Butterflies and sympathy

 I had the occasion to make a sympathy card this week, and I wanted to make something special, instead of just digging one out of my stash.  I lost my youngest, and last uncle, Bob, this week.  He died way to young and way too soon, and I will miss him so much.  Bob got sick just after Christmas, and went into kidney failure, and so he was going to dialysis a couple times a week, and things improved, although it was a struggle.  Six weeks ago he told me that he was showing so much improvement that he was going to reduce the dialysis from 3 to 2 times a week.  When I saw him at a wedding 3 weeks ago, he said he was done doing dialysis, because his kidneys were functioning better.  But, last week, when the weather turned nice, Bob went out to putter in his yard a little bit, and took a fall on the steps, hit his head and fractured his skull.  A few days later he died from a bleed in the brain.  Just when we thought things were looking better, he was called home by our Lord. 
Bob was more like a cousin than an uncle, because he was closer in age to us kids, as he was 16 years younger than my mom.  He was always fun, goofy, and teased us little girls relentlessly, and we loved it.  I always thought he was so handsome, so smart, and so adventurous.  He flew planes when he was young, he worked in my grandfather's auto repair garage, and when grandpa retired, Bob and his brother turned it into a motorcycle shop, and I remember they sold snowmobiles, the first I'd ever seen.  He still rides a motorcycle, with a side car for his wife.  He loved the outdoors, fishing and hunting, and when he had a son he bought a cabin so they would have a place to enjoy doing those things together.  He was almost 50 before he became a dad, and it made him even younger.  We enjoyed that Bob and his family always joined our family for the holidays, so that they could be around all the cousins, and all the action that came along with Christmas dinner for 45 people! 
When I made this card, I wished I had a airplane, or a motorcycle, to add in his honor, but all I had was some newsprint and a butterfly.  For many years Bob delivered newspapers to local grocery stores and stands, so it reminds me of him.  And, the butterfly because it is a free wanderer, like Bob, quietly soaring and sailing through life, and always a joy to see. 
I got this idea for this card from LuAnne Puguliese.  But I made this card in Baha Breeze, one of my favorite colors, which will be retiring soon.  The Latenight Stampers challenge 222 was looking for cards from retired colors, so I think I'll share this with them. 
Hope you have a little free time for some stamping this weekend.  Just enjoy life today.

Mary Alice

Sweet Shop Birthday with a sneak peak

I wanted to make a little birthday card for the challenge at Cas-ual Fridays with their Top 10 Tic-tac-toe game.  It's their birthday this week, so this card is suitable.  I did the first row down with polka dots, square card, and birthday.   I found some fun polka dots in a pack of Sweet Shop DSP, and the cute little ice cream sundae print to coordinate.  I added a label from a new stamp set Lovely Label that I got as a sneak peek from the new catalog.  It has a coordinating punch for the stamp set, which makes it even more desirable for me, because it keeps it so simple.  I used a little birthday ditty from Stacks of Wishes inside, and this was a fun, fast and easy card.  Just stamp, stamp, and punch, punch, punch, and I was done.  And, then I decided to add a little sparkle with some  Dazzling Details on the ice cream to make them a little frosty looking. 

The Crafty Boots Challenge is looking for CELEBRATIONS! this week, so I'll share this card with them today, too. 

Hope you like it, and have a nice day.

 

Mary Alice

A Mashed Up Card Set

 I love making multiples of cards when I get a good idea.  Because I create for craft sales, I often make four cards that are all the same, but today I created four cards to make a set, which I could use as a gift, or sell as a set, or even separate.  These were so easy to make once I got the idea, it was so easy to put together.  I used the paper from the Print Poetry DSP Stack, so I just had to kind of cut each print in quarters and I was ready for a set.  Well, not actual quarters, but four pieces.  I decided to add a colored backer behind the card, and to mat each piece of paper to add some richness to the cards.  I was just going to use the Lovely Labels to put a greeting on the front, and the Stacks of Wishes to put a greeting inside, but it just needed more, so butterflies were just what it needed to step it up a little.  I wish I would have tied a little twine around the butterflies instead of the pearls, which I think would have made it a little more unisex than the pearls, but I like how it turned out.  I guess I could do another set in another color.  I still have plenty of those cute little prints, and it was fun, so back to the crafting table. 
I got the idea for the card set from Friday Mashup #109 this week which gave me the layout, and the challenge to make a card set with the layout, so I did.  I used the color palette from The Paper Players Challenge #145.  I decided to add the butterflies because Butterflies are so much fun! at SUO Challenge 70.  The Crafty Boots Challenge was looking for CELEBRATION cards, and Our Creative Corner says "Anything Goes", so let's share the fun with them, too. 
Well, it's a beautiful day, and I am enjoying the lovely breeze coming in the window, and the creativity is blooming, so come on back to see what pops up tomorrow.

Mary Alice

To Mothers Day......Hooray!

 Happy Mother's Day to all the mother's out there.  I finally got a chance to show you my final Mother's Day card.  This one I made for my daughter-in-law, Melissa.  Sweet Melissa took on the job of mother when she married my son 4 years ago, and became mother to his 4 year old daughter, Emily.  So, although she has been a mother for some years now, this is the first year she is mother to a child of her own, so it's kind of like a first Mother's day, again.  It took a special mom to take on a preschool age child, and I think she was expecting it to be a fun undertaking, and soon realized that a four year old daughter had a special bond with her daddy, and demanded a lot of his attention, and affection.  So, there was a little competition for David's time and attention.  Melissa grew to handle the situation, and became a loving and kind mother to Emily.  But, last year she had a child of her own, Grayson, and she got a real first-hand idea what it meant to be a mother.  You never know the strong bond that a parent feels for their child until you have one of your own.  I am sure that now, more than ever, she understands the strong bond that David had with his daughter, and Melissa understands more than ever what it means to be a mom.

I delight it seeing her with her beautiful son, and how they have all become such a happy family together.  Emily is a wonderful big sister, and I am happy that together they make a strong family. 

So, this is for the kind and strong, loving Melissa.  I wanted something that showed her youthful exuberance, and bright spirit.  I used the Bordering on romance stamp set for the flowers, and the paper came from Sweet Shop DSP, and Sycamore Street DSP, and I added some little button greetings from A Round Array and Ciao, Baby.

The inspiration for my layout came from Paper Craft Crew Card Sketch #41, and I will share my final mom's day cards with Little Red Wagon Challenge and The Pink Elephant Challenge because they are all about the mom's this week.

Have a happy Mom's Day.  I a heading out for dinner, myself. 

Mary Alice

Birthday Mojo Card

My mojo just was not working this last week when it came to creating.  I had a bad cold, and I was sneezing and coughing, and I just did not feel like getting creative.  So, when my son-in-law had a birthday last week, I just was not into making a card, but I did it anyway.  I found a nice layout at Mojo Monday Challenge 292, and I went digging for some paper that would get me going.  I had received a new pack of paper, Pocket Full of Posies DSP, in our goodie bag at Spring Fling a couple weeks ago, and I had not even opened it up yet.  When I did, I found this wonderful hexagon printed paper, and I knew that was the one.  I could combine it with some embossing for the front layer, and I just had to dig around the scrap bin, and come up with some fun accents.
I love the way this card turned out, and wish I had spent the time to make some more.  Oh, and did you see the cute little birthday greeting cut with a matching punch?  Like it?  Well, that's your peek, and you'll have to wait for the catalog release to find out more about it :)
Have a great day, and oh, by the way, I am still cleaning!

Mary Alice

I've come a loooonnng way, baby!

I am supposed to be cleaning my craft room today, for obvious reasons.  Reason #1.  The pile of scraps to the right of my paper trimmer is higher than the platform, and I have to bend my paper to get it in the trimmer.  Reason #2.  I am having trouble finding an area on the work table that is big enough to lay a 4 X 6" card flat, and get a good stamped image without the scraps on the table causing ridges.  Reason #3.  Need I go on??  And, that has nothing to do with the storage side of the room. 

So, I started cleaning on the storage side of the room, because I just could not clean off the table without anyplace to put the stuff away.  I added another shelf to my storage wall, and proceeded to organize on a higher level. 

When I got to a bin full of envelopes, many very old in bright neon colors and rustic rich tones, I found some of my old cards that I saved from the early Stampin' Up! days.  I wrote a blog entry earlier today about the card that I made that was just not up to par.  Well, talk about up to par!  I can't believe that I used to mail out cards like this.  Or, maybe I didn't which is why they are in a box.  I just had to share a few favorites with you. 

 

 

These two were from my sewing days.  Sewing, quiliting, rag dolls and rabbits were all the decorating rage at the time. 

 

I remember making these Halloween cards with my friend, Debby, who is my upline, and partner in all things Stampin' Up! today.  We got together for a day of stamping and made Halloween cards to give our daycare children.  What's with the black paper inside?  Oh, the punched out stars shown through.

 

It's hard to tell, but the scarecrow was on vellum paper cut with decorative scissors and layered over gold paper with autumn leaves stamped on it.  Fancy!

 

 

How about these two beauties done with the rainbow stamp pads?  I masked the middle with a post-it note, and stamped all around it.  Then added my big Thank you.  All done on glossy paper, no less :)

 

 

Here is another with a stamped background, and a crimped paper panel, and the little bird is raised up on an accordion folded piece of paper (before the days of dimensionals).

 

And, then there are my Christmas cards.  This was a cute little spongy mounted set, no wood here. Below is the inside.   Pretty simple.

 

Then I got a little fancier with the fancy punched corner slots and organza bow.  I still like this one.  I remember how excited I was to get the polar bear stamp set, because I live in the White Bear Lake area, and everything is about the white bear around here.

 

 

Don't know why it was Happy New Year cards this year.  Must have been too busy to make Christmas cards.  Funny thing is I have a stack of them, so maybe they never got sent out either. 

 

 

These last cards a pretty fancy.  That's because they were all workshop cards from classes that I hosted here in my house for my friends.  I remember making all of these cards at my workshops.  They are all really cute, and really nicely done.  It's no wonder we all bought the stamps and stuff to try to make lovely cards like this.  As you can tell, I have been stamping for many years with Stampin' Up!

 

This card with the lattice edge still had the instructions on how to do the card inside.  I should make one again one of these days.

 

I have to admit that I still have all of these stamp sets, and all the stamp pads, too.  I have the crimper, and the decorative scissors, the rainbow pads, and embossing powders, and glitter, the mulberry paper and so much more.  I love it all. 

Stampin' Up! is celebrating it's 25th year, and now I am a demonstrator.  I am going to my first convention this summer.  I enjoy stamping so much more than I ever would have believed, and I think it is because of all the inspirational people who are out there blogging and teaching and sharing what they love, too.

I am excited about the new catalog that will be released June 1 and all the new stamps and accessories that I want.  I am planning the projects that I will bring to convention to swap, and I was thinking that after all these years, Stampin' Up should have put out a call for cards made with your OLDEST STAMPS.  Wouldn't that be fun?  I think I could win that contest!

 

Well, I better get back to work.  Or is it time to make dinner yet?

 

Okay, I will share the before photo with you.  I hope to be able to share the after photos later this weekend. 

When I went to upload the photos I found this one, too, that I thought I'd show you.  My son was looking for some old shirts to wear to work during a remodel that they were doing.  He found this sweatshirt that he wore.  It's from Northern Reflections store that I worked at in 1995.  He found it in a bin of old clothes in the storeroom.  He said that several of the girls at work offered to buy it from him.  Evidently the trend right now is "old lady cat shirts", kind of like the ugly Christmas Sweater trend.  Who would have believed I would still have this, and my son would WEAR it!! What a guy.

 

 

Mary Alice

 

 

Playing around with A Round Array

 I was just excited when I got my sneak peek package with some new colors to play with.  I pulled out my A Round Array stamp set, which is one released early from the new Summer Catalog.  I went about my business making a card, that I thought would be a Mother's Day card for my other daughter-in-law, but when I was done, I was less than pleased.  I think that I went just a little to far with my playing around.  In my excitement, I wanted to do it all, and I am just not pleased with the final project, but I still share with you, my friend, because not everything is perfection. 
First, I saw the sketch at Nacho Average Challenge #45, and had the idea to cascade all these cute little stamps.  I thought adding some embossing would give it a little oomph, and because of the challenge at CASology #43 to use hexagons, I pulled out my hexagon embossing folder, and checked the size, and it looked to me like the circles would fit inside the hexagons in an interesting way.  I embossed a sheet of scratch paper, and began applying marks to my paper to layout where I wanted the stamps.  It was a good plan, but the execution was less than perfect.  When I actually put the stamped page in the embossing folder I realized that there was no way that I was going to get everything lined up perfectly, but I had a remedy to the situation.  I decided to punch out some of the images and raise them up with dimensional dots, and cover my imperfections.  Well, a bandaid is never a cure.  I continued adding little popped images all over the place, and ended up with one busy looking card.  Kind of cute, but not one of my best, and certainly not worthy of a Mothers Day card for Melissa.  I decided it was worthy of sharing with you, my stamping pals, and I am not sure if it is worthy of the challenges.  Well, back to the drawing board.  Stop back again, and see what I came up with next.

Mary Alice