Sunday, July 12, 2009

Angella, this is for you! Archiver's coupons

My lovely friend, Angella Crockett mentioned Archiver's in a comment here and it reminded me to pass along a couple of coupons they have right now. One is for 30% off one item and one is for BOGOF card stock. The white card stock I used in my last card is really nice. I used the card stock coupon to buy it. It's the 12 x 12 inch ANW Crestwood Solar White. Nice enough to be used as a card base! It took ink really well, too. Not sure about how it would do with other media, but I liked it with my Versafine ink and SU markers! Until I start buying reams of white cs again I'm left to buy it by the sheet. So you might be paying less than I did for what you normally use. It worked out to $.30 per sheet, which is not the cheapest, but they were out of the 8&1/2 x 11 size, so I tried it.

So, without further ado, here are the coupons. Yikes! I just noticed that these are only good through Monday! Well, hope some of you can benefit from them!

Have a blessed Sunday!

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Hello Friend

Not much stamping this week. We had some home repairs done and my time wasn't so free. But I did whip this card up yesterday after the work was completed. The doggy stamp was calling to me. ;)

I haven't done much background stamping lately so I thought I'd use one for this card. I thought this old SU Chicken Wire stamp was just the right touch.

There is laundry waiting for me and a kitchen to clean up. And I think I need to shoo some kids off the Wii, so I better run.

I'm really enjoying all this offline time! It gives me time to ponder and pray. But I do miss being able to blog hop more.

Hope your day is a lovely one!

Recipe

Stamps: Penny Black Critter Party, Stampin' Up! Chicken Wire (retired), saying from a TAC set I have forgotten the name of.

CS: White, Bordering Blue, Memory Box Rhubarb Tart, black

Ink: Versafine Onyx Black

Markers: Creamy Caramel, So Saffron, Barely Banana, Summer Sun, Bordering Blue, Old Olive, C1 Cool Gray Copic

Other: Nestabilities Blossom and Standard Circle Small dies, Prima Daisy Dreams daisy, Sticky Doos, spiral punch, Stamp-a-ma-jig, black gingham ribbon, Diamond Glaze (for dog's nose), yellow Stickles

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

The Lord is My Light



Happy Tuesday to you! I am pre-posting this on Sunday since I'll be offline most of this week. Hope your holiday weekend was a good one! We stayed home and grilled burgers and hot dogs and had our own mini fireworks display on our driveway, thanks to hubs getting a fireworks set at Sam's Club. It was just right for us: not too big, not too small. And on top of that we watched all the fireworks going on all around us! It was a noisier 4th this year. My guess is that people are looking for something positive in these financially difficult days and fireworks can certainly lift one's spirit!

This card has nothing to do with Independence Day, but it does have to do with the difficult times we're in. Fear certainly can play a big role in how we function on a daily basis. Our president and congress are certainly giving us much to fear about; but I want my hope to be in the Lord, not the government or the economy, for nothing is impossible with God!

So about this card. Pretty straightforward. Lots of cuttlebugging and nestie fun!

It all started with the Basic Grey paper from the Cupcake collection. From there I chose my ink colors for the scene. I used sponge daubers and sponged Bashful Blue and Summer Sun inks to create the surf and sky. I find that when using regular cardstock, sponging on the color looks better than trying to color it on with markers or a water brush and ink pad.

For the sun, I used a piece of cardstock that I punched a circle out of as a template. I laid it over the spot where I wanted it to be and sponged Apricot Appeal ink over it, getting it in good around the edges and sponging less in the middle. The girl is done mainly with markers and a water brush, but I also used Prismacolor pencils on her legs and arms.



I love this Scripture from the Psalms. What a comfort it is!



I also love this one inside the card from the book of John. Jesus spoke these words. Who better to listen to, yes? He Who is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last! He would know!



And of course, I had to add a little bling.



By the time this posts I hope to be done with my grandma closet. I have some shelves to finish painting and some touching up to do (is there ANY way to avoid drips??) and then I will happily put back everything and step back and admire my old-fashioned closet!

I pray the Scriptures on this card encourage you to look to the Lord for your peace and contentment. The world can't give true, lasting peace, but He can! So why look there?

Blessings!

Recipe

Stamps: Stampin' Up! Seaside Sketches, Stampin' Up! Canvas (on blue base), ODBD Light of the World, inside Bible verse by Biblical Impressions (?)

CS: Brocade Blue, black, Basic Grey Cupcake dp, white

Inks: Bashful Blue, Summer Sun, Versafine Onyx Black, Apricot Appeal

Markers: Sage Shadow, Mellow Moss, Old Olive, Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, Summer Sun

Other: Cuttlebug Perfectly Paisley and Distressed Stripes embossing folders, Nestabilities Classic Oval Small, Classic Oval Scallops Small, Long Classic Scalloped Rectangles Large and Long Classic Rectangles Large, gold gems, 3D Dots, black rick-rack ribbon, Sticky Doos (for behind Scripture piece), Prismacolor pencils, water brush

Friday, July 3, 2009

Summer Bloom



Happy Friday! I'm in the middle of painting a bathroom closet, but wanted to post a card while I'm resting. My sweet hubby is off work today and he's building some new shelves for me. When we had this house built over 14 years ago, we chose the ventilated shelving. You know, the wire kind? Well, it's good for some storage situations, but it's the pits for things like bottles and such. The shampoos and conditioners I have stored in there never want to stay totally upright, and if one falls over, the whole bunch fall over like Dominos. And things fall through the grates. I've lived with this annoyance long enough and it's time for real wood shelves! I can't wait! Next will be my pantry. Same issues! I want good old-fashioned wood shelving like my grandmothers had!

So in between applying coats of paint, I've been sneaking in some creative time. There hasn't been a lot of that this week, but I did manage to make one other card I will set up to post soon. (Yes, Doris, I knew about the pre-posting option on Blogger and have been taking full advantage of it! Praise God for such blessings, yes?) I still have lots of chores to do today, unfortunately. But tomorrow looks pretty free (for now). We'll be having company over.

Anywho, when I want to relax in a creative way, I watercolor. So this card and the next one are the results of that.

Btw, right now Archiver's is having a big clearance sale and I was able to get the Basic Grey 6 x 6 pads Obscure and Recess for $1.99 each!! That was a thrill! I almost squealed out loud after discovering that!

I used one of the papers from the Recess pad for this card, in fact. I also found out that Archiver's carries THE best black ink removing cleaner I have ever tried (and I've tried just about everything, including Simple Green):



It's the only cleaner I've tried that completely removes Stampin' Up's Basic Black ink from my stamps; it's the hardest ink I've ever tried to remove. Normally, I have to buy it online, so I was very happy to see it in the store! It's $5.99 for 2 oz., but there were no 8 oz. refills on their shelves just yet (I might just have to beg for them to carry it!).

NIFTY TIP ALERT! I found that if I spray a little quarter size amount of the Ultra Clean stamp cleaner on a rag and rub the stamp with it I use a lot less of the cleaner up. Since it's a bit pricey, I also only use it for black or very dark inks because the other cleaners all work fine with all other colors. It's just the black that is so stubborn. I've not tried it on StazOn Jet Black ink, so I can't report on that one, but I'm extremely happy with the results on every other black ink I've tried it on!

End of commercial! Now, back to the card.

Here's a close-up of the paper. Cool patterns so small, you almost don't see them (click to enlarge).



I'm running out of free time so I had better get to the recipe! Have a lovely day and a great Independence Day, for all my American readers! We Americans need to grow in appreciation for our freedoms before they are lost! We are so blessed and we need to work hard to protect those precious freedoms we so often take for granted! We need to care about what our politicians are doing. It affects us whether we like it or not. We are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights! And we must remember that our Creator is the One Who has given us these freedoms! Pray for our nation!

Blessings!

Recipe

Stamps: Stampin' Up! Summer By the Sea, Purple Onion Design "4 Seasons"

CS: Black, Basic Grey Recess "Academy", glossy white

Inks: SU Basic Black, Versafine Onyx Black, Bashful Blue, Creamy Caramel

Markers: Sage Shadow, Brocade Blue, Old Olive, More Mustard, Summer Sun, Basic Black (to extend line on the ground on the left)

Other: Cuttlebug Floral Screen embossing folder, Nestabilities Labels Two dies, ticket corner punch, amber gems, black grosgrain ribbon, Sticky Doos, 3D Dots, Inkssentials opaque white gel pen (for white dress accents), sponge daubers (used for applying ink to sky and sand)

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Blessings to You



Good day to you! I'm enjoying this break from the Internet so much that I might just make it a permanent thing! I am enjoying a greater closeness to my husband and children that I want to continue to foster. I had no idea my heavy online usage was hurting my family so much. I highly recommend turning off the computer more often! Your family will be blessed!

Despite my time offline, I still find time to stamp here and there. I pulled out an old standby technique that I used to do all the time: watercolor misting. Simply color your stamp with markers as you like and then spritz the stamp with water and stamp. Easy! And the results are so pretty!

I pray you have a wonderful week!

Stamps: Stampin' Up! More Petal Prints, TAC saying (unsure of set name); CS: Black, Memory Box Poppyfinch collection, white; Inks: Versafine Onyx Black, Lovely Lilac, Orchid Opulence; Markers: Lovely Lilac, Orchid Opulence, Old Olive, Always Artichoke; Other: Cuttlebug D'Vine Swirls embossing folder, Nestabilities Long Classic Rectangles Large and Long Classic Scalloped Rectangles Large, Ornare Decorative Corners piercing template, piercing tool, sponge mat, black polka dot ribbon, clear gems, water spritzer, sponge dauber

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Poppy Poppy Joy Joy!



A big Saturday hello to you! I hope your weekend is a good one! Since I'm posting this ahead of time I have no idea what I will be doing, but I hope it involves gardening or yard sales and NOT oppressive heat!

I hadn't played with my Flourishes stamps in quite awhile and I thought they might be a bit lonely. So I pulled out the Poppy Patch set and got to work coloring! All I did was carefully add ink a layer at a time, going lightest to darkest. One day maybe I'll have a whole slew of Copics, but until then I will have to make do with my SU markers and their color limitations. Wouldn't it be neat if SU competed with Copic and made 3 shades per color? You know, dark, medium and light? Maybe they'd keep some of us stampers from jumping on the Copic bandwagon. Personally, my pockets ain't deep enough to shell out the dough needed to collect Copics unless that's all I want to buy! So I make do.

I used the Stampin' Up! Sanded background stamp on a piece of brown Basic Grey paper, stamped in Versafine Onyx Black. I really liked the effect. I thought it looked kind of like the side of an old barn, something you'd see poppies growing beside. Maybe I should expand on that thought in my next card?

I used opaque white ep and VersaMark ink to heat emboss the word "Poppy" on the "side of the barn". I thought the white stitching would really set it off. Then I thought some pearls would be nice. They go with everything, ya know!

When it came to the poppies I wanted to make them as real looking as possible and colored them as stated above. Then I thought the Script embossing folder would add a touch of elegance to them. Then I thought the pinking circle would add a bit of whimsy to the overall look and then went and poked holes in each triangle using a 1/16" hole punch to be even more different. That made me sweat a bit! I was afraid that one false move and I'd ruin it and would have to start over.

Btw, I did DTP with Ruby Red ink on the pinking circle before cutting it out and poking the holes. Then I sponged the edges with Chocolate Chip ink.



On the inside, I carried the theme of the poppy, the Script folder, the DTPed Ruby Red cs and the sewing. The word phrase is from the same set.



Here is a close-up of the saying.



I really enjoyed making this card and hope it inspires you in some way. I appreciate you coming by for a look!

Take care and have a lovely day today!

Recipe

Stamps: Flourishes "Poppy Patch", Stampin' Up! Sanded

CS: Black, Basic Grey (not sure which collection), Ruby Red, white

Inks: Versafine Onyx Black, VersaMark, Ruby Red, Chocolate Chip

Markers: Ruby Red, Baroque Burgundy, Old Olive, Always Artichoke, Basic Black

Other: Cuttlebug Script embossing folder, Nestabilities Large Pinking Circles, Classic Circles Small, 1/16" hole punch, opaque white embossing powder, pearls, sponge dauber, sewing machine, 3D-Dots

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Just Saying Helloooo



Happy Wednesday to you all!! I am offline for the week, but I wanted to share with you this card I made just for the fun of it. Way back when I stamped mainly for holidays, but sometimes it's fun just to stamp for stamping's sake, isn't it? I try to do that more and more these days.

I just love this cute owl from the Hero Arts set, "Sending Happy Thoughts"! He would look even cuter with bigger googly eyes, don't you think?

NIFTY TIP ALERT!! I stamped the saying over him in a strange way. I bent it into a curve and put it on my acrylic block and then stamped. Cool, huh? I saw someone do it and thought how neat that was, so I tried it myself. Some clear and unmounted stamps can't bend very easily, but some are quite flexible!

I sponged Tim Holtz's Distress Ink Vintage Photo on the striped middle area to cover the cracks in the paper after running it through the Cuttlebug using the Forest Branches ef (thin papers will do that).

I used one of those Sizzix Architectural Accents dies on the corners of the card. What I did was, after running the die through the Cuttlebug 4 times to make 4, I ran the die cuts back through the Cuttlebug using the rubber mat and several pieces of cardstock to flatten them. That way they would match once two of them were flipped over to mirror the other two. It worked pretty well!

For the inside, I carried the theme of the Spots and Dots ef, the polka dot ribbon and the Mellow Deciduous dp. The saying is from the same set.



I will be sharing one more card this week and then I'll see you on the weekend! It's been really hard getting in everything I want to do online in the short time I allow myself, so some things have fallen through the cracks, I'm sorry to say, like time to blog hop. Still trying to figure out how to remedy that or if it can even be remedied. I'm always hopeful. Hope is one thing we always have!

Blessings on your day!

Recipe

Stamps: Hero Arts "Sending Happy Thoughts" (CL305)

CS: Chocolate Chip, Basic Grey Mellow (Deciduous) and Stella Ruby, black, Canson watercolor paper, white

Inks: Versafine Onyx Black, Chocolate Chip, Tim Holtz Distress Ink Vintage Photo

Markers: Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, Really Rust, Ruby Red, Copic Special Black (110), Old Olive, Always Artichoke, Summer Sun

Other: Cuttlebug Spots and Dots, Forest Branches and Mesh embossing folders, Nestabilities Classic Circle Small, Scalloped circle, Sizzix Architectural Accents die, sponge dauber, 3D-Dots, black polka dot ribbon, Xyron 150 Create-a-Sticker (permanent), googly eyes

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Happy Dad's Day!



Happy Sunday! And Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there (not sure I have any dad readers, but if I do, that's fer you!).

I gave this card to my hubs this morning. He already has his present. He's a tech geek and wanted one of these for Father's Day. It was quite the hit at scout camp (which is why he got it early - he had to share his joy with the other geeky scout dads, of course).

So, all he got from me today was a card and eating out at one of our favorite hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurants.

This doggy from the Penny Black "Bubbly" set was, I thought, a great Father's Day image, what with the tie and all. I stamped him 3 times: once on the main piece, and twice on scraps, all watercolor paper. Then I cut out the dog and then just the tie to give it extra dimension. I glued the top of the tie down at the neck and used a bit of a dimensional piece to make it stick out at the bottom like a real tie would. I stamped the SU Riveting circle and then punched it out and ran it through the Cuttlebug. Then I put it on with a 3D-Dot.



For the inside I took a Hero Arts stamp from "Happy Dad's Day" (CL335) and blocked the word "Dad" and the exclamation point and re-inserted the exclamation point at the end of "I Love You". That was a bit tricky as the exclamation point kind of gets in the way and it took 2 Post-It notes to get it out of the way.



Well, I've got 2 more cards to get ready to post for you this week. I plan to continue spending lots of time offline as I find it so relaxing, and my kids like it that I'm so available to them! My house stays cleaner, too! Go figure! ;)

Have a wonderful day and week! Be blessed and get in some stamping!

Recipe

Stamps: Penny Black "Bubbly", Stampin' Up! Riveting, Hero Arts "Happy Dad's Day" (CL335) (inside)

CS: Only Orange, black, American Crafts "Celebration" dp, Canson watercolor paper

Inks: Versafine Onyx Black

Markers: Only Orange, Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, Brocade Blue, Bashful Blue, Ballet Blue, Basic Black

Other: Cuttlebug Mesh and Tiny Bubbles embossing folders, Nestabilities Labels One, 1" circle punch, gems, black zigzag ribbon, orange grosgrain ribbon, 3D-Dots, sewing machine, Post-It notes

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Thanks Butterfly!



Good morning and Happy Saturday! I hope your day is a good one so far!

Last week when I was stamping, I felt like pulling out a favorite old set and playing. I just wanted to color some butterflies. Not that they resemble anything in nature, color-wise, but I didn't care. I just wanted to wing it. Get it? Anywhoooo.

I just stamped them randomly and then colored them. I used the Inkworx air art gun with my Basic Black marker to spritzed some color in the white areas. Once it all dried I cuttlebugged it with my old standby, Tiny Bubbles. I tell ya, that is my most used embossing folder EVER. Just love it even though I use it so much it's insane!

It's probably hard to see, but I scored 1/2" lines horizontally across the white base just for fun. I used my Scor-Pal which makes it so easy to do.

Not much else I can say about this card other than that the gems are not as green as they look in the pic. They actually match the turquoise butterfly very closely. But you can't always get things just right in a pic, right? I am learning some tricks, though, from my GIMP program (it's free, btw!) and who knows if someday I'll be able to make every card pic perfect?

Have a good one and TFL!!

Recipe

Stamps: Stampin' Up! Wonderful Wings, Stampin' Up! Many Thanks

CS: White, black, Pumpkin Pie

Inks: VersaMark, Versafine Onyx Black, Pumpkin Pie (DTPed on Pumpkin Pie CS)

Markers: Summer Sun, Pumpkin Pie, Taken with Teal, Tempting Turquoise, So Saffron, Really Rust, Close to Cocoa, Basic Black

Other: Cuttlebug Tiny Bubbles embossing folder, Nestabilities Long Rectangles and Long Scalloped Rectangles, Scor-Pal, Inkworx air art gun, opaque white embossing powder, teal gems, black zigzag ribbon, 3D-Dots, Stamp-a-ma-jig

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Sing for Joy!



Good day to you! I'm not sure what I'll be doing today, but if it's not too hot I hope to get some gardening done with my 13 yo. She loves to plant things and I need to get some more seeds in the ground!

This is another jazzed up simple card. Simple in design, jazzed up in embellishing. I used Prismacolor pencils to color in the bird scene and outlined it with my C1 Copic marker. Ran it through the Cuttlebug with the...what else...Tiny Bubbles folder. At least I used something different on the dp! The argyle ef is so versatile. It can go masculine (as on my Father's Day card) or feminine as in this card.

Here's a look at the inside:



I love this ODBD set! I hope to play with it more in the near future. Birds make me happy! Aren't they just the most cheerful creatures? Okay, maybe buzzards and crows aren't, but you know what I mean!

Take care and be blessed!

Recipe

Stamps: Our Daily Bread Designs Sing to the Lord

CS: Black, Memory Box Brandywine dp, white

Ink: Versafine Onyx Black

Other: Cuttlebug Argyle and Tiny Bubbles embossing folders, Oval Classic and Scallop Nestabilities, Prismacolor pencils, C1 Copic marker, Stamp-a-ma-jig, gingham ribbon, Sticky Doos

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Happy Graduation!



Hello!! Remember, I'm not here right now. I'm offline enjoying my family and my garden, which is finally at least started! Mainly, tomatoes and peppers. But my 13 yo planted something in the squash family (we're not quite sure which seeds she used, oops!) and some peas, so we have a little variety.

My nephew graduated from high school recently and I wanted to give him a card using his school colors, gold and purple. I had gotten rid of my Eggplant Envy ink and CS back when SU changed the colors, and the Elegant Eggplant wasn't quite red enough for the match, so I DTPed it with CTMH Pansy Purple ink (I still don't have the EE ink pad or marker) and then warmed it up a bit with some More Mustard...I think. This is the problem of not writing things down right away. You forget. So I *think* it was More Mustard, but does it really matter? Nahhh. It might've been Summer Sun or Pumpkin Pie. Take your pick! ;)

I notice that I prefer simpler sketches more than the really elaborate ones most of the time. I am always struggling with those extra fancy ones with all kinds of elements tossed in. I am always glad when I finish one, but the process is not very enjoyable for me. So I often will keep it simple even though it's not the most popular way right now, or did it go out of fashion already? lol Are we swinging back to simple again? Well, I am, dern it! lol At least this time!

I wanted to showcase that cute little mouse. He's stamped with Versafine Onyx Black on watercolor paper. I find that I keep gravitating to the watercolor paper when I want to color with markers and/or a water brush. It just holds the color so much better.

Well, since it's simple, I don't have much to talk about, do I? lol

Have a wonderful day!

Recipe

Stamps: House Mouse "The Graduate", Congrats! by Village Arts Press

CS: Black, Elegant Eggplant, Pumpkin Pie, Canson watercolor paper

Inks: Only Orange (DTPed on the Pumpkin Pie cs), CTMH Pansy Purple and More Mustard (or whatever)(both DTPed on the Elegant Eggplant cs), Versafine Onyx Black

Markers: hmmmm I'm not even going to try. Lots of colors!

Other: Cuttlebug Houndstooth and Tiny Bubbles embossing folders, Nestabilities Labels Four, various markers, black zigzag ribbon, C1 (Cool Gray) Copic marker, 3D-Dots, Inkssentials opaque white pen (for eyes and white parts of diploma)

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Father's Day BBQ



Good evening!

While my hubby and son were away at scout camp for the week I had myself locked out of my computer so I could really focus on my time with my girls. I loved it! In fact, I loved it so much I'm going to do it again! See, I have this addiction to my computer...It makes me stay in front of it like it's some kind of big magnet or something. And I am only safe when my hubby isn't around to log me in. We use software that can lock someone out if we want to. Well, *I* need locking out. And after a week of detox I think I might be able to restrain myself from begging hubby to let me back on for the week.

Ya know, one thing that's fer sher is that the stamping community is addictive. It's also overwhelming. I can't keep up, plain and simple, without making my family suffer. God has been dealing with me on that one for quite sometime, and I've been putting my fingers in my ears and yelling "lalalala", trying to tune Him out.

One thing I learned last week is that if I don't cut down on my Internet time I will never grow spiritually. How can I hear God speaking to me when my head is so full of stuff? Yes, there is such a thing, I believe, as Internet gluttony and stamping gluttony and I am guilty of indulging in both *raising hand*.

So you will be seeing less of me, but I will still be stamping and sharing here, just that it will only be on Sundays for the time being. The rest of the week will be devoted to being a mom and wife and Jesus follower who will hopefully then have room in her head and heart to hear His loving voice, and will hopefully be able to focus on her children and hubby when they speak to her instead of her mind wandering off somewhere like it usually does.

So, anywho, here is a card I made my dad. Simple, yet a few little touches to jazz it up a bit. I was inspired by Jenn Biederman and her adorable Father's Day card.

I thought the Argyle embossing folder would be a perfect choice for a Father's Day card.

The cloud was free-form drawn and cut out of watercolor paper. Then I added a pierced edge.

For the inside I continued the Argyle theme.

All stamps are from the same set, btw.

I have more cards to share. Hopefully, I'll get them up tonight, but I will set them to post during the week so you have something to look forward to here!

TFL and have a blessed week!!



Recipe

Stamps: Hero Arts "Happy Dad's Day" (CL335)

CS: Black, maroon, Brocade Blue, True Thyme, watercolor paper

Inks: Real Red (DTPed on maroon cs), Bashful Blue (sponged on Brocade Blue cs), True Thyme (sponged on True Thyme cs), Versafine Onyx Black

Other: Nestabilities Labels One, Cuttlebug Argyle embossing folder, ticket corner punch, piercing tool, sponge mat, black grosgrain ribbon, sponge daubers, Diamond Glaze, 3D-Dots, Post-It notes for blocking and sponging

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Offline for the week

Hey all! I will be unavailable for the next week. I won't have any Internet access, so I'm setting my blog comments to moderated. Have a lovely week and see you when I get back online!

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

I've been published! Woot!



I had sent this card in to a magazine almost 2 years ago! It was one of those deals where if you send a SASE with your card you would get your card back if they decided not to use it. I never got it back. I was just wondering the other day about this very card! Isn't that weird? And now it's published! How cool is that? The magazine just came to my house today!

This is the third time I've been published. I'm just so stoked! I need to submit more cards. I'm always so overly critical of myself and usually chicken out. But I should make myself do it! You should, too!

Stamping magazines have been changing hands and names so much lately that I'm not even sure who it was I actually submitted this to. But I'm very thankful they saw fit to use it!



If you get the August issue of Crafts 'n Things you'll find my card in the Reader Gallery on page 96.



I want to give a shout out to my stamping friends Connie Babbert and Sue Erickson who also got their cards published on this same page! Congrats, ladies!!

Have a wonderful day today, everyone!