Happy 80th Birthday!

Today is my dad's 80th birthday.  Considering the year he has had health-wise, we are super happy to be celebrating this milestone.

For the past 15 years, my parents have been fortunate enough to spend their winters in the warm and sunny climes of Arizona.  This has allowed my dad to wear shorts nearly year-round, something that brings him great joy.  And fortunately he has the legs for it!

I think my dad is much better looking than this "Golden Oldie" by Hampton Art stamps, but you can see why I bought these stamps with him in mind.  Even the little dog reminds me of our Honey, who used to sit up and beg like that whenever a bag of Cheetos appeared.

Thanks for popping in!  Have a great day.

Supplies:
Gray cardstock by Bazzill; patterned papers by My Mind's Eye; whisper white cardstock from Stampin' Up; stamps by Hampton Art; Ranger Archival black ink; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; gathered twigs distress ink; rectangle and scalloped rectangle Nestabilities by Spellbinders, border punch by Martha Stewart; pop-dots.

Extra! Extra!

The brother that is receiving this 4x4 chunky for his birthday will also receive this card.

I adhered patterned paper to a chipboard circle and colored it with distress inks to match the other patterned papers (all by 7 Gypsies).  The buildings were stamped directly on the background with black soot distress ink which helps to make them look like they're in the distance. 

The cute little paperboy from Artistic Outpost was stamped on a scrap of vanilla cardstock, colored with Prismacolor pencils, and cut out before being adhered.  I stamped "extra" twice on patterned paper and again used distress inks to tint them.  They are attached to each other with a garment pin from my stash.

I can't believe it's the last day of August already!  Make it a great one.

Supplies:
Brown cardstock by Bazzill; very vanilla and crumb cake cardstock from Stampin' Up; patterned papers by 7 Gypsies; stamps from Artistic Outpost; Ranger Archival black ink; dried marigold, tumbled glass, walnut stain and black soot distress ink; titanium white acrylic paint; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; punchinella; circle chipboard shape from Hobby Lobby; Martha Stewart border punch; Nestabilities lacy round die from Spellbinders; garment pin by Making Memories; pop-dots.

Farm Fresh Eggs

Hi everyone!  I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.  I'm keeping my tree and decorations up until New Year's Day in order to enjoy them a little bit longer.

Speaking of New Year's Day, that is my mom's birthday.  She grew up on a farm and one of her chores was to gather the eggs.  It wasn't a job she always enjoyed, because sometimes the old "setting hens" would peck at her hand when she reached in.  In spite of this, she has many fond memories of helping her dad on the farm, so when I found some country-themed stamps by Oxford Impressions, I just had to have them.  I used stamps from the Farm Girl and Farm Boy sets.

The layout is courtesy of Sketch Challenge 466 on Splitcoaststampers.  I combined patterned papers by My Mind's Eye and my stamped images, which were colored with pencils and distress inks.  And yes, I hand-cut the little girl, her pail, the rooster AND the baby chicks.  Talk about a challenge!  But I think the final result was well worth the effort.  (Helpful hint: Use a Xyron to apply adhesive to small, fussy-cut images with detailed edges.)

Thanks for popping in!  Have a fabulous day.

Supplies:
Gray and kraft cardstock by Bazzill; very vanilla cardstock from Stampin' Up; patterned papers by My Mind's Eye; stamps from Oxford Impressions; Ranger Archival black ink; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; antique lace and vintage photo distress ink; peat charcoal pencil; oval and lacy oval Nestabilities by Spellbinders; scalloped round punch by Martha Stewart; Xyron.

Giddy Up, Pony!

My mom has decided that every Wednesday between now and when my parents leave for Arizona for the winter, she and I are going to "do something."  Our first outing was to visit one of my mom's uncles at his new apartment in a senior living community.  He invited us for lunch and we didn't know what to expect, so we were pleasantly surprised at how lovely the dining room was and that they even had a menu to order from!  (I had cheesy potato soup, chicken salad on a croissant, coleslaw, and for dessert, rocky road ice cream and cookies.  Yum!)  After lunch we had the nickel tour of his apartment, where we sat to visit some more.  It was a great way to spend a day with my mom and one of our favorite uncles.

My uncle has always owned horses and in fact, still has two "ponies" (Babe and Dolly, who are actually 28 years old!), that he boards with the family who bought his and my late aunt's farm.  So I decided to use this image by Oxford Impressions on a thank you card to him.  After I embossed the background paper with the distressed stripes folder, I swiped some vintage photo distress ink on the raised portions.  The look reminds me of an old barn. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Blue cardstock by Bazzill; white cardstock from Oxford Impressions; patterned papers by DCWV (Old World Stack); stamp from Oxford Impressions; vintage photo distress ink; Martha Stewart border punch; Cuttlebug embossing folder; We R Memory Keepers baker's twine; antique copper eyelets; button from my stash; pop-dots.

Thank You

I needed a quick but classy-looking thank you card, so I pulled out one of my favorite Artistic Outpost images and my new favorite decorative papers by K and Company.

I decided to live on the edge and use a lovely blue cardstock on this card (you may not have noticed, but I don't use a lot of blue).

Thanks for visiting my blog!


Edited to add: Lisa Somerville suggested that I post this card on the Play Date Cafe blog for its challenge this week. I don't participate in too many challenges, but this card fits the color splash challenge of black, white, and a touch of blue, so I figured why not? You can't win if you don't play! Here is a link to PDCC34.

Supplies:
Stamp: Artistic Outpost; blue cardstock by Bazzill; decorative papers by K and Company; Colorbox black pigment ink; clear embossing powder; Martha Stewart border punch; rectangle and scalloped rectangle Nestabilities; blue Dew Drops; pop-dots.

Get Well Soon

A friend of mine recently fell at her fitness club and fractured her hip. Thankfully, it did not require surgery, but she is staying at a local rehab center while she undergoes physical therapy. I know that she likes this stamp by Artistic Outpost, so I decided to use it on a card for her.

I just love these black and cream decorative papers by K & Company. They look so classy with the dark red cardstock.

We're having an absolutely gorgeous day here! I hope you are, too.

Supplies:
Stamp: Artistic Outpost; red cardstock by Bazzill; very vanilla cardstock from Stampin' Up!; decorative papers by K & Company; Colorbox black pigment ink; clear embossing powder; black grosgrain ribbon; Martha Stewart border punch; flower buttons from my stash; gold embroidery thread; pop-dots.

Happy Mother's Day

My mom grew up on a farm and has always enjoyed being outside. She even drove tractor for her dad when she became old enough.

This is a photo of her in the mid-1950s, sitting on the stone fireplace that Grampa built in their yard on the farm.

I hope you had a wonderful day. Happy Mother's Day to all you moms!

Supplies:
Stamp: Oxford Impressions; very vanilla cardstock from Stampin' Up!; goldenrod cardstock by Bazzill; decorative paper by Cosmo Cricket; off-white canvas from the fabric store; Nestabilities; Janome Sew Mini; buttons from my stash.