Birthday Wishes

 I used a card sketch from over at Stamp TV for three of the five cards here today. I mixed Gina K. Designs Picture It & Organize It! for all three. It's a quick and easy sketch, and flat enough to mail with one stamp. I stamped the images with my Versafine black pad and embossed them in clear. Then, I colored them with my minuscule supply of Copics.

 This one is GKD Signs of Autumn and Thanks A Million; the ribbon is GKD also. I stamped the rooster in Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink, and the ink really pooled up on the stamp. I thought I'd go ahead and stamp it to see what it looked like.  I decided it looked pretty cool and distressed and fit in just fine with this sort of French Provencal card.

 Same supplies as the first card. One thing I wanted to mention: GKD are so closely trimmed, that I don't have to use a stamp positioner to get three images like this stamped straight. I just stamped the frame, then the flowers, then the sentiment and then embossed them all. No fiddling around.

 I quilted the background. It's such a good way to use up little bits and pieces. This card has the same supplies as the rooster card, except I added a PTI frame and die cut.

Another view. I hope you can stop by tomorrow for tomorrow's 365 Sketchy Sunday!

Project Life Week 12: NOW

 Only four photos this week. I still wasn't very good at remembering to take pictures, although I already loved the process of Project Life.

 Amber Edition Week card. This is a horizontal card, but I used it vertically because I'm a rebel that way. I added a little chipboard "celebrate" here, because this was Ross's birthday week. I can't believe I am the mother of a 22yo. I also added some hand stamped presents along the bottom of the card, and some sewing.

 All I did to embellish this sweet, goofy pic of Wilson was add an old label maker title.

 To emphasize that these pics go together, I used the label maker here, too.

 Sky and Wilson playing Legos. Sky was home for Spring Break. This photo is from Dec., though, because I forgot to take a single pic of Sky while he was here!!! *SIGH* (What is the matter with me?)

 This typed card is my journaled confession. I added a strip of vintage orange ric rac.

 This card tells the story of W being sick, and I added some sewing, and a strip of patterned paper.

 This is my week in review card, with one of our sweet kittens' head in the way. I love having these little cuties around, and they play a pretty big role in current PL pages.

Here's Ross and Yizhen in New Orleans on his birthday. Yizhen moved to San Francisco after graduation, and Ross just moved there this week to be with her. They are so happy and so adorable. I've had this little banner for years and years, and I think it came in a kit, but I'm not sure which one.

Happiness is having...

 ...a friend like you! This is another all Gina K. Designs line-up today. The mouse card is from the Stamp TV Spring Mix. The entire card is GKD, except the ink and copics. I love the soft, Spring colors in this kit! I have used this circle frame a lot lately, I love sticking stamps in frames!

 This one is from the Signs of Autumn kit, and the sentiment and circle frame are from Spring Mix. See how good that frame looks on totally different cards? This card is all GKD, except the vintage button.

 I used Organize It! and Picture It! for this card. I did not buy the full Organize It STV kit. At the time it came out a few years ago, I was much too busy, and had fallen away from STV. This was the first kit I missed since they began. So, only the stamps here are GKD. I love using this frame. I like all of the frames that have been in various STV kits. They really add something to a focal image. You can take a small stamp, which might get lost by itself, and use it as a focal image, just by adding a frame.

 Same story as the card above for this one. I don't know how I would use this gorgeous silhouette stamp without the frame, as it's a little small. But add that frame, and it's perfect. These stamps are pre-cut so closely that I don't have to use a stamp positioner to line them up, even though they are red rubber.

This one is all GKD Spring Mix kit. That kit includes a circle and oval frame.

Project Life Week 12: THEN

 Time to step back almost 25 years! This is the left side of my Week 12. We are at the wedding reception. Troy's mom and dad threw the reception for us, and it was so nice! We had a small wedding, but I thought it was perfect.

 I like to add vintage paper to most of my layouts. Here there is vintage sheet music and book paper. I love those little alphabet stickers! I can't remember who makes them, but you probably have them too, so what does it matter? I think that's Sassafrass paper on this layout.

 This is a vintage button and some glitter glue dots. I started with a piece of painted chipboard and just added layers, finishing with the mother of pearl button.

 DH and I, and a couple of dear relatives!

 Posing with the little girls, and cutting the cake!!

 A little layered die cut embellishment.

A final piece of book paper.

Day 6 of Whole30 went well. Today is W's birthday, so we are having steak, cucumbers with homemade mayo, and watermelon for dinner. That's AFTER Troy took the boys to DQ for ice cream. I stayed home to blog and watch old Murder, She Wrote episodes, because believe it or not, DQ is not Whole30 complaint.

New Hero Arts Stamp & Cut

 My sister has several of these. I was jealous. Yes. I considered stuffing them all into my suitcase the last time I was there. I mean, she loves me, it's not like we would become estranged over gorgeous stamps that come with matching dies. However, I found a couple of sets on sale, and elected not to steal hers. This set of Framelits is called Butterflies 3, and I think it's fabulous! I paired it with a Gina K. Designs stamp called Unforgettable, and some polished stone paper I made using Gina's method.

 This card was a theory that did not work as well as I thought. I colored the embossed image with an embossing pen and then embossed with different colors, working one color at a time. It's messy, but I elected to keep it, because I think it looks a bit like tile. I used Signs of Autumn from GKD, plus a K&Co. butterfly.

 GKD Spring Mix.

 GKD Spring Mix.

GKD Spring Mix.

I'm on Day 5 of Whole30. I have mostly felt absolutely horrible the whole time. I have stuck with it, though, and hope that soon I will adjust to the lack of my usual horrifyingly bad food choices. Other than the fact that I generally feel sick or have a pounding headache, it has not been too hard. I have been using recipes from Whole Family Strong, and on the first, I made Apple Bumbkin without the maple syrup, of course. The texture takes a little getting used to, but it tastes great. It's a good thing I like it, because Troy does not, and I have been stuck trying to polish off a 9x13 pan of it by myself. I've eaten two large servings a day, and I'm down to just one serving. I probably won't ever make this again, because it's just no fun having to eat the same thing five days in a row.

I would like to nominate myself for some kind of medal, though, because my 10yods has a sheet of Pillsbury Croissants in the oven right now, and I guarantee you that I won't eat a crumb.

New 365Cards Design Team Member!

 This is my very first post as a 365Cards DT member! I'm a Sunday Sketch designer, which is just so cool, because I love Wendi's sketches. 365Cards is such a fun challenge blog because you can check in every day for a little inspiration. Every Sunday, you will find a terrific sketch, so come on over and play with us.

 For my card, I used Stampin' Up! Morning Marigold and American Crafts paper and stickers. The sentiment is a Gina K Designs stamp from Enjoy the Sunshine. I kept this one really simple. I'm always surprised when I turn out a CAS card. I never used to like making them, but I enjoy the lightness of a CAS card every now and then.

I hope you can stop by 365Cards and play with us this week. It really is a lot of fun! Plus, I would love to stop by your blog and see what you've been up to, and how can I do that if I don't know where you are?

Project Life Week 11: Now

 First, some cute pictures of my youngest and one of our kittens to lure you in and make you like me, and a big thanks to Michelle for including me in today's hop!

 It is not that easy to take Project Life pictures when you have a boy and three kittens helping.

 Many times there will be a tail or a paw in a picture.

 I just leave them there because I love them. SO. MUCH.

 So, for those of you who have never visited my blog before, which will most likely be all of you, I do two PL pages a week. On the left, I do a THEN page, with photos from the past. On the right I do a NOW page. This works well for me because I like getting old pics in an album, and everyone loves seeing them, too. It also helps because I still have a hard time remembering to get lots of pictures and write everything down.  You can see I only had five pictures this week. I am trying to get more these days.

 This was way back before I had anything but my Amber Edition to use for PL. I am now a member of two kit clubs (Citrus Twist & Cocoa Daisy) and have all the latest and greatest. Here I did not have enough Thickers to make my title, so I used a stamp for one E and drew the 11. I think it looks terrible, but I like it because I was using what I had and making it work. I have tons of Thickers now, but I will never change this card; it's a reflection of where I was that week.

 I must say I love my kits and having so much stuff geared specifically to PL. However, it's okay to do PL without hundreds of dollars of PL supplies. I think my first PL kit arrived in time for me to add to week 13. Here I just used stamps, my typewriter, patterned paper and mulberry paper flowers. And my sewing machine. I sew on every LO.

 I apologize for the glare. I just realized as I loaded these pictures that the super high tech anti-glare lenses in my glasses take away the glare, so I can't see it when I'm taking pics. Next time I will take my glasses off or wear my contacts. I have been fretting over my PL pics, because they are truly awful. I think this is one reason why.

 If you click on the pictures, you can see them MUCH better!

 Here I'm documenting our Salad in a Jar kick. It's great for people who take their lunch to work.

This is our youngest pouting a bit over having a bottle of Hershey's syrup and no milk. This is how you learn to live with disappointment. But not for long, because his dad hopped in the car and went and got milk. Spoiled much?