Lovely Day Paper Pumpkin

Are you enjoying your "stay at home" vacation?  So far, it hasn't bothered me too much .... except I'm cooking more than usual.  Yesterday I was really wanting a pizza from Jet's Pizza.  I was determined that when Sonny came home from golfing, we were going to turn around and drive to Mooresville and get that pizza!  Luckily, he called me on the way home to see if I needed anything so I ordered that pizza online and he picked it up.  It tasted soooo good!!  I used my week's worth of WW points for it but it was worth it!

Several have asked me about my daughter, Ashley.  She is an Infectious Disease Pediatrician so this coronavirus is right up her alley.  Luckily, she is now working at the military medical school - USUHS (United Services University of Health Sciences) as an Assistant Dean of Clinical Sciences and is deemed essential to the university so she will not be treating patients.  Yay!  If you don't know what her job is, I didn't either!  Here is her bio.  She has her plate pretty full during this time.  The military issued a travel ban for all a couple of weeks ago.  Ashley and her crew had to scramble around to get over 400 students back to DC who were doing residency or other training away from the medical school and find them something to do.  Then yesterday, the President of the school announced that the seniors will graduate  early on April 1.  With the travel ban still in effect, now they have to figure out what to do with these students who really aren't doctors yet!!

Today's card feature the Paper Pumpkin kit from February.  The kit was all about birthdays.  The included stamps has a large flower, smaller flower and a ton of birthday sentiments with a "congratulations" thrown in.  It makes 9 cards, 3 each of 3 designs.  Of course, I didn't stay on script and made quite a few more by adding in some additional supplies.

Many of the sentiments in the kit were backed on dimensional so it was so easy to adhere them to the card.

I die cut  the birthday sentiment after adhering it to the cardstock with  adhesive sheets.  I heat embossed (in gold) the flower on the Blueberry Bushel cardstock

Another heat embossed card - this time on Merry Merlot and layered onto gold paper.

Have a lovely day .... which happens to be the name of the February Paper Pumpkin kit!

Baby cards

I have had a few people ask me about Evernote since I mentioned it in yesterday's post.   Evernote is a site where you can store things and get your things organized - like dies, stamps, recipes, etc.   It is a great place to organize your stamps, tag them with key words, sort them into categories (like Current Stamps, Retired Stamps, Sale-a-Bration, etc.) and include a picture of the stamps in the set.  I use the Basic Plan which is free.  The free version limits how many notes you can add each month but it works for me.  I finished inputting my current stamps today.  I'm going to start on my Paper Pumpkin stamps next! 

Ok - enough business!  Here are a few cards I've made during the lock down!!

My nephew and his wife are expecting a little girl in early May.  I went to a baby shower for her a couple of weeks ago.  These are the cards I made to go with my gift and one to go on Ashley's gift since she was unable to attend.

This card is one of the reasons I've started using Evernote again.  I searched and searched for a stamp to use for a baby and was coming up empty.  Finally I found this cute kangaroo among my Paper Pumpkin stamps!   The hearts are from Stitched Be Mine dies - one of my favorites!!

I don't know what this fold is called - maybe just a fancy fold!

In searching for baby stamps, I remembered  the Owl Punch!  These little dresses are punched from it.  Then I added little straps to hang them on the pink twine!  If you own this punch, don't ever give it away!!  There are so many things you can make with it - it's a shame it is retired.

STAY SAFE!

Another Day, Another Card!

I hope you are surviving this Coronavirus scare.  We live in a scary world, don't we?  I have only been out of the house a couple of times in over a week.  It doesn't bother me as much as it does Sonny.  He is going stir crazy although he shouldn't since he went golfing almost every day last week.  The rain yesterday and today have stopped him this week, but I'm guessing he'll be back on the course tomorrow.  He is using the hand sanitizer and driving his own golf cart as well as getting some fresh air and being out of my hair!!  I've been watching movies and I've made a ton of cards!  I've also been trying to get my stamp sets organized in Evernote.  Evernote is a great (free) program that you can list your stamps and key words so it is easy to do a search.  For instance, if I wanted a birthday stamp, I would just search and all the birthday stamps would come up.  I used this program several years ago and really like it but I've been lazy since then and not entered my new stamps in Evernote.  So, I'm trying to do 10-12 each day.  I've also been going through my Paper Pumpkin kits that I didn't finish and try to use up the extra bits and pieces.

Here are a few cards I've made recently:

This is a Sale-A-Bration set that is double sided called Rise and Shine.  I did not buy this set but Ashley did so I have been using it until I see her again.  What I like is that is has sentiments to use for tea drinkers and not just coffee drinkers!  I am a tea drinker!!

This card is similar to the smaller square card I posted yesterday using the Pleased As Punch DSP.

I made this card when I was at Ashley's last month.  It is really easy to duplicate!  The stamp set is Music from the Heart and is on page 57 of the Mini Catalog.  It is designed by on of Stampin' Up's million dollar achievers, Dawn Olchefske.

Another card using Music from the Heart - this one was made by Ashley!

Another Ashley original!  Don't you love the retro look??

Enjoy your day and stay safe!!

I'm back!! Stamp Class Cards for March

OK, OK, OK!!  I know it's been almost a month since posting and you're looking for some new ideas.  Let's see what I can do to help you out.  My stamp class was last week and as you imagine, I only had 2 brave souls who came to play.  I had hand sanitizer on the table along with anti-bacterial wipes and plenty of toilet paper in the bathroom!!  But we had a good visit and made some pretty cards.  Let's see if you agree.

I just love this pink and green combo!  I used Granny Apple Green and (retired) Powder Pink.  The sentiment is heat embossed with white powder.  I fussy cut the Meercats and used dimensionals to adhere them to the Stitched Shapes Circle.  I used the Stitched Rectangles for the pink, green and white cardstock.  Use the Blends to color the background items.

This beautiful paper is a Sale-A-Bration item - Golden Honey.  The flower is from Painted Poppies and I fussy cut it.  I have fallen in love with these dies - Stitched So Sweetly.  You can find them in the mini catalog on page 20.  Don't miss them like I did! 

Another Sale-a-Bration item is the So Very Vellum on this card.  The package comes in three colors - Purple Posy, Pool Party, and Soft Sea Foam.  The picture looks like it's green but it's not - I used Pool Party.  I'm loving those Stitched So Sweetly Dies again on this card.

Beautiful!

This Easter card uses everything retired (except the Granny Apple Green base card and the Blends. 

This was a fun card to make.  It measures 4 1/4" square.  All the squares of DSP are from and the umbrella, heart, tulip and small flowers are all from the DSP too!  I used a retired Heart Die set to punch out the heart but the current Heart punch pack works good too.  The umbrellas are punched with the Umbrella Builder Punch and the tulip is  punched with the Tulip Builder Punch.  The small flowers can be punched with the Small Bloom punch but since I didn't have that punch, I found that my retired Petite Petals Punch worked fine.  I also don't have the tulip punch so I fussy cut it and the leaf.

I love this paper!  It does a lot of the work for you and it is so spring-y!!  If you are interested, (since it is not in any of the catalogs), the item # is 153558 and it costs $11.50 for 12 sheets of 12"x12" paper.

February Stamp Class

I'm back home!  It was a fun trip and I was sad when it was over .... but it's always good to sleep in your own bed!!  I've been on the run ever since I returned home with doctor appointments, playing cards and stamp club.  Today was good to just do nothing but getting caught up on laundry, etc.

Here are the cards we made this month in class.  They really like them!

Stamp set & dies - Positive Thoughts.  There are a lot of nice decorative dies in this kit.  If you look closely, you can see the punched trim around the white cardstock.   And check out the decorative piece hanging just beneath the sentiment.  I used Balmy Blue and Pear Pizzazz.

DSP from a variety pack that I was able to order as a demo.  This piece is from Best Dressed (mini catalog).  I stamped the cake (Happy Birthday to You - a Sale-a-Bration stamp) with Versamark and heat embossed it in white.  We used alcohol markers and colored on the back of the vellum in various shades of pink and green.  I mounted the vellum onto a piece of white cardstock to make it stand out better.

This was a WOW card that is really simple to make.  I stamped the Dandelion in StazOn Black ink onto a piece of watercolor paper.  I used the Aqua Pen to color the little flowers in Daffodil, Melon Mambo, Pacific Point,  Gorgeous Grape and Pear Pizzazz.  On a scrap of watercolor paper, I blended the same colors and punched them out with a Circle Punch and then stamped the sentiment in StazOn.

This was the favorite - an easel card that looks so elegant!  The Highland Heather piece is embossed with Country Floral folder.  The DSP is Magnolia Lane that we colored with SU Blends.  What a difference it makes!  I really love the silver oval piece that is embossed with the Heirloom Stampin Cut and Emboss folders.

Another simple card but with the silver paper embossed with the Subtle folder, it really packs a punch.  The DSP is retired now but anything would work.

I hope you enjoyed these cards and make a few for yourself!

Fun times!

Today is my last day in Maryland.  It has been a great visit - a little sightseeing and a lot of just visiting and chilling with my sweet daughter.  We're going to try to arrange another visit in April and bringing Sonny with us then.  Ashley has several small projects for her dad around the house and it will probably be time to work out in her yard!  Right now she has daffodils just starting to bloom and a whole bed of Lenten Roses right outside her office window.  I cut some and put them in a vase but her cat keeps trying to eat them!

Here are some pictures from my visit.

Sunday at the Korea Memorial - one of my favorites.

Reflecting Pool 

Vietnam Wall

White House in background

A stop at Old Ebbitts Grill 

Monday (President's Day) - Ashley took Marianne to the airport about 6:30 (while I slept!).  That afternoon Ashley and I drove about an hour to this cider brewery in Virginia.  It was a beautiful place and we loved the cider!!  We did a tasting and then enjoyed our picnic lunch with a pint.

This is Corky!  He became my friend and kept sitting up on his hind legs begging for me to give him a piece of cheese or a cracker!

We took Courtney to the cider brewery on Saturday and she fell in love with it too!

Yesterday Ashley and I had a creative day!  After church, we went out for breakfast and then came back to her house and made cards.  I can't tell you how many Paper Pumpkin kits she has that she hasn't done more than open the box!  So we tried to remedy that!

Ashley worked on the July Picnic Paradise kit.

I worked on the April Sentimental Rose kit.

A Gang of Meerkats!

Is it snowing where you?  It's not here in Maryland but from reports I am getting from my hubbie and family in NC, they are calling for 1-3 inches today.  Poor Sonny - while I'm here in Maryland, he is not getting to play much golf due to the weather.  It hasn't been too bad here.  Saturday was bitter cold with a strong wind which is why we waited for Sunday to go to the memorials and statues outside in DC.  Saturday we took a tour of the National Cathedral. With it's neo-Gothic architecture, eerie gargoyles (112 of them!), stained glass windows and gothic spires, it is not to be missed on a trip to DC.  There are 215 stained glass windows, with one embedded with a moon rock!  We also tried to go to the Spy Museum but it was packed with people and there was a 2 hour wait!

Ashley and Marianne waiting for tour to begin

Ceiling 

Sanctuary of the church

 The cathedral was damaged by an earthquake in 2011 and needs about $19 million for repairs.  So …they are asking for the public's help to build a 1:40 scale replica of the Cathedral that will be more than 13 feet long 8 feet tall and bigger than a minivan.  It will the world' largest Cathedral to be built from LEGO bricks!  At $2 per brick, all proceeds will help fund money to fix the damage.  Current estimates place the build at 2-3 years to completion.   We bought our bricks and were able to put them on the structure.  If you want to help, go HERE to buy your bricks on-line.

A stop for lunch at a Mexican restaurant  -  yum!

 If you are afraid of heights, you might not want to get on this escalator at Bethesda.  It is the second highest escalator (behind the Wheaton Station Metro in Maryland.)  It spans 213 feet and rises 106 feet (10 stories!)  Don't be in a hurry to catch your next metro train!

Can you see Marianne and Ashley going up the metro escalator?

Selfies on the escalator!

Yes, I have a card to share with you today too!  I think this stamp set is so stinkin' cute!  But what are Meerkats???  I have to admit, I didn't know.  So I found this explanation:

The meerkat or suricate is a small carnivoran in the mongoose family. It is the only member of the genus Suricata. Meerkats live in all parts of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, in much of the Namib Desert in Namibia and southwestern Angola, and in South Africa. A group of meerkats is called a "mob", "gang" or "clan". 

 

So here are my gang of meekats!  I stamped the meerkats on Whisper White cardstock, colored them with Blends before fussy cutting them.  I used the Stitched Rectangles for the frame.  The ribbon and DSP are all retired items.  I sponged the sun and background onto white cardstock and adhered it behind the frame piece.  The Pink Pirouette and Lime Twist cardstock are also retired but I love this pink and green combo.