Cowgirl Easel

This is a card I made with the intention of using it for my son's MIL's birthday. She is a big western/cowboy fan, so when I make her a card, I often use that theme when designing it. This one did not make it. I was almost finished on the night before we left for our trip to Ohio and hit a wall with it. I just couldn't cut the papers on the right diagonal for anything!!! It's just not that hard, but I guess with the trip coming up, I just couldn't focus enough to get it done. When we got back, it was one of the first things I tackled and it fell together with no problem. Guess I'll save it for her next birthday or special occasion!

I made it an easel card, which is what caused me all the grief. I had already scored the diagonal line. If I hadn't done that first, I could have made it swing the other way and saved all the mangled papers.

I made the star embellishment using chip board stars and embossing powders and glitter glass. I applied the embossing powders repeatedly to get a really thick coating.
And there you have it....another card with lots of postage!! Pretty typical for me!
On a personal note, today is a happy day because it looks like I will be getting to bring my truck home!! My son has had it since Kyli's diagnosis so they had could have a dependable, air conditioned ride to and from the hospital whenever needed. Yesterday, they were able to get a car that fit the bill. I'll be helping out a little to cover some of the expense, but I will have my truck back!!! It will sure make life easier at my house!! I hope everyone has a blessed day!!

These are some of the cards I was planning to have completed in time for this year's Relay for Life event in our area. They were intended to be part of a fundraiser for our booth. I brought my collection of completed cards to be sold, with all proceeds going to the cause. When we listed it as one of the fund raisers for our team, the organizers said, "Yes, having some cancer-related cards would be great!" Well, only one or two of the cards in my stash were actually caner-related, so I got to work and started getting more cards together. The event took place on May 10th. Kyli was diagnosed with leukemia on May 1st. Needless to say, I didn't have a lot of time to get the cards completed before the event. While I still participated, with more purpose than ever, I did not get the cards completed until recently. I guess I have some cards ready for next year's event! I made several of each design and tried to keep them very simple for the sake of mass production. I hope to get more done before next year!

Birthday Flamingo

I needed a birthday card for a friend and I needed it in a hurry! Fortunately, I had everything I needed laying out on the work table. I had a digital image of a flamingo all colored up in a box next to the desk. The other papers had been pulled for another project that never happened some time ago. I had just purchased the punch and hadn't put it in its home yet, so it was also sitting out. I just had to reach up a little to get the bling from the drawer on my desk...and her it is. Quick and simple!! I can't remember who makes the digital image, but he sure is cute. I colored him with Copics. My friend is a flamingo fan so it is perfect for her. DSP is retired SU!
I have another very busy day of projects ahead of me. I am working on a tip jar for the restaurant that my son's MIL manages. It took me weeks to decide how to design it and now that it's in my head, I'm hoping it comes out like I have envisioned it...or at least close to it! Also working on a toy box for Kyli and shelves to house the tea pot collection I brought home from my dad's. My grandmother collected them and I brought home the ones that survived my aunt's wrath after my grandmother died. Most came from overseas while my dad was in the service for WWII. I am quickly running out of summer!!!

More Punched Edges

Here are two more of the punched edge cards that I made a while back. I haven't found a bad punch to use on these! In fact, I bought two more punches a couple of weeks ago, but haven't had time to try them for this technique yet.
The flowers on the blue card are a digital file I have had for ages and unfortunately, I can't remember where I got them. I had to cut them out by hand and I added glitter to them to dress them up.
The second one is very similar to the first card I saw done with this technique. I changed the colors and stamp set, but the use of the retired SU! ribbon border punch is how I first came in contact with this style of card.
Had a little scare with Kyli today. Running to the hospital is the new normal, but we've had a long spell without a temperature spike. Today it happened, but she got to come home. We are headed down soon to spend some time with her, so no stamping time tonight! With her home from the hospital, I can deal with the trade off!!

Punched Edge Cards

These cards were made back in May when I went on a stamping retreat with a group of friends. We spent the whole weekend at a house on the Withlacoochee River and stamped and stamped and stamped... One of the things we got to playing with was this technique of using punches down both sides of a card to make a pretty border for a thin image. I fell in love with this technique and so did some of the other girls. We had quite a collection by the time we were done! Here are three of the cards I made using the punches. I love that they look so fancy but are really simple to make. That really appeals to my apparent need to do complicated cards.

Learning to Love Starfruit and a Benefit Ride

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The hubby and I got away for a couple of weeks!! I can't say it was a vacation, because we went to my dad's house in Ohio to help him get the grounds and house ready to sell. My dad has lived on the property since 1947 is a bit of a collector. Needless to say, he has acquired a large amount of "stuff" over the years. Some of it is really cool stuff that others would be interested in and we were able to sell some of it while we were there. Unfortunately, a large amount of it has been ruined over the years and is only suitable for the scrap pile. He worked in the automobile industry for most of his life, so much of the junk qualified as scrap metal and we were able to haul it off in exchange for $$$$$ from the scrapyard. We hauled about eleven loads there. I also made two trips to Goodwill and several runs to the recycling center with my truck. Things are looking up there, but after two weeks, we still aren't done, so we will be going back later this month for another couple of weeks...so much for my summer vacation!!! But it's good to be able to help out my dad, so it's all good!
Before we left, I was able to pull together this one card using a new LaLaLand stamp, Kimono Marci. Now, I have to say that when I got the collection of new SU! In-Color card stock, I was less than thrilled with the color Summer Starfruit....well, actually, I hated it...YUCK!!! GAG!!! Then a friend of mine put it up to a piece of Echo Park paper she was playing with and WOW!!! All the new colors were a perfect match and it actually made the SS color look good!!! I had the same paper at home, so I had to put together a card using the combination and this is what I came up with. It's been a while since I've done an easel card and it was fun putting this together. I colored it with SU! markers, something I haven't done in ages!!
On a more personal note, we returned home from Ohio a few days earlier than originally planned because a benefit ride had been organized for my granddaughter Kyli and her battle with leukemia. Harley Davidson of Ocala put together the event which included a ride that ended at Apple's Bar and Grill, also in Ocala. The ride included two world-famous bikes, The Flying Pan and the Red Knuckle, with an additional famous bike parked inside Apple's, the Detroit Motors Goodfellas bike.

Kyli arrived at Apple's just before the bikes got there. She was really excited about the idea of all those people being there for her, but was a little overwhelmed by all the attention. When she got tired, the hubby and I took her home and stayed with her until her parents got home. The guys from HD of Ocala are awesome and incredibly generous. They fell in love with my girl, but what's not to love, and inspired generosity among all the guests and participants for a very successful fundraiser!! Thanks so much guys!!! Here they are with Kyli in the middle.

I know this has been a long post if you are still with me, but one last picture! We rarely get the opportunity to get family shots (someone always manages to be left out), but we were lucky enough to get this one taken that day so I have to share. Me, Kenny (the hubby), my son, his wife, and the guest of honor, my granddaughter Kyli!