Oh Pooh!!

Just got back from the doctor's. I have arthritis, bone spurs and tendinitis in my thumb and wrist. The hand is now immobilized and will be that way for a few weeks. No stamping for a while but as soon as I dig out my digital tablet and get used to doing things one handed I'll be posting stuff. Until then I'll be enjoying some movies etc. from the comfort of my lounge chair.

Glorious Nature

It has been raining here nearly every day for what feels like forever but I am not complaining. One of the things I miss about living back east is the vivid green of the trees from the rain. After years of what I call Utah Drab Green, we finally have a true green. The roses, trees, grass, perennials and herbs are all basking in the wet glory and if that isn't enough we frequently are treated to spectacular rainbows. A camera just can't capture the true beauty of it.

We also have a pair of robins nesting in the apricot tree on our front lawn. They were nice enough to build it in a crook right outside the kitchen window so I can get good shots of the action with my telephoto lens without disturbing the feathered family.

Poultry Fetish

I love chickens and roosters. I have them all over my home, both inside and out. My kitchen has everything from salt and pepper shakers to teapots and soup tureens and my stamp collection is beginning to catch up. I also love to make Faux Designer Paper. It is one of my favorite techniques from Technique Junkies. So it shouldn't come as any surprise that I have combined these 2 loves into one project. I began by stamping the words in Versamark and embossing with clear EP. For the capital letters I used SU's Wild West Alphabet and for the remainder of the letters I used Brayton Uppercase from Just Rite Stamps. I then sponged on several colors of Distress inks, wiping the ink off of the letters. While the sponges were inked up I used them on a small piece of cardstock to stamp the rooster from SU on. Using the same colors, I stamped feathers, sunflowers and an ornamental design here and there. The whole thing was overstamped with SU's chicken wire background stamp in pale gray. One more cleaning of the letters and the piece was ready to be cut up and used in Sketch Challenge #225 from Splitcoast Stampers. The rooster piece looked a bit plain so I added the red buttons tied with hemp cord. For those who share my need for all things poultry - the rooster and chicken stamps on the left are Lockhart stamps I purchased from Ellen Hutson and the one on the right is a Stampabilities I picked up at Hobby Lobby.

One Only Swap

I belong to Technique Junkies. If you've never heard of it or don't belong, you really need to check it out. Every month there is a One Only Swap where you and a partner swap a single card using any technique you choose from any newsletter. In May I was partnered with Vicki Romaine who chose to use Colored Reversed Grid from the August 2006 Newsletter. Stamps are from StampinUp. Thank you Vicki.

I chose a technique called Bingo Blast from the April/May 2009 Newsletter and it really is a blast! Stamps, inks and paper are all StampinUp. The colors used are Rose Red, Pretty in Pink, black and Mellow Moss. And the inverted scalloped circle was a die from Spellbinders.

Wedding in Black and White

May's Card Club Challenge was to make a wedding card. That's pretty easy so I decided to challenge myself by using a color scheme that I have never used – black and white. I cannot believe how difficult it was for me to use these 2 basic colors. After several failed attempts, I finally accepted this one.

I stamped French Script in Soft Silver Shadow Ink on white cardstock, punched one short side with Fiskars All a Fleur Embossing Border Punch then sponged the punched edge with more Soft Silver Shadow Ink. I stamped the heart from StampinUp's Ever After set in black in the upper left corner and the Lilies of the Valley along the right punched edge. I wrapped a piece of white satin ribbon 2 ¼ inches in from the left side. Stamped sentiment from Very Versatile in black on a scrap of white and punched out with large oval punch then inked edges with Soft Silver. Mounted oval to label that was cut from the Matchbox Bigz XL Die then embossed with Textile Cuttlebug folder. Added white satin ribbon tails to each side of label and mounted over lower center. I mounted the whole piece to black cardstock. I felt it was still missing something so after much deliberation I finally added some pearls to the stamped heart and called it good.

May Stamp Camp

I had planned on showing the projects I made at a Stamp Camp held on May 2nd long before this but somehow an entire month slipped right past me. So much has happened since then that I can’t even remember it all. Any who way.... we began by making a Stationery box with little pockets and dividers for holding greeting cards, gift cards and gift tags. We were given a selection of color schemes to choose from and, although not usually a “pink person”, the gray and pink combination appealed to me.

By the time I finished making the box I was feeling miserable with a fever and chills so thought it best I pack up and head home. I made sure that all the individual kits contained all the necessary supplies and completed them on my own once I was feeling better. Of course, since I was in my own stamping room, I strayed a bit from the original designs and used different punches etc. We made 4 greeting cards, 4 gift cards and 4 gift tags. All in all, it was a fun project.