Enthusiasm!

"Knowledge is power and enthusiasm pulls the switch."

-- Steve Droke

Gene Kelly Tap Dancing on Roller Skates

Ok, sooooooo I can tap dance... and I'm pretty good... but this.... this is INSANE!!!

Optimist Creed

Promise yourself...

To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.

To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet.

To make all your friends feel

that there is something worthwhile in them.

To look at the sunny side of everything

and make your optimism come true.

To think only of the best, to work only for the best,
and to expect only the best.

To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others
as you are about your own.

To forget the mistakes of the past and

press on to the greater achievements of the future.

To wear a cheerful countenance at all times
and give every living creature you meet a smile.

To give so much time to the improvement of yourself
that you have no time to criticize others.

To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear,
and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world,
not in loud words but in great deeds.

To live in the faith that the whole world is on your side so long as
you are true to the best that is in you.

ROCK STAR!!!!

I have a ROCK STAR of a friend!

Michele and I are tight. We talk almost everyday on the phone, and she is the QUEEN of surprising me! Great fun!

The other day I opened my front door to find a package.

Inside - A New Stamp Set:

I have been kicking myself for not ordering this stamp set now that I'm playing with brayering.

There was also a note saying that the other day, when I was telling Michele "I wish I had ordered that set" she was looking at it on her desk getting it ready to send to me.

Michele is a ROCK STAR!!!!!!


Check out what I did with it last night:


Peace & Blessings!

Embossing, Brayering, Just Plain INSPIRED!

This was my first try at coloring a line stamp image, embossing, THEN adding the background color. As always, I must thank Michelle Zindorf for the inspiration (her blog is FANTASTIC - and her tutorials have enabled me)!

I continued my exploration at stamping 1 word from a saying stamp on the outside of the card, then the entire saying stamp on the inside of the card. I love how doing that ties the card together.


Peace & Blessings!

Sunset

Can you tell I'm loving my time in my studio to play with brayering color onto white cardstock to create really cool effects?

I tried to create a reflection effect in the water from the birds. I haven't decided if I love it or not. Want to weigh in your opinion - I'd love to hear it? Leave a comment.....


Peace & Blessings

Simon's Cat 'TV Dinner'

Simon's Cat 'Let Me In!'

Blessed

I used Michelle Zindorf's tutorial to make this card:

Peace & Blessings

Dream

With this birthday card, I wanted to play with using part of a saying stamp on the front, then the whole saying on the inside.

I also experimented with brayering color onto white cardstock. I think it's a cool effect:


Peace & Blessings

Kindness

I was inspired to make this card from a card on SplitCoastStampers:

Peace & Blessings!

Playing with Brayering

Over the weekend I made the time to really PLAY & EXPERIMENT with brayering techniques, INSPIRED by Michelle Zindorf.


This card, I love... even though I want to tweak it.

#1: Getting the brayer to behave appropriately, while dealing with the paper used for the reverse masking technique..... that was a serious challenge.

#2: I would like to stamp the elephants higher, so more of the silhouette will show against the sunset sky.

#3: I may TRY to rip the reverse mask paper in the shape of Africa... that would be reeeeeeeeally cool! I have a feeling that is easier said than done.

#4: I've been playing with simplicity. I am so good at layering, and layering paper... adding multiple embellishments.... and all that jazz.... that I want to really make ART. For me, that means playing with lots of color, and NO PAPER LAYERING!

#5: Confession: When I learned how to do this brayering technique, I thought to myself: "Could I brayer a wall in my house?" And I was thinking specifically the style of reverse masking I did on this card. I was thinking, in my bathroom, a sunset ocean scene.
Hurdles:
A. Brayers don't come in HUGE sizes
B. The stamps don't come in HUGE sizes
So, that would me a tiny scene on my wall... and at that point, I might as well brayer on paper and frame it.



There you have it! An experiment in brayering, that although I need to tweak a few things, I really love the effect.

And...... my #1 fan loved it - Adam!

Peace &Blessing!

THANK YOU!

I had a GLORIOUS birthday this year!

Between girls night out crop Friday night, an astonishing stamping workshop Saturday, and spending time with a really cool family Sunday - my birthday ROCKED!!!!!

My Love Language is "Receiving Gifts" so just imagine my thrills at all the amazing, generous, and FANTASTIC gifts friends and family gifted me!

I designed this card specifically for this year's birthday thank yous:


THANK YOU!!!!!

Peace & Blessings!

PS - I didn't make enough of these, so over the weekend I made some different cards to express my gratitude and appreciation. (to be posted on a later date)

The Artist's Creed

Peace & Blessings!

You Are Worth The Time

Peace & Blessings!

Stationary Box

I have jumped on the Stationary Box bandwagon. I found the instructions HERE, and just HAD to make this for my friend Michele! I used the Flowers for Daisy stamp set, because Michele LOOOOOOOOVES daisies!








Peace & Blessings!

Me? For Prez?

A Friend's Genius

These are cards my friend made using the techniques learned over the weekend.

Fabulous Daaaaahling.... simply FABULOUS:

Peace & Blessings!

Color Experimenting

This is the result of my experimenting with different color schemes. I truly LOVE this!
Peace & Blessings

*Squeals* - Look At THIS........

Honestly, this has been my BEST BIRTHDAY to date! (Oh, it's my birthday today!)

I had an amazing opportunity over the weekend to learn a new stamping technique. I think SPECTACULAR is the only word for this!

This is what I made during my class:


This all started as plain white cardstock.

WOW!

GENIUS technique!

I'm excited to play with different colors and themes. I promise I'll post more!

Peace & Blessings!

Girls Night Out Project

I am going to a crop on Friday night for a girls night out. I don't scrapbook, so I'm going to be making cards.

I've never done Thanksgiving cards before, so I'm going to give that a try this year:

I haven't played with my chalks in a while, so that was part of my inspiration.

On the inside is a pouch that I can slide a bag of tea into. Too cute!

Peace & Blessings!

The Day of 1,000 Boxes

3 Years ago today we closed on our current home!

Adam said we should make this "The Day of 1,000 boxes" because that's what it felt like to us - 1,000 boxes to move.

My parents helped - they were ROCK STARS!

And looking back at the past 3 years, we have barely dented the Home Improvement List.
Seriously, where did the time go?

Peace & Blessings!