Bye Google Reader...

So I've never read blogs through Google Reader.  I just read the blogs I follow on my Blogger dashboard.  But I wanted to make sure that my readers (all three of you) can still read my blog after Google Reader is no more.

I have added a few other ways to read my blog on the right hand side of the page (over there somewhere-->).  The first way is to follow by email.  You'll get my latest posts sent directly to your email.  The second way is through Feedly.  Just click the widget in my sidebar to become a Feedly follower.  The third way is through Bloglovin, which has the same easy process to become a follower. 

I hope you will follow me though one of these avenues if you have not already!  I will be back tomorrow with a layout I created at 11:45pm last night.  :)  Until then...

Proof that I am healing...

I am one week and one day post-op after having my gallbladder removed last week.  When I got home I really, really, *really* wanted to play with some pretty scrappy papers and embellishments that I bought as a cheer-me-up present for having to have the surgery in the first place. But, given that I could barely get into/out of bed or into/out of a sitting position without help, it wasn't happening.  I have never felt the need to pace around my scrap room before, but I did it more than once last week.  :)  The cards I made in my last post were made while I stood up and one of my daughters had to hand me everything I needed.  I'll never take for granted again all of the muscles in my abdomen because this week has definitely taught me what almost every one is used for as I started to heal.

Wednesday was the day that I finally started to have more movement, energy and scrappy mojo, so as soon as the kids were put to bed I was off and running to my scrap room.  There was a layout offered as the free shape in the Silhouette store a while back that I had always wanted to try, so that was my starting point.  Here is the layout:

And here is the layout I created:

 

I used a mixture of Amy Tangerine's Yes, Please, Crate Paper's Maggie Holmes and Echo Park's Here and Now collections.  I thought they went well with the color scheme in my Instagram picture, which had a greenish-blue tint added to it.  I also used wood veneer and (not seen here) enamel dots.  I added the enamel dots as an after thought once I took this picture.  Everything needs some enamel dots on them, in my opinion.  :)

Man, this color scheme just makes me happy.  :)  I enjoyed not only how this turned out but also that I got to come out of my healing fog and make something that I love.

I hope you all have a great, inspiring weekend!  Until next time...

With Sympathy

The afternoon of my gallbladder surgery, I found out that my Uncle had passed away earlier that morning.  My Uncle was a great, great man.  (He's the little guy in the middle of the above picture.)  Raised by ranchers, he was a hard worker through and through.  At almost 78 years young, he never slowed down long enough to retire.  It wasn't in his blood.  I have wonderful memories of him and feel so blessed knowing that he is in Heaven and with my grandparents now.

When I saw the current challenge for Avery Elle stamps, I knew I wanted to use it to create sympathy cards for my Aunt and cousin.  This was the first time I had ever done any kind of floral stamping, so it was fun to try a new technique all while creating something beautiful for my Aunt and cousin.

Aside from my black ink pad being a bit too saturated when I used it, I think they turned out beautifully. 

Thank you for stopping by today to take a look.  Until next time... 

Happy Belated Father's Day!

Happy Monday!  I had meant to get this post up sooner, but life got in the way.  I had surgery on Thursday to remove my gallbladder and today is the first day I feel well enough to sit in front of the computer long enough to edit pictures and get this post ready.

I hope everyone had a great Dad's day!  We had to spread Father's Day out a few days to accommodate the schedules of all the busy dad's in our family, but we had a good time at each celebration.

Here are the cards that I made for the Dad's in my life:

I made this first card for my own Dad.  It's simple yet sophisticated, just like my Dad.  :)  I used an enamel dot as a tie tack.  So fun!

This card was made for my father-in-law.  He LOVES doing crossword puzzles.  In fact, we gave him a new crossword puzzle dictionary because the one he uses is outdated and completely falling apart.  I was almost giddy when I found this crossword puzzle paper in my MME This and That paper pad.

I made this last card for my hubs.  And I have to say this one is my favorite of the bunch.  It was about 10:30pm when I made this and since I knew I wanted a speech bubble on the front, I had to improvise and make one by hand.  I think the card turned out fun.  :)

That is all for now!  I hope you have a great week!  Until next time...

More watercolor fun!

Hello, hello!  Hope you all are enjoying the beginning of the weekend!  I wanted to share a card that I made today using emboss resist and watercolors.  It fits into two challenges this week, so I'll share those at the end. 

Here is my card:

I have said it before and I'll say it again.  I am NOT an artist.  But seriously, using watercolors on this card made me FEEL like an artist.  I completely impressed myself that I was able to make two not-similar colors blend into each other.  For this non-artist novice, that's pretty huge!  :) 

The stamp and veneer bubble are from Studio Calico, the papers are from my Crate Paper Maggie Holmes 6x6 pad and the sequins are from Avery Elle.   

Here are the two challenges where I am entering this card: 

(click the pictures to take you to the corresponding blog posts)

 Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!  Until next time...

It's a Crate day!

Happy hump day!  I have let summer consume all of my crafty time the past couple weeks.  We've already squeezed a family vacay in since school got out!  Now we're back and all settled in to this new summer routine, which seems to include some early mornings (much to this tired gal's dismay).  I managed to sneak some card making in to my evening and created a card that I wanted to share with you today.  And it fits in with a couple challenges!  Win!

I used a sketch to create this card.  Here is the sketch:

And here is the card I came up with:

 

I have been looking forward to using my new Crate Paper Maggie Holmes 6x6 pad (a little late to the game, I know) and after doing so, I am LOVING it even more!  The sketch made it so easy to play with many of the papers in the pad.  I used my Cameo to create the speech bubble and threw on some sequins (sequin first-timer, here!) for good measure.  I am so happy with the way it turned out!  

Here are the challenges where I will be submitting this card:  

 Click on the picts to go to the individual challenges.

Thanks for stopping by tonight!  I hope to get more craft time in this weekend, so stay tuned for more soon!  Until next time...