It's Raining Here.......

.....Again.  The last couple of weeks have been pretty stressful (weather-wise) for folks around here.  We've had a tremendous amount of rain which has shown up in cellars everywhere.  Streets were closed because they were flooded and one street not too far from where I live has been partially washed out and is closed indefinitely.  After the worst of the rain, the sun shone brightly and we enjoyed temperatures in the 70's (a rarity in March in Massachusetts).  But Mother Nature is not done with us yet.  It started raining sometime last night and it's expected that many parts around here will see another six inches of rain when all is said and done.  Since there wasn't much else to do in the face of this nasty weather, I retired to my stamp room and set to working on my MOJO132 sketch.

I took a little bit of poetic license with the sketch here in that I omitted the bow (thought it was too fussy for this card) and I omitted the big square in the center because the round stamp I used had a nice rectangle in the center.  And in a nice example of re-purpose, re-use, re-cycle the gray ribbon here is something I salvaged from something-or-other that I just KNEW I would be able to use sometime.  I love finding new uses for old things...

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!

Hoo Loves You?

I sure hope this looks like an owl.

That is, in fact, the look I'm going for.  I got an email the other day and it had a couple of cartoon-ish owls in it.  As I studied them, I figured I had enough punches and such that I could re-create the owl myself.  I consider this to be a work in progress, since I don't know any owl that has eyeballs floating in space!  However, since this is supposed to be a caricature of an owl, I figure it's ok.  Special thanks to Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge for providing the layout for me to follow.

Thanks for stopping by!

Now That's A Big Card

I don't believe I have ever made a card this big.  It measures a whopping 3 3/4 x 9 inches.  I made it to fit in a standard #10 envelope.

I used the MOJO131 sketch for my layout and the Curtain Call Act 23 color challenge for my palette.  As soon as I saw the MOJO sketch, I knew I wanted to make a BIG card just to make sure all my layers were not too teeny.  And I could not resist the color challenge because these colors together are so awesome.  I was up bright and early today because I thought I was going to do some birding in Plymouth, but when those plans fell through, I went straight to my stamp room.  I won't have a chance to stamp this afternoon since I'm going to Borderland State Park for a meeting.  I'm sure you all know how it is trying to squeeze stamping in whenever you can get it!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!

SSSC61 Best Wishes

As soon as I saw the sweet sunday sketch for this week, I knew I had to give it a go.  It's just so darn cute!  I decided to round the edges because I just love how it gives a card a fun look.  I chose the cottage wall designer paper as my background and let that be my color guide.  And once again I turned to my best blossoms stamp set.  I swear, it has GOT to be one of my favorite sets.  I find myself turning to it again and again.  Anyway, thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!

MTSC65 Flower Fancy

It's been a while since I've used these colors, so I decided to make card using perfect plum and pale plum.  And since I was feeling nostalgic about these long-neglected colors, I dug out an old background stamp (dots and daises).  Sometimes it's a good thing to take a long look at the supplies you've got sitting around that haven't seen any love in a long time.  I like to use them once in a while just so they know I still care!  I used Mercy's tuesday sketch challenge for my layout.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!

MOJO130 Happy Birthday

The weather is absolutely gorgeous here!  It was about 75-degrees today which is not exactly typical for Massachusetts in March.  Last week we were enduring a tremendous amount of rain and a lot of people I know had to bail water out of their cellars.  There is a street about a half mile from where I live that is still closed because the river that crosses beneath it swelled so much that it flooded the street.  I'm very lucky that I live on a big hill and had no water to deal with. 

I've been very busy this week and have been dying to get into my stamp room.  But then Mother Nature bestowed us with this fabulous weather!  What's a die-hard stamper to do?  Well, I was outside all morning and then decided that at 2:00 this afternoon I could spend some time stamping without feeling guilty.  So I decided to do the MOJO sketch.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!

Sweet Sunday SSSC60

My computer has been giving me major problems.  I've been aware for quite some time that my hard drive was "on it's way out."  The last week or so it really started acting crazy, so I backed up all the info that I figured was important to me (especially all the blogs that I had bookmarked).  And the last couple of days I have spent installing a new hard drive in my laptop and then reinstalling all my software.  As a result I'm behind on posting cards I've made.  This one was made using the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge and I decided to highlight my card with the fabulous roses that I have seen on so many beautiful cards lately.  You can find the tutorial here for these fabulous flowers.  Although there's no way this baby is getting into an envelope, I LOVE it!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!

MTSC64, Hi

It is a cold, rainy, horrible day so I thought "what a great day to spend stamping!"  I'm going to start working on some Easter projects, but I thought I'd make a non-Easter one before I get into full swing.  I used the sketch over at Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge and some previously unused Regal Rose dp.  I've got to say that I don't love this card.  Oh well, sometimes that happens.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!

SSSC59, Curtain Call, Happy Birthday

This weekend I bravely attempted a color challenge.  I mostly do sketch challenges, but I liked the colors of the Curtain Call color challenge so I thought I'd give it a try.  I combined it with the Sweet Sunday sketch challenge (I love when I do that!), and made a birthday card for a co-worker.  I took a little artistic liberty with the sketch and decided to round some corners.  I love that look and I hadn't used my corner chomper in a while, so I decided to show it some love!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!

MTSC, Hello There

I'm so glad I was able to make a card for Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge.  I was resolved to spend some time this weekend in my stamp room and despite the unseasonably warm weather I did!  It's been in the 50's this weekend (which does not usually happen in early March in Massachusetts), so I went outside to enjoy the sunshine and the warm temps, but as soon as I was able, it was back to making some cards.  I'm sure it will get cold again soon, so I've got to take the warm weather when I can get it!  I played around with a few ideas for this sketch before I decided on this one.  At first I was a little unsure of the colors, but now that I've put it all together I love it.  What a pop of color!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!

MOJO128, CC260 For You

I finally had some time in my stamp room today so I figured I better get going on my MOJO sketch.  Usually when I see the sketch, I spend A LOT of time thinking about what card I'm going to make.  This week I've been so busy with other things that I had no time to think about what I was going to do.  I eventually decided to incorporate the Splitcoast color challenge 260 (since I love basic gray and crushed curry together) and this is what I came up with.  Not sure I like the scallop circle thing, but there you have it.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!

SSSC58, St. Patrick's Day

This has been a very busy week.  It's now Friday and I have not been able to spend any quality time in my stamp room since Sunday {gasp}.  I have, on occasion, gone in there this week to gaze wistfully upon all my supplies, which sit idly by awaiting my triumphant return.  I have promised myself that I will get back in there this weekend and I can hardly wait.

Meanwhile, I made this card for the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge.  I actually made this card last weekend but didn't post it here because I didn't like the photo that I took.  Finally today I had a chance to take a new picture, and though I'm not entirely happy with this one either and I'm too late to post it on the Sweet Sunday blog, I figured I'd post it here anyway. 

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!

MTSC62, Happy Birthday

I finally got around to making a card for Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge.  I hate to skip a week:  for some reason I find it to be some kind of personal failing.  For this sketch, I turned to my Thoroughly Modern designer paper for color inspiration.  The colors in this paper are so awesome, I really need to use them more. I'm am especially fond of Sahara Sand, which I'm not sure you can tell is the card base here.  It's such a nice neutral color and seems to "go" with lots of other colors so well.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!