Paper Past Times, Etc.

Whale of a Time

2011-06-06T20:54:00.000-05:00

There have been six or so days thus far this spring that have warrented the comment, "I think this is the nicest day we've had so far this year." Up until today, however, none of those days had been consecutive. With two in a row under our belts, I am hoping for a third nice day tomorrow. Sunshine is good for the soul.

I started this card last week and finally finished it today after giving up on the original sketch I had selected. I colored the whale (from The Cat's Pajamas' "Whale of a Time" set) with Copic markers and paper-pieced his sailor hat. Look for baby cards made with this cute little set in the future.

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

Just like I said they would be, the boys are here and will be until tomorrow when their dad and Sarah get done with work. There isn't much to "taking care" of them anymore. At six and seven, they entertain themselves a good part of the time. I even had to do some convincing to get Bjorn to go to the park. I perservered, however, determined that we were not going to waste a beautiful day sitting around the house. Kids need to be outside. Grandma said so! LOL.

I hope yours was a wonderful day. Thanks for stopping by!

Sympathy Card

2011-06-05T21:20:00.000-05:00

Here is a sympathy card I made recently. While my initial thought was that it might be a little to bright, I think it will be OK under the right circumstances. Anyway, I am happy to say we didn't need it at the time I made it. Rather, it's a card for my stash.

I used Stampin' Up's Elements of Style and Impression Obsession's Sympathy Sentiments stamp sets. I also used a new-to-me embossing folder, Framed Tulips from Stampin' Up. The image was colored with Copic markers.

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

How was your weekend? Regardless of my plan to stay awake yesterday, I "dropped" relatively early - right after I laid little Mari down for a nap late yesterday morning, and I slept until almost 10 o'clock last night. So much for getting back into a regular routine. LOL.

With school out for the summer, Bjorn and Mathias will be spending Mondays and Tuesdays and Thursday and Friday afternoons with us every other week. I am so looking forward to having this time with them. They are growing up so fast.

I hope you have a wonderful week. Thanks for stopping by!

Good Morning!

2011-06-04T10:38:00.000-05:00

Happy Weekend! Here is a card I made a couple of days ago. It is based on CPS #220, which is the current sketch on the Card Positioning Systems blog. There are Pop Dots under the small flower, and the ribbon is black velvet. I used Close To My Heart's Dreams Come True and Say in in Style stamp sets.

(Click on image to enlarge)

Usually, when I get done with work at 7 am, I come home and go to bed. Today, I am trying something different. I'm staying up until ... Well, until I drop over. LOL. My thoughts are that if I can stay up all day and go to bed at a "normal" time tonight, I will fall back into a regular routine more easily. Besides, Mari is here today, and Grandma doesn't want to waste time in bed when there is a baby to play with! And she's a busy baby, too, reaching for everything and hard to keep in one spot for very long.

In other news, I took three hours of vacation time last night, so Mom and I could attend the season's first Community Arts Council production. A one-woman musical comedy , "Blame it on the Walleye" was most enjoyable.

Do you have plans for the weekend? We're hoping for nice weather - warm and sunny - for no reason other than the fact we are due. So far, the really nice days have been interspersed with cool/cold and wet.

Whatever you're doing, I hope you enjoy yourself. Take care, friends. I'll be "seeing" you again soon.

Shamefully Simple

2011-06-02T16:53:00.000-05:00

The UPS man brought be a small, albeit heavy, package from Stampin' Up on Tuesday. The contents included a Little Leaves Sizzlits die. Of course, I wanted to try it out right away and did so with a scrap of Topiary cardstock. As the block of time I had to make a card was small, I simply glued the leaves to a piece of White Daisy textured cardstock and added a somewhat centered sentiment. Here is my CAS 10-minute card.

(Click on image to enlarge)

One workday/night down, two to go. Last night was productive and relatively uncomplicated. What it was I photographed, I don't really know, but whatever it was, I didn't have to tell those little electronic components to smile or sit still. LOL.

And now, it's off to the shower. I hope you are having a wonderful week. "See" you soon!

What's with the Runaway Calendar?

2011-06-01T16:49:00.000-05:00

Is it just me, or did May fly by with incredible speed? Darn. LOL. Seriously, I'm good. How 'bout you?

Here's a card I made last week. I used Close To My Heart's new (and very sweet) Baby Love set and Sophia paper packet. The card is based on this sketch, which was featured recently on the Clean & Simple Stamping blog.

(Click image to enlarge)

So, what's happening in my runaway life? It seem like there has been something going on nearly every day for the past couple of weeks.

For now, I need to sign off and get a few things done before work. With a few cards made and "in reserve," I should be stopping back over the course of the next few days. I hope so, because when I'm not blogging, I am missing my blogosphere buddies. A lot.

Happy Hump Day!

2011-05-18T17:49:00.000-05:00

Hump Day has definitely lost its significance for me. Instead of my work week being half over, Wednesday is my Monday. I'm cool though and actually looking forward to going to work in a few minutes.

This has been a two-funeral week for the husband again. The 95-year-old mother of a friend on Monday and a 67-year-old friend yesterday. Today, he's playing golf, and I'm glad.

I had one sympathy card for him to use and about 15 minutes to make another one. Here's what I came up with. Soothing green is my favorite color for sympathy cards. I used my Three Ferns stamp from Hero Arts and Impression Obsession's Sympathy Sentiments set.

(Click image to enlarge)

I think I mentioned the word "projects" in my last post. Well, that's what I've been doin' for the past couple of days. And the project I've been working on is one I've mentioned so many times, it is embarrassing. I finally painted my kitchen chairs - with the first coat anyway. I know, too, why those chairs were first green for a long time and then green with some dark red primer on them for a few years. As ugly as they were, I put up with them for so long, because I really do not like to paint. Now, we will see how long it takes to apply the much needed second coat of black paint. As I am liking the way they look, it might not take very long - not years, anyway. LOL .

No, I had better go make myself something to eat - fortification for the long night ahead. I hope your week is going well. "See" you soon.

Just Because

2011-05-16T14:37:00.000-05:00

Happy Monday! The very best thing about my job is the fact that I don't have to work on Mondays. It makes being tired on Saturdays worthwhile. I know. I'm weird. LOL.

Today's card is one I put together last night with an image I colored (with Copics) a while back. The flowers are from Penny Black's Flower Gallery set. The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink's Mixed Messages set. Instead of searching for patterned paper to coordinate with the flowers, I "Cuttlebugged" a piece of Hollyhock cardstock using Stampin' Up's Square Lattice embossing folder.

(Click on image to enlarge)

The weather is absolutely beautiful here today - 66 degrees with no clouds in sight. I think spring has finally sprung in the frozen tundra. It's a good thing as summer (according to the calendar) is little more than a month away.

I don't have anything else to report, because I haven't done much so far today. That, however, is about to change. As much as I would rather be outside, that isn't where the housework and projects are, so I'll have to settle for windows wide open. I hope you are having a fantastic day. "See" you tomorrow.

Red, White, and a Blue Bird

2011-05-15T20:11:00.000-05:00

Here's another card I made before getting stuck in my little rut. I was limited in my coloring to the colors available in my still small Copic collection. One thing I remember doing is using the colorless blender to take away some of the color on the bird. The stamps I used are from Flourishes' Spring Has Sprung set.

(Click image to enlarge)

I've had a great weekend. How about you? As planned, the boys stayed last night, and I went to bed early, so that I could enjoy them while they were here this morning. And the best thing, before they left, Dustin and Miranda dropped Mari off for the day. They had yard work to do and knew that Grandma was itching for time with the little one. Have I mentioned lately that she is a sweetheart? While I would most likely say that were she the orneriest baby on earth, she is really good and happiest when she's laying on a blanket on the floor, kicking and jabbering. Another treat today was a visit from a friend whom I hadn't seen in way too long.

As for what's on the agenda for the rest of the week, I'm not certain. There is no shortage of projects on my list. All I need to do is pick one or two. Nice weather (in the low 70s) is forecast, too, so it would be nice to spend as much time as possible outside.

Tonight, I'm going to go stamp a little. I managed to get my corner cleaned up earlier in the day. But it just doesn't look right all neat and tidy. LOL.

I hope your week is wonderful. Take care, and thanks for stopping by.

Happily Ever After

2011-05-14T17:07:00.000-05:00

Hi! Here is a wedding card I made a while back with Close To My Heart's new Bliss papers and Precious Love stamp set. The card was based on a sketch that appeared on one of the sketch challenge blogs, and it ended up being one of those cards that evolved as I was making it. The distressing and rolled paper flower gave it a kind of "Shabby Chic" look.

(Click image to enlarge)

After sleeping for a few hours earlier, I got up and did some housework - a rare but pleasant accomplishment on a Saturday. Tonight, Bjorn and Mathias are staying with us. As they are otherwise engaged until almost bedtime, I will probably go to bed early tonight, too, so I that can enjoy them in the morning.

What are you up to this weekend? While the weather isn't great here, it's much nicer than was originally forecast. I'll take 59 over a high of 41 any day, and it is certain better than the snow that covered the ground again for a couple of days two weeks ago.

With nothing very interesting to say, I'll sign off for now. Enjoy the evening, and thanks for stopping by!

Ahoy! It's a Boy!

2011-05-14T07:53:00.000-05:00

(Click on image to enlarge)

This card made me realize that I am seriously out of practice. It confirmed, however, that I can still make a heckuva mess in my corner. LOL. Anyhoo, I used the sailboat stamp from Verve Stamps' Text Objects set, and the sentiment is from the Sweet Baby set by Close To My Heart. I created the waves with a one-inch circle punch, inking the edges with same color (Pacifica) ink to give them a little added dimension. As for the knot in my baker's twine, it was supposed to have looked a bit more nautical. LOL.

This card was originally posted on Wednesday. However, the post was lost due to Blogger's issues on Thursday, so we'll try again. Later, I will post the card that I had ready for Thursday. Wouldn't you know? I finally got my act together again, and Blogger quit ... for what seemed like a long time.

No, I just got home from work and had best sleep for a while. After grumbling about my job earlier in the week, I had three great days/nights. Go figure. LOL. I hope your weekend is wonderful. Thanks for stopping by!

New Beginnings

2011-05-10T15:27:00.005-05:00

(Click on image to enlarge)

After experiencing a creative drought and ultimately taking a break from the blogosphere, I finally created a card to share. Stamps used include Betsy Bluebell by Penny Black, Hero Arts Dots and Flowers background stamp, and Papertrey Ink's Birthday Basics set. The image was colored with Copic markers. I used a white gel pen to add dots to the flowers on the background and faux stitches.

If you found me, welcome to Paper Past Times. I am so very happy to "see" you! It's my hope that I will be a regular here and that you will be, too. So... until next time, take care!