Same But Different

Hi There
This was supposed to be have been a scheduled post.  Aparently one needs to tell Mr. Blogger when it is you want it posted.  I've made some headway in cleaning the Closet, still a ways to go before I can call it done.   


I began both cards by stamping with an old rose background stamp #H87 by Great Impressions. Lots of turns of the Cuttlebug using SB Labels Four, Classic Ovals and Scalloped Ovals, Foliage and Floral Flourishes. Also used a MS punch and some lace on both.

For the first I made a flower from a bit of cream lace and a bead for the center.  I’ve aged it a bit with a little Tea Dye DI. I don’t own any of those lovely rolled flower dies. Instead I punched 1” circles, cut into a swirls, distressed the edges, rolled and glued each to shape then added a bead to the centers. 

I really enjoy making flowers but it is time consuming so for this second card I used silk flowers instead.

See You soon.

Blessings

Bernie

I Can’t Find

ANYTHING!!!! When you can’t even find a spot in your craft space big enough for your coffee mug you know things have gone to far. Why did I let things get so bad?!! I don’t even know where to begin. Yesterday I had a none stop crafty day so the plan is to schedule a few posts sharing those cards, then I’ll take sometime to dig thru the mess before even trying to create anything else.

My card today was made a few months ago, before Jim got sick. BTW he is doing quite well. I made this for and sent it to my sister. Although things have improved some for her she still has many layers of her onion to peel.

 

I used a glue pen on the raised Swirls embossed card and heat embossed with Sparkle EP. I printed the sentiment then cut to shape, the sand was edged with Tea Dyed DI and dotted with the same by using the end of a paint brush. The turtle was stamped and heat embossed. I stamped, colored and fussy cut the various elements from the Hero Arts clear Fish and Shells set. Took a while but I think the end result was worth the effort.

I’ll try to comment on your blogs just so you’ll know I haven’t been buried alive in the Closet.

Blessings

Bernie

Cherry Blossoms

Hi There
When my Mojo fails me I generally troll the web for inspiration. It seldom takes long before a color combo, an embellishment, a LO, something will get those Mojo juices flowing and I will create something of my own. When I saw this card by Linda Nelson I fell in love with it as is. I couldn’t think of a single way to put my own touch on it without ruining it. Even the color is perfect for the person it is intended. I have substituted some of the supplies as I didn’t have everything Linda used on hand. I think Linda’s card is absolutely gorgeous and can only hope she likes my take on it.

And while the stamp and color pencils were out I made this card. I quite like the pairing of the Roman Bath EF and the MS Arch Lattice with the Cherry Blossoms image.

Anyone who knows me knows I am a died in the wool tight wad.  I shop sales or use coupons for everything. I must confess when I saw this Rubber Stampede Cherry Blossom stamp I couldn’t resist it. I simply HAD to have it. It is the only stamp I have ever paid full price for. That was years ago but I still feel guilty for not having waited for a sale or till I had a coupon to get it.

Lots of scraps/snippets were used in the making of these cards so I'm headed over to the playground to share with Di and the Snippetters.  You too could be a Snippetter. How? Create something, anything, using scraps/snippets of cardstock, ribbon, yarn, anything you may be tempted to toss and you are a Snippetter.  Take it to Di’s virtual playground and join in the fun.

Thanks again to everyone who stops by and especially to those who take the time to leave a comment. Each and everyone is appreciated.

Blessings

Bernie

Happy Rudolph Day

Thank you all for your concern and good wishes for Jim. He is doing very well. The bed rail is installed so we shouldn’t have any more late night dramas. I did it but I think it's time I admit I've gotten to old for doing such things as installing bed rails. 

Although there are now two forest fires near by they are both under control and there isn’t as much smoke to deal with.  The weather here has been made to order gorgeous.  Which has been most welcomed by our fabulous firefighters.   Comfortable sunny days with a bit of a fall nip in the morning air. Yikes I’ve miss summer completely!

For my card I used the Father Christmas stamp from Cloud 9 Xmas stamp set which I won way back in the May Rudolph Day Challenge. The set was donated by our lovely Brenda of Butlers Abroad I must admit I made this card the day I received the set back in June but my world went pear shaped and I never posted it. It is a collection of this, that and the next thing that was already on my desk. The lace and ribbon were headed for the trash, the SB Floral Flourish, the red SB Labels Four and the background had all been rejected from other projects. I’ve stamped the background and image with StazOn then distressed everything including the lace with Tea Dye DI. 
Why not make something festive and join Sandra for her fun Rudolph Day Challenge.  There is a fun stamp to be won this month.   

And from the just for fun department: I’ve made a dozen of these fun buttons for the Craft Fairs. I found the buttons in a clearance bin. I printed the sentiment, stamped and colored the little hats, hand cut the circles to size and put it all together in a flash.  Sorry about the glare, there was just no getting round it. 

Be well my friends. I wish you all the lovely weather we are enjoying here.
Blessings

Bernie

You’ll NEVER Guess

Where I spent Thursday morning. Go on, guess. Bet no one guessed in the Emergency Room with Jim. Poor guy was to close to the edge of the bed when he rolled over and gravity took over. Before he hit the floor with a frightful crash, which sent me running with heart pounding, he collided with the blanket chest beside the bed. I’m not sure how he managed it but he split open that notch just above the earlobe partially down the earlobe and deep into the ear canal toward the ear drum. He also managed a very deep cut on his right arm and a not so bad one on his left arm. Thankfully he didn’t brake any bones.

Bless him he agreed to go to the ER without a fight, saying he was only going because I was right last time but this time he was not staying.

It didn’t take long to put eight stitches in his right arm and a lovely new type of dressing on his left arm. She managed to get three stitches in the outside of his ear quite nicely but can you imagine trying to put stitches inside someone’s ear canal. No easy feat. As I am a retired surgical technician I donned a pair of gloves and pitched in. She managed to get two stitches inside the canal. She wanted to put in two more stitches but it was simply impossible to get in any deeper.

Nuff of that, on to my cards.

After 20 plus years of working in construction and several debilitating back injuries, the state declared my oldest son, Kai, disabled and sent him to be reeducated. It’s not been easy for him to go to college in his forties but he did quite well. Today he is graduating as a civil engineer. I couldn’t be more proud of him and thought this Peacock Feather by Stampendous would be perfect to tell him so. Using my homemade stamp positioner I’ve stamped over my main image with versa mark and heat embossed with Sparkle EP. I then genteelly colored over the EP with markers to give the ‘eye’ a blue and green hue.  Can't seem to get a decent picture, it's either to much sparkle or it doesn't show the green in the 'eye'.  Looks great IRL though.  The sentiment was computer generated.

My second card is also for Kai, his birthday is next month. I found this very old SP tree stamp in a thrift shop. I have no idea where the bits of cording came from. The plaid paper is a scrap of gift wrap. The green has been embossed with a narrow Roman Bath EF. I’ve use a portion of SB Labels Four for my sentiment.     

 

Lots of scraps used on these cards so I will try to sneak in for a quick turn on the swings with our lovely Snippetters.

As Jim has fallen out of bed before the kids have suggested Velcro, bungie cords, seat belts, and wrapping him in tissue paper and bubble wrap, none very practical so I’m off to the medical supply shop to see about bed rails. I don’ think his body can take much more and I know my heart can’t.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you all enjoy a drama free weekend.

Blessings

Bernie

For The Girls

Hi There
I do hope you are enjoying a lovely day. The cooler weather is helping our firefighters and no red flag warnings is a blessings. The fire isn’t out yet but there isn’t as much smoke in the air today. It is so lovely to see blue skies.

I am so happy to share a few girlie cards with you today. I love my male family and friends but making cards for them really tests my Mojo and it seems so many of them have birthdays this time of year.

For my first card I’ve used an old Stampa Rosa Inc. stamp found in the thrift shop some time ago. I’ve colored her with pencils, masked it and did my clouds while still in SB Labels Three. I cut around the fairy just enough to allow me to slip my sentiment behind her. Glitter glue was added to her wings and the flower stamens. Don’t you love that lady bug? People just love lady bugs, I find everything I put them on sells well at the craft fairs.

My next two my cards share the same LO but made in totally different colors. For the purple card I tried inking my SB Labels Four and rather like the effect.

Thanks for stopping by and especially for your lovely comments. I feel a bit like the White Rabbit, ‘I’m late for a very important date’ So many cards still to make before I can even begin with craft fair projects. I will find some time to visit with you all soon but for now it‘s back in the Closet.
Blessings
Bernie

Hello

Hello
I hope you are all doing well. Jim is doing so well he has been discharged from Home Health Nursing Care. The physical therapist will continue to come by but no more nurses. We continue to transition to a more normal diet and thus far he is tolerating everything well. Sadly there is still a great deal of smoke in the air so he is still having a difficult time with his emphysema.
It amazes me that there are nearly 80 major fires raging across this country. Praying for those who have lost their homes and lives and praying for those fabulous firefighters (mostly volunteers) who are working so hard to get these fires out and trying so hard to save homes.

Although Jim hasn’t been totally dependent on me for the last few weeks I haven’t been able to get myself motivated, I have been curled up with books, magazines or watching TV. I got a big wake up call or I should say several calls and e mails in the last week inviting me to participate in a number of Holiday Craft Fairs. Yikes Already!! I have decline a few but was thrilled to finally be invited to one I’ve wanted to do for years. Any who it’s time to pull my finger out, put on my big girl panties and get cracking. Before I gear up with the bazaar stuff I will be making cards for up coming birthdays etc. and there are a LOT of them in the next few months. Yesterday I hid out in the Closet. Once I got started it was as though I was obsessed, making up for lost time. What fun.

I made a huge dent in my dark blue and white scraps so I‘ll be sharing in the playground with Di and the Snippetters . Most of the embossed cards were already in my files and using a variety of SB in the Cuttlebug at one time made for quick work.

Only 75 days till that first craft fair so I’d better get with it. See you soon.
Blessings
Bernie

Hanging In There

Hi There
Sorry still no card to share today, just an update. It’s been an amazingly LOOONG, frustrating, stressful and emotionally draining month since I‘ve been here.

Although Jim still has a ways to go he is doing so very much better.
Jim was sent home with no instructions. Taking care of bed baths etc. was no problem but I had no idea how or what to feed him. In under a week he lost 25 pounds and became confused. Needless to say that was terrifying. I got him to drink some Ensure Clear which thankfully cleared up his confusion but I still couldn‘t get him to eat. All he wanted to do was lay in bed and be left alone. Of course that wasn’t an option.

I ran into MANY obstacles but finally got home health care. We now have nurses and a physical therapist each coming in twice a week.

I learned I needed to feed him a little bit (two tablespoons) every two hours. I begged, pleaded, and yes I did some yelling to get him to eat those two tablespoons of food every two hours . Eventually he was more willing to eat, his weight held and he got a bit stronger. Why is it that men fight tooth and nail against anything that's good for them.   

Although I was told how to feed him the list of what he could have was very short and very bland, he soon got sick of eating the same things day in and day out and began fighting me again. Many more obstacles but after three weeks I did get a dietitian’s help.

The dietitian is a lovely, caring woman who answered all of my questions. I now understand the WHYS behind what he can and can’t have which is priceless information. As soon as he was allowed to have a large variety of flavorful foods he became much more enthusiastic about eating and had several requests. You can bet he gets whatever he asks for. He went from eating two tablespoons to eating a cupful in under a week.  Now he is actually eating small meals. It is so wonderful to sit with him and share the same foods again. It is encouraging to see his daily improvements.

Unfortunately there are several brush and forest fires in our state at the moment. We have wonderful firefighters but sadly they are spread so thin. The air is dreadful and everyone like Jim with breathing problems is suffering.

The physical demand of being a caregiver is tiring but for me the stress and emotional demands have been most draining. I’ve spent so much time trying to motivate Jim I now need to find a way to motivate myself to do more then only what I can’t avoid. I’ve had no energy or desire to do anything. I’ve decided I’ll need to force myself into doing the things I once enjoyed to brake this slump. I hope to be back soon with something creative to share.
Blessings Bernie