Tabby Cat

Tabby cats are usually the most agreeable of any cat I have ever owned (actually they own us, right?) The last tabby I had was Alex who lived to be 21 before we helped him cross the bridge. He was a gift to my daughter from her grampa but somehow, all the cats in this house become mine. Our cats are all inside cats (unless they escape) so it is probably why they live longer. I do hate the "things" I step in during bathroom runs in the dark but sure love the toasty warm comfort year round as I am always cold and in need of a snuggler.

I didn't see that this card looked weird until I uploaded it. It does have a base card of dark chocolaty brown. You can see it better in the photos below. With the foam backdrop I use for most inside cards these days, the brown textured card just didn't pop off the backdrop. I didn't invent a weird new card-but maybe as a clear acrylic this might work?

I shot this hoping to show you my way of faking bow tying. I can't for the life of me tie a ribbon in any way shape or form that looks like all those nice ones the pros do. So I just took a hank and flip tied it and then snot dotted it over the main ribbon piece.

Here you see the base card color a bit better. I like using layers on this and stamping in a chalk brown seems to give a little more emphasis to the stamped image as black can be so harsh and screw up the coloring look. I used Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol on this for a softer look. The tiny hearts were colored using a glitter pen in clear-I find the cheapie glitter pens are better than the higher priced ones. I have had this pen for over two years and it still colors. Unlike a brand I hated for their clear glass glitter contents. Click any image and look closer if you want.

I am off to bed to cuddle with whoever shows up (and I know it won't be Johnny Depp dammit). I just hope it isn't wet dog!

Duck Tales

My dad loved going out to Mott Lake to feed the ducks. He would take a couple of dollars and purchase that horrible stale cheese popcorn you could buy by the plastic-bag-filled pound at some local Stop and Rob and drive out to the lake north east of Flint and just stroll up and down the beach or dock and throw popcorn to the ducks. He loved watching them dive and act goofy and he waved off the sea gulls or whatever those flying vultures are that hang around parking lots or picnic areas. The day of his funeral 14 years ago, I left the church and drove out alone to the lake with my own bag of nasty cheese popcorn (I always suspected he ate his share of that crap, something I was NOT going to do). I told my dad I would always feed the birds for him-even if it was only as far as my back yard. And so I have.

This card was stamped on some water color paper but I didn't use watercolors. I used my Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol to blend the colors to make a feathery look. I did my usual layering for the center highlighting. The base card is actually two pieces. The creamy white is a shimmery card stock that you can zoom in on. For the back, I cut it an extra inch tall and folded that inch over to make a flap. The card stock I used was two sided with one being a deep red and the other side being the same burgundy as the first layer under the duck. If you open this card, the inside is burgundy. I punched holes thru the flap and the top of the white card and tied this sisal into a bow to anchor it.

I will have more cards using the watercolor paper/Prismacolor coloring in upcoming days. I can't say I was particularly pleased with the results but wanted to play as I watched the Pistons implode. I have now freed up many hours a week to devote to my other teams and interests. So come back later this week for more results of my frustration. I am now rooting for Denver where Chauncey is playing like an MVP. Good luck Mile High City. You got a good man in many ways.

Canadian Candy With No Gravy

I don't usually list blog candies on my personal blogs (preferring to Twitter them). I will make an exception here. I like Canadians because Billy Bob Thornton said they were like mashed potatoes without the gravy. Well, I like my mashed potatoes plain. And honest. And normal. So go visit Lori's blog. She got candy. And she doesn't need gravy!

ETA-I forgot the specific link. It is here.

Another Scrap/Stamp Store is Closing :(

I never heard of this store until tonight so have no opinion of it, but it's still sad. Scrappin & Stampin Paradise in Macomb, Mi is a victim of the ungodly economy here in Michigan. As many of you know, my home state leads the US in percentage unemployed at almost 13% and the city of Detroit is now over 25%.

Please support your mom and pop stores. Even a few dollars a week will help them. I don't care what they are selling, if you need it or want it, think of your neighbors first instead of big box. I just saw the furniture store close where my grandparents bought their first chair after coming to the United States back in the 1920's. My son bought his bed there when he first moved away from home about 10 years ago. 4 generations. Local shopping is good, even if it's small here and there purchases.

Classic Cars

What defines a classic car anyways? I know old cars in good shape are cool. Old cars or any car with a "history" can be classic if they mean anything to you. But I personally never felt anything for any car. I was the oddity in my family as there are several generations that worked for the car business in one way or another. I guess that ends now. I would never ever want my kids or grand kids to depend on the car business for a living. I don't think anything on the market now will fit the title "classic" down the road except maybe the Mini Cooper. Otherwise, everything looks the same to me. But all I ever wanted was to go from point A to point B as cheaply as possible. Maybe it's time to break out the roller blades.

This is the last of my car sticker cards. And the one I liked the least. I do like the colors and original concept but not that ribbon thing I got going on. Sorta ruined it for me. Maybe a grosgrain ribbon would have been more masculine. The orange brackets on the bottom are huge brads from a package of odd shapes. I love brads. Especially non-round ones. I probably would use them more if I could untangle them in the bin they are currently parked in.

So it may be a while before I put anything new up here. I am too much invested in sports playoffs lately (even with the crappy Pistons performance and the whole AI fiasco). Did ya see how well the MSU men and women basketballers did this spring?? Monday is Boston Marathon Day, and I do have a bud or two running. Here is a card I made a few years back in case no one ever saw it.

I also have some personal issues going on that maybe will rectify themselves by June. Plus, I don't get many visitors as a rule, so enjoy the back posts and maybe see ya later. Don't forget to stop and smell the lilacs and run your toes thru the newly sprouted green grass. Go Wings! Go Tigers! Go umm... quickly, Pistons-because you will be going home early. I guarenSheed the team won't be the same next season. And Joe, whatever you have in your pipe, don't use it anymore. AI was not a good dream.

Red Pickup

I posted some of these vehicle sticker cards a while back but this and another didn't turn out so well in the photos. So I took my good old time about reshooting them. If only I could get more of this type of sticker, I would be a happy camper. Stickers are hard to come by on a roll anymore. And Mike's, Joann's and Hobby Lobby have the same stuff. I kinda moved on to rub ons.

The paper used on this card is from Lasting Impressions. Once in a great while I will come across some of it in a bin on clearance. I have no idea if they are still making it, do you? This card is pretty easy to figure out. I did the eyelets on the top before adding that piece to the card because I don't like stuff showing on the inside. The tags are left blank for now-not sure who or what will receive it, so left it open. Maybe I should send it to Rick Wagoner, who got a crap deal recently. He is a man I admire for his classiness in a no win situation.

Penguin Nights-Are They Gone Yet?

Just as I promised, here is a Christmas card to welcome the Easter Bunny. I have NOT made one spring or Easter item so far. Maybe I will after I finish the Halloween ones I didn't finish when the sofa boy (turned video gamer) decided to leave the workforce and send me into a very bad mental state. It hasn't been pretty. My stomach is resigned to toast recently to stave off the stomach aches. If we lose his pension (it can and has happened before) , every item I own will be linked off this blog to auctions on eBay. Including the slug. And the damned crazy dog.

This card is one of my rescues. The original stamped piece was a Christmas gift tag (I don't do Christmas gifts anymore-when I had money, it was paypal'd or checked to my peeps). The stamped piece was boring. It had top and bottom borders of candy cane stripes and the snowman popped in the center. The snowman by the way, was a punched die cut from a piece of 12 x 12 paper that I think was Imaginesce and popped in the center of a larger punchie. Snore.

So I tore it apart and dug in my scrap bin, which is nuts. I think I add more to it than I use as I simply can't throw anything away. I did a bunch of layering and added that scrap of ribbon at the last minute for some texture. If you click the photo, you will see I also used a Glitter pen on the penguin hat and a white gel pen on the punched/scalloped circle. There is also some glitter glue on the candy cane stamp images. This is not a very big card-maybe 4 x 4 at the most.

I might have a few more cards if I dig around, but need to finish my taxes this weekend. I am so confused by what the code says for pensions. And of course, we are not entitled to the stimulus/Making Work Pay BS ya'll got this past week for the first time (gotta work and SS people get a special check come June)...so why single out a huge group of people who might spend just as much as the above? Yeah, that 8 bucks would have gone a long way-toward my water bill that just doubled. Or my house taxes that went up as my property value went down. Yeah, I better stick to that toast a whole lot longer.

ETA-Any pensioners out there? You better read THIS. You will be getting the stimulus/Making Work Pay in your checks-but you have to give it back!! You will be expected to return it next year on your income tax returns. Probably with interest. Funny that there was no increase in our check this month-so what did Fidelity forget this time??? We have not had a correct check once.

Be Mine

Aren't these apron cards the cutest? You can get them at your local stamp store or from the Paper Cut. I have ordered some other colors but they are on back order, but you get the top apron piece separate or you can go without. You just layer it with whatever designer paper you like. We did this up at Stacey's a while back and how cute would this style be for baby announcements or little girl birthdays?

I punched a circle to fit on the top and then added an embossed circle using a Cuttlebug folder. The crystal in the center was the topper. It was a clear crystal and I colored it using a Copic Marker.
The bottom was decorated using two ribbon pieces, layered on top of each other and taped behind the designer paper (which I think was Basic Grey). Another die cut punched circle was stamped with a Sweet Stamp and I sorta inked the edges (mostly smeared it). If you click on the photo, you will see that I edged the hearts on the paper with a shimmery Gel pen. The great thing about Paper Cut is they show up at so many of the conventions around the country and always have great deals if you can't find their items locally in stores. And you can order from the website.

Baby It's Cold Outside

It's April. Snow on the way and so windy. Was very strange to see the sun going down on the horizon tonight at 8:30 and stepped out into my own breath. Crisp.

This card was made using a Versamark pad on brayered shiny card stock. Stamp the images, and brayer over it with a multi colored pad. Cheap and easy. I added that ribbon on the side after layering the image and seeing it was kinda boring. I still don't like it.

I think I have one more winter card to post but might save it for Easter-just to be annoying. I am back to my farm on Facebook. I haven't killed anything yet!