Lady Bug, Lady Bug...fly away home...

Wow.  Long time, no post!

Between all the physical therapy for my arm

which btw turned out to be myofascial  (sp?) tissue

and scar tissue from right side gall bladder and hysterectomy surgeries

that goes from the right side---to the left shoulder?

Go figure!

Working on the scar tissue area on the right---relieves the numb fingers on the left!

 

Then the Bad Cat has been living up to his name

and not eating.

Or I should say not eating what he needs to be eating

for his IBD---

so on top of the hyperthyroid stuff, high bp,

we're trying to deal with IBD flare ups

and not wanting to eat.

Raw venison and raw fish

and dry Purina cat food.

That's it.

So we're walking a fine, fine line.

And cherishing every day

that he is still cantankerous enough

to be up and about and meowing and interacting.

I fear we're at the beginning of a downward slide...

 

So---

all that---has kept me away.

I did make a set of notecards for a friend...

who loves lady bugs...

The gingham is a SU rubber stamp---

and the border behind it is a MS punch---

I stamped and embossed the image with clear embossing powder.

The oval embossed cut out is from an SU embossing folder.

No naked mail-stamped the enves too!

Punched the edge of some plain white paper

and lined the inside of the cards...

And since that little oval on the front is popped up...

the cards and enves were too thick to put  in the "bag pocket" I wanted to make

and as I was uploading these---I realized I had not photographed

the card holder I did make---

a small magazine style holder from the CTMH AP or Artiste cartridge---

so fly on back tomorrow for those pics...

Until next time,

happy stamping and scrapping.
Blessings,

Memorial Day...

So...

I started out my over-booked hectic crazy week

with a car accident on Monday

while on my way to the physical therapist

who told me I have not one but two pinched nerves in my neck

(hence my two numb fingers.

 

THE GOOD NEWS IS...

no one was seriously hurt;

the cars were driveable;

the damage to the other drivers car

will be covered by our insurance;

and the damage to our car is just minor scrapes.

And I made it to my appointment on time.

 

The poor young man I hit

had just found out he had lost his job.

I asked if he was a Christian and when he said yes,

I immediately started praying for both of us!

I am sure he was ready to call the men in the white coats--

first this lady hits him and crunches his car

and then breaks out in prayer in the middle of down-town in a parking lot.

Oh well.

He did give me a hug before we left.

So-

prayers that God will open doors for him

he never even dreamed of.

 

My other good news this week is--

Bad Cat's blood pressure is coming down!!!

We may very well be at a normal point at home---

so in another 2 weeks we'll recheck it and his kidney numbers.

Keeping my fingers crossed (and my prayers said!).

 

 

I wanted  needed something simple and fun to do today

and as I was blog hopping

I found this:

 

 

and here is the link to Marie's Blog

which has great instructions on how to make it.

Here's my version:

 

 

Not only did I have EVERYTHING on hand to do this---

but it was super, super easy!

My only suggestion is---

DO put a layer of adhesive down along the outside edge of your circle

that will allow you to position your blue (first) layer of cones

and adjust them as needed.

I hot-glued mine and then ended up ripping them off

and repositioning them.

Doesn't show-but the other would have been easier the first time.

The other layers were a piece of cake to put in.

I'm not super at making rosettes

and with two numb fingers-it was tricky.

 

There are sooooo many beautiful variations on this on the web---

I cannot wait to make more!

Thank you, Marie, for sharing this!

 

Tomorrow is Memorial Day.

As the liturgist said in church today,

All gave some, some gave all.

I have two nephews currently serving

and I am very proud of them.

To those who have dedicated their lives--

along with their families and loved ones-

Thank you.

For those who have fallen

in the name of freedom,

may you rest in peace

and thank you

for the price you paid was great.

Remember...

it's not just a three-day week-end....

 

Until next time,

happy stamping and scrapping!

 

Blessings,

 



"Cradle" for my Kindle....and Summer Fun Bubblin' Over

I've not been in the magic kingdom much

these past few weeks---

It's really hard to craft with two (left-hand) numb fingers.

Tomorrow

I see a physical therapist and I cannot wait!

I am right-handed but I do a lot---a WHOLE LOT with my left hand!

 

Anyway.

One of the things I do with said left hand

is hold books I read.

And I read---a lot.

Usually big books (300+ pages)--hardback and heavy.

And that is part of the problem.

So I bit the bullet and bought myself a Kindle.

The case however does not stand by itself

so when I want to stretch out and read

I either have to prop my knees up and balance it-

or hold it with the other hand.

Until now.

I didn't want to spend more money

and didn't really see anything that struck my fancy anyway.

But...

I had foam board, tape, scrapbook paper and hot glue

in the craft room.

So I went to work.

and here's what happened...

 

I knew I needed/wanted something like an easel card would be-

thinking that for sure would work.

Well, it did. Sort of.

I cut three pieces of foam board--

two were 5"x7" and one was 5" by 6" (guessing.../base piece).

 



 

 

I laid the foam board down on some tape

leaving enough space in between

so that they would fold easily and have some "give".

Then I covered the outside panels much the same way as you do a book---

I knew I was going to repeat the tape across the outside "joints" so I didn't worry

about the edges---I cut the outside papers at 6"x 8" and wrapped them to the inside.

I used hot glue to hold them down.

Then I cut papers to fit the inside-just a tad smaller than the panels themselves.

Then I tried to put tape along the joints.

And here's where I got into trouble.

I didn't get my tape straight.

I am sooooo picky and knew it would drive me nutso.

When I tried to peel it off---I of course tore the paper.

But you know what?

I did not have more foam board to start over

and I was NOT driving to Wally World and back to start over...

so

I fell back on "There's no mistakes in scrapbooking/stamping

just opportunities for embellishment"

and distressed that torn paper.

Looks like I planned it!

I cut a small piece of foam board and covered it,

hot glued it to the shorter bottom panel.

Done.

Nope.

The easel part kept popping up and falling over.

No matter what I tried.

First I made the little brace you see---

and when that didn't work

I said the heck with it-

and just hot glued the easel part down!

 

It isn't so big that it needs to be folded and put away

when I am not using it--so leaving it sitting up is fine.

 

As my grandmother would say,

I made a silk purse out of a sow's ear (poor sow!)

I also realized this would b a cheap-cheap-cheap way

to make a display for any little art work

or to hold cards and such for photographs!

 

 

Last week was the last week of preschool

and I needed goodies for the kids.

I got bubbles from Wal-Mart's party aisle

peeled the labels off

embossed bands of white cardstock

and then used Publisher to design the "Bubble" tag I put on the front.

"Hope your summer BUBBLES over with fun.  Blessings, Ms. Sharon"

 

I just hot glued all this together.



I kept it simple---

I did not use pop-dots

(in EITHER PROJECT!);

nor did I make the tag on front

look wet and shiny

(ultra thick embossing powder would be ideal!)

since I was doing 30+!

 

 

That's it for now.

I think I will curl up with my Kindle

and read a bit more

before I have to open

the River Road Animal Hospital Annex

as I call us since now all three cats are on medicines twice a day!

Bad Cat, thankfully, is doing well.

Just feed him while you give him subcutaneous fluids and he could care less...

Poppa Cat's blood sugar is all over the place so we're working on that...

and the baby, aka Inky hasn't been eating real well.

Think he's stressing over momma not being well and missing Ms. D.

 

 

Until next time,

happy stamping and scrapping!

Blessings,

Get Well Soon Easel Card

I needed a get well card for the wife of a coworker

and I wanted to do something with the easel card technique

that I showed you in yesterday's post.

So I pulled out some paper

and an older stamp set

a doily and ribbon

and went to work...

Here's the front view with it closed...

 

and here it is with the easel up ...

This card is going to be hand-delivered

so the bulk with the roses won't be an issue

(if I were mailing it, I'd just use a padded enve)

the roses have an itty bitty sparkle in the middle-

you can barely see the one on the left...

As I did yesterday, I mounted the easel part

onto a full base card so I would have room to write.

No naked mail means stamp the enve, too!

on both sides!

 

So there's my get well wishes.

The pinks, the flowers, the dainty bow and doily

this is very feminine.

You can of course change out the sentiment

for anything you wish...

 

Tomorrow is back to work day.

Ugh.

I still have numb fingers

and am beginning to wonder if its carpel tunnel.

Crafting with numb fingers is not easy!

 

Until next time,

happy stamping and scrapping.

Blessings,



Happy National Scrapbooking Day

Hope everyone is stamping and scrapping their hearts out today.

Despite everything,

even I went in the "magic kingdom" and played today.

I will get to that in a minute.

 

Speaking of minutes,

I was early to an appointment a few weeks back

and stopped in a little shop I like to poke in

and found this...

 

It was--bright yellow.

I wanted it to match some other things in my bedroom

so I painted it.

Once upon a time bird feeder

is now repurposed as a book holder

for my daily devotional books!

I am still debating whether to add some white rope as "handles"

where those holes are

or fill them in altogether.

A decision for another day.

 

So.

Among 1,001 other things

I have been down with a numb shoulder/arm/hand.

Not fun.

A friend of mine/former co-worker

MASSAGE THERAPIST

came to my rescue last week-end.

I called her and not only was she on the island-

she made a house call!

AND

she would not let me pay her!

"That's what friends are for!"

She did alleviate the pain

and I got feeling back in 3 out of five fingers.

She came again Wed. morning and worked some more.

Whatever it is does not want to go away!

But I am so grateful for Linda and the relief she gave me

I decided to make her a thank you card

and celebrate National Scrapbooking Day at the same time.

 

Sometimes I even surprise myself-and this one sure did!

Lots of colors and patterns and somewhat out of the box for me

but I absolutely LOVE IT!

(a bit biased maybe!)



The image is Mo's Digital Pencil "Pool Party".

I colored it with Copics and used to designer paper.

Are you ready for the surprise?

This is actually an easel card-on a card!

Lots of pop dots!

 And here she s standing up...

I used an ancient CTMH stamp set for the life saver

and the turtle is from another CTMH set along with the "you're a" sentiment.

Now--I wanted a "watery" effect

and my first thought was---Crystal Effects.

But

I didn't want to wait that long for it to dry!

So I thought again---

and somehow came up with Ultra Thick Embossing Powder!

One layer was all it took!

I heated it just until it was barely melted

to give it the water droplet look

vs. a smooth finish.

I just liked it better.

I added what I call my "beachy beads" for sand--

which are simply 2/3 gold and 1/3 silver microbeads mixed together.

I use Crystal Effects to adhere them.

And here came the problem.

Remember when I said I didn't want to wait for it to dry?

Well, I didn't.

UGH!

After putting it all together I realized I had a smudge

from where I inevitably stuck my finger in the wet CE.

But, as any seasoned scrapper/stamper knows,

there are NO MISTAKES in stamping/scrapbooking

only OPPORTUNITIES for EMBELLISHMENT.

See that little turtle on the left?

Cute isn't he?

Can't tell he's covering up my boo-boo huh?!

Really-I planned it that way all along! ; )

Now all of this is mounted on a regular card base

so I have room to write a message!

That's one of my pet peeves with the "traditional" easel cards-

not much room to write.

 

And in case you are wondering how I did it

with the center stand up...

 

then click here to visit Julie Davison's blog

I tweaked it in that instead of leaving the two side panels-I cut them off.

I adhered a full piece (5 1/2" x 4 1/4" dp to the remaining flap.

Once my top of my card was complete,

I then adhered it to the front of another card base.

Clear as mud, huh?!

You'll figure it out!



 

That's it for now.

I hope to make her a set of notecards--we'll see.

Next week is going to be crazy----

Bad Cat AND Inky have vet appointments

in the same day

and then we have another appointment later in the week

I am worn out thinking about it.

 

Until next time,

happy stamping and scrapping!
Blessings,

 



Hello Tweety!

A few weeks  back my friend Theresa and I did a craft show together.

We lugged lots of stuff across God's green acres.

And it rained. A lot.

My fibromyalgia was raging

so I was a good girl (I thought)

and went to bed with a good book.

For two weeks now

my left shoulder, arm and hand have been numb

(I think the tables, the stock, and holding the big book in my left hand

did me in...yes, I am checking on getting a Kindle!)

I have a friend who is a massage therapist

who thankfully is NOT retiring like I had heard

and she made a house call this morning.

I am to rest and ice.  A lot. And do some gentle stretches.

And getting an x-ray was also suggested.

Bummers.

 

But I did create some cards yesterday

its kinda hard tying bows with three numb fingers

but I did it!

I cannot take credit for the design--

I cased it from

Dawn's Stamping Studio

and just tweaked it a bit.

 

The stamp set I used was Hello Tweety from Close to My Heart

A set I love but really hadn't used-until now!

The paper is crystal blue

and the ink color is called slate--

the case shows is as a gray color

but when stamped out it has a much greener tint to it?

Can't swear its not a defective one--appears to me it is...

but it looked good with the other papers so I went with it.

 

I was taught from the get-go that there should be

no naked mail--so of course I stamped the envelopes too

both sides of them!

The birdcage is on the address side....

 

and the birds on a wire are on the back (return address) side...

 

I left the insides blank

so I can stamp them as needed with the appropriate sentiments

 

I had made a few for thank you notes for birthday gifts

and just decided that since I had everything out anyway-

why not make a dozen to have on hand?

So I did.

I'd really like to do more of this-even have some sets made up

to package and give as gifts.

 

This guy (aka Bad Cat)

has been taking up a lot of my scarce spare time.

We learned this week

he has high blood pressure on top of all his other issues.

God help me!

So now he's on BP medicine.

The good news is-if it works and the BP comes down

there is a chance that the kidney function #'s will improve

and we won't need to give him iv fluids!

But until that happens-

Momma gets to cart him to the vet once a week for bp checks.

They did make a house call for us

hoping it would be better here at home-but it wasn't.

Sigh.

I gotta say though

I am seeing improvement in him.

He's been a lot more vocal (not a good thing at 4 AM!),

more active, more wanting to interact with us.

He wants to sit in my lap a whole lot more

so I think it's his way of saying thank you

for forcing so many meds into him.

They know a lot more than we give them credit for.

 

 

This guy (aka Inky aka the baby...)

 

has stopped looking for Ms. Dolly.

We've tried to pay him a whole lot more attention

and it seems to be helping.

He goes for a check up early next month.

PLEASE pray that he gets a clean bill of health!

 

And this guy (aka Poppa Cat)

is still struggling with diabetes.

We cannot seem to get his blood sugar regulated as easily this time as

we did the first go-round.

Had to laugh-the vet tech that came the other evening

could not get over how calm and relaxed PC really is!

He is a TERROR at the vet's office!

 

 

Well, I've worn out my ice pack.

Time to do some stretches and replenish the pack.

 

Until next time,

happy stamping and scrapping.

Blessings,