Greetings from Canada

It is a friend's birthday while we are in Canada, so I thought why not a Canadian-themed card? I love the moose image from the retired Pines set; don't get to use it enough. I haven't tried these stamps with brayering yet, so I got all excited when the thought came to my head, and I ran off to the stamping room. Of course, my desk was full of tools from swaps in progress, so off to the dining room table...

I brayered the top and bottom with More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie, and Tangerine Tango. I created reflections by stamping on my plastic sheet from the Stamp-a-ma-jig. And the waves were created with a Signo white gel pen. Fun card to make!

Stamps: Nature Silhouettes, Pines (retired); Paper: Tangerine Tango, Whisper White; Ink: More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie, Tangerine Tango, Basic Black, Black Stazon; Accessories: Post-it notes, Brayer, 1-3/8" Circle punch, Signo white gel pen, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Sponge.

Thanks for stopping by!

Back from Vacation

Hello again, everyone. Did you miss me? :)

Back from Canada. We had some evil border patrol people checking our car going into Canada, so we were glad the U.S. would let us back in! It was about midnight, and they made everyone get out of the car, including grandma, toddler without shoes, cat on a leash, and not-so-friendly-to-strangers dog. And you crafters will relate to this: When I got up to the cabin, on a rainy day, I was ready to prepare some swaps, and my glue gun was gone! Did those evil women steal it? I texted home; it was sitting on the desk. Doh! There is only so much progress one can make without adhesive.

Lots of fun swimming, canoeing, kayaking, fishing, campfires on the beach... three nights in a row of clear skies and a full moon shining over the water. Ahhhh! Last night of fishing and campfire (and s'mores!), and hubby caught one sucker and three bullheads AND a bat! The bat flew right into the fishing line, got stuck, and into the water it went, right about the time a bullhead also hit the line. He wins the prize for unique catch without a hook!

Little Missy with Mr. Bass -

Eating s'mores and monkeying around on the pier -

All this play can make anyone tired -

I'm a wee bit tired today, since we had a 15-hour drive back on Saturday, and we had to stop at Windham Mountain on the way, so I could do a preride lap for the Race the World mountain biking race on Sunday, where they had held the UCI World Cup earlier in the week. That means we had to leave the cabin at 2:30am(!) to get to Windham at the right time. Yes, we are crazy peeps! Home, unpacked, pack for race, fall into bed. My teammate was at my door, waking me up at 5am Sunday morning. Why didn't my alarm go off? These are mysteries... Anyway, off to Windham for the race. Big climbing race, but I was comfortable enough (read: not biking hard enough perhaps), and there was a lot of traffic in the singletrack. Too many riders was the only downside... the downhills dried up nicely, so no catastrophes... praise God! All came out fine, and I even beat out a lady that has been edging me out all series. Nice!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Out of Office Notice

I'm going to be on vacation for a week. In fact, out of the country. I'll be on the lovely lake that is the header of my blog, O Canada. Now, don't go thinking you can raid my house of all my stamping supplies; we will have house-sitters. But if you need anything stamp-related, just head over to my demo website and shop around. If you place an online order between August 21 - 28, I'll have a special gift for you from Convention. In the meantime, enjoy the last days of summer!

Birthday Card for Mom

Don't look, Mom! Hopefully she is too busy packing for vacation to check in.

My mother has always had cats, although my dad really isn't a fan. When we were little, we had many cats. I have cats now too; there is usually one walking over the desk while I am stamping. So, of course, a kitty card for Mom.

Mom is a big calico fan. I never really understood this, because calicos can be aggressive and mean. Wouldn't you know I have a calico and a tortoise-shell in my house now? I based the card layout on Mojo Monday #130, and I used Sarah Wills's idea to sponge on the stamp, using sponge daubers, for a calico effect. I could use a lot more white space though. Guess I will have to practice.

Stamps: C is for Cat, Sincere Salutations; Paper: Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip, Sweet Pea DSP; Ink: Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel, Basic Black, Basic Black marker; Accessories: Sponge daubers, Scallop Trim edge punch, Trio Flower punch, 1-3/4" Circle punch, 2-3/8" Scallop Circle punch, Corner Rounder punch, Large Oval punch, Scallop Oval punch, Gold Brad, 2-Way glue pen, Fine Galaxy glitter, Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon.

Thanks for stopping by!

Autumn in Paris

It is so lovely in Paris this time of year... Wish you were here...

[Rubbing my hands together devilishly] I think I've got it! My preorder arrived days ago. After sitting on my new stamp set, French Foliage, I think I have finally come up with a layout I really like for my Holiday mini card swap. I wanted something a bit out of the box. This set is from the new Holiday mini catalog, which starts on September 1, so a sneak peek! This inspiration for this card comes from Lisa Hensley, aka ponygirl40 on SCS, who has a really fun vintage style.

And there is a trick to this card. I don't own Winter Post. It's on my wish list, and boy I wish I had bought it already. But I didn't. What to do? Well, My Digital Studio to the rescue. This set is part of the basic software, and I was able to bring the stamp images into my file, true to size, and print out in any SU color I liked. Awesome! Once I printed on cardstock, I carefully centered the cardstock on the Top Note die and cut it out. Ready for some further stamping and embellishing.

These are close-ups of the vintage brad and the rain drops stamp image. Don't you love it? What a great way to "dirty up" a card!

Stamps: French Foliage, Artistic Etchings, Winter Post (MDS); Paper: More Mustard, Sahara Sand, Very Vanilla; Ink: Soft Suede, Kraft, Cajun Craze, More Mustard, Soft Suede marker; Accessories: Eyelet, Hemp twine, Antique Brad, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Top Note die; Big Shot.
Thanks for stopping by!

Sweet Scoops and Dinosaurs

Sweet Scoops... don't miss out on this sweet set. Time is running out! The summer mini only runs through August 31. Did you hear me say this was my favorite set from the mini?

I have seen this ice cream shoppe window awning card in several places and just had to make one. How cute! I followed Dawn Olchefske's tutorial.

Stamps: Sweet Scoops; Paper: Pretty in Pink, Blush Blossom, Close to Cocoa, Whisper White; Ink: Early Espresso, Versamark; Accessories: Word Window punch, Scallop Edge punch, White Organza ribbon, 2-Way glue pen, Dazzling Diamonds glitter.

And here is a thank you card my daughter whipped up for a friend. She is learning all about sponging, although I still help her with the masking.

Stamps: Prehistoric Pals (retired); Paper: Wild Wasabi, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla; Ink: Wild Wasabi, Regal Rose, River Rock, Basic Gray, Chocolate Chip, Bashful Blue, Crumb Cake; Accessories: Sponges, Wild Wasabi ribbon.

Thanks for stopping by!

And In Case You Were Wondering...

... this is what I do on the weekends. This weekend was Hereford Multi-use Area in Pleasant Valley, aka 909. My home turf. I heard there was some drops in the course, which was a little crazier than usual, so I practiced over the week. Here's a few pics of some of them.

I don't usually ride drops when I train by myself, for safety's sake, and I almost always train by myself. But I had no choice this week. Thank goodness I was well-versed on them!

Thanks for stopping by!