Happy Leap Year!!

Wouldn't today be the COOLEST day to have a birthday??? Seriously ... it would take you FOREVER to get old!! (Although, that would ALSO mean that you would be a teenager for a very, VERY long time!!) In all actuality, my dear friend, Kim Smith is having a birthday today and she hasn't EVEN reached her teens "officially" ... yet ... Happy Birthday, Girl!!

Learned to make these little paper-punch flowers from my cute friend, Emilee, during a shoebox swap we did at Convention last summer ... aren't they fun??? They are made from four scallop circles fiolded into fourths and placed on a large glue dot with the tips of the folded pieces touching in the center ... kapisch?? (That word just makes me smile ... my Dad used to use it all the time!)

Stamps: Elements of Style
Paper: Real Red, Night of Navy, Whisper White, Night of Navy Patterned DSP
Ink: Night of Navy, Real Red
Accessories: Scallop Circle Punch, Whisper White Satin/Organza Ribbon, Eyelet Border Punch, Polka Dot Brads (retired)

My mother-in-law tells me that the physical therapists have introduced "pain" into her daily exercises ... a fact that she laments, but also relishes because she knows she is healing. Her stamina and optimism amaze me ...

My mom is struggling to maintain a decent blood pressure ... she is having a hard time being weaned off of the dopamine that is keeping her pressure up. Her sense of humor is still intact, though ... while we were watching a little tv the other night, a news promo came on touting the upcoming Republican primary elections in Michigan. I asked my mom what she thought about them ... she said, "Who?" I said, "Romney and Santorum ... the guys running for the Republican side." A dyed-in-the-wool Democrat, my mom responded quickly and without skipping a beat, "I don't think they should have ANYbody running on the Republican side!" 'Nuf said ...

And I am heading into outpatient surgery this morning at 6:00 a.m. to cheer up my cranky foot ... (as if my life didn't have ENOUGH drama/hospitals at the moment!). I will get a day or two "off" from my crazy schedule of running back and forth to visit my mom, run errands and trying to squeeze a little work in there somewhere (good thing we are self employed!). I am sooo blessed that my big brother, Kenny, arrived from Colorado Springs last night to help out with my mom ... the extremes I go to in order to get some R&R ... Sheesh!!!

There's a PUNCH for That??!!???

Seriously??!? When I first saw this set in the new Stampin' Up catalog last summer I HAD to have it. This was actually the first card I made with it way-back-when... I was so proud of this little flower, even though there was a bit of "fussy cutting" involved to create the layers...

Imagine my embarrassment...and chagrin...when I realized that the flower itself, the main image, can be punched with the scallop circle punch!!! What??!!? Well, DUH!!!! I felt soooo lame, as I cut all of the layers out BY HAND with my scissors....SHEESH!! Lesson learned...

Good news on the computer front...so far. I was able to restore the backup I did on December 22...and my Computer Geeky Dude told me yesterday that things are looking good about retrieving most of the data I lost from the now-defunct hard drive! I will know for sure today just how much was save-able and will keep you posted...thanks for all the sympathy, encouraging emails and offers of help...I really do appreciate it!

And I really do NOT like blogging from my iPad...not as easy as it would seem!

Stamps: Button Buddies, Family Reunion
Paper: Basic Black, Real Red, Whisper White, Polka Dot patterned paper (unknown)
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: Perfect Pennant Bigz Die, Word Window Punch, Ticket Corner Punch, Brights Buttons, Polka Dot Ribbon (unknown), Scallop Trim Border Punch, Scallop Circle Punch (DUH!), Dimensionals

CrrrrrASH!!!

The sound of a hard drive dying ... okay, well maybe not LITERALLY! But, on Friday as I was sitting listening to a book on my computer while I was prepping for my Saturday morning class, the computer just plain ol' STOPPED!! No warning ... no NOTHING!! It just quit! I called my neighbor and friend, who just happens to be a Mac GENIUS (he has literally worked at the Genius Bar in the Apple Store). He advised me to RUN with it to the store before they closed. Which I did ...

Sadly, they had no more "Genius" dudes who were still available to help me (it was after 8:00 p.m.). So, I left the computer with them and skulked back home. Sniff, sniff, sniff ...

Went back on Saturday to find out that not even the GENIUS DUDES could resurrect life into my now-defunct hard drive. Could not even get their arsenal of tools to even RECOGNIZE the thing!! AAaaaaack!!!! Good news? I did a Time Machine backup of my hard drive on December 22 ... Bad news? That means all of my photos and documents since then ... Christmas, New Year's, CHA AND all the stuff that Jan and I have been doing for our Digital Scrapbooking Club ... are gone. Toast. Extinct. Needless to say, I am sick about it!! I do have a connection with a Data Retrieval Dude (so glad I know so many geeky Dudes!). He is going to take a look at the hard drive today to see if he can get it to produce a pulse ... sigh ... he is betting he can get something off of it, but it's probably gonna cost me MEGA bucks ... sigh ...

Which brings me to this card. Which has absolutely NOTHING to do with my crashed hard drive. But I DO like the little punched flowers in the bouquet ... at least THEY are adding a little bright spot to an otherwise DARK weekend!!

Stamps: Precious Butterflies
Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, Certainly Celery, Pink Pirouette
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: Large Oval Punch, Boho Blossoms Punch, 5-Petal Flower Punch, Paper Crimper, Black Polka Dot Ribbon, Dimensionals, Pearl Basics (colored with a Daffodil Delight marker)

Chocolate Cake???

What on EARTH does this post have to do with chocolate cake, you ask??? Well .... I was the Free for All challenge hostess over on Splitcoast last Friday. I was wracking my brain trying to come up with an idea. Did a little Google-ing (don'tcha just LOVE Google??). After much research (okay, well maybe not THAT much) I discovered that Friday was National Chocolate Cake Day!! What??? They have a HOLIDAY for that???? AWESOME!!
Anyway ... back to my card ... the challenge was to use Chocolate Chip (aka brown) and Crumb Cake (aka Kraft) somewhere in your creation. Hence, "Chocolate Cake" cards were the order of the day. So there ya have it!

I am sitting in a hotel room with some of my Besties (YAY!!) about a block from Disneyland (where I spend a good chunk of my day yesterday!). We are all talking, laughing and typing (gotta check your email and do your blog update, right??). We're all getting ready to head over to the Convention Center for CHA in a couple of hours (Craft and Hobby Association Trade Show). Sooooo fun!! It's where we get to see what all the crafty vendors are planning to be releasing for sale over the next six months!! CRAFTY HEAVEN!!! Such a fun day ahead!!

TTFN!!

Stamps: Fabulous Phrases
Paper: Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler and Garden Green DSP, Very Vanilla
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Fun Flowers Bigz Die, 5-Petal Flower Punch, Boho Blossoms Punch, Word Window Punch, Elegant Lines Textured Impressions Folder, Pear Pizzazz Pleated Satin Ribbon, Corner Rounder, Pearl Basics, Whisper White Baker's Twine, So Saffron (Subtles) Button

Trying to Hold On ...

... to a little bit of Spring!! Holy sa-MOKES!! The kids will all be headed back to school next week. UNFAIR that spring and summer went a-screamin' by ... especially because we didn't really even start to warm up around here 'til JULY!! (This is what I wish I were doing this week ... I LOVES me a good river trip!!)

I took another stab at creating a card using the Paper Punch Flowers tutorial I did a few months back. I think is forever gonna be one of my mostest FAVORITE embellishments to make myself. If only the paper roses could will the real flowers to stick around for another two or three months!!!

In about another week I will be caught up on all the things that I kept putting off while I was running around and doing fun things with the kids from church ... wouldn't trade ANY of the experiences I have had with them this summer ... but I WILL be glad when I feel like I am a little more in control of my life instead of it being in control of ME!!

Stamps: Easter Blossoms
Paper: Melon Mambo, Regal Rose, Real Red, Wild Wasabi, Certainly Celery, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White
Ink: Melon Mambo
Accessories: Fancy Flower Punch, Scallop Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, Decorator Label Punch, Paper Crimper, Pear Pizzazz Seam Binding, Elegant Bouquet Textured Impressions Folder, Glue Dots

Sweet Little Blossom Box ...

... at least that's how it would APPEAR!! This is made using the new Blossom Box Die. It is kind of a fussy little die ... okay ... it's REALLY fussy!! Actually, once you figure out if you need to add a little shim to the die sandwich or not, it isn't so bad. There IS, after all, a little tutorial video that SU did to show you how to do it. You really DO need to make sure that all the creases are done completely ... and that you are patient ... and that you practice with scraps of stuff that you don't care about ... hehehehe!

Actually, now that I have successfully completed making one, it wouldn't be too bad to make another one. I think this is stinkin' ca-YOOT!!! Jan left this morning ... sigh ... as did all the stamps and toys she brought with her!! (Hahahaha!! Don't worry, Jan ... I don't just love your for your stampin' stuff!!) I decided that this needed one of my paper-punch roses as an embellishment, too. I think I likey ... but I am pretty sure I'm not gonna make 100 of these any time soon!!

I think I need a nap ... or two ... or three!! Convention is the BEST (wouldn't miss it) ... but after prepping my house for company for a week, playing at Convention, and then trying to get back into a regular schedule, I'm pretty whooped. Soooo worth it, though!! Can't wait for next summer already!!

Stamps: Petite Pairs
Paper: Elegant Eggplant Rich Regals Patterned DSP, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White, Old Olive
Ink: Elegant Eggplant
Accessories: Blossom Box Die, Decorative Label Punch, Fancy Flower Punch, 3/4" Circle Punch (to mount flower on), Blossom Builders Punch (for leaves), Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon, Rhinestone Jewel, Linen Thread

Super Quick 'N Easy

Had a few of these paper punched roses laying around, so I used today's sketch challenge (SC337) to put 'em to good use! I've been mostly absent the past several days 'cause I've been madly creating for the Dirty Dozen gallery (which goes up today ... HOORAY) and the upcoming Control Freaks Blog Tour ... you'll see what I created for that in a few days ... :)

Wanna know how to make these roses? Check out my tutorial:

Paper Punch Flowers

Think maybe I'll do a barbeque today ... LOVE having a new patio set where we can enjoy the sunshine AND eat at the same time!!

Stamps: Strength & Hope, Vintage Vogue, Warm Wishes
Paper: Concord Crush, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White
Ink: Concord Crush, Daffodil Delight
Accessories: Fancy Flower Punch, Large Oval Punch, Pinking Hearts Border Punch, Whisper White Satin/Organza Ribbon, Elegant Bouquet Textured Impressions Folder, Pop-Up Glue Dots

Paper Punched Flowers Tutorial

FINALLY!! As promised ... I was able to get my production staff (aka one of my kids) to take a little bit of time out of their oh-so-busy lives to help me film this tutorial. I dare say my son did a pretty good job, but he learned a few things and will be even BETTER next time around!! I need to grow longer fingers ... and longer fingernails ... seems my hands match my feet ("Fred Flintstone-ish!" Yabba-Dabba-DOO!)!

These paper flowers are really fun to make. Not that difficult, and they add a LOT to whatever you are doing ... 'cept, maybe a "dude" card!



Stamps: Dream Gardens
Paper: Concord Crush, Pale Plum, Very Vanilla
Ink: Concord Crush
Accessories: 5-Petal Flower Punch, Fancy Flower Punch, Nestabilities Labels Four, 3/4" Circle Punch, EK Success Tulips Border Punch, Paper Crimper, Very Vanilla Taffeta Ribbon, Pearl Stickers, Pop-Up Glue Dots

A Rose for You

I'm really liking making these paper roses (okay, this reminds me of the Marie Osmond song from the 1970's ... which really dates me ... and if you've never heard it before I'm just gonna pretend that I don't know how much younger than me you are!!) ... I think I wore that record out - belting at the top of my lungs "Paaaa-per Rooo-ses ... (and if you don't know what an actual RECORD is, I'm REALLY gonna pretend that I don't know how much younger than me you are!!)

I did this for TLC320 over on SCS. It was to adapt your straight border punch by notching the bottom edge of your already-punched strip so that you can "mold" it into a circular or oval shape. Pretty cool, eh? Here's a link to a little tutorial on how to do it:

Shelly Schmidt's "Punched Circle" Edge Tutorial

I also plan on doing a video on how to make the paper flowers REALLY soon ... stay tuned!! :)

We have been a one-car family this past week 'cause one of our cars is having some work done. My husband looked at the fuel gauge in the car the other day when I was driving him to work and said, "Where have you been driving? You're almost out of gas already ... " Really?? Seriously???? Like I wasn't already enough of a "Taxi Mom"??? Now I'm driving EVERYONE pretty much EVERYWHERE (including my hubby)! It's amazing how that happens ... if only I had a convertible and some sunshine to go with all this driving!!

Stamps: Baroque Motifs, Teahouse (background), Silhouette Sentiments
Paper: Basic Black, Rose Red, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: Scallop Square Bigz Die, MS Arched Lattice Border Punch, Fancy Flower Punch, 2 1/2" Circle Punch, Scallop Trim Corner Punch, Black/White Gingham Ribbon, Pop-Up Glue Dots

Heartache and Loss ...

Making a sympathy card for the death of a loved one is never an easy task. It is especially hard when that loved one is a young person ...

So goes this tale of this card. My cousin's 21-year-old son was killed in a car accident last week. He had only been married for 7 short months. This young man has had a long and difficult medical history. Through all his trials he remained faithful and strong. He was a kind young man who spent much of his time in the service of others. My heart just aches for his parents and his brother and sisters ... and particularly his young wife.

God be with you 'til we meet again, Reed ...

Stamps: Thoughts and Prayers
Paper: Very Vanilla, Whisper White, Soft Suede
Ink: Soft Suede
Accessories: Fancy Flower Punch, 5-Petal Flower Punch, Wide Oval Punch, Double Scallop Corner Punch (Marvy), Elegant Bouquet Textured Impressions Folder, Very Vanilla Taffeta Ribbon, Pearls, Paper Crimper, Glue Dots