Easy

Sometimes, we need quick and easy. Using two-sided paper and two different punches this card came together in a matter of minutes. 

Hope you have an easy day!

My Friend

If you know me, you know I love my Goldens as well as every other dog in the universe. I am especially fond of images with a dog so when I saw "My Friend" by Maurie "Mo" Manning of Mo's Digital Pencil, I had to have the image.  There is no doubt in my mind that the puppy's tail is wagging a mile a minute and her bloomers have ruffles on the bottom. 

Cicada Killer Wasps

Why, in the card making world do we romanticize bugs and other critters? For two months each summer, my yard is plagued with cicada killer wasps.  They are not pretty, they look similar to yellow jackets but are much larger, nearly two inches in length, requiring their own runway strip.  Unlike our friends the gnomes, cicada killers are solitary so each female digs her own nest about six to ten inches deep leaving behind a big pile of dirt at her front door. The good news, if you can call it good, is that only the female can sting and they are usually very busy underground preparing cells in her burrow in which she will place one egg and one cicada insuring another generation of cicada killers for next year, oh goodie!  Of important note, the best way to get rid of these guys is with a baseball bat or a tennis racket. 

Mousier FatBoyArdee

Mousier FatBoyArdee is a distant, distant cousin of Julia Child and Fanny Craddock and a recent participant on Hell's Kitchen. Mousier FatBoyArdee received his chef's hat from none other then the creative imagination of Marlene (I'm a huge fan) for The Digi Shack. Unfortunately, Mousier FatBoyArdee cannot cook but has taken an interest in redesigning toques, the honored hat worn by chefs since the 16th century. Traditionally, toques which come in varying heights sometimes indicating their position in the kitchen, are said to have 100 folds symbolizing the different ways an egg can be cooked. Recently Mousier FatBoyArdee threw the milliner and cooking world into turmoil when his recipe, based on making an egg shaped as a goose, changed the number of different ways to make an egg to 101.  Some experts contend that inasmuch as he uses pickles for drumsticks, the recipe should be stricken.

I Can't Wait to Get My Arms Around You

Did you know that an octopus has three hearts? Eight arms and three hearts, that's a lot of loving!

Friends are Flowers in the Garden of Life

In September, my daughter and her husband are moving to Okinawa, Japan for three years -- sniff, sniff. She asked me to make cards for the people she worked with in appreciation of the friendships she had formed. The cards for the women are the same but in different colors and the mens' cards were all the same.

Pearlized Embossed Resist

I watched Jennifer McGuire, Ink's  video for pearlized embossed resist and attempted it with these butterflies. Definitely a fun technique. 

Nontraditional Christmas

Monica of Gardners Basket has challenged our blog group to think outside the box and make a Christmas card using nontraditional colors instead of red and green. I think pink and magenta are probably about as nontraditional as you can get.

To see other challenge entries visit Monica's blog.

King Tut at a Yard Sale

One of the activities I look forward to this time of year is going to yard sales with my good friend, Betsy.  When Betsy picks me up on Saturday mornings, she has already set our course and her GPA in search of unknown finds. We've learned not to shop for anything in particular, but to be surprised by what we find.  Probably my most treasured yard sale purchase is my Cuttlebug. This past Saturday I found a rubber stamp of King Tut that I needed like a hole in my head but for the price, I HAD to have it.  I have no clue what occasion a King Tut card would be needed, but I think the end result is dazzling. 

Happy Birthday

Today is my daughter, Alecia's birthday. She is the youngest of my crew and effective today is a very rip roaring 26 years old. In a few days, I will be able to give her a big birthday hug and kiss in person but in the meantime, I can share with you her birthday card. And to Alecia, I wish you a very happy birthday with many, many more filled with good health, love and laughter!

Skinny Chicken

The answer to two momentous questions has continued to elude mankind since the beginning of time: which came first the chicken or the egg and why did the chicken cross the road? Owing to this debate, chickens worldwide have become neurotic as is evident in this befuddled "skinny chicken" image from The Digi Shack. Because of the harm it is causing, I submit to you that we stop the debate and allow chickens to return to the simple life of relaxing on their nest while the rooster struts his stuff. If an attempt is made to wrangle you into such a conflict, simply reply: "It is of no consequence to me why the chicken crossed the road or if the chicken or egg came first. A far more significant issue needs resolved, is it appropriate to wear white shoes after Labor Day?"  

Purple Cow

I never saw a purple cow, 

I never hope to see one. 

But I can tell you anyhow, 

I'd rather see one than to be one.  

I recently purchased several fun images from The Digi Shack including this quirky cow and her friends.  I remember as a child questioning the wisdom of the purple cow poem, after all, what's wrong with a purple cow? To those people who condemn purple cows I say, shame on you. Obviously you don't know a purple cow but I will tell you that purple cows are great conversationists, spotless homemakers, and talented in the arts. Today, make it a point and get to know a purple cow. 

Embossing Challenge

Whimsie Doodles is having a challenge to create a project that includes embossing. I do a lot of embossing and I have several of their images so I thought, why not. Today's card is my entry and believe it or not, the fire extinguisher, flowers on madam's dress, the sentiment, the dots on the birthday cake and the flower embellishments are embossed and the rest is done with copics. 

Now I ask you, should one be proud, or embarrassed when a fire extinguisher is required when lighting the birthday candles?

Operation Write Home

A large number of the cards I make are sent to Operation Write Home where they are mixed with cards from others and then sent overseas to members of our nation's armed forces for their use. Today's card is earmarked for that purpose.