Weekly Deals and Surgery

I had cataract surgery yesterday on my right eye.  Guess I was spoiled by the cataract surgery I had done on my left eye a couple of weeks ago.  The surgery went fine and I was feeling fine until about lunch time.  I think I was trying to use my eye too much too early although they tell you it is ok to read, watch tv, be on the computer, etc.  My eye hurt most of the day - just scratchy and watering a lot - so I spent most of the day laying on the couch.  I also had another funny reaction.  When I got home from the hospital and doctor's office (had to go there right after surgery for them to check it with their equipment), I poured a glass of the flavored water that I drink.  I noticed it tasted odd - kind of flat - but didn't think much about it.  Later I fixed a glass of Diet Coke. UGG!  It tasted awful so I poured it out.  It was from a new case that I had just opened up and we had bought on sale a few months ago so I just thought it had gone bad.  So, I tried a second can - same thing - down the drain it went.  Then I decided to try a Cherry Coke that I had in the fridge (not from that other case)  and it was awful too.  That's when I decided to give Ashley a call and see if she had any insight into the matter.  She told me that sometimes anesthesia has that effect on people - giving things a metallic taste.  At dinner time, I tried the coke again.  It wasn't as bad but I could really taste the metallic flavor that time.  A nurse from the hospital called this morning to check on me and when I told her, I got the feeling she had never heard that.  So far this morning, I am ok.  I've had two cups of Spiced Tea that my good friend made for me and it has been good.  My eye is a little scratchy but nothing like yesterday.  Hopefully, I am on the road to recovery now.  I have things to do and no time to lay around on the couch all day!!

Here are this week's Weekly Deals.  Some good items for your Big Shot!

3 Inch Circle Originals Die Price: $17.95 $13.46	Ahoy, Matey Ensemble - Digital Download Price: $14.95 $8.97	Argyle Textured Impressions Embossing Folder Price: $7.95 $5.96	Chevron Textured Impressions Embossing Folder Price: $7.95 $5.96
Circles #2 Originals Die Price: $15.95 $11.96	Dress Form Pop' N Cuts Price: $21.95 $16.46	Peekaboo Frames Bigz L Die Price: $32.95 $24.71	Set Designer Frames Textured Impressions Embossing Folder Die Price: $8.95 $6.71

If you do My Digital Studio, here are the specials on sale this week:

Baby We've Grown Stamp Brush Set - Digital Download Price: $4.95	Gold Silver Baker's Twine - Digital Download Price: $4.95	Hello Sailor Stamp Brush Set - Digital Download Price: $4.95	High Tide Designer Series Paper - Digital Download Price: $4.95
Striped Grosgrain Ribbon - Digital Download Price: $4.95	The Grad Life Ensemble - Digital Download Price: $10.95

Swap Cards

Marianne and I have been busy making plans for the NC Quarterly.  It's going to be a good one!  If you live in NC, you might want to join us - just saying!  It's April 4 & 5 and only $20.  So if you are interested, let me know.

Monday I went to Allison's demo meeting.  Allison had some really cute projects for us to do and surprised us all with a really cute frame that she had made for us using her Silhouette Cameo.  I'll share pictures later this week.  We did a small card swap.

This is the card I made:

I used a lot of the products from the Occasions catalog - On Film Framelits, Fancy Foil Designer Vellum (with hearts), Foil Sheets, and Word Bubblets Bundle.  The vellum is on top of a piece of Afternoon Picnic DSP (purple checks).  I added a few red glimmer hearts punched with the Owl Builder Punch.

Here is the card Marianne made:

Isn't it pretty?   I can't help but laught when I think of when I moved here and Marianne told me she was a quilter.  She wasn't going to get involved with my stamping hobby - had no interest!  And here we are several years later and she is a demonstrator!!!

I have to be an the hospital in the morning at 7:45 a.m. for the cataract surgery on my right eye.  Soon I will have both eyes working together and hopefull be able to ditch my glasses.

Life is a Gift

Someone sent me this and I thought it worth sharing and thinking about.



1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short enjoy it.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and family will.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Stay true to yourself.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the future.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye, but don't worry, God never blinks.

16.. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful. Clutter weighs you down in many ways.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19.. It's never too late to be happy. But it’s all up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative of dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. Accept what you already have, not what you need

42. The best is yet to come...

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

Spring Sampler

I have been wanting to make a Sampler Frame (not sure what to call them!) for quite some time - let's say, over a year!!  At one of the Quarterly's a year or so ago, we did a "inchie" swap so we could make our own sampler card or frame when we got home.  Well, those "inchies" are somewhere here in my craft room.  I actually saw them a few weeks ago but can't remember where!!  So I decided to do my own.  I made this first frame a couple of weeks ago mostly using extra pieces that I had made for cards and not used.  I keep them on my desk in a little box.  So, I pulled them out - the flowers, bird, butterfly, pinwheel and added a few other pieces and made this frame.  I used a lot of retired colors in making this frame - Pretty in Pink, Bashful Blue, and Certainly Celery - a few of my favorite colors.

close up of pieces in frame

Spring Sampler Frame

Yesterday I decided to make a second sampler to fit in the same frame.  By the way, I bought this frame at Wal-Mart for about $12.  I am going to offer this sampler as a class and having the two samplers, the gals can pick the squares they want to make for their own sampler.

This second sampler uses In Colors - Coastal Cabana, Pistachio Pudding, Cantalope Crisp and Baked Brown Sugar.

Close up

In Color Spring Sampler

So what do you think?  Would you like to sign up for this class??

Paper Crew Challenge 83

Here is my card for this week's Paper Crew Sketch Challenge.  I used paper from the Retro DSP in the Occasions catalog in MDS.  Notice how 3D it looks?  I achieved that by doing the drop shadow feature at about 50%.

 I love this paper.  Check out all the great colors in the pack.

My eye is healing wonderfully.  I went to the doctor last week and my eye was 20/20!!  Now to get my other eye that way.  I have scheduled my second surgery for next week.  By the beginning of April, I should be seeing great!!

Sorry for the short post tonight.  I can hardly keep my eyes open so saying good night!!

Petite Petals Card in a Box

I made another fun Card in a Box.  This time I used my Fringe Scissors to make grass for the flowers inside the box.  I am loving those Fringe Scissors.  Obviously, a lot of people like those scissors and ordered them so much that they are now in back order for the second time.  This time though they are not due in until March 31!!  Marianne is waiting for hers so I lent her mine for a while.  She is going to make the wreath that is in the Occasions Catalog.  I will get her to send me a picture and share it with you when she finishes it.

I used the Petite Petals stamp and punch for the flowers.  I punched stamped and punched each one twice and inserted a thin piece of wire in between them using glue dots to adhere them together.  I used the small butterfly punch for the butterflies and adhered a small strip of a transparency behind them.  There are two rows of flowers, butterflies and grass.

I played bridge today and we have a new venue for playing.  We normally play in each others homes but a couple of the ladies have problems with their health or their husband's health which makes it difficult sometimes for them to host the group of eight.  So I came up with the idea of playing at a restaurant.  It worked great!  We met at the NY Bagel and Deli Restaurant in Mooresville which was centrally located for all of us and had a varied menu plus a gluten-free menu for one of our members who cannot eat gluten food.

We are having crazy weather!!  Yesterday it was almost 70 degrees and beautiful.  This morning when I left for bridge, it wasn't bad - in the 50s I think.  When I finished playing bridge, the wind was blowing like crazy and the temps had dropped to the 30s!  Brrrr!!! Marianne and I were supposed to go to Concord tonight to stamp with Allison's group but it was called off because of the threat of freezing precipitation.  We are supposed to have a low of 19 degrees tonight.  Sonny is going to have to get his "long johns" out to go skeet shooting tomorrow!!   The high is predicted for 43!

I have a few Sammi pictures to share!  When I was working in my room tonight, she climbed up on the tallest shelves that I have and nestled herself in my box of chipboard.

Laying in front of the fireplace!

Recycle with Envelope Punch Board

Do you recycle?  I think in this day and age, it is safe to say most everyone does recycle something in their life.  Recycling has come a long way in my life time .... imagine what it will be like in 50 more years???  Or what the earth will be like if we don't all do some type of recycling.  There are significant environmental as well as economic benefits to recycling.  Recycling helps create jobs, can be more cost effective than trash collection, reduces the need for new landfills, saves energy and adds to the economy.  I remember when we had our first recycle bin and rules for recycling.  Seems like there were more things we could not put in than things we could.  And, if it was supposed to rain, you couldn't put your bin out because they would not take wet paper!  Sometimes it was more trouble than it was worth.  When we lived in Washington state, we had different bins for glass, paper and plastic.  I don't think the trucks would take the plastic and if we wanted to recycle it, we had to take it to a Recycle Center.  Here in NC, we can recycle a lot of things but not cardboard.  So, Sonny collects our cardboard, and takes it to the "dump" periodically where they recycle it. I like to think I am making the world a better place for my children and grandchildren.  So, where is this going???   What does recycling have to do with card making?  I will tell you.  When participating in the recycling process, think about reusing a piece of artwork, which would otherwise be too small for a card, onto another piece of artwork.  Our hand made greeting cards are a great way to share with family and friends and through your creativity, you will help save some trees as well. .When I stamp on a piece of card stock and don't like the image, instead of tossing it in the trash, I save it.  I can always use the back side of it or punch a little square out of it for a future project.

I am a big advocate of recycling envelopes!  You know those return envelopes you receive in your junk mail?  Well, my Stamp Club gals will tell you I reuse them like crazy!!  That is what I use to put their projects in for club.  And I also use them when doing swaps.  All the little pieces of the project go in the envelopes.  Here are a few good uses for those recycled envies:

•  A good use for old envelopes is to write your grocery list on the back of the envelope. Keep  grocery coupons inside the envelope so that you have everything with you at the grocery store.
• Envelopes also make great scratch paper. Use a letter opener to open them straight across the top or across one side so that the edges will be neat.  Use the scratch paper for leaving notes, writing grocery lists, writing down   "to do today" lists, and also for jotting down ideas.
• You can make little note pads from your envelopes as well. Cut your envelopes in half to create smaller rectangles. You can staple small stacks of them together or you can punch a hole in one corner and tie them together with string. Reusing envelopes as scratch paper is doubly good for the environment because once you have used them, you can still recycle them. This prevents you from having to buy scratch paper pads and also ensures that even more trees will be spared by reusing the paper.
• Envelopes can be used to organize photographs and small papers (like I do with my swaps.) Sort photos by event and place them into individual labeled envelopes in a shoe box. Envelopes can also be used to hold coupons, cash, and old receipts.

This week, thanks to my Envelope Punch Board, I recycled a bunch of pages from an old Stampin' Up catalog by making envelopes!!  And you can mail them too. I did all of them in a couple of hours (or less) while watching TV.   Cut the paper 8" x 8" and follow the instructions for the Envelope Punch Board for this size of paper.  I had a pack of mailing labels that I put in the center of the envelope for the address and put my return address label in the top corner and, voila!  I have a bunch of envelopes!!

If you don't want to do the whole envelope, you could just make envelope liners with recycled paper:

 So, get busy recycling!!

Vivid Vases

I am again using the Vivid Vases stamp set.  It is a single stamp and is really versatile.  I haven't used it yet as a single vase but I'll be trying that soon.

For this card, I stamped the vases in Memento Black.  I masked the sentiment so I would just get the vases in my stamping.  Next I colored them using my Aqua Painter and the ink from the lid of the stamp pads.  I love to color this way.  You get just a wash of color and not real dark. I painted a little bit of blue below the vases.  Next I took a ruler and a thin Sharpie to make the straight line across the bottom of the card.  Next I masked the Vases and stamped the sentiment on the left bottom of the card.  

I'm going back to the eye doctor Friday to see how well my cataract surgery went.  I'm also going to talk to him about doing my right eye.  I'd like both of my eyes to work together!!  

Paper Craft Crew Challenge

It's time for another Paper Craft Crew Challenge.  I made a card (with MDS) this time using Sale-a-Bration products.  This would be an easy one to reproduce (or CASE) and you wouldn't have to use MDS.

Sketch 

So, what do you think??

Take Ten Magazine - Spring 2014

I had a nice surprise last week.  Sonny brought in the mail and gave me a package that I was not expecting.  When I opened it up, it was the Spring 2014 issue of Take Ten magazine.  No, I don't subscribe to this magazine.  But in the past, I have sent cards to the magazine in hopes of having them published in the book.  I have not submitted any cards to them in a couple of years at least.  So I was quite surprised to receive this letter from them with the magazine.

Guess they hold on to submissions for a long time!

Cover of the magazine

 I was especially surprised to find out that not only had they published one of my cards, but THREE cards taking up all of page 66 in their monthly "Variation on a Theme."  The challenge is to create a set of cards that share a theme- color, layout, stamp set, etc. while using a different stamped image on each card.

 The stamp set that I used is a retired Stampin' Up set - Awash With Flowers.  It is a beautiful two-step stamp set.

So, that is my claim to fame for today!!