The Evolution of a Card

We like to celebrate birthdays at our office. Who doesn't like cake and dip?!



Shirley has a knack for birthday decor, and her chicken dip is DIVINE. It was a "bon voyage" birthday party! Karlyn's going cruising in style with a monogrammed bag full of goodies and gift certificate for a mani/pedi!

It all started with a napkin.



And then it became a card.

 

[caption width="2448" id="attachment_3188" align="alignnone"] Club Scrap card stock cut with Plantin Schoolbook and Splish Splash Cricut cartridges. [/caption] 





My huge stash of "scrap crap" comes in handy sometimes!





Challenges entered:

Love to Craft Challenge Blog ~ Anything Goes!

Craft Your Passion Challenges ~ Anything Goes!

Addicted to Stamps Challenge Blog ~ Clean and Simple

Cute Card Thursday ~ Anything Goes!

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Look Out World! She's 21!

21 is a HUGE milestone. It means you are an ADULT and no longer dependent on your parents, AND you can legally buy alcohol, drink it and go to the casino. Hmmmmm...turning 21 can get you in trouble!

This sweet little angel turned 21 yesterday!



She's kind, smart, funny and she's  a WONDERFUL big sister to ALL of her baby sisters (including the ones in her college sorority) and little brother!



But,  I will always think of her as this sweet Morgan...



One of these is on its way to her mailbox with a 21st birthday surprise inside!



I used this card sketch from the Club Scrap (CS) Idea Deck. It's so easy to follow, no waste and the cutting instructions are on the back



[caption id="attachment_3109" align="alignnone" width="533"] CS card stock, sentiment and stencil.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3117" align="alignnone" width="530"] CS card stock, sentiment and stencil.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3114" align="alignnone" width="533"] Ruby Red Slippers Stickles on the martini olive. Ranger copper foil and fine detail silver embossing powder.[/caption]

Cheers to 21 years!



Challenges entered:

Club Scrap 10-2016 Idea Deck Challenge

PDE Linky Party Ch#140 Anything Goes

That's Crafty Challenges ~ All of a Sparkle Challenge

LTCCB #3 Anything Goes

Paper Sweeties Inspiration #48 October 2016

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Pepe Le BOO!

This is Pepe Le BOO!

[caption id="attachment_3048" align="alignnone" width="2172"] Just for Fun Rubber Stamps Stitched Mouthed Jack-o-Lantern and Tiny Black Cat. Club Scrap card stock.[/caption]

 

He's a distant relative of the famous Pepe Le Pew. You remember him? The amorous French skunk continuously in search of romance, but his scent, self-delusion, and overly persistent manner inhibit his efforts? These family traits were passed on to Pepe Le BOO, but with a slight mutation.  He, like his distant "skuncle", is also in search of romance, but his approach is to scare the pants off of his romantic interests! He always strolls around town in autumn looking for "scaredy cats". Here's an example of one of his pick up jokes...

Knock, knock.

Who's there?

BOO!

Boo who?!

Awwwwww...why're you crying?!

His penchant for frightening is a huge turnoff, though this would never occur to him. He's destined to wander the streets alone...


Poor Pepe. Forever single and creeping it real.

Be sure to check out the JFF Rubber Stamps October 2016 Halloween Challenge going on NOW!



 

 

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Meditating with my Gnomie!

I have a weird sense of humor. I laugh out loud at commercials. My mom said when I was little I would run from the next room, just to watch my favorites, and then go back to play. My youngest son will watch me, not the TV, waiting for me to start howling laughing on cue during my favorite parts.  This clip from Malcolm in the Middle is classic "Wendy humor". I laugh every time I watch it!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BunHeYkbjT0]

Of course this made me laugh.



And it inspired this...



I just #gotmykit (Club Scrap Garden Shed Lite) and had to make a card with my gnomie! He was from the Gnome for the Holidays kit and has inspired quite a few projects. This 2014 Holiday Blog Hop post was one of my favorites. It featured Papa and Mama Gnomie and a peek inside Santa's Workshop. I actually used Mama Gnomie to make a few alterations to help Papa Gnomie bend into lotus position. He's old and kinda stiff!



I like to use Faber Castell gelatos and Big Brush markers to color with, so I added a coat of gel medium to blend them better.



I picked complementary colors to go with the Garden Shed papers. I ♥ pistachio green!



I broke my Club Scrap glue pen, sniff... But, I found this cool little refill bottle for my  Club Scrap bookbinding glue!



A little shading with big brush markers...



This quote is from one of the cut apart sheets in the Garden Shed Lite kit. It was perfect for the theme of my card.



I used the King of ♦ card sketch  from the ALCM Idea Deck Vol. 1 to make the card base. These card sketches are awesome, no paper waste because the cutting instructions are on the back!





I added some shading with gelatos around Papa Gnome so he would look like he's levitating! He's kinda serious about garden meditation.



He needed a little sparkle in his beard, so I gave him some stickles for bling.



(Meditation chime bell)

 

Keep Calm

and

Meditate with your gnomies!

Namaste!



Challenges entered:

Club Scrap 09-16 Idea Deck Challenge

LTSCB #86 - Anything Goes!

Craft Your Passion Challenge 330 ~ Always Anything Goes

Pile It On #117 - Autumn colors/theme

 

 

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The Trees Have EYES!

"When in Rome, do as the Romans do!"

"What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas."

In Colorado...

[caption id="attachment_2847" align="alignnone" width="864"] Club Scrap Garden Shed digital kit with accents from Botanicals. "Aspen eyes" images made by ME from my photos![/caption]

We spent Labor Day weekend traveling around Colorado. The mountains were calling! We went to Gourmet on Gore, food festival and wine tasting,  in Vail Village for our first stop. Everything smelled so delicious!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaQ47Sx8UgE]

We walked around sipping Arnold Palmers, checking out all the food and enjoying the glorious weather! Everyone was either walking or riding bikes. Chris bought some of the most delicious organic plums. I swear they were so sweet and fragrant I felt like I was eating a flower!

I love the mountain air, though I did have mild altitude sickness and had to suck on a can of oxygen the first night. That's what I get for being hardheaded and walking two miles, while the rest of my crew took the shuttle to dinner!

Since this was a road trip, we decided to travel through the mountains to Aspen for a night and loop back to Denver via Independence Pass. We stayed at the Aspen Meadows Resort, home of the Aspen Institute.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmSn7tLwhkw]

The grounds are BEAUTIFUL, though the buildings look a bit like the Dharma Initiative in Lost! The rooms were really nice inside though, and the flowers were blooming everywhere!



We left the windows open all night (the rooms don't have air conditioning) and the low night temp was 40 degrees! Loverly!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqRcvksj_6c]



[caption id="attachment_2907" align="alignnone" width="2448"] Water station in the lobby. Cucumber mint ice water, so refreshing![/caption]

My family tried to kill me...We rented bikes to ride into town. It's been years since I've gone bike riding. Chris was leading and I was the caboose. I was leisurely pedaling and just enjoying the mountain view. I should have known better when I saw the giant mirror on the curve. No lie, the road sloped down 60 degrees and I cruised right down it! Luckily, there was road construction, so no traffic, BUT we had to climb back up to get back on the main riding path. Honestly, I haven't had that much fun in a LONG time!

We walked all over downtown Aspen. Is that background gorgeous or what?!





Ahem...I wanted to check out a dispensary, so I walked into The Green Dragon. Unfortunately, I didn't have my ID and was politely asked to leave! (Insert howling laughter) Flashback to 1987! I haven't been asked for my ID since high school! This is all I got, a pic of the t-shirts in the waiting area!



I don't do heights, but I did Independence Pass! The drive was breathtakingly beautiful, but scary! At one point we inched past a USDWF work truck and had a hairs width between us. Yikes! I got tickled when we were walking to the summit of the pass. We passed two young children with their grandparents. The little boy kept saying he was tired and the grandfather said, "You're not tired, it's just the altitude!"  12,095 ft up on the Continental Divide...I had a little trouble myself! My boys LOVED it!





 

We finally made it to Twin Lakes, (big sigh from me!) and it is gorgeous!

[caption id="attachment_2928" align="alignnone" width="3264"] Twin Lakes[/caption]



[caption id="attachment_media-25" align="alignnone" width="3264"] That water was too COLD for me![/caption]



I had a fantastic vacation with my sweet family. I didn't want to come home, even though they pushed me to my limits BUT we took the scenic route!

Do more of what makes you happy!

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The Adventures of Supergirl and Spiderman!

We took a Sunday road trip to Lafayette to see the "Chapman Blondies". We had a great time watching soccer and eating red beans and rice and catfish for lunch! I even got my boob honked by a three year old. Good times!

One of the perks of having grown kids is that I get to be the fun aunt and take pictures. I love my nieces and nephews. Haylan was so excited that her big cousins and Uncle Chris came to watch her play! She's not a show off, she's really that good!

[caption id="attachment_2774" align="alignnone" width="3600"] Club Scrap Fire and Ice digital kit, Homemade Apple font, sagittarius sign and soccer ball from my stash. Sketch from the Club Scrap Idea Deck Vol. 2 King of ♦ card (see end of post). [/caption]

Little brother likes to be entertained too and doesn't take NO for an answer. As long as you do what he says, life is good!

[caption id="attachment_2775" align="alignnone" width="3600"] Spider web and Chinese symbols from my stash.[/caption]

Millie was too busy running around to be in the pictures this time. She's kinda sassy!

It was a fun, chaotic, rainy day=HAPPINESS. I ♥ my people.



Challenge entered:

Club Scrap 9-16 Idea Deck Challenge



 

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