Sketch Swap Card

I participated in a swap based on a sketch and in the process of reorganizing my paper, I came across some papers by Reminisce that had a chicken/cooking theme that I had been hoarding. I decided to use them and a neglected Sizzix die on my card. This card only took about a week and a half to complete. I got most of it done but just wasn't loving it, so I walked away. I went back and looked at it several times but I just wasn't feeling it, so I walked away...again....and again. I had promised to mail it out this morning, so I knew that last night was my last chance to complete it. I got all the elements adhered to the card except for the sentiment, which I finally added this morning. I'm gonna have to call this one complete. I think it would make a cute invitation for a cook out or casual dinner and I hope the recipient likes it. She is a master card-maker, so the standard is pretty high.
As for the rest of the day, I'll be taking part in a class at the LSS where we will be making 6 super-glittered cards using Northwoods stamps. The images are all different birds. I couldn't decide which images I wanted, so if I take the class, I get to make all the cards without having to buy all the stamps! By the time I'm done today, I'm sure I will have at least one image that stands out from the rest and has to come home with me!!!

Zentangle Shrink Art

After teaching a class at the LSS, I hung around for a while with my friend who works there and played with some kid stuff. I had taken along some pens and an assortment of shrink plastic and this is what I came up with.....Zentangle on shrink plastic! I'm sure it's not an original idea, but sure had fun experimenting with different colors of plastic, spellbinder shapes, and inks. I'm thinking these would be cute on a necklace, charm bracelet, or key chain. The possibilities seem endless for this technique, so I am sure I will working with this some more. My friend Bonnie, who works at the store, does amazing things with her Zentangle (and anything else she works with), so I also want to show you my favorite piece that she did. It is my favorite piece of the day!

The photo does not do this beautiful pendant justice! The little red blings were done by coloring clear rhinestones with a Copic marker. Gorgeous!!!

Laurie B. .....don't look!

I made this card for my friend, Laurie. It's for a swap we participated in that we were to use die cuts of some sort on our card. I have been seeing the old Sizzix daisy used quite a bit lately and was completely inspired to use it on my card. Also dug out some neglected SU! papers. I had put off posting this card as I wanted to give it to Laurie before I put it out to cyberspace, but I haven't seen her lately. Hence, the warning in the title. She usually reads my blog, so I wanted to head her off in case she decided to pop in. Laurie, if you saw it anyway I will give it to you the next time I see you...hopefully Friday!!

Sharing....

Those of you who stop in regularly probably know that this sweet pooch is my beloved friend and fur baby, Ice. It has been pretty sad around here for the past couple of days because I came home from work on Thursday afternoon to find that my sweet girl had died rather suddenly and completely unexpectedly while we were at work. She did have occasional seizures and it looks like this may be what happened to her but we will never know for sure. I have to say that the whole ordeal has been easier to bear because I have the most wonderful friends a girl could ask for! At work, in my stamping circle, in cyberspace...ya'll are the best!!! One of the most touching things I had happen was receiving the card below that was made by my dear friend, Bonnie. She had a bunch of the girls from the LSS sign it and had it ready when I arrived Friday afternoon to prep for my class on Sunday. She had also made a sweet little acrylic photo tag using the same picture.

We are missing Ice terribly right now and I am sure there will be another dog in our lives very soon. When the right situation happens, we will know it and I'm sure we will have no choice in the matter as our fur babies have always chosen us, not the other way around. For now, we are trying to carry on and get back to normal, especially for the sake of my granddaughter, Kyli who I worry will be very upset over losing Ice. They had gotten to be quite the pair! Today she was practicing using my Scor Buddy while I was finishing the prep work for the Sunday class. (I didn't have a very productive evening last night)

I was amazed at how well she handles this tool at only four years old!!
Well, thanks for stopping and "listening" to my ramblings. Looking forward to more cheerful posts in the future!

Zentangle and Disney

Today I am adding a couple of pages from my Zentangle calendar that I have been working on. I really need to spend some time stamping, but Zentangle is so portable. I did the page with the tree one day while I was watching Kyli play on her swing set. The second one (still  needs shading) I did while sitting and chatting with a friend. She was doing the same thing, so she wasn't even thinking that I wasn't paying attention to her. It's good to have friends with common interests!
On a personal note, my son and daughter-in-law took Kyli to Disney for her fourth birthday. It was her first visit and she went non-stop for 14 hours without a stroller! Of course, she then slept for about 14 hours straight! Just she collected autographs from so many of the characters. She even got to dance with Goofy at one of the shows. Check out my son's wizard hat! I am sooooo going to snag it for the next hat day at school!!!

Next Month's Class

I got a sample done for my class next month at Priceless Scrapbooks. It is a coffee gift set and gift card holder. In this class, we will learn how to duplicate both of these pieces, which I made using my very own brain! I didn't have access to any files or templates to make these, so I did the best I could from what I know about how to make a box and a card to come up with my own versions. The coffee bean tag on the cup set is scratch and sniff made with instant coffee and clear embossing powder. The gift card holder works by pulling on the lid of the coffee cup to get to the insert holding the gift card. The paper is Bo Bunny and the stamps are by Just Rite.
On a personal note, today is my sweet granddaughter's fourth birthday! We will be taking her to her party later today. Here she is last Sunday holding her Valentine's Day card from me and her Bobo.

Thanks for stopping in and have a wonderful long weekend!!

Another Addiction

October???? Seriously!!! I have completely neglected my blog!
I have been so busy lately. I started classes towards my Autism Spectrum Disorder endorsement. That happens most Saturdays and of course there is homework to go with it. Like the crazy woman that I am, I also signed on to do two nights a week for the Reach for the Stars after school program which puts me at work until at least 6:30 twice a week. I already stay late most days, but now I also have planning to do for this and the time I spend with kids after school means I have to find other time for the planning, grading, etc. that I used to do on those two days. I must be truly nuts!!
Anyway, I have managed to get in a little bit of creative time between all of the insanity. I started playing with Zentangle about a year ago and I made a tangle with my daughter-in-laws name as the basis for the design. I was going to frame it, but I cleaned my stamp room (again) over Christmas break. I even super-cleaned the closet and found a bunch of items I had collected to be altered. Soooo, I ended up attaching the tangle to the cover of a small journal. Since Linda loves to journal and write poetry, it seemed like the perfect way to present my artwork! So, here it is!!

Here is a closer view of the design:

Hopefully I will get back again sooner. Thanks for stopping in....I really miss sharing with my blog friends! I'll be around later (after granddaughter goes home) to see what you have all been up to!