Tattoo Birthday Wishes

Hi, guys! Hope all is well.  Today I am sharing a 20th birthday card for a young man. I was asked by his mom to make one special for him.  I have known Austin for quite some time as I work with his mom.  He is now 20, and I remember him as a young boy.  It is amazing how fast time goes.

Austin loves tattoos and I thought I would use some sheet metal and some Diamond Plate embossing on it to give it a cool look.

Supplies
Stamps: Lizzie Anne
Paper: Stampin' Up, Ten Seconds Studio
Ink: Memento Black, Copic Markers
Misc.: Tim Holtz Alterations Diamond Plate Embossing Folder, Spellbinder Heart dies, Oval Punches

I kept some of the papers light in color so it would not look too dark as it is from his mom, after all!

Wishing Austin a very happy birthday!

I am entering this card in the Simon Says Stamp Blog Anything Goes Challenge!

Hope your day is a good one!

May 2013 Tim Holtz Tag - Rub-On Resist

Hi, guys! Hope all is well! Today I am sharing the two tags I did for the Tim Holtz Tags of 2013 for May.  Tim showed us how to use rub-ons as a resist and they work great for that.  You will see I used Distress Stains in 4 colors to get the background as well as a spritz of water to blend.  I enjoyed antiquing the enameled tags with Alcohol Ink and then applying rub-ons. Staining the ribbon and giving it the crinkled look is something that I really enjoy, too.

Here is a closer look at each tag:

As you are probably aware by now, I really look forward to this monthly challenge.  I find that I learn so much, and have a blast while doing so.  Besides, I can guarantee my fingers will be EXTREMELY inky by the completion of the tags and that means I had a great time.

If you haven't tried your hand at a tag, I would highly recommend you join in the fun.  The size of a tag is great for learning and then you have a completed piece of art to enjoy.  After we complete our tags, Tim has a gallery on his blog where we all share them (if we want), and that is another aspect of the fun, learning and community.

Until next time!

WOYWW #208 Some Very Inky Tags

Hi, guys! Hope all is well!  It is Wednesday, so you know what that means!  I will be sharing what is on my work desk!  Thank you, Julia, for this great fun!  I was away last week and didn't get to participate the last few weeks and missed seeing what everyone was working on!

Today you will see I am doing my monthly Tim Holtz Tag of 2013. This month focuses on rub-on resist.  This was new for me, and had fun with it.  How do you like my collection of Alcohol Inks?

I have to call it a night, as these tags always take me awhile and I am so exhausted after returning to work today after being away for a week.  I need a vacation from my vacation!

I look forward to sharing the tags with you when they are completed and am looking forward to visiting with you and seeing what you are up to!  If you haven't joined in, I would highly recommend you visit Julia at  Stamping-Ground! It is a fun group! I always feel so inspired.

Enjoy the day!

Our Colonial Williamsburg Vacation

Hi, guys! Hope you are all having a nice holiday weekend.  My husband and I were on vacation this week in Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia.  It is one of my favorite places to visit as I just love the way history comes to life right in front of you!  The gardens there are simply amazing.  Great people, sunny weather and delicious food all added to the great time we had there.  I thought I would share some of my photos and experiences with you today.

The gardens are plentiful there.  There are formal gardens at the Governor's Palace, and many informal gardens throughout the Colonial area.

They also have tons of vegetable and kitchen gardens there, too!  I love this shot of some of their cabbages!

Each day the Revolutionary City came alive with conversations with our founding fathers, re-enactments and even parades!  We all took part in a march with the fife & drum corps to the Capitol to hear the reading of the Declaration of Independence.  It is truly one of the most touching activities we took part in and one I will never tire of.

There are plenty of animals throughout the Colonial area.  They have a rare breed program where they are working on keeping some animals from becoming extinct.   We got to take a carriage ride and learned that our pair of horses were the ones who pulled Queen Elizabeth's carriage when she visited Williamsburg!

If you ever get the opportunity to visit, I highly recommend you make sure you see and experience a visit with Patrick Henry.  He is very moving and inspiring.  After hearing him speak (this was my fifth visit), I came home wanting to write letters on matters that I feel need to be addressed in various areas of government!

I hope you enjoyed visiting with me today and sharing a bit of the Colonial Williamsburg experience.   I hope to share more with you on another day.

Before I end,  I want to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for us to enjoy the freedoms and liberty we have here in the United States.  Thank you to all our military and their families and may we all remember them tomorrow as we celebrate Memorial Day.

Until next time!

A Humorous Birthday Card for My Kid Sister

Hi, guys!  Today I am sharing a card I made for my sister's birthday.  If you knew my sister, you would understand the need for me to give her a humorous card.  She is not sentimental and so there are no roses or sweet poems, etc.  She just likes funny cards.  When I saw this image, I had to use it as she reminds me of my baby sister - sunglasses and all!

Supplies:
Stamps: Inkadinkado
Paper: Stampin' Up, Echo Park
Ink: Memento Black, Distress Ink
Misc.: Cuttlebug Embossing Folder, Spellbinders Deckled Rectangle Dies, Twine

The embossing folder I used for this had a very similar look to the patterned paper.

Hoping you have a great day with plenty of humor and laughs!

Happy Birthday Card For a Granddaughter!

Hi, guys! Today I am sharing a birthday card I made for an eight-year-old girl.  I was asked by her grandma to make one with long brown hair.  I thought about it some and decided to use this fun image by Stampavie Suzi Blu.  The other request was to make it a "large" card.  The stamp I used is very, very large, so it was perfect.  One of the reasons I don't like to make large cards is there is so much space to fill, and I can't emboss the backgrounds with my A2 size folders.  So, after some thought, I decided to use some patterned paper for the background.

Supplies:
Stamps:Stampavie Suzi Blu
Paper: Gina K Designs, DCWV
Ink: Memento Black, Copics
Misc.: Stampin' Up Circle Punches, Ribbon, Glitter Pen, Corner Rounder, Computer Generated Letters/Number

I was trying to figure a fun way to put the birthday girl's name on the card and decided to mimic the paper and put the letters in individual circles in matching colors.

Here's wishing Jenna has a fun-filled birthday!

Until next time!

A Day In The Garden With Hubby

Hi, guys! Hope all is well!  This weekend I was able to start planting!  Instead of my usual inky fingers, I had very muddy fingers by day's end!  I have been champing at the bit to do so, but we have had lots of frost lately.  We decided to plant tomatoes (10), bell peppers (5), and tons of herbs.  We did them in pots as it works best for us with our limited time to work in the garden.  I do have a great herb garden in ground, but those are perennials (chives, oregano, and lemon balm).  I really wish I never planted the oregano there because it sure spreads! The rest of the herbs are in planters.   I thought I would share some pictures taken today, and later on in the season I will share the hits and the misses!

Here is the established herb garden that is in ground.  This is my favorite time of year as the chives have their purple flowers on them!

The front flower beds are starting to bloom finally!  Love the azaleas! (Excuse the open garage door, we were actively working as I was snapping away!)

My late first hubby loved jumbo white irises.  They are now in bloom!

I love garden art!  We found Irwin at a local craft fair.  He just cracks me up, and when the wind blows he rocks back and forth!

Last but not least, let me introduce you to our "Metro-Gnome" Mookie!   I picked him up at Citifield after a Mets game a few years ago.  Isn't he cute?

Hope you enjoyed meandering through the garden with me.  It was fun sharing it with you.  I will have inky fingers again really soon!

Do you garden?  Or do you appreciate the great outdoors in other ways?  I would love to hear!

Have a great day!

Wedding Card -- Nature Inspired

Hi, guys! Hope all is well!  I was asked to make a personalized wedding card by my sister.  She did not want me to make one in my usual wedding style.  No bride/groom, wedding cake or my usual color choices for a wedding. The bride and groom are very earthy, and so my sister asked that I incorporate nature into the card.  The groom whittled his own pen for his guest book, so I decided to use my woodgrain embossing folders by Tim Holtz on this card. I used vintage twine instead of my usual ribbon as well. The use of the Core-dinations paper and the sanding gave it a rustic look I feel.

Supplies:
Stamps: Lawn Fawn
Paper: Core-dinations, Gina K, Desert Storm Cardstock
Ink: Hero Arts, Memento Black, Antique Linen Distress Ink
Misc.: Spellbinders Heart Dies, Lawn Fawn Banner Die, Tim Holtz Embossing Folder, Twine

It was fun having to think "outside the box" and outside my comfort level.  My sister was thrilled when I gave it to her. Funny thing is, now my other sister who works with the bride-to-be wants one to give, too.  Not sure where I am going to go with that one yet!

Have a great day!  I hope you find some time in the day to do something you love!

Confirmation Card For My Nephew

Hi, guys! Hope all is well!  This weekend was extremely busy with both Mother's Day and my nephew Christopher's Confirmation.  It was such a special weekend of fellowship, family and love.  I thought I would share the card I made for Christopher for this special occasion.

Supplies:
Stamps: Stampin' Up, Lawn Fawn
Paper: Gina K Designs
Ink: Versamark, Stampin' Up
Misc.: Tim Holtz Embossing Folder, Lawn Fawn Die, Ranger Silver Embossing Folder, Stardust Pen

The dove is a symbol used to represent the Holy Spirit, so I used a dove from an old Christmas Stampin' Up set.  I wanted rays to appear to radiate from it, so I broke out my Tim Holtz embossing folder that had lovely rays, and added sparkle with the Stardust pen.   For those who may not know, it is a symbolic gesture for the kids to pick a Saint's name to be used when they are confirmed.  My nephew chose LUKE, and he researched the life of St. Luke.  I recall making my Confirmation many years ago and I chose Katherine as my name (as did my mom and my sister Shannon).   Christopher had a wonderful day, and loved his card.

Congratulations, Christopher!  You made us all so very proud!

I hope you have a fabulous day!  Until next time!

Sparkly and Pink Get Well Card

Hi, guys! For today, I am sharing a card I made for a friend to give to a co-worker who had surgery.  She asked me to make the card "pink and sparkly" as that is her personality and would make her smile.  I decided to make a floral card with plenty of bling and pink.

Supplies:
Stamps: Hero Arts/Basic Grey
Paper: Gina K Designs
Ink: Hero Arts Shadow Inks
Misc.: Bling, Ribbon

I really believe in the power of a good card to lift one's spirits.  I sure hope this accomplishes just that today!

Enjoy the day!  Until next time!

Personalized Holy Communion Cards

Hi, guys! Hope you are enjoying your weekend!  This weekend we will be celebrating Mother's Day and my nephew's Holy Confirmation.  I will share the cards I made for each next week (so not to spoil the surprise!).

I have been asked to make a lot of personalized Holy Communion cards this year.  It is funny to me that last year I made a bunch of them, but all for little boys.  This year there was not one boy in the bunch, but a bunch of little girls.  I used the same stamp for each of the girls, just changed up the hair color on each.  My friend wanted a card made with a lily of the valley theme. I used glossy card stock and heat embossed the background of this one.

The focal image stamp is from Catholic Rubber stamps.

I thought I would share a Mother's Day card I made for my friend Peter to give to his mom.  His mom is a big gardener and he wanted yellow flowers incorporated in the card.  She is currently helping him plant yellow flowers in pots in his garden.  I thought this was a perfect image to  use for her!

I cannot wait to spend the day with my mom on Sunday.  In the mom department, I hit the jackpot!

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there! Until next time!

Got Margaritas? Adult Party Favors

Hi, guys! This past weekend I was lucky enough to attend a sister get-together.  My sister moved into a new apartment so we decided to celebrate together along with a few good friends.  I decided we needed to have some "adult" party favors.  I picked up some pre-mixed margaritas and mudslides. You know how I love to make cards, so I decided to make some fun tags to add to them.

The woman holding her head is a stamp by Viva Las Vegas Stamps.  I know we have all had days like that and so I thought it would be perfect for this project.  The "got margaritas?" stamp is by A Muse.  The mudslide tags used an old stamp from Stampin' Up, and the cool thing is the chocolate is embossed with chocolate-scented embossing powder.  Distress ink is rubbed along the tag to look like chocolate smudges (we have all had that happen I am sure!).

These were a big hit with all the ladies.  I think they are perfect for you to make for ladies gatherings, showers, or game nights.

Wishing you a fun day!  Until next time!

WOYWW #205 Working on Baptism Card

Hi, guys! Today is Wednesday so I am sharing what is on my work desk!  Currently, I am working on a special baptism card.  Friends of mine are going to be godparents and so they wanted a personalized card.  The baby is named Francis in honor of the new Pope!

I will be personalizing this card tonight.  I embossed the cross in copper and used matching copper cord on it as well. You will see I am a big tea drinker, and I was enjoying my Earl Grey while creating.

In my studio, I have a few "boxes of bling" and you will see below that I was busy digging though it to find the right accent for the cross!

Thank you, Julia, for this fun sharing of desks worldwide!  I plan to visit a bunch of you throughout the day to see what you are working on!  I highly recommend you join in! Visit Julia here, and you will have a lot of fun!

Until next time!

Mother's Day Cards Galore!

Hi, guys!  I have been very busy making Mother's Day cards for the upcoming holiday.  I thought I would share some of them with you today.  Since there are quite a few, I will not list all the supplies, so if you have any questions, please feel free to shoot me a message, or leave me a question and I will get back to you!

The first one is for my friend's Babci (Grandmother in Polish).

Here is a modern-looking one for a friend's mama.

One for a grandma.

Another one for a grandma!

Hope you like these fun cards.  My hope is they will make some lovely ladies very happy!

Enjoy your day!

Spring Is Here, So That Means Gardening Has Begun!

Hi, guys! Hope all is well.  The weather here has been beautiful lately.  This past weekend I was finally able to get into my garden and start working on it.  This winter was very hard here with Hurricane Sandy and the blizzard Nemo.  I LOVE spring, but the one thing I don't like about spring is:

DANDELIONS!

I was a very busy beaver pulling them from my lawn.  The Grandpa's Weeder is a great tool that I discovered while watching QVC one day.  It sure saves my back!! (No affiliation with them, just love the tool!!)

My lilacs and bleeding hearts are starting to bloom and seeing them made me so happy!

With the pretty weather here, I am able to hang laundry outside!  It may sound like a little thing, but I look forward to it all winter!  

After all the outdoor work, I decided that it would be great to start the season off with a barbecue with my hubby!  We made our favorite grilled flank steak!

It was a great start to our spring and so productive.  I am looking forward to getting my veggies and herbs for the garden on Mother's Day weekend.  

Hope your spring is filled with beauty and maybe a barbecue or two!

Just want to give a shout out to my brother Sean today as he celebrates his birthday!  He is a great brother and has helped me so much putting this blog together.

Until next time!