A little this a little that. . .

A thank you card using the Tim Holtz inks to make the glossy paper background.  In other words, just playing around to see what I could come up with.

A feel better soon card for my uncle.  He is in his 80s and isn't doing very well health wise.  My sister is up in Georgia staying with my aunt while he is recuperating. She says cards cheer him up so I will be making several more.  I made one for his birthday and when he realized I had made it just for him he got all choked up.  I am hoping this will bring a smile to his face.

This is for my friend, Kat, we have worked together for about  6 years now and  she is a special lady.  Look closely at the star detail.  I used clear embossing powder on it.

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I am a Bugaboo Winner

Wow, one of my cards won 3rd place in a Bugaboo, Catch the Bug Challenge. It all started with a Freebie Digi Image.  I love digi images especially when they are free.  This is the digi image that they were giving away and I made this card for the Christmas in July challenge.

The next challenge was called Heavy Metal and this was the card I posted.  It won 3rd place.  How cool is that?

Now I get to choose two Bugaboo digi images for free.  Decisions, decisions...

Stay tuned to see what I have chosen.

Thanks for tuning in, and please check out Bugaboo's Catch the Bug Challenge Blog.

Google Reader questions

Hi, no photos today, I just wanted to ask how many people use Google Reader to follow blogs? I guess you could say I am addicted to blog following.  I love getting ideas from other bloggers.  At present I think I follow close to 300 blogs.  Yeah, that's a lot, I know!!
Have you noticed in reader that sometimes the blog page you are following comes up in your list with photos and all, the only thing missing is the comment link and other times just the name of the blog, who it is created by and the first line or two of their post, but no photos?  I emailed a blogging friend yesterday, because all of a sudden her blog was doing that shortened version.  She wasn't aware that something she had changed had caused it to do that.  Are you aware of how your blog looks in reader?  I have to admit, I am not.  I did find out where you go to fix it.  If you don't know though, you can't fix it. hmmmmmmm!  Some people like it the other way so that people are sure to visit their blog, but those of us who just have the one page and want to share their artwork, don't need that.  When I am in a hurry, I don't take the time to go to the blog I just pass it by and eventually delete the subscription from my list.

I did find this fix.

How do I change my site feed settings?

To enable or disable the site feed(s) for your blog, first go to the Settings | Site Feed tab.

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Cased Thanks 2

I almost said this was cased from Simplicity, but that wouldn't exactly be true.  I saw it on Susan Raihala's Simplicity blog, but it was submitted or sent to Susan by Lori M. I have included a link in case you want to checkout how closely I cased the card.

I want to send a card to the school that I have been working from since our computers weren't in and the Internet wasn't set up yet.  Fortunately the school is exactly 1 mile down the road from my school so it wasn't a lot of travel.  The school was kind enough to give me an office and a computer to use so I could finish ordering the EVERYTHING we need to open the school in a few short weeks.  The school is named Sabal Palm and their mascot is the flamingo so I used the pink color to represent the flamingo and the palm trees, well you know why I used those.  Anyway, I think I am quite pleased with my card.  I am not usually fond of cards with no background and texture paper.  This is an exception.  Now I just have to sell my boss on the idea or not.  If she is not interested in sending a thank you card, I will send it myself, just from me.

Did I tell you that the mail man hasn't darkened our door yet?  I went to the PO the other day to buy stamps and mentioned that since we are open for business, so to speak, we would like service...  The postal person said we didn't have to request service that when there was mail the postal person would deliver it.  Are you thinking what I thought, only after I got back in the car, what about the mail that we want sent out?!?  Oh well, I fixed that by making a card for my principal and putting it in the mail.  They will have to deliver it, right?????  Hope to see him tomorrow.  This may sound familiar if you read the previous post.

I have got to head to bed.  Thanks for tuning in.

another bugaboo challenge

This challenge was to use metal.   I used small hinges with brads.
Check out the challenges at Bugaboo's Catch the Bug Challenge Blog.
I used the Tim Holtz method of coloring glossy card stock using his ink and the small dauber with the handle on it.  There are two hinges, you just can't see the one behind the ribbon.  The flowers are punched out with a pearl embellishment.  I got the idea for this card from a 2009 issue of CardMaker Magazine.
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Cased Thanks

I cased this card from Brenda Frerichs, Stamp.Scrap.Create. blog and looking at her blog. I see that she cased it from her mother. Mine just does not do justice to Brenda's though.  As much as I like the Wings paper packet, I don't always like what I end up with.  This should be no reflection on Brenda though.  I will probably just have to keep trying until I am satisfied.
http://brendafrerichs.blogspot.com/2011/07/three-diamond-card.html

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Christmas in July - Bugaboo Catch The Bug Challenge Blog

I decided to play along with a challange at Bugaboo. I will have to do some more reading to figure out where exactly to post the card on their website. Just wanted to share with you. This is a darling freebie image. I hope I did it justice.

Here is the link to Catch The Bug Challenge Blog.  Check it out for yourself.
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baby banner

For Lillie Sunshine

Lillie wasn't due until the end of July, but she popped in about 6 weeks early at 4 lbs, 12 ounces.  She and mom are doing well, thank God. I made Lillie's folks a picture frame, you may have seen it posted a few weeks back, but I really wanted them to have this banner.  Lillie's mom, Carissa, is a very sweet lady that I have enjoyed working with. I will miss her now that I am going to be at a new school.  See post about other news. for the convoluted story about my new assignment.  We had lots of fun when we saw Carissa in the halls and around the office, saying hi to Lillie and telling Lillie we needed to see her mom, to bring her to us.

I think this is all for today.  I think 4 posts in one day is enough, don't you?

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Everything else

I have so many cards to share with you that I made and never posted.  Let's see how many I can get down/up loaded before I give out.  :-)

I found a card similar to this in my CardMaker Magazine.  I really don't know if it is a current magazine or  a 2009 issue.    Love the design, so simple and easy.  That's me simple and easy!

ehhhhh, not so crazy about it.

I really really like this paper packet.  It is called Sophia by Close to my Heart. Apparently this set is going away after this month.  I probably ought to buy another kit.

another one I am not so crazy about, but hey if it gives you something to work with then I am happy.

I found the pattern for this hanging on a shelf in Michaels  Cute design.  Don't know what I will do with the card.  I think I have another one just like it in this batch.

Cute little father's day card.  Used Aspen paper.

I bought a bunch of packs of 5x5 cards with envelopes at Michael's for $1.00 just to get the envelopes, but then I realized I could use the cards even though they had Christmas designs on them.  Some of them may not be as easy as this to re-purpose

digital stamps

 This wonderful lady named Sliekje draws digital stamps and then posts them on her blog for anyone who stops by to visit.  I have saved a bunch of them to my docs.  I have made a link directly below the two cards so you can visit her blog.  She actually has two blogs.  She is a fantastic artist.

sliekje digi stamps

I am not sure if I am caught up yet.

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Not so proud of this one, and some news!

I can't believe I am even posting this one as it is a big disappointment.

The teacher asked me to make a picture frame for her brother and fiance.  The colors were brown, tan and blue.  I am really disappointed in the results.  I am just going to give the frame to her and she can give it to them or not.

Since my last blog in June I have experienced some interesting changes.  I think most of you knew that I was working in an inner city elementary school as a bookkeeper/Principal's secretary.  A new elementary school is opening in August and I will be working there.  I am so excited to be there as it is 3.5 miles from my house.  That means about 4 hours not on the road each week, probably one tank of gas every two weeks, rather than once a week, and a much safer neighborhood. The downside - I love the people I worked with and will miss them.  I sent out an email letting the teachers and staff know that I would be leaving and got back some of the sweetest replies.  "Booo hooooo, BOOOO HOOO HOOO!!! We will miss having you at SP everyday! You did an outstanding job of being the VERY BEST bookkeeper I have ever had! No one does it better than you, "The Godmother". There will never be another. Thank you for all your commitment, service, & support. SP will always be home for you! Boo hoo hoooooooo! Wish you all the best!"  This was from my boss.  Just an example of what I got.  This lady brought the school up from an F to a C in her first year and up to a B this year.  Just 21 points to an A.  I imagine she will do that next year.  She loves children, she cannot walk past a child without stopping to speak and lay a gentle loving hand on them.
A few weeks ago a friend had called me to ask me about calling or emailing another friend to see if she was going to interview for this new school called Waterleaf Elementary and then it dawned on her that I might want to interview there.  (On the way to my son's graduation I had pointed out the school to my husband and son saying wouldn't that be neat if I could work there.  The Lord thought so too. :-).)  I contacted HR and they said they had already given my name to the principal.  A while later I realized she had called my cell and asked me to call her. I went in for the interview and the rest is history.  My new principal has a son the same age as mine, in fact, the boys were in scouts together.
My new school is exactly that - a brand new school.  It is within 1 mile of the elementary school my son went to many moons ago.  You can stand in the yard of one and see the yard of the other school.  There is another ES down the road and around the corner, another one about two miles down the road from the new school.  Yikes, I guess we are really growing in this area of town.  
I started my new job on Friday, but never made it in to the school.  Our city takes the plans for each new school and uses them twice.  Our twin was opened two years ago at the other end of the city, on the way out of town toward St. Augustine.  The bookkeeper there, having dealt with outfitting her school, was in charge of outfitting my new school so I ran down there to see what my school will look like once we get the certificate of occupancy and pick up all the Purchase Orders and other files she had.  After that and running several errands on Friday, it was almost 4p.m. and I was across town, (this being the largest city in the country - area wise) I never made it back to the school.  Tomorrow is my first day IN the school and I know it won't be for long, we have to take our laptops to get them programmed.  Oh yeah, I need to pack my desk chair and a card table to take in to work with me until our furniture is delivered.  Fun, Fun, Fun.  I really am so excited.  I also have to go out to my old school to wrap up things there.  The new bookkeeper there was hired on the spot.  Great lady, I know she will fit in nicely.  She won't have access to the computers for awhile so I will be working two schools for awhile.


Thanks for listening to my ramblings.  Stay tuned, if I can figure out what I have and haven't posted I may have some more "artwork" (I use that term very loosely) to post.


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Oh Man have I been bad about blogging.

I made a card for a teacher to give to his wife for their anniversary and it fit the H2H challenge so I am posting it here and there.

This is what I came up with from the photo on H2H challenge.
The specs from the teacher were pink and green with sparkles.  I used Olivia paper packet, some green ribbon with sparkly hearts, some pink & green sparkles and a couple of Nestabilities dies.