Freestyle Fridays - Santa's Coming

I was looking at some of my supplies yesterday and came across some galvanized pots that I had purchased some time back.  With no particular design in mind I spray painted one in red.  Once that was dry I took out a container full of glitter paper in all sorts of colors.  Cut a strip in black and circled the pot with it.  Made a belt buckle with some gold using a square Nestabilities.  Die cut some black circles.  Took out the Tasteful Trim die and ran it through the Big Shot with some white glitter.   Can you picture where this is going?

In my glitter stash I also had a some red leafing so I stuck that into some floral foam.  Let's call this Santa's Tree.  Seriously, this was done in no time at all.  Best of all, the glitter paper has a sticky back so it came together very easily.  The only time consuming part was the spray paint drying time.

This is going to be my last Freestyle Fridays post for this year.  Regina will bring you her mission next week and we will resume January 6, 2012.

********REGINA'S MISSION********

Ho Ho Ho Regina!  Your mission this week will be to take something in your supplies, no special purchase necessary, and turn it into Santa's Coat.  So yeah, you gotta use Red. And some black. And some white.  The only other criteria is that you must play Christmas music while creating this coat.  You know you love it!

See Ya Next Week!

Freestyle Fridays

It's the beginning of the first weekend of the busiest month of the year. How are you holding up?  Got your list made and are you checking it twice?

Hopefully Regina’s Mission from last week got you inspired like it did her.  Her mission was to:  come up with a little gift that would be great to give to teachers, neighbors or better yet, your best customers. You can incorporate it with candy, Kleenex, hair conditioner sample, bath oils, etc etc. The only exception to the rule, its NOT a card.

And here is a sneak of the result: 

Regina has all the details here and an inspirational tidbit on a very creative friend. This was shared at her last class. Once you read her post it`s going to make you want to attend her next one. So be sure to leave her a comment and find out how you can attend!

See Ya Next Week!

Freestyle Fridays - A Little Christmas Gift

Gift giving season is just around the corner.  Sometimes you just want to give someone "a little something".  In my very limited blog surfing time I came across a project for nail files that could be given to co-workers to keep handy at their desk.  Goodness knows you can never find a nail file when in need. This is my version.  

Started with a piece of Lucky Limeade measuring 11 x 3, scored at 2 1/2 and 7 1/2 on the long side.  This is what it looked like before it was completely assembled.

The embossing was done with the Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder. I did go over this part a little with a sanding block to distress it a bit. The stamp sets used are Love & Sympathy and My Friend stamped in Island Indigo.  The button is a cheap sewing button which was threaded with silver cord.  To make the holes for the buttons and keep them even I used the paper piercing tool and mat pack. To hide "behind it" I attached a Brushed Silver butterfly punch out.  A rhinestone brad was put on the embossed part and this can be used to wrap the silver thread around it to keep it closed.

The tips of the files were stamped with  Island Indigo using the image from My Friend.  I just used the tip.  I held the nail file with the fingers and gently pressed the stamp onto it.  It worked like a charm and I'm sure happy with the result. You see, the possibilities are endless to what you can stamp on.

Barely costs $2 to make these and a sweet little gift to brighten someone day!

 

********REGINA'S MISSION********

Christmas is just around the corner Regina so your mission this week is to come up with a little gift that would be great to give to teachers, neighbors or better yet, your best customers.  You can incorporate it with candy, Kleenex, hair conditioner sample, bath oils, etc etc.  The only exception to the rule, its NOT a card.  Ooooo, what will you come up with!!! Can't wait!

See Ya Next Week!

Freestyle Fridays - Regina's Fall Wedding Card

It's Regina's week and true to form she has come through for us yet again folks!!  Here's a sneak at Regina's completed mission from last week.

The mission: create/design a project with a fall wedding theme. The colors and accessories are of your choosing. 

For complete details and how Regina honors the couple that decides on a fall wedding date click here! The woman loves her Spice Cake Designer Paper.  J I've said this before and I will say it again, you better get some before she buys it all.  She's sure making a dent in Stampin' Up's inventory. Be sure to leave her some love while your there.  She's love to hear from you!

See Ya Next Week!

Freestyle Fridays - Fall Wedding

The recruiter that got my foot through the door for the best job I've ever had got married in Mexico this past Wednesday.  Congratulations Mindy and Trevor!  Can't wait to see you when you get back all glowing and sun kissed.

With a little investigating I found out that her bridal color was orange.  That's all I got.  Orange...How do you come up with something without making it look like Halloween?  A little challenging to say the least. I set about pulling cardstock with different tones of oranges and decided that Peach Parfait with Brushed Gold with would make a perfect match.  And ta-da, the end result.

The card base is Brushed Gold.  On a layer of Peach Parfait I embossed in gold the bride from For The Bride.  I ran the Swirly Decorative Strip Die through the Big Shot with Brushed Gold twice.  Using the Two Way Glue Stick I adhered it to the Peach Parfait then trimmed it with the Table Top Cutter to give it a clean edge.  The sentiment is also embossed in Gold. A little bling was added using the Rhinestone Jewels.

For the inside:

I added the second strip of the Swirly die in the same manner with the Two Way Glue Stick and trimming afterwards.

And, I am happy to tell you that Mindy said I matched the color perfectly!  Gotta like that!!!!

********REGINA'S MISSION********

To my very creative Freestyle Partner Regina, your mission for this week it to create/design a project with a fall wedding theme.  The colors and accessories are of your choosing.

The hardest part of these missions is waiting a week to see what awesome project Regina will share with us.  Comments, as always are most welcomed and appreciated.

See Ya Next Week! 

Freestyle Fridays - Forever Young

As true to fashion Regina has completed her mission once again!  Look at this awesome creation

Regina used My Digital Studio at it's finest and only the way her creativity can capture. The luscious fall colors just leap out at you.  Click here to get to Regina's post to read how she arranged and detailed this gem.  And please leave her some love, it's really not that hard or time consuming.

See Ya Next Week!

Freestyle Fridays - A Little Bling

I've been wanting to play around with the Forever Young Set for awhile now and this was week was finally the time to do it.

I started with a base of crumb cake.  The layer is Cherry Cobbler stamped with Early Espresso Classic Inc.  I grabbed a gel pen and got to all the little leaves and the dots under the sentiment from Word Play and some of the swirlys.  I used a die cut for the clouds - Pool Party Cardstock - and added a bit of gel there as well to the bottom rounds.  This card shines in real life and depending on the position it catches the eye in a different area. Really have to use gel pens more often 'cuz I sure like the effect.

********REGINA'S MISSION********

Regina your mission this week is to make a project using the Forever Young set with a touch of BLING.  Gosh I hope you have it.  Haha, of course YOU have it.  If you haven't looked in on Regina in awhile make you do this week.  She got some great stuff to share.

See Ya Next Week!

Freestyle Fridays - Wreath a la Regina

Regina has completed last week's mission and oh la la looky here

This is a picture of the center.  For a full view click here to get to Regina's blog where she'll give you all the details on how it came about. The color combination is authentic fall and of course Regina had to throw some Spice Cake DSP in there.  The woman can't get enough of it! :) So hurry and get yourself some before it's all gone (wink wink).

Another mission successfully completed.

See Ya Next Week!

Freestyle Fridays - Thanksgiving Wreath

Thanksgiving for us has come and gone.  Though the occasion was this past Monday we celebrated on Sunday.  Good thing too!  On Monday morning our electricity went out around 9am.   A little while later I called our service, using my cell of course, to hear a recorded message say that an overhead power line had been contacted.  Around here we immediately think an over sized load of sorts had crossed and broken a line. Although that shouldn't happen on a Holiday we still called the anonymous fella an idiot and laid total responsibility on him.  All the while we were thankful that the bird had been cooked the day before as the electricity did not return until after noon.  Can you image the turkey dinners on that day!

To greet our guests I set out to make a decoration for the front door.  I laid a large garbage bag on the counter and supplied myself with a twisted circle branch wreath, silk leaves of all sorts of fall colors, pumpkins, pine cones and an assortment of other little decorations I had gathered in a large plastic container from this project or other.  Heated up the glue gun and got to work.  Added a leaf here, a pine cone there, with no real pattern in mind.

The only Stampin' Up product used here were the bottle nose pliers with wire cutter from the Crafters Tool Kit.  I love those and use them all the time especially when I make decorations like this one were I like one element off of a silk flower arrangement. Once I was done I folded the garbage bag carefully to catch all the little bits and I was done.  The colors match perfectly with the ones that Mother Nature are giving us as of late.

********REGINA'S MISSION********

It's Friday so that means a mission goes out to the very talented Regina. So Regina your mission this week should you choose to accept it will be to create a project with a wreath theme.  It doesn't have to be using supplies like the one above although I'm sure that the Andari Craft Store does have all the requirements (wink wink).  You can create on paper using markers, ribbon(s), ink, even using your beloved My Digital Studio.  Maybe even something scary and spooky. Can't wait to see what you come up with!!!

See Ya Next Week!

Freestyle Fridays

It's Friday already and it's time to have a look at what Regina did with last week's mission to use designer paper and a fence design.

How did I know that Regina would use her favorite designer paper :) Hop on over to Regina's Blog for a full look and all the details.  She used quite a bit of supplies this go round. Sponging, Scoring, Punching, to My Digital Studio.  The woman is unstoppable!

See Ya Next Week!

Freestyle Fridays - Changing Seasons

Fall has arrived and in full force.  The trees are changing colors with rapid speed.  Some have no leaves left, others are hanging on with all they've got. And the geese, oh my, they are V-ing south.  "Come back" I tell them but they don't listen.  The only thing that gives me comfort at this time of year is the vibrancy of the burgundies, yellows and oranges which inspired this card. 

I started with a piece of 10 x 5 Baja Breeze and scored it half.  Went searching for some fall designer paper and found several unopened packages of Autumn Vine.  Well, I better make use of this!  So I cut a piece to make a layer for the front.  Before I adhered it I added a punch out of a fence (wish it was bigger) made with Baja Breeze. I cheated and used some purchased flowers some time ago.  The sentiment was stamped with Timber Brown Staz-On from the stamp set Word Play and cut using a die cut.  Dimensionals were used to place it on an angle.

Keeping fingers crossed that our fall will last longer than our summer!

********REGINA'S MISSION********

For this week Regina your mission is to complete a project with autumn designer paper of your choice.  The catch, include a fence, either machine cut or designed with your very talented hands. 

See Ya Next Week!

Freestyle Fridays - Regina's Mission

Well, haven't we been having fun with technology this week.  NOT!!  Whether at home or at work technology has not been very cooperative. From a printer misfeeding to no Internet and everything else in between that you can imagine it happened this past week.  Although tempting to open a window and give it a shove down a few floors maturity and restrain held strong and in the end it all got accomplished in some form or another.

Last week I missioned Regina to CASE a cover of the demo only magazine Stampin' Success.  And true to her artistic talents she came through for us.  Look at this.

To get the complete post hop on over to Regina's Blog and have a look at the cover of the magazine that inspired her and the details on how she came about this design. Plus, she has a great tip on how to persuade your creative side.  And when there it would be awesome of you to leave a comment for her.

See Ya Next Week!

Freestyle Fridays - A CASE

This week's card was inspired by the cover of the August Stampin' Success, a monthly magazine that demonstrators receive.

At first I was going to completely CASE it but in the end decided to go in a different direction.  The flower was not calling to me so I went with 2 parts of the design. The base is Crumb Cake and the images from Creative Elements and Swirls & Curls Verses are stamped with Early Espresso Classic Ink.

I had some extra flowers from a previous card so I just added a few to give it a bit of dimension.  Super simple and real quick to put together.  Sometimes you don't have to go all out to get a great design.

********REGINA'S MISSION********

Regina since you are always so fabulous at completing missions I thought it was time to make it a bit more challenging.  This week, your mission, and as always, should you choose to accept it, is to CASE something from the COVER of a Stampin' Success Magazine.  In your post next week include a picture of the cover that you so choose.

See Ya Next Week!

Freestyle Fridays

Well folks it looks like summer has FINALLY arrived in these parts.  A little late, but we'll take it.  Regina's Mission this week was to use punches and pearls.  Here's a bit of what you can expect 

when you go to Regina's post here for all the details on the products and embellishments she used.  The whole design of this card is super fantastic and it sparkles in all the right places.   The designer paper she used made me take a second glance at it and anticipate it will be on an upcoming order.  Please take a minute to leave her a bit of love.  She'd be ever so grateful.

See Ya Next Week!

Freestyle Fridays - Punches and Dies

It's the beginning of the Labour Day long weekend and it's raining!  Go figure.... 

If you are faced with the same kind of weather maybe this card will make it a little bit more bearable and add a little ray of sunshine your way.

This card was made for a lady at work that is going in for surgery next week that will  require a 6 week recovery period.  I made it large enough for 20 people to sign by taking a piece of 8 1/2 x 11 Pear Pizzazz cardstock and folding it half.  Added a layer of  retired Groovy Guava since I find it goes better with the Paisley Petals Designer Paper.  The ribbon is Pear Pizzazz seam binding.  The leaves were cut using a Sizzix Die ran 3 three times through the Big Shot with Pear Pizzazz cardstock.  I used the two way glue stick to put it in place by matching the ends of the stems.

The little flowers were made with the Trio Flower Punch and Boho Blossoms.  I added a pearl in the center of each. 

I curled up the edges of the Trio Flowers a little to give them a little bit more dimension.  Before I added the pearl I put a little bit of sticky strip behind the flower to make it easier to adhere to the leaves. The sentiment is from the Swirls and Curls Verses that was embossed with Wild Wasabi and stamped on Groovy Guava and cut with a Nestability. It was put in place with foam tape.

On the inside I added these punches and die cuts to prevent people from signing on this side so that the flowers and pearls on the front would stay intact. A tiny little pearl was added for the bird's eye.

********REGINA'S MISSION********

Regina your mission this week is to use punches and pearls. The type and color of project is up to you.  You may have noticed that Regina has not posted much this week.  She's been suffering from poor internet connections.  Oh My, can you imagine what she is going through. Hopefully this will be corrected for her soon.

See Ya Next Week!

Freestyle Fridays - Regina's Baby Project

Last week I issued Regina a mission to make a project with a baby theme.  Here's the sneak peek she sent me.

You just have to look at her post to see a full view. It is brilliant!  And, she used a new tool that will be available to the general public beginning September 1st. Along with the new tool she used My Digital Studio (MDS) and new Designer Paper.  The attention to details and embellishments she used are exceptional. Please take a moment to leave her comment in appreciation of her sharing her talents with you.

See Ya Next Week!

Freestyle Fridays - The Beginning Of New Year, A New Mission AND Blog Candy

Let's start with this week's card.  I was asked by a lady at work to make a baby card for a new Grandma.  I really only have one baby set, Buggies and Booties, which long ago retired. I've used it quite a bit so I wanted to do something different.  Pondering this, I walked around the craft room pulling drawers open and looked at this and that.  I had bought diaper/safety pins for one reason or another.  In the drawer next to them was beads.  So I opened the safety pin and threaded pink beads onto it.  Now what I thought, as I walked around with the safety pin.  Then I remembered I had these cute brads with baby faces on them.  So I cut the tails of the brad as close and as safely as I could, those pieces can fly if you're not careful, and pushed that flush to the opening in the head of the pin.

I got a piece of Pink Pirouette out and cut that at 5"x10" and scored at 5" to make a square card. Added a layer of Pink Pirouette DSP.  The die cuts are made with Textured Pink Pirouette and Whisper White. On the White I used a Dauber to edge it with Pink Pirouette Classic Inc. The pin was adhered with several glue dots, just behind the head, to ensure that it would stick well. The tiny pink pearls are from my stash.

On the inside I did add a layer of Whisper White and used the Ticket Corner Punch in all the corners. Congratulations from Well Scripted was stamped in the middle with Pink Pirouette Classic Ink.

On the front of the 5 1/2 by 5 1/2  envelope I just had to stamp the baby carriage from Buggies and Booties in Pink Pirouette.

********REGINA'S MISSION********

You guessed it, your mission is a baby project.  Doesn't have to be pink but whatever you create must have something to put it in - a card with an envelope, a box with a thank you card inside (perhaps for a shower gift or thank you for helping my husband change a diaper), a bag with a baby toy decorated by you.....you get the idea.

Be sure to come by next Friday to see how Regina completes her Mission. 

BLOG CANDY WINNER

There was 18 comments in total. Using Random.org it determined that the winner was:

           Jacoline Fitzgerald said...

Congratulations Julie! I am so happy for you and for Regina too. Both you ladies are so inspiring with all your lovely creations. I love what Regina has done with this card and the embossed ribbon is a wonderful idea. Hope all is well at work and Frankii is having a great time with all his girlfriends and the squirrel.

Congratulations!  I will send you an email shortly to get your address and get your stamp set on the way to you.

Thank you all for your most excellent comments.  Truly appreciate the time you took to do so.  It's always good to hear from you.

See Ya Next Week!

Manly Mondays

I went down to the craft room last night to make a card for Manly Mondays and on the table this card was sitting there from class on Saturday.  A little turquoise never hurt a man, tempting at that (wink wink).

The Tempting Turquoise base was layered with Naturals White that was first ran through the Big Shot with the Flourish Textures plate.  The image from Nature Walk was embossed with Silver on Naturals White and layered with a bit of Tempting Turquoise. A brad from the Ice Circles Rhinestone collection finished it off.

On the inside we stamped the image twice in Versamark on either side and in the middle with Tempting Turquoise. Nothing wrong with these colors for your Manly Man.

WHAT'S UP WITH FRANKII

The day was coming to a close last Saturday and I decided to watch a little TV before lights out. Frankii was laying comfortably by the fireplace, fast asleep, and I settled on Billy the Exterminator.  In this particular episode this lady had called in with a case of a squirrel that had somehow gotten into her house.  Oh oh I thought maybe I should watch something else.  Well it turned out to be way too entertaining.  Turns out she had 3 squirrels running around in her living room.  How the heck does that happen I wondered.  Her living room looked like something you would see in a magazine and very stylish. Billy and this other guy caught one and put it in a cage.  The other two got caught eventually and when they went to put them in the cage the first on flew out.  And I mean flew.  Pandemonium ensued. The squirrels were squealing of course and Frankii kept lifting his head from his resting place wondering where the squirrel was.  I was laughing so hard it was hard to convince him it was coming from the TV.   

Frankii got a new toy, a stuffed Dalmatian that I picked up at the thrift store for a measly 50 cents.  Here he is introducing it to his favorite red smiley face that use to have two arms and two legs. I'm actually surprised that this red thing has not been completely destroyed because it has a squeaker inside and those toys never last since he just has to get to the squeaker which totally shreds the toy.

Resting after another busy day with his girlfriends Dolly and Lucy.

A La Prochaine!

Freestyle Fridays - It's Our 1 Year Anniversary

Regina and I have posted exactly 52 weeks of Freestyle Fridays (formerly Feminine Fridays) as of this post.  To celebrate, we are offering a little blog candy.  More on that below.  First, let's look at what Regina created for her mission. 

The woman is unstoppable.  The mission was a color combination: Whisper White, Basic Grey, Basic Black and Lucky Limeade.  She created this for a friend who is feeling poorly and it's quite the WOW masculine card.  For all the details head over to her blog and see for yourself.

Now for the blog candy.  The lucky winner from comments on this post will receive this little stamp set "Starstruck"

To be entered in the draw leave a comment on this blog post if you are in Canada and on Regina's Blog if you are in the U.S. (include your email address for us to contact you should you win - type in dot as opposed to .)

We'll use random.org to select our winners and announce the name of the winners with next Friday's Freestyle Fridays post.

Good luck and See Ya Next Week!

Freestyle Fridays - Collage

Recently I saw a card made with the color combination of Basic Grey, Lucky Limeade, Basic Black and Whisper White.  I was immediately drawn to this combination and just had to give it a try.  The more I worked with these colors and had them layed out in front of me, the more I liked it. 

The Sunflower was stamped twice using Basic Grey Classic Ink and once using Lucky Limeade Classic Ink on Whisper White Cardstock.  The Postage Stamp Punch was used, for a total of 9, and adhered on Basic Black Cardstock followed by Basic Grey.  This was all ran through the Big Shot using the Flourish Texture Plate.  A misting of glimmer mist finished it off before placing it on the Lucky Limeade 5x5 square base.

On the inside I simply stamped the Sunflower in Basic Grey Classic Ink in the bottom right corner. This color combination just might become one of my favorites.  Not as favorite as Old Olive and Rose Red, but close.

********REGINA'S MISSION********

Regina your mission this week is a color combination: Lucky Limeade, Basic Grey, Whisper White and Basic Black. It can be in any form you like, square, circle, triangle, for a card, box, or gift bag. Your main objective will be to use the color combo.

Regina has posted a card everyday this week so be sure to drop by and have a look at what she has created for you to enjoy. There's plenty for you to be inspired. 

See Ya Next Week!

Manly Mondays - Congrats to Garry

With yesterday being a holiday I'm off by a day.  Better late than not I say :)

Betty's Garry got himself a new job.  We could not be happier for him.  WAY TO GO GARRY!!!  The competition was fierce and he came through with flying colors.  To celebrate this momentous occasion Garry will be receiving this card in the mail over the next few days.  Betty, I know YOU can keep a secret. 

It's a piece of Basic Black Cardstock scored to make a pocket.  The designer paper is Night and Day Specialty with a star from A Little Somethin' embossed in black on glossy cardstock.  The star border was cut with a die cut.  It wasn't closing well on its own so I added a Velcro circle.

On the inside I used the same designer paper.  The Congratulations is also on Glossy paper embossed in black cut with a die cut and adhered to layers of black and white.  It pulls out like a tag.  A different card for a different kind of guy.

WHAT'S UP WITH FRANKII

Another busy week for the little boy.  From chasing the infamous squirrel up a tree in the rain and patiently waiting for it to come down

to our annual BBQ he was dog tired (pun intended) by the end of it.  The following day he spent most of it in one of his favorites spot, on the tile in front of the fireplace where it's nice and cool for him.

He ran around with 4 kids all day Saturday ranging from ages 5 to 10.  We finally had a rain free day and he sure took advantage of being outdoors.  He took everything they could do to him like a champion.  Not that they mistreated him in away, he's not use to having children around and how quickly they can move at times.  One child even put his leash on him and ran around the yard. He never left that child's knee and walked, well, really trotted, with every step, like he was trained to.  Another proud moment in his growing repertoire.

A La Prochaine!

Freestyle Fridays - Regina's Done It Again

What Gives! Half of North America is faced with "Baby it's hot outside", the other half is "It's raining, it's pouring". So for the half that's the latter, hopefully Regina's completed mission for this week will brighten your day.

I've said this before, and I must say it again, it always amazes me at what Regina can come up. She is a true artist.   Click here for a full view and all the details. And don't be shy to leave her a comment. It will be well received and much deserved.

For the half that's in blazing heat, maybe this will cool you down some.

Frankii's got a squirrel to chase and he's just waiting for the rain to stop.  At least he's smart enough to stay out of it. Well, at least for now, he took off shortly after this was taken and slid in the mud on the way to his prey. No need for a bath, I'll just make him stand in the rain Haha.

Try to stay cool or dry wherever you have the misfortune to live at the moment.

See Ya Next Week!

Manly Mondays - Week 55

Happy Birthday to you, Happy  Birthday to you.  It's Ron's birthday tomorrow, one of our dearest friends.  He's a no-nonsense, to the point kind of guy.  I sat down yesterday and created this card for him. 

The base is Soft Suede.  Before I layered it with a piece of Baja Breeze DSP I used the Pumpkin Pie Marker to "ink up" the balloons from Nice & Easy Notes and stamped those several times.  The banner was created with a die cut and the letters were stamped with Soft Suede Classic Ink.  A dauber with Daffodil Delight was used on all the edges. This was all adhered with sticky tape to Linen Thread.

Here's the inside.

I used the party hats from Party Hearty, stamped in Daffodil Delight and Pumpkin Pie punched with a long ago retired Stampin' Up party hat punch. Also rounded the corners like I did on the front.

WHAT'S UP WITH FRANKII

Frankii got to have a ride in Evan's super huge work truck last Friday.  Evan was finished work early so he picked Frankii up from daycare.  Have no idea how he managed to drive up the road with that truck of his (with a loading trailer attached to it he's 100 feet long) but then again he's been driving those trucks for over 30 years. Of course Frankii needed help since the door is about 5 1/2 feet from the ground.  He can jump but not that high.  So Evan lifted him up and once he was in there he gave it a really good inspection.  He actually laid on the bunk on the way home and had a little snooze.  Daycare will do that to him which he why he goes.  It keeps him busy and out of trouble and trouble he can find when left on his own.

Like in this picture

He's licking a bowl that was used to make Caesar salad.  How did it get from the counter to his mat without anyone noticing?  He's as quick and quiet as a mouse at times. He can be a handful I tell ya!

A La Prochaine!

Freestyle Fridays - Oops! It's my turn

It's Friday already! Although it's been raining all week, again, time is just flying by. No sense whining about all this rain, nothing can be done about it.  Heck, I'm getting free car washes. For a view of our backyard see after Regina's Mission.

So yesterday on my way to work, I was thinking about what kind of fabulous project Regina would WOW us with her mission from last week.  When I got to my parking stall it occured to me that Regina had already completed her mission and it was my turn at the Freestyle Fridays table. Oh Boy I thought, I'm in trouble.  Typically Regina and I send each other the Fridays project on Wednesday evening to give us time to write our post.  Regina's a night owl and I'm an early bird so it just works better that way. Anyhow, here's what I manage to accomplish last evening.

Started with a base of Wisteria Wonder.  The more I work with this color, the more I like it.  Then I ran a piece of Whisper White through the Big Shot with an embossing folder.  I took out the Delicate Doilies set and embossed the largest of doilies with white embossing powder five times.  Then the punching began.  Starting with the 2 3/8 Scallop Punch (have you noticed that Stampin' Up has renamed all the punches, slightly, but still renamed) followed by circle punches in 4 different sizes.  Attached all those with dimensionals to give it a tier cake look. The finishing touch was a white heart button from my stash.  The sentiment is from Kind and Caring Thoughts embossed in gold (cased from my own card this past Monday). The Double Scallop Ribbon Border punch was used to embellish the bottom of the white layer.  I was actually surprised at how quickly this came together and able to send Regina a sneak peek in record time.  Trusting you'll find a smidge of inspiration.

********REGINA'S MISSION********

Okay Reg, forgive me, I've always wanted to call you that, at least once, this week's mission is to create a thank you card using several punches AND Wisteria Wonder.  Oh alright, you can through in a button or two (wink). Now go, stop painting, and go find a space to create something A-Ma-Zing!

****************

As promised earlier, here's a view from our backyard.  It's 9:30 PM and typically at this time of year the sun is out and not ready for bed for another 2 hours.  So much for bright and sunny evenings this year.

Not a speck of blue here. I'd been out earlier throwing a ball for Frankii to chase and within seconds was bit by those nasty mosquitoes several times.  Man, they are relentless. We haven't been able to enjoy this view much this year.  Or how green our grass is for a change.  Our fire pit, never mind that, no sitting by a fire in the late evening and the weeds have found there way inside and starting to overgrow the entire pit. I planted a whole pot of marigolds with the intent of keeping mosquitoes away while we sat in that area since I heard they keep them away. HaHa on me. At least they are growing and look pretty.

See Ya Next Week!  

Manly Mondays - It's Raining

It's Raining, It's Pouring, the old man is snoring...... Wowzers, did we have a thunderstorm this morning. The house shook and Frankii almost levitated from his bed.  Apparently there is more on the way.  Looks like we are in for a bumpy summer!

With all the fog and mist this card came to mind.

It's not the best of photographs I'm afraid.  The base is Old Olive.  I took a piece of Very Vanilla and stamped the reeds from Inspired by Nature in Old Olive.  Then I took a piece of plastic wrap, scrunched it up some and "licked" the cap of the Frost White All Purpose Ink after I shook it.  I dabbed that on the Very Vanilla making it look like fog.  Unfortunately I am not the best of photographer's and had a hard time capturing that effect.  I used the Lace Ribbon Border with Old Olive cardstock and made sure that both sides were even with the pattern before I applied it with a two way glue stick.  The sentiment is from Kind and Caring Thoughts embossed in gold on Very Vanilla with an Old Olive mat.  Multi-purpose card really, could be used as a Sympathy Card, a brother away at college, an uncle you haven't spoken to in awhile or a really great neighbor that recently moved away.

WHAT'S UP WITH FRANKII

We have a friend from Ottawa staying with us taking a course in Edmonton.  Frankii is not use to her sounds yet.  The other night she got up in the middle of the night to use the washroom and Frankii was in protection mode, BIG TIME.  I was expecting this to happen.  I calmed him down and he actually got up on the bed and laid at my feet which is something he never does.  That was his big brother's spot and when Tex was there, he made it clear to Frankii that that was his spot and his spot alone. I think he felt the need to take care of me that night.  My little one is growing up way to quickly.

I caught him with that bone again trying to fine a burying hole.  This must have gone on for a good 20 minutes.

It's been raining so much he can't go to his designated area in the backyard to bury it.  I think that's why he's been looking in the house.  I trained him to bury only in a certain area and he hasn't had a lot of time out there because of all the rain and much to our dismay, hail.  Lost track of him when he was roaming around so I've got no idea where it ended.  All I know is that it was not under my pillow thank goodness.

A La Prochaine!