stars and stripes...fms #175

hey tracey, momma, friends old and new!

today i decided to create a manly card...do men like glitter?  hmmmm...

anyhoo.  my inspiration came from a sketch by freshly made sketches.  this 175th sketch has limitless possibilities...i know i will return to it often!  here it is...

and here is what i made...

i love the glittery paper and the way you can make a star 'pop' off the paper.

stamp set:  guy greetings, gorgeous grunge

ink:  black tuxedo momento

paper:  black, very vanilla, typeset dsp, gold glitter

extras:  distress tool, sponge, star thinlits, small star punch

i didn't get to put a post up on the paper plunge due to the fact my brayer is messed up!  how in the world did glue get on there...and then of course when i went to scrape it off-GAH!  i'll be back next week to join that very talented group of ladies.  check us out on friday mornings...and won't you consider playing with us?  you inspire us to continue to create each week!

in honor of dr. seuss's birthday, i thought it is only fitting to quote him today.  these words are from the man himself, about himself, not those from one of his books.  "whenever things go sour in a job i'm doing, i always tell myself, 'you can do better than this'." 

pretty awesome words to consider.

thank you for stopping by-

i appreciate you.

until next time-

peace be with you.

leslie

she scores!...the paper plunge#21

hi tracey, momma, friends old and new!

this week at the paper plunge, we are challenging ANYONE to come play with us and SCORE!  i forgot what a couple of simply scored lines could do for a card.  why don't i use this technique more?!  head on over to the plunge to see what our talented design team created...in the meantime, here is mine...

very clean and simple for me, but i like it!

stamp sets:  petal potpourri, flower patch

paper:  very vanilla, mossy meadow, hello honey

ink:  blackberry bliss

extras:  simply scored scoring tool, flower medallion punch, bird builder punch, rhinestones

today is my friend Amy's birthday.  she didn't get this particular card, but i did make another cute gift card holder and card.  as i wrote the obligatory nice note with kind words, it dawned on me how much she means to me...and i really hope i conveyed that in her card because i really meant every word.  i spend a lot of time with amy each day...she's my work-wife.  we co-teach together, we complete each other's sentences, we have our 'jobs' to do, we know what each other is thinking when one of our students says something funny, we tell each other things that we promise we will take to our graves...but truly, most importantly, we make each other laugh. real belly laughs.  wet your pants a little laugh.  laugh till you cry laughs.  sometimes i think i have a six pack laugh.

in the end, what matters?  to feel loved and to laugh.  thanks for that, amy!

life is better when you're laughing...

thank you for stopping by-

i appreciate you.

until next time-

peace be with you

embossing...thepaperplunge#20

hi tracey, momma, friends old and new!

today at the paper plunge we are heating things up with embossing as our theme!  i decided to dry emboss and heat emboss my card...here is what i did:

the background may look familiar because i have used it before.  this time, however, i added some copper metallic ink and heat embossed the whole thing...giving it a cool, shiny look.

stamps:  pursuit of happiness

ink:  memento black, pool party, baked brown sugar, encore metallic copper

paper:  baked brown sugar, very vanilla, black, pool party

extra:  flower frenzy bigz die, clear embossing powder, beautiful baroque ef, antique brads, sponges

last night was girls night out.  we went to see the i'm-sure-will-be-blockbuster movie that woman around the globe will venture out to see...and was not disappointed!  i think i felt that way because even if the movie was a total dud, i was with some wonderful woman who make me laugh, will let me cry, who i can pour my heart out to...who i can truly be myself around.  my workplace, my everyday happenings, my life would not be the same if it weren't for these girlies.  i just know we will be laughing till we pee our pants for a very long time...and for that i am truly, i mean TRULY grateful.  

everyone should have a friends like that.

i've spent half my morning looking for a beautiful quote on friendship.  i spent the other half looking for a funny quote on friendship.  but i think frankenstein said it best... "friend.  good".

thank you for stopping by-

i appreciate you.

until next time-

peace be with you

leslie

ps...here is another card i made...CASEd from darleenstamps.  pretty, right?

blended bloom-mojo monday #383

hi tracey, momma, friends old and new!

i was making cards for a lovely lady named bev, when i came across the mojo monday sketch challenge and decided to give it a go.  here is the sketch...

this is what i created...

stampsets:  blended bloom, butterfly basics, flowering flourishes

cardstock:  black, whisper, white stacked with love dap

ink:  momento black

extras:  cherry cobbler blendabilities, daffodil delight blendabilities, rhinestones 

my daughter, sarah and i, love the quote: "bloom where you are planted".  that seems to fit right here!

thank you for stopping by-

i appreciate you

until next time-

peace be with you

love-the paper plunge #19

hi tracey, momma, friends old and new!

this week at the paper plunge, love is in the air!  valentine's day is right around the corner, but more importantly, so is my 7th wedding anniversary!

here is what i came up with...

stamp sets:  everything eleanor, hello life, retired french script

card stock:  cherry cobbler, baked brown sugar, very vanilla

ink:  baked brown sugar, chocolate chip, versa mark

extras:  beautiful baroque ef, cherry cobbler seam binding ribbon, doily, antique brads, mini heart punch, tag punch, clear embossing powder, sponges

i hope you consider entering one of your own creations at the paper plunge.  we are a relatively new challenge site and would love for you to join us.  in the meantime, stop on by and check out the talent!

i decided to also enter this card into the retro sketch challenge #151.  this great sketch created by erin was fun to use!

i love love.  i love romance.  i love what my husband john has brought to my life.  i love how he looks at me when i dry my hair.  i love that he leaves me random voicemails on ordinary days to tell me how much he appreciates all i do.  i love that he really makes me feel beautiful, inside and out.  i am truly blessed.

emerson wrote, "wherever you go, whatever you do, be in love!"

and...do things with great love!

thank you for stopping by-i appreciate you.

until next time,

peace be with you

vellum-the paper plunge #17

hi tracey, momma, friends old and new!

some times life just throws you terrible, rotten, no good, very bad lemons.  this is the week that life threw them at me.  i lost my dog in the most unfortunate of circumstances. tonight i am finally able to get through an hour without crying.   in my great sadness, i wasn't sure that i would get a card up, however, when i sat down, i found such comfort in something so insignificant as a piece of vellum.

i went back to my roots of vellum butterflies for this weeks paper plunge challenge.  just sitting in the quiet, coloring and glittering these little fellas gave me a silly sense of peace.  for that, i am truly grateful for the distraction.

 here is what i created...

it is too bad that my photography is so awful...it's difficult to see how sparkly they are!  mom, you would love these in person!

stamp set:  papillon potpourri, painted petals

ink:  stazon black

paper:  black, whisper white, pacific point, vellum cs

extras:  lovely lace embossing folder, rhinestones, blendabilities, dazzling diamonds

i also decided to enter this card at cas(e) this sketch #107.  here was my inspiration...

i don't know the author, but i've read, "sometimes, crying is the only way your eyes speak when your mouth can't explain how broken your heart is".  

thank you for stopping by-

i appreciate you.

until next time,

peace be with you

butterfly-the paper plunge #16

hi tracey, momma, friends old and new!

it's a quick card today...and not my usual style!  the paper plunge challenges you this week to create a card using die cuts or framelits.  i decided to use the new butterfly framelits out of the new occasions catalog.  i would have bet the farm that stampin' up! was going to create a delicate die cut such as this...and let me tell you...the coordinating stamp set-butterfly basics-is beautiful!  those who know me know i am a butterfly nut!  sorry monica...i love me some butterflies!

anyhoo...here is what i came up with:

stamp set:  sale-a-bration's simply wonderful

ink:  black memento

cardstock:  calypso coral, black, whisper white, birthday bash specialty dsp

other stuff:  rhinestones, polka dot ef, butterflies framelits

this is a very simple card to make...and a bit out of my usual 'fussy' box...

the british novelist, amelia barr, once said, "it is always the simple that produces the marvelous."  this very simple card is for a very marvelous friend...who is truly one of the most thoughtful, kindest and generous ladies i know.  i hope she likes it.

thank you for stopping by...i appreciate you.

until next time...peace be with you.

leslie