SIX More Days to Go . . .

. . . but WHO is counting, anyway!! I can't believe I will be on my way to Germany in just SIX days!! Pinch-me-pinch-me-pinch-me!! (Good thing JanTink isn't here . . . she would actually DO it!!)

Here's another "hybrid" card . . . stamps and Cricut together (plus a little added Cuttlebugging!! Man, I LOVE my stash o' tools, baby!!)

I made this for my good friend Dawn's mother (Dawn's SCS name is dawnmercedes). Her mom fell TWICE in one week . . . the first time she broke her ankle, and while she was waiting to get scheduled for surgery to fix it up, she fell again and broke her wrist, which ALSO required surgery!! HOLY UH-OH!!! I felt so badly for her, so I hope this card was able to cheer her up (it made me happy making it for her).

Stamps: Flight of the Butterfly, Sincere Salutations
Paper: Very Vanilla, Rich Razzleberry, Pink Pirouette, Pretty in Pink, Soft Suede
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Soft Suede
Accessories: Cricut Storybook Cartridge, Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder, polka dot organza ribbon (lt. pink and purple) by May Arts, small pearl stickers, butterfly punch, keytag punch, pop-up glue dots

And WHAT in the HECK is THIS???? Lynn (Lynn in St Louis) posted this challenge on Monday for the technique lover's challenge (TLC235). The idea was to wrap your brayer in Magic Mesh (aka drywall tape), roll it through a little acrylic paint, and roll it onto your cardstock. Simple enough, right??? Then you could stamp/embellish to your heart's content. No problem-o ... or so I THOUGHT!! My Magic Mesh must have been at LEAST as old as the original "Star Wars" movie (yes, I DO mean Episode IV - which is weird since it was actually shown FIRST . . . what is up with THAT??? But, I digress . . .)

Since that darn Magic Mesh was so old, it must have lost some of it's "stickum" on the back. I got it on the brayer okay, then rolled it in the paint. My first pass on the cardstock looked something like a kindergartner's finger painting project (too much paint!!), so I tried to reload and lightly roll a SECOND time, during which all the darn (didn't I say DARN once already??) Magic Mesh just rolled right OFF the brayer, never to be reattached again!! I kinda made a mess . . . then just stared at the pattern I had created and thought, "What the HECK am I gonna do with this???" (As you can see, this whole project has given me a Utah Potty Mouth!!) So I cut up what I could salvage, stamped it with the Print Pattern background stamp (really love and MISS that one, I tell ya!), and created this . . . well, um . . . QUESTIONABLE card!! Actually, as I have had a couple of days to recover from my experience, I think it isn't as bad as I had originally thought.

I did get another idea from Jan, though (that girl has seriously rubbed off on me after she spent a week sleeping in my basement!). She posted one of her very FIRST creations on her blog recently, just to show everyone how far she had come since her early days of stamping . . . it wasn't a BAD card, but MAN-OH-MAN, has she made some serious progress, baby!! I have saved some of my first cards just to prove to myself that I HAVE learned stuff since I started. But I am NOT kidding . . . they are SERIOUSLY ugly!! I think I was slightly brain damaged at the time!! Perhaps I will share some with you while I am perusing the German/Austrian countryside . . . hmmmm . . . now THERE'S a thought!!

Thanks for stopping by today and reading my oh-too-long saga!!! Y'all are the greatest!!

Stamps: Tart and Tangy, Fundamental Phrases, Print Pattern
Paper: Basic Black, Ruby Red, Whisper White, Garden Green, Summer Sun, Pumpkin Pie
Ink: Garden Green, Summer Sun, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, White Gel Pen
Accessories: 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches, black polka dot organza ribbon, small paper clip, pop-up glue dots, magic mesh, white acrylic paint, brayer