Make the Cut Freebie

I've been drooling over the new Sizzix Flip dies because I'm lazy and math challenged.  The side of my brain that deals with numbers goes numb all the time while my creative side is always looking for a better way of life without numbers.  I started this file as a square flip card which was really easy to do, went on to a circle flip card which was much harder for me.  And then I had a brain fart.  Penny Duncan (my hero) has the very best shaplies files (nested shapes you can cut on your die cut machine).  I searched my hard drive for my Penny Duncan hiding place and found this beautiful shape and used it for a flip/swing (video from www.michellesrubberroom.com) card.  I used Make the Cut to create it and my Cameo to cut it.  I purposely left this card undecorated and cut it from double sided paper so you could see the beautiful shape.  Kudos to Penny for that.  I'm kind of addicted to flip cards so will be making more of them.  Please let me know if you want me to put them on my blog for you and if you have suggestions, please let me know.  This will make a standard 4.25" x 5.5" card, but I plan to branch out to other sizes, too.  I'd love to see what you do with it if you download it.

 Download the PDC-1 Flip Card

Gardening Journal - 3/26/12

We've had temperatures in the 70s and 80s here in Central Illinois for about ten days.  Every living thing thought it was spring before it actually was (calendar-wise, that is).  I fear we will still see bad weather; I've seen it snow in April here.  Unfortunately, plants that emerged too early will suffer if that happens.

Our greenhouse is now up, Carl put it together yesterday in between raindrops.  I have all the seed packages lying on the dining room table but haven't started any except the tomatoes and peppers.  This year I purchased my seeds from Park Seed Company while in my jammies on a cold winter's day.  I usually order seeds when it's the coldest, gloomiest, and farthest from spring, it makes me feel better.   The varieties I ordered are:  Organic Pepper California Wonder (One of the best for stuffing - a blocky 4 x 3 ½", thick-walled, tender and flavorful. Popular), Tomato Mega Bite Hybrid (a determinate that's great in containers), Tomato Sweet Baby Girl Hybrid (Park Seed Claims:1. It rarely cracks.  2. It grows on space-saving, manageable plants.  3. It yields HUGE numbers of fruit over a long season.  4. It has a great after-picking shelf life.  5. It is the sweetest, best-tasting Cherry Tomato ever!), and Tomato Costoluto Genovese (Costoluto Genovese is a large, juicy Italian heirloom tomato with an acidic-tart full-tomato flavor well suited for slicing and serving fresh or cooking.  Costoluto Genovese has been a Mediterranean favorite since at least the early eighteenth century. The key to this mid-season beefsteak’s rich tomato flavor is heat. Grown away from the dry, sun-drenched gardens of the Mediterranean this tomato might disappoint).  I will start these seeds in the house on a heating pad and move them to the greenhouse after they have a couple of sets of leaves.  I use the black dishes that frozen entrees come in for starting seeds, a good seed starter mix, and saran wrap to keep the moisture in.  As soon as the plants emerge, I take off the saran wrap and I will transplant them into bigger containers when they're about an inch tall.  In April, I will start flats of salvia, ganzania, zinnias, cosmos, tithonia and mammoth sunflowers.

The toads in the pond have started singing; last night there were at least three.  If you haven't heard American toads singing, check this out:  American Toad Singing.  Imagine a bunch of these singing outside your bedroom window all night every night for weeks.  They like to sing from inside our skimmer which resonates and echos and creates even louder sounds.  Soon they will start to wrestle for breeding rights.  Update:  they are already breeding.  I'm not that great at video, but I think this shows the skimmer and pond pretty well - the dangling thing was the cap to the camera, I couldn't hang onto the camera and the cap and the skimmer lid at the same time.  There are at least eight breeding pairs in our skimmer and four or five single guys. 

The bluebird box outside the craft room window remains unclaimed.  I have had some house sparrow interest but any male house sparrow that claims the box will be trapped. The chickadees have not been here for several days so they either have another nest box in mind or they're traveling - spoke too soon, the chickadees are at the nest box as I type.

Blooming now in Central Illinois:  Redbud trees, forsythia, Bradford Pears, daffodils, tulips, violets, and dandelions.

Free Digital Calendar/Birthday Sentiment - April

I can't believe another month has passed - where does the time go?  April is spring in Central Illinois although it seems to have shown up early this year.  As I look out 'this window' I see the crab apple with large pink buds on it, the grass and bushes are leafed out and very green and the lawn could stand a good mowing.  Here are the April free digitals, I hope you enjoy them.

 Download April Birthday Sentiment

 Download April Calendar

Jewelry Box

I had a lot of fun making this little box.  The pattern is from SVGCuts and is part of the Playful Parlor SVG kit which contains several patterns.  I imported the box SVG into Make the Cut and copied it to a second page, making sure they were in the exact "x" and "y" positions on both pages.  On the first page, I removed the inside dotted lines.  On the second page I deleted the outline.  Using the first page I cut out the box and without removing the mat, I changed the blade for a stylus with a ball about a 1/16" across, inserting it in my Amy Chomas adjustable holder for my Cameo.  Then, I 'cut' the second page twice using more force than I normally use.  This created wonderful score lines.  The box is very easy to fold and it only takes one 8.5 x 11" piece of card stock to make. 

I used scrap pieces from the DCWV Nana's Nursery Baby Girl to cut the side and bottom panels.  I imported these on page 3 and page 4.

The file contains a bow I didn't make and does not contain a decorative bottom for the inside.  I added that with a piece 2 3/4" x 3 5/8".  It makes the box a little more sturdy as well as provides visual interest inside.  The leaves on top were cut from Poppystamps.com Meadow Leaf die and the lovely rose was a get well gift from KarensFunBlog.   This box measures about 3 3/4" wide, 2 1/2" deep and 2" high without the decorations.  I imported it into MTC with "use actual" checked and at 90 dpi.  There is a YouTube video on the entire set with construction instructions.  The birdcage file is especially cute.  This was my first purchased file from SVGCuts but it won't be my last and I credit this blog entry with pointing me in the right direction.

My take on Spectrum noir markers

I'm of mixed emotions about these alcohol markers.  On the one hand, I love the tips.  If you like coloring Penny Black like I do, Copic Sketch markers are a little big for staying in the lines.  On the other hand, they are seriously hard to open, in some cases I have pulled the entire end off of a pen exposing the inside due to tightness.  I have arthritis in both hands and carpal in my right wrist.  I can't color as long with the Spectrums due to the stress of opening them on my hands.  And they're much larger around than the Copics Sketches, harder to hold and harder on my wrist.  I find I get 'writer's cramp' much faster with the Spectrums than the Copics.  Of course, it could be I'm used to holding the Copics and I may get used to the Spectrums in time.  It's also awkward to change back and forth.  The Noir's are very hard to open and when switching to the Copics, I find I pull the Copic caps much harder than I need to.  Then, when I go back to the Noir's, I'm not pulling as hard as needed to get their caps off.  What I do love about the Spectrums is they blend as well as the Copics, the tips get into really small spaces.

Even though I like the Noir colors, I won't be replacing my Copics with them.  I think I will use them to supplement my Copics and for the occasional tiny image.

Recipe:

Beckett Radiance, Recollections card stock

Penny Black Stamp, JustRite Times New Roman Font - 25 pt.

IG2, GB8, IG6, TB5, PL1, PP5, PL5, OR1, PP1, Blender

Scor-Pal

From this window - day 2

     OK, so I'm out visiting the hubs as he pulls dead wood out of his 1/2 acre forest (I know, we chuckle, too) and decide to take a walk down the path to see what I could see.  The bleeding hearts are coming up, the mole has dug some huge tunnels, I don't see any garlic mustard but....was that a flash of yellow on the ground?  So, I look a little closer and this is what I found.  Now, mind you, we live in Central Illinois, not the parakeet mecca of the world.  I called to my husband and told him to come quickly but quietly and I heard him gasp as he crept up behind me.  A parakeet can't live in Illinois this time of year.  We will have several freezes before the weather gets this warm again so I told Carl I was going to see if I could catch him.  I approached him quietly, stooped down and put out my finger and he hopped right on it.  I wrapped him in the bottom of my T-shirt and Carl got this decorative bird cage from the gazebo and we popped him in it.

     I pounded down the inside of a couple of small cat food cans, well cleaned, and we sorted millet from our bird food using a colander, filled one with seed and one with water.  After some research on the Internet, I think it's a male because it sings and the area above the beak is pinkish purple.

 

     The cat found the bird in her window and stayed with us all afternoon.  I announced the finding of the bird on our neighborhood's facebook page but haven't gotten any response yet.  We will need to get a bigger cage if no one claims him.  He's not a parrot but I'm calling him Rio and will be very happy to keep him.  It's funny, I thought the cat would scare the bird and was ready to hang the cage where the cat couldn't get it, but the bird hopped down from the perch to the side of the cage and they stayed face to face for a long time.

I'm anxious to see what tomorrow brings.  UPDATE:  Another pair of chickadees found our northern bluebird box this morning (we also have a bluebird box on the west side of the house).  The 'resident' pair very vocally showed them the road.  It's still too early for nesting but not for protecting the home front, prime real estate is just so hard to find these days.

From this window....

     Spring has come early to central Illinois.  Usually the day time temperatures are in the 50s with 30s at night.  This whole week has skirted the 80s during the day and the high 50s at night.  We've had our windows open all week and haven't closed them at night.  Plants are coming up that usually don't emerge until April.  Daffodils are up about six inches, tulip leaves are up but no buds have formed yet, my violets have leaves, the honeysuckle has leaves, the hydrangea has leaves.  We worked in the garden Tuesday and Wednesday cleaning up debris and cutting down last year's plants.  Almost everything we grow benefits wildlife in some manner - food, nesting sites, hiding places.  Our perennials were picked for their value to the birds and butterflies that live here.

     I took this picture from the porch this morning as the sun was coming up over the Illinois River.  Unfortunately, from our property we can't see the river, but we have a fairly flat piece of property and everyone who can see the river has a step drop-off in their back yard. We bought this house for the land as much as the house; we have extensive gardens, a large pond with a waterfall and many bird boxes.  We also have an abundance of blue spruce pine trees which are nesting sites for chipping sparrows, doves, robins, cardinals and house finches. 

     This is the view from my craft room window.  The fences hold Dropmore Scarlet Honeysuckle and there are leaves on it already; it will bloom fairly early which is great for the hummingbirds who arrive before other sources of food are available.  The birdhouse in the center of the fences is a bluebird house.  The woods across the street support deer, fox and turkeys.  I see them often from this window.  The tree you can see at the right is a gorgeous crab apple with white blossoms.  While you can't see in the picture, I can tell that the buds are getting ready to burst.  The blanket next to the window is where my cat sleeps when she graces me with her presence (which isn't often).  Soon I will attach a small feeder to the outside of the screen that I will fill with peanuts.  I will get a steady flow of titmice, woodpeckers and chickadees to visit this feeder everyday through late fall and the cat will spend much more time here. 

     Two chickadees have been in and around the bluebird house for three days now.  They leave for a little while and then come back.  They are very vocal and I can even hear them when they fly across the street.  A pair of house sparrows have checked it out but won't be allowed to nest there.  A pair of titmice took a peek but did it when the chickadees were here and were chased off so I suspect the chickadees will win the battle for the birdhouse.  Last year the chickadees got first dibs on the house, raised seven babies, and the day after they fledged, the bluebirds moved in.  The bluebirds have been here to visit the box but I don't think the chickadees will give it up and are aggressive enough to even chase off bluebirds.
     I went on 'walk-about' this morning, checking buds on bushes:  the wiegelas both have buds as has the viburnum (which will smell like vanilla when it blooms).  The wiegelas are great favorites of the hummingbirds and we have two - a variegated leaf with dark pink flowers and a white flowered one.
     The annual bed has been covered with about four inches of straw to keep the weeds down and soon the greenhouse will go up.  I have a huge envelope full of seeds I ordered on the internet and my husband built me a great potting bench last year.  I will start some of the seeds in the house and the rest in the greenhouse.  We have a garage sale in late May or early June where I will sell my extras.  When it's time to plant, the veggies go in the pots outside the family room and the annuals are spread out through the garden beds and in the raised annual bed.  In August, the Peoria Camera Club annually treks out here to take pictures in our garden.  We provide a shady spot to sit, snacks and lemonade.
     This year we will need to stain the deck and gazebo, install a new shade structure on the deck, move the old structure to the garden so we can plant Autumn Blooming Clematis on it and add a couple of chairs under it.  My husband is on the roof now inspecting for winter damage.  Soon he will be in his woods clearing his walking path and checking the native plants he's been slowly filling them up with.  Once we have the furniture in the gazebo uncovered and arranged, the gazebo dusted and swept, I will start my coloring outside.  The only problem with that is, there is so much going on in our garden, I'm easily distracted.  I watch where the birds carry nesting material, I see where the baby bunnies are hiding, we watch the pelicans soar above our house, is that a dragonfly?

Halloween revisited.....

We're a Halloween family.  Well, we used to be.  The last few years have been devoted less to decorating and more to inventing and my husband and I are getting older.  We lean more to the blow up displays but my daughter and SIL are more creative.  Last year they actually created a creature for Fright Night in Forest City, IL.  My daughter just sent me the video of the creature learning to walk.  I share this with you because I'm proud of them.  The costume and video were created by my daughter but the human inside the costume is my SIL, Brad.

Enjoy!

My new embossing station

I am always looking for a more cohesive way to craft.  Two of my favorite 'go to' tools are my Cuttlebug and my Grand Calibur.  I have a gazillion Spellbinder dies (some so old I can't even find information on them anymore) and more embossing folders than any one person can use in a life time.  My embossing machines used to be across the room, the dies and folders were in books, cd crates and boxes.  I've often ordered a die that I already had.  I spent a whole weekend trying to create an embossing station that was more functional for me and this is what I came up with:   

This is an old Sauder TV stand that we kept shoving from room to room because it had outlived its usefulness.  If I wanted another one, I would check Goodwill or a thrift shop, these are very inexpensive.   I had my hubs carry this one upstairs and I started filling it up.

My Grand Calibur is on the bottom along with a cd crate (purchased at Michaels) filled with stamps that work with my dies.  The top shelf has all of my long border dies, my long skinny embossing folders and my Memory Box dies stored in the blue basket.  Next to the basket are my grand dies still in their packages which is the best way so far I've found to store them.  On top is my Cuttlebug and a bin containing all the parts of both embossing machines and the white KaiserCraft notebook has my Papertrey dies.

I organized all of my Spellbinder dies into two of these Media boxes.  There are two sides to each pouch and you can label the top of them.  I have added some magnetic material in some pockets that hold small parts and some dies I've just left on their package, cutting it down to fit.  I've filled two boxes almost full.

Note to Sherri:  see the black and white book in the upper left hand corner?  I was so impressed with your find at JoAnns that I actually made one myself.  I found two 4x6 photo albums at Michaels for $1.00 each, tore out the pages, cut out the covers from cereal boxes, doubled them, covered them with pretty paper, used my Bind-It-All and an inch and a quarter coil, wrapped a ribbon around the front cover and called it a day.  It's filled with all my Copic information front to back and turned around, back to front are notes on card sizes and how to make certain cards.

Since I've saved the cardboard portion of almost every die I've purchased, I cut them into a manageable size, paper punched the corner of one to use as a template, placed an address label on each one so I could add the Spellbinder number and the Box and pouch number.  For those dies whose packaging I've misplaced, I found pictures on the web, copied them into Powerpoint, labeled them, printed and laminated them.  I kept all the groups together, circles with circles, rectangles with rectangles, etc.  Then I gathered them all together in a ring.

Now, I can just flip through the ring to find just the right die.  And I know exactly where it is.  No rifling through the boxes or imagining that I have a die I don't have.



You can see how close my Embossing Station is to my chair, my desk and my computer (and it's on wheels so if I need to move it, I can).  I find I'm using the embossing machines a lot more since they're so accessible.  Unfortunately, my large embossing folders are in the closet in two more CD crates that I don't have room for, but I think the exercise will do me good.

Happy Birthday, Lowell...

 Get a cup of coffee and join me on my first trip to Montana:

Lowell and I have been friends for many many years.  We met at work and the chemistry was immediate.  I didn't know, however, that we would become such good friends for so many years over two different states.  When Lowell retired, he and his lovely wife Marcia moved to Victor, Montana (If you'd like to see this area, rent "Disorganized Crime" with Lou Diamond Phillips and Reuben Blades, it was filmed there).  My best friend, Debbie and I drove out to visit the summer after they moved.  Remember that trip, Lowell?  Debbie was a mall baby, suffering withdrawal big time and Lowell and Marcia lived on ten acres in the Bitterroot Valley in a gorgeous A-frame home many miles from the nearest shopping.  The big news story while we were there was a cougar in the neighborhood.  When Debbie found they could climb (the A-frame had a balcony), she didn't sleep a wink.  While we were visiting, Lowell and Marcia took us to Glacier National Park which was decorated with signs announcing grizzly bears.  The signs had big slashes in them as if they were swiped by bear paws.  The ranger lecture was about bears and we were told that if you make noise, bears will get out of your way.  Singing was especially effective and the best song to sing was Tammy Wynette's "Stand By Your Man" because everyone knows bears don't like country music.  On our hike the next day, Debbie never shut up.  I'll bet every bear in Glacier had moved down to lower altitudes to get away from the constant chatter.  

That same trip started the money war.  Marcia booked a room somewhere in the park (I've thankfully forgotten where).  To her credit, it was all she could get, but it was awful.  It smelled like the bears spent long winters there.  Musty, moldy, icky.  I opted to sleep in the van under the stars.  I'll bet you can guess where Debbie slept.  When we checked out, we tried to pay Marcia for our portion but she would have none of it.  It was just the first of many fights over money that hasn't really ended - and Marcia is winning so far.

Another bright spot in the ranger lecture was 'bear bells'.  Those are large jingle bells attached to a walking stick.  Opinions are mixed about them.  Some say bears are curious and wonder what they are, others say they cause bears to leave the area.  But the ranger did say that the difference between black bear poop (called 'scat' in Ranger speak) and grizzly bear poop is that grizzly bear poop has 'bear bells' in it.  Another note about that lecture was the ranger himself.  His name was (and is) Rick McIntyre.  He was a grizzly ranger in Denali National Park when he wrote a book about a bear called Stoney.  We attended his lecture in Glacier National Park when he worked there.  He is now the wolf expert in Yellowstone National Park and we often see him when we're looking for the wolf dens.  

Lowell and Marcia also took us to the Skalkaho Pass for a picnic.  The water there comes from the top of the world and Marcia, (I've never understood how she can do this) peeled off shoes and socks and went walking in the stream at the picnic area.  I'm up for a challenge, so I do the same.  The water was 32.2 degrees and after placing one foot half way in the water, my brain went numb.  I have never in my life been so thoroughly cold and I've never walked in glacier water again although Marcia continues to do it and I continue to be amazed.

If you ever get the chance to visit this area, I highly recommend it.  It's gorgeous.  But (and there's always a but, right?) take lots and lots of bug spray.  While we were eating the deer flies found us.  They don't just bite, they take chunks of flesh with them to feed the kids.  Debbie and I did the Mexican Hat Dance all the way to the van.  The flies didn't seem to bother Lowell and Marcia, it seems tourists are on the menu, locals aren't.  And, we didn't leave them at the picnic area.  Every time we stopped so I could take pictures, they found us again, so obviously, they were following us which denotes intelligence.

But, I digress.  On the way home from visiting Montana, Debbie and I stopped at the Crow Reservation to see the Little Bighorn battleground where Custer and the 7th Calvary lost their lives.  When Debbie saw the pictures of rattlesnakes curling up in the wheels of cars, she decided not to walk up to the monument with me and, needless to say, Deb never went to Montana with me again.  But, I've been back many times, once with a friend (?) and many times with my husband.  I'll tell you about those trips in later posts.

Happy Birthday, Lowell

 Get a cup of coffee and join me on my first trip to Montana:

Lowell and I have been friends for many many years.  We met at work and the chemistry was immediate.  I didn't know, however, that we would become such good friends for so many years over two different states.  When Lowell retired, he and his lovely wife Marcia moved to Victor, Montana (If you'd like to see this area, rent "Disorganized Crime" with Lou Diamond Phillips and Reuben Blades, it was filmed there).  My best friend, Debbie and I drove out to visit the summer after they moved.  Remember that trip, Lowell?  Debbie was a mall baby, suffering withdrawal big time and Lowell and Marcia lived on ten acres in the Bitterroot Valley in a gorgeous A-frame home many miles from the nearest shopping.  The big news story while we were there was a cougar in the neighborhood.  When Debbie found they could climb (the A-frame had a balcony), she didn't sleep a wink.  While we were visiting, Lowell and Marcia took us to Glacier National Park which was decorated with signs announcing grizzly bears.  The signs had big slashes in them as if they were swiped by bear paws.  The ranger lecture was about bears and we were told that if you make noise, bears will get out of your way.  Singing was especially effective and the best song to sing was Tammy Wynette's "Stand By Your Man" because everyone knows bears don't like country music.  On our hike the next day, Debbie never shut up.  I'll bet every bear in Glacier had moved down to lower altitudes to get away from the constant chatter.  

That same trip started the money war.  Marcia booked a room somewhere in the park (I've thankfully forgotten where).  To her credit, it was all she could get, but it was awful.  It smelled like the bears spent long winters there.  Musty, moldy, icky.  I opted to sleep in the van under the stars.  I'll bet you can guess where Debbie slept.  When we checked out, we tried to pay Marcia for our portion but she would have none of it.  It was just the first of many fights over money that hasn't really ended - and Marcia is winning so far.

Another bright spot in the ranger lecture was 'bear bells'.  Those are large jingle bells attached to a walking stick.  Opinions are mixed about them.  Some say bears are curious and wonder what they are, others say they cause bears to leave the area.  But the ranger did say that the difference between black bear poop (called 'scat' in Ranger speak) and grizzly bear poop is that grizzly bear poop has 'bear bells' in it.  Another note about that lecture was the ranger himself.  His name was (and is) Rick McIntyre.  He was a grizzly ranger in Denali National Park when he wrote a book about a bear called Stoney.  We attended his lecture in Glacier National Park when he worked there.  He is now the wolf expert in Yellowstone National Park and we often see him when we're looking for the wolf dens.  

Lowell and Marcia also took us to the Skalkaho Pass for a picnic.  The water there comes from the top of the world and Marcia, (I've never understood how she can do this) peeled off shoes and socks and went walking in the stream at the picnic area.  I'm up for a challenge, so I do the same.  The water was 32.2 degrees and after placing one foot half way in the water, my brain went numb.  I have never in my life been so thoroughly cold and I've never walked in glacier water again although Marcia continues to do it and I continue to be amazed.

If you ever get the chance to visit this area, I highly recommend it.  It's gorgeous.  But (and there's always a but, right?) take lots and lots of bug spray.  While we were eating the deer flies found us.  They don't just bite, they take chunks of flesh with them to feed the kids.  Debbie and I did the Mexican Hat Dance all the way to the van.  The flies didn't seem to bother Lowell and Marcia, it seems tourists are on the menu, locals aren't.  And, we didn't leave them at the picnic area.  Every time we stopped so I could take pictures, they found us again, so obviously, they were following us which denotes intelligence.

But, I digress.  On the way home from visiting Montana, Debbie and I stopped at the Crow Reservation to see the Little Bighorn battleground where Custer and the 7th Calvary lost their lives.  When Debbie saw the pictures of rattlesnakes curling up in the wheels of cars, she decided not to walk up to the monument with me and, needless to say, Deb never went to Montana with me again.  But, I've been back many times, once with a friend (?) and many times with my husband.  I'll tell you about those trips in later posts.

This is the card I sent to Lowell.  It's an interactive card made possible by a Papertrey Movers and Shakers Die, Zipper.  The sentiment under the strip you tear off reads "with a cherry on top".  The birthday sentiment is also from the Papertrey Movers and Shaker's stamp set from the new release.  The image is the new "Cherry on Top" Wryn from Tiddly Inks.  There is a gallon of gold Stickles on the cupcake frosting, it's quite raised.  So, Happy Birthday, Lowell, we miss you and can't wait to see you this summer.

 

 Recipe:  

Paper:  DCWV Nana's Nursery Baby Boy, Kraft

Stamps:  Papertrey Movers & Shakers Sentiments, Tiddly Inks Cherry on Top Digi

M.S. Border Punch, Papertrey M&S Zipper Die, EK Success Border Punch

Spica Red, Gold Stickles, Recollections Gold Glitter Dots

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Distress Ink Evergreen Bough

Card Size:  5" x 7"

Copics:  E000, E00, E11, E93; R24, R29, R39, G24; B97, B45; Y11, Y18, Y19; YR24

I also wanted to share the seal I put on the back of the envelope.  If you are like me, you have a gazillion of the tiny embossing folders that came out in the early days of embossing (remember how we had to had all the new stuff?).  They're hard to use on larger projects because the edges of the embossing folder show.  But, peeps, they are perfect for these gold seals that I purchased at Office Max.  I just cut one label away from the sheet keeping the backing paper with it, place it inside an embossing folder and feed it through the Cuttlebug.  I understand from recipients that it actually reaches them still embossed.  What a cute way to add another message to your card.  Just be sure when you put it on the back of your card, that you press it down in the areas that are not embossed.

Girly girl...

I've never been a girly girl.  My hubs said he married me because I like muck (muck:  something my husband always finds to walk in and then track into our house).  The first thing I did when we moved into this house was replace all the floors in rooms that opened to the outside with ceramic, all three - our door to the deck is in the dining room (ceramic floor), our front door opens to the foyer (ceramic floor) and our garage door opens into the kitchen (ceramic floor).  And I invested in a Swiffer.  Easy peasy, I just walk behind him and mop up.  He has a million good qualities so it would be stupid of me to chastise him about something so easily taken care of.

With Sheri Willshire's approval....

With my good friend Sheri's approval, I offer this baby card.  Sheri is the "queen of flowers"; she makes them and she uses them.  If you'd like to see a master at making flowers, check her out here.  I, on the other hand, collect flowers - and punches that make flowers - and cartridges that cut flowers.  I just don't use flowers.  I always think of them as 'girly' and I've never been a girly girl.  My hubs said he married me because I like muck (muck:  something my husband always finds to walk in and then track into our house).  The first thing I did when we moved into this house was replace all the floors in rooms that opened to the outside with ceramic, all three - our door to the deck is in the dining room (ceramic floor), our front door opens to the foyer (ceramic floor) and our garage door opens into the kitchen (ceramic floor).  And I invested in a Swiffer.  Easy peasy, I just walk behind him and mop up.  He has a million good qualities so it would be stupid of me to chastise him about something so easily taken care of.

Back to the card.  I picked the designer paper first of all and went on a hunt for card stock for the base card.  This coral was all I could find.  I debated about using it, baby cards are traditionally pastels but in the end I stuck with it.  I like the way it turned out.

Paper:  Recollections, DCWV Nursery Baby Girl

Stamp:  Sugar Nellie's Digital Bambino

Wilton Doilies

Spellbinder Grand Ovals

Magnolia Crystals

Prima Flowers

Distress Ink Festive Berries (on the doily)

Martha Stewart Leaf Punch

Bow Easy

Clear Spica, Stardust Stickles

Copics:  E000, E00, R00, R01, E93, R37, R35, R22, N1