single layer...pp#35

hey tracey, momma, friends old and new!

the paper plunge is featuring cards made with just one layer...always a tough one for me!!  however, it was perfect for this week because a single layer card is quick and easy!

here's what i did...

nothing fancy, really, but elegant all the same!  the black is not paper by the way...it is just a border made with a black marker!

tonight i went to a retirement party for a dear friend of 25 years.  it was quite the gala and a true testimony to a wonderful lady.  as i looked around the room, there were so many people i adore.  unfortunately, my adoring them and thinking of them often does not translate into a phone call, a lunch date or martini thursday.  "we are all so busy" was the theme of the night.  well, i for one do not want to wait until i have time to visit with people who i can say always brought me joy...because, well, i don't think i'll have the time.  unless of course i make it!

my friend, jenn, and i drove together.  one of the best parts of the night was driving her back to her car in the parking lot of the dunkin donut's and sitting there for nearly an hour just shootin' the sh*t as they say.  it was a wonderful, comfortable, laugh-filled, solve the world's problems kind of hour...one that has been missing from our lives for a very long time...because we are too busy.  and it's true...we are so busy, but i miss those times with jenn.  it's not about having time...it's about making time for the people who bring us joy!

lau tau once said, "time is a created thing.  to say, "i don't have time", is to say "i don't want to".  hmmm...

go forth and enjoy your time doing anything you want with anyone you want!

thanks for stopping by-
i appreciate you.

until next time,
peace be with you.

may flowers...pp#33

hi tracey, momma, friends old and new!

tomorrow i am headed up north to ohio to see my step-daughter, tori, graduate from college.  it is a very exciting time for everyone...she is the last to march up the aisle to pomp and circumstance!  it is so neat to see the determination and wonder in the eyes of someone just starting out the rest of their life...it's all so new again!

sort of like spring.  everything is new again.  one minute you look outside and the trees are bare and the grass is brown.  the next minute, the buds have bursted and the flowers are in full bloom.  i really love this time of year...it is filled with hope for everything and everyone!

this week, at the paper plunge, we are challenging you to create some beautiful flowers...whether on a card, a bouquet, etc., make new life come alive in your paper crafting!

here is what i created:

i think tori will like this card.  the saying is just perfect for this young woman...she is filled with hope and determination...i know she will make any and all of her dreams come true.  i couldn't be more proud!

dr.  seuss once said, "today is your day.  your mountain is waiting now get on your way!"  i can't wait to see where tori's journey takes her...and i know she will take it by storm!

thank you for stopping by,
i appreciate you.

until next time,
peace be with you.

mother's day...pp#32

hey tracey, momma, friends old and new!

today at the  the paper plunge, we are honoring our mommas!  we challenge you to create a card with a mother's day theme.  go check out the site for some wonderful creations!

here is what i did...

this set, sweet laughter, from stampin' up! is adorable!  this little plant duo reminds me of groot from the movie, guardians of the galaxy.  i'm so glad my sister picked it out for me when she was my husband's personal stampin christmas shopper!  

i mean, just look how happy this card is!  and quite simply, that's what my mom makes me...happy!  it is so cliche to say that you have the best mom in the world...nobody can compare...no one measures up...so on and so forth.  the truth of the matter is, all of those phrases ARE my mom!  they were written with her in mind!  she is pure sunshine to be around.  she is my hero...strong and wise and knows no fear.  she is creative, an amazing cook, and has such a great laugh!  and she eats glitter for breakfast...

maya angelou wrote, "to describe my mother would be to write about a hurricane in its perfect power.  or climbing falling colors of a rainbow."  my mom is just perfect.

thank you for stopping by-

appreciate you.

until next time-

peace be with you

p.s.  i am also entering this card in the paper players #242.  this sketch was just perfect for my card this week!  give them a look-see...there are some wonderful design team cards as well as submissions!

heading on out!...pp#31

hey tracey, momma, friends old and new!

today at the paper plunge, we challenge you to use the retiring in color colors of 2013-2015.  some very favorite colors of mine are leaving the stampin' up! collection...strawberry slush, crisp cantaloupe, baked brown sugar and pistachio pudding.  as a matter of fact, those are the exact colors i used for this card...

i know, tracey, a total fussy-cut extravaganza!  i couldn't help myself!  i just love the layers and look of the popped out flowers!  one little trick...i decided to use my black marker and color in the back of the flower, well at least the top layer.  kinda gave it a more finished look...

I also decided to enter this card in the paper craft crew #144 challenge.  here is the sketch they are challenging us to use this week...

 update...i have been chosen as the feature artisan on the paper craft crew challenge!  yay me!!  


"i am in charge of how i feel and today i choose happiness."

sharing that quote for no particular reason except for the fact i love it!

thank you for stopping by-
i appreciate you.

until next time-
peace be with you.
leslie

seize the birthday

hey tracey, momma, friends old and new!

so yesterday...i lied.  i shared with you a little bit of a card that i was using in the upcoming paper plunge challenge.  well, i decided to use that card for another challenge and create a new one for thursday's post at the paper plunge.

having said that, here is my tall and skinny card for seize the birthday...

it was fun to do...using stampin' write markers to color in the flowers on baked brown sugar.  i also added my own little ditty by drawing on the card with the chalk marker for a little extra sumthin' sumthin'!  

"be stubborn about your goals and flexible about your methods"...just read that quote and decided it was perfect for today.  i would like to post more often=goal.  i needed to steal yesterday's card=method!  

have a lovely day.  hope to share another card with you soon!

thanks for stopping by-

i appreciate you.

until next time-

peace be with you.

a creative blog hop

hi there tracey, momma, friends old and new!

last week, (okay, so it was not last week...maybe couple weeks ago...), helen from blue dahlia designs nominated me to participate in the creative blog hop.  i was tickled pink, to say the least.  i met helen on a plane out of philly last year when i was on my way to stampin' up!s convention in utah.  she was sooo sweet right off the bat and outstretched her hand, which i gladly accepted...she asked me to join her on a tour of the salt flats.  the rest is history!  when i returned home, she asked me to consider becoming a designer for the paper plunge and i have been connected to her ever since!  i love helen for being nice to me that day!  i enjoy her blog and her amazing talents...and you will, too.  i promise!

1.  What am I working on right now?  this one is kinda easy...my next submission for the paper plunge!  here is a little sneak peak:

i'm sure you are curious about the challenge for next week, huh?  in addition to creating for the paper plunge, i am holding a club this friday with six wonderfully amazing ladies!  i am in the middle of deciding what our theme will be so that is on my brain and all over my table.  

2.  How does my work differ from others in my genre?  when it comes to card making, the trend is clean and simple.  it is also pretty eclectic...with washi tape, gorgeous grunge and splashes of color here and there.  i love the new look.  i, however, am a traditional butterfly and flower kinda girl.  i LOVE lots of layers and fussy cutting!  simple cards are the hardest for me to make...i can't help it!  here are a couple of my favorites..

3.  Why do I create what I do?  plain and simple...it makes me happy.  working in my lady cave is pure joy for me, especially when i am coloring and cutting.  i also find myself thinking about whether or not my crafty ladies would like a project...they tend to dictate some of what i do.  their successes and pure joy in what they can do also makes me happy!

4.  How does my creative process work?  most of the time, i am inspired by a challenge, another card i have seen, a color combination or by some thing i saw (one of my favorite inspirations came from a blouse a woman was wearing in front of me at church!).  from there, an idea/design will pop into my head...usually as i'm trying to fall asleep! gah!  then it's down to the lady cave and i let the magic happen.  some cards come to me quickly and some may take me hours to make...all the same, it's time i love!

i hope you have enjoyed getting to know a bit more about me as much as i have loved sharing with you!  i am humbled by helen asking me to participate in this hop.  be sure to back track beginning with helen's blog to get your creative juices flowing and for some incredible inspiration!  

now...i get to nominate someone to share their creativity with you!  Jodi McKinney from the life in between is a lovely lady i happen to have a blog crush on...as my daughter would say!  we have never actually met, but after reading her daily posts, i think we would be great friends if we did!  jodi is quite simply, very talented!  she has such an eye for colors, whether in paper crafting or painting, shares wonderful recipes and photographs, or tells a wonderful story...i know you will enjoy her work if you have not had the pleasure of seeing it already!  check out her blog next week to see what drives her creativity and talents!

thank you for stopping by-

i appreciate you.

until next time-

peace be with you.

double dippin'...pp#30

hi tracey, momma, friends old and new!

this week at the paper plunge, we are asking everyone to take our challenge sketch and meld it with another challenge in the world of paper crafting.  i decided to use the card concept along with our own sketch.  i needed to make a card for a friend and thought these two ideas really worked together. (you may need to use your imagination to see the sketch in mine...it was late and i was tired!)

this is what i came up with...

the card concept has defined styles...i would call mine classy and elegant.  i took the liberty to use silver in place of gray...i think they are in the same family, right?  

i just spent the weekend with my hubby...most of which was on the motorcycle.  it was finally a gorgeous day, so off to new hope, pa, we went!  it was so nice to be outside riding the winding roads...okay...so the winding roads took us to my favorite ice cream place, but still, it was wonderful! 

so i guess balance is the name of the game!  the fun part about the weekend?  i did a little bit of all the things i love...stamp, ride, cook, eat, indulge.  my heart is happy!

in eat, pray, love by liz gilbert, (i met her in her store in frenchtown.  i called her elizabeth.  she replied, "oh, please.  call me liz!"), she wrote... 

"he showed me a sketch he'd drawn once during meditation.  it was an androgynous human figure, standing up, hands clasped in prayer.  but this figure had four legs, and no head.  where the head should have been, there was only a wild foliage of ferns and flowers.  there was a small, smiling face drawn over the heart.  to find the balance you want," ketut spoke through his translator, "this is what you must become.  you must keep your feet grounded so firmly on the earth that it's like you have four legs, instead of two.  that way, you can stay in the world, but you must stop looking at the world through your head.  you must look through your heart, instead."

i hope that you will think of ketut's words this week...follow your heart in all you do.

thank you for stopping by-

i appreciate you.

until next time-

peace be with you.