August 9, 2009 Day 162 - Super Sketchy Sunday at 365 Cards. I wanted to use the Core Color Core'dination card stock for this card and decided the cuttlebug folder Bird Call would create the scene I imagined. This is the challenge sketch:

And this is the card I made:

To make the 2nd color appear, you simply sand with fine sandpaper. I distressed the edges with a plaid Paper Tearing Ruler. The Thinking of You is a SU! Warm Words stamp. Used 2 small copper brads, a decorative paper clip with ribbon and for the glitter bling, I used coffee glitter card stock with a decorative corner punch to mat the embossed image. The card base is of the same Core Color Core'dination card stock. Pretty quick card, it helps when you have an idea in your head.

I will also post this on Splitcoast Challenge CAS27 .

Officially back to work today, meetings all day so I had plenty of time to day dream about how to put this card together. More meetings in the morning and in 2 more days our 400+ students will appear early on Thursday morning. Another start to another school year. I always wonder what challenges it will bring me and mostly what joys! I hope if you have children starting their school year or if you are a staff member in a school that all have the best school year ever!

Till the next post, find a good book and quiet place to read and enjoy the escape into another world!

SAM

Lace and Sympathy

2 cards posted, please scroll down.

Quick post to get these 2 cards on 365 Cards before they close the doors!!! Planned on doing making cards after dinner dishes were done, got a phone call, realized I called Orson -Oscar, need to apologize for that. So before I make any more goof-ups, I'll get these posted and edit in the morning. I'm good at editing, just goes with the territory!

This card is for Saturday, August 8, 2009, Day 161 - Cool Collage. I will also post it on Stampin B's blog, to make a masculine sympathy card.



This card is for Friday, August 7, 2009, Day 160 - Lovely Lace and 411 sketch challenge. I found some white eyelet lace which is my favorite lace of all. I thought it would like good with the white cardstock but it had yellowed over the years (probably older than you Kim!) so I used my Versa Magic Sea Breeze chalk in pad, place riboon on it and pushed down with a sponge. Now I have blue lace. Not to happy with this card, made tooooo fast with little thinking. LOL


Better say good night and see ya early in the morning!

SAM

Orson With Cake, new digi stamp

I am entering this card for the first challenge at MAGIC IN THE AIR! by Nina. She is offering a free digi stamp each week and has a DT that will post their samples. I decided to use her 'tease' of what the first digi would be by shrinking the stamp and using a 7/8" punch to highlight different areas of Orson with Cake. Then I used the MS 1" circle punch to accent the different poses. I used Prisma color pencils and OMS to color. Of course, it couldn't be a celebration without some stickles!

The other 3 challenge I will post on are:
1. Midnight Madness Challenge: MMSC 13, sketch challenge.
2. SC Limited Supply Challenge: LSC232, I'm Hungry - to feature food.
3. Pile It On, Challenge #9, Use at least 3 flowers.

The SplitCoast challenge was interesting, you can only use CS that has a food name. I used what I had on hand, so it is: So Saffron, Old Olive, and Pale Plum. I wonder if SU! did it on purpose, give food names to CS that would coordinate so well! It's been a fun 4 challenges, something I haven't done for awhile. It sure helps with decision making when you are guided in what to do!

Have a great day - either you will or you won't, the choice is yours!

RRRUFF day and a Birthday Sign

2 cards are posted here be sure to scroll down.
The first card is for Wednesday, August 5, 2009 Day 158 - What's Your Sign? at 365 cards. I was going to make a sign and 'stick' it in some 'picture' and that just sounded like too much work! Then I remembered my Stampendous Happy B-Day stamp and decided to use it since it hasn't been inked yet. Plus, my daughter has made cards with this stamp and they are so cute! I tried to color it with Prisma pencils and sponge shading like she does, but she is and always will be better at coloring than I am! Here is as card she made with the Thinking of U stamp and below is my version...


The next card, Having a RRRUFF day? is for Thursday, August 6, 2009 Day 159 - Setting the Scene - Indoors at 365 Cards. I knew I wanted to use the chair from SU! Funky Favorites, a really, really old set. I bought it on E-Bay because I liked the Mary Engelbreit look of it. That was a while back and I am now just using it for the first time!

I Versamarked the chair on black and the dog on So Saffron and then clear embossed. That way I was able to get the color of the stamps without using different colors of ink or embossing powder. The chair flowers and dog are colored with gel pens. I found the idea for the room from Glittergal on Splitcoast and then I saw Carolyn's card this morning. Honestly Carolyn, I made this card last night before I saw yours! LOL

I added the little rug for the pooch by embossing 3 consecutive Nesties oval shapes and then cutting it out with a Nestie oval scallop . The dog and sentiment are from Clear Stamps, DOGS. The paper and card stock are all SU!

This was a fun card to make. I think I will send it to my gran-puppy Malie. It reminds me of her being home alone all day while Kim works so hard. Oh please, I must stop, my heart is just sobbing for poor Malie! (I can just hear Kim saying, "Oh please, Mother!") I know she has to work, it's one of those hard realities of life!

Stay cool this week-end, it will be hot in the Midwest, turn on the air, grab a chair, a good book and relax!

Pink Tulip and Yellow Sunflower

2 cards are listed here be sure to scroll down.

Monday, August 3, 2009 Day 156 - Ad Inspired challenge is to be inspired by this picture:



I changed the color from orange to pink and used the picture on the table as my inspiration for the background. I bought the background yesterday at O'Dears, local scrapbook store that has tons and tons of paper. Just ask Patti J. And while your at it, tell her how glad you are that she got me out the house and helped me relax before I head back to work (elementary school counselor for K-4, yes! I need to relax!)


I also bought the Quickutz dies at O'Dears. The vase is a paint sample card, punched an oval, cut the bottom and top off. I learned this from Zindorf.

The next card is for Tuesday, August 4, 2009 Day 157 - Imagine This: Sunflowers. This wasn't so easy. Patti and I both bought sunflower background paper at O'Dears, but I notice she didn't use her paper either! LOL. I really had one sunflower stamp and the background was too busy for it. Then I remember when I was mowing last week I saw sunflowers growing by DH's shop. So I grabbed my camera, let the dogs out (DH is gone and I was 'told' to do that) and took several pictures outside.


So the card above is a photo of that sunflower. I found the quote on the internet. I think this would make a good encouragment card. The yellow mat is cuttlebugged with floral screen. The round clip is being held on with the brad.

I want to send a big hug to Carolyn for sending me the The Circle of Friends award. When I thanked her I told her that I didn't have any idea I would have so many far away friends. I have totally enjoyed seeing what everyone else is doing, what is going in your lifes and learning so much from each of you to extend my creativity. I have each of you to thank for that.

In return for receiving this award, I am supposed to thank the sender and list 5 things about myself that others might find interesting, and nominate 5 others for this award. I will list some facts below, but I would like each of my followers to grab this award for their blog and then pay it forward!

Ok, so did you know...

1. I have the most beautiful, caring daughter and she is my pride and joy! Okay Kim, Mom is done with the mush!

2. I alway wanted to be a teacher. I had a very bad experience starting school and my goal was to become a teacher so "I can do it right"! and show my kindergarten teacher that tying a student to a chair was not the only choice (OK, I was a little ADHD!) . After teaching kindergarten for 12 years I am currently an elementary school counselor. Another goal, to help the kids that can't help themselves. I love my chosen career - I hate the politics that go with it.

3. My husband came home on a ten day leave from Vietnam and we were married August 15, 1971. Do the math, we're celebrating 38 years next week. Hardest thing I have ever done is to watch him board that plane back to the jungle. Oh yeah, that was back in the day when we could go any where in the airport, even to the departing gate!

4.My husband and daughter said I needed to get rid of my stress by getting a hobby. Ha! I did! It's card making and paper crafts and it has taken over one room in my house (my daughter's old bedroom, I grabbed it the day she moved out!) And...I got her started in cardmaking and she has helped me organize my 'gear'!

5. The last but not least that I will share with you is that when I retire, I want us (hubby and me) to move to Hawaii to be close to our daughter. The happy part, Kim and I can papercraft together. The sad part, it'll cost a fortune to ship my 'gear' across the ocean!

Enjoy your day and remember - keep your face to the sunshine! SAM

Soft Fan Fold Flower

A card for Sunday, August 2, 2009 Day 155 - Super Sketchy Sunday, CAS challenge at Splitcoast to use Faux Stitching, and Mojo Monday 98 . 365 and Mojo are both sketches so I stretched the sketch at 365 to blend with the sketch at Mojo.
Here's the card...



The DP is from K&Company with a victorian look. The card base is SU! vanilla confetti and I used gold vellum to highlight the squares. Used a crimper and the flower center is a fabric covered brad by Making Memories. Click on card to enlarge to read the sentiment from SU! The Art of Life set.

Have a great day and keep your cool!

Cash for Clunkers!

Oh my! Got up this morning to check Day #154 at 365 Cards, saw Michelle as the Guest Reader, "Yay", I say, then looked at the title, saw Planes, Trains, and Automobiles and thought, oh man, I don't have any transportation gear! Went back to bed, couldn't sleep (it was 4:00AM) and remembered that I had used the Loads of Love truck stamp at a Stampin' Up get together and knew I didn't like the card I made. OK, I can recycle and make a new card. Then I thought, I think maybe I could have a mat stack with automobiles on it. Got up at 5 AM and sure enough, I found both. Then I giggled. My DH and I went out to eat last night and as we drove around we played a game, "Hey look, there's a clunker!" Of course we excluded our car from the game... so why not use a clunker of a card!

Well, put all this rambling together and you have the following card...



Five minute card and challenge is done! Now I can finish painting the utility room windows/cabinets and start mowing 2 acres (not by myself of course, DH has to supervise and mow "what I miss" routine). That is, if it doesn't rain as predicted.

The background is from SafariKids matstack. Love it, lots of glittery pics. The Cash For Clunkers sign is off the internet but don't tell anyone!

Have a great week-end and in tribute to today's challenge, keep the pedal to the metal, but drive safely...