Welcoming Baby Eli

So we have a new little nephew named Eli Albert and am sending this card with a package of new baby duds.  I wanted to try playing around with dimension coupled with paper piecing stamped images.  This cute teddy bear digi was printed out twice on some Echo Park pp.  I cut him an extra head, forearm and leg and slowly and carefully embossed their backs to give those pieces a puffy look.  You are actually stretching the paper, so you have to take care.  I attached them over the entire stamped image with layered foam tape to give him a "stuffed" look.   He's very cute but it's difficult for the camera to really show his dimensionality.   Anyway, a paper doily, some baker's twine, some old Heidi Swapp chipboard letters, and more October Afternoon Ducks in a Row patterned paper and good to go.  If you click on him for larger view, you can see the puffiness a bit better.  Have a great day!

"Teddy" digital stamp courtesy of Faith of  Designed2Delight and was a freebie last year.  I LOVE him!

Ribbon Rose card

I'm loving this ribbon rose technique!  Here's my Mom's birthday card this year. 
And how about that beautiful Magnolia doohickey die scroll which came in the mail just in time to add a perfect crowning touch.

Watch out for flying cupcakes!

Mo Manning's artwork is soooo adorable I bought a few of her digistamps. Her images just beg for bright cheerful colors so BG Lemonade collection seemed a perfect fit. Prisma colors, Martha's Punch around the Page, some Kaisercraft pearls and gingham ribbon made this an easy peasy card. Have a terrific weekend!

Remembering Dad

Happy Fathers Day, Dad.  We miss you.

By way of explanation...and a card

My poor blog has turned into the equivalent of a deserted ghost town and it makes me sad.  

I am alive.  I'm weary, but still here.  I do get an occasional moment here and there to make a birthday card so there's hope.   My scrapbooks?  Let's just be honest....dusty, very dusty.
Not to bore with too many details, but my long tall Texan hubbie has undergone three  hip surgeries in the past 8 months (two replacements and one complication), at-home IV treatments three times a day for six weeks, all while he's still working from home as a consultant (thank heavens).  He's doing very well now and walking without aid.  Well... bit of a wobble.  Picture a 6'1" duck.  Okay, let's call it a swagger.  Purely for macho sake. 

That together with caring for my dear 85 year old mom here at home with the help of hospice angels just about takes every single bit of energy left in this old lady but it's a blessing to have her here with us.  Here's a photo of her at about sixteen.   Happy Mother's Day, Mom.  Love you so! 

Hope to catch up on some of your blogs in coming weeks.  I miss seeing all of your incredible work.  xoxoxo

Allison's Birthday

So my baby had her birthday last week and I had her card planned out for months (ever since Graphic45 came out with their Halloween in Wonderland paper.  Since she was a little girl, Allison has loved  Lewis Carroll's books (Disney version, not so much) and every year I try to get her a little something Alice-related.  This year I knew I was going to use that Graphic45 paper...so perfect!  I knew it had to be a special card so I created my first, but not last, "pop up stage card" following Kim Score's very helpful tutorial found here.  Lots of fussy cutting and score-taping, but it was so worth the look on her face when she opened it up.

April made the cake and I helped decorate it with the checkerboard theme to go along with the card and here is the birthday girl with niece Lily and nephew Rowan ready for caaaake! 

City Crafter Challenge

The challenge this week over at City Crafter Challenge Bog is a card or project featuring "Little Children" and the sponsor is my very talented daughter Allison's CircusBoard Graphics.  Be sure to go check out the gorgeous work the DT and GD created with her Child's Garden kit.  I really love the soft subtle colors and charming vintage images of this set and figured I deserved to have some fun too! 

This sweet little gardener is fussy cut and popped on a mat embossed with Cuttlebug's Gracie's Frame and softly inked to bring out the beautiful detail.  I used some BG Nook and Pantry pp, some Webster Page's trim which was included in the Pixe Dust Paperie October kit (gorgeous!) and finished it up with a line of marching pearls and a simple stamped sentiment.   One of the really cool things about this kit is the unusual color palette--isn't it different and oh so pretty!



On a personal note, dear hubby had to have hip surgery two weeks ago and instead of finding a severely arthritic hip which they were going to replace, the surgeon found a massive infection in his hip joint capsule sooooo...as a result...and with some training...we're giving him three 2-hour IV infusions a day at home of a very serious antibiotic (two weeks down and four to go) and he gets to keep his original hip as a door prize.  Luckily he works from home and is comfortable sitting, so we're trying to get back to normal.   We have some terrific home care nurses who check in from time to time to make sure we're not making too many mistakes and then combined with 85 year old Grandma living here with hospice staff in and out, we feel a bit like we're living in a a bizarre medical reality TV show.  Never a dull moment.

Anyway, here's to a terrific Wednesday and happy creating!

Hugs,