Spring Storms

Hi There

I hadn’t planned to be away but Jim felt well enough for a day out. That doesn‘t happen often, when it does I drop everything and off we go. We went out to lunch and afterward went for a lovely drive past orchards and homes with all their beautiful apple, cherry and dogwood trees and spring bulbs in bloom. Shortly after retuning home we had the most spectacular storms roll in. I can’t remember when I’ve last seen it rain so hard. We had wave after wave of thunder and lightening storms day and night. I simply LOVE storms, I find them exciting and invigorating. When my sons were little we’d drive out to the vineyards so we could watch the lightening off in the distance.  Now if he is here my grandson and I sit on the deck wrapped in blankets and sip hot coco while watching the show. It is still raining out but the electrical storms have passed so its safe to be on the computer. 

My card today is a thank you for my nephew Mark and his OH Maile who sent me the most marvelous surprise package filled with wonderful goodies from Hawaii and a lovely framed family portrait.

I was inspired by the beautiful blue Forget-Me-Nots in bloom at the moment and the Morning Glories which are just peeking out of the ground but will be covered with gorgeous blue blossoms before long.   IMHO there are far too few true blue flowers in nature. 

I’ve used MS Garden Trellis, MS punch for greenery and EK Success punch for my flowers. The Rubber Stampede butterfly was stamped with StazOn and colored with pencils. The sentiment is a Studio G $1 stamp.  Recollection rhinestones  and glitter glue to finish.  Except for the base card everything came from my scrap/snippet files so I’m sharing in the playground where our lovely Di holds her weekly Pixie's Crafty Snippets Challenge 17.  Won't you join in the fun. 
Have an Amazing Day!
Blessings
Bernie

Click here to give --- It’s Free

To Much Of A Good Thing

Hello

As the US Northeast is being blanketed by snow in the Pacific Northwest we are experiencing a heat wave.  We broke a 50+ year record by 20 degrees yesterday.  I am generally very careful to drink lots of water, wear a hat and take brakes to cool down when I play in the garden but I did none of that yesterday.  I simply didn't realize it had gotten so hot.  I am paying the price today but I'm sure I will be feeling fine when our cool temps return later in the week.  

The remaider of this post has been sitting as a draft since Dec. 

       
I ‘met’ my friend Jake on line about nine years ago when we were both on a gardening forum.  As a 12 year old gardener he stole my heart, especially when he began calling me Auntie Bernie.  I have ‘watched’ Jake, his garden and ponds grow thru the forum and e mails.  I can't believe he is now 21 and in college.

Jake is a cellist. For his 21^st birthday I found a free clipart of a cello and printed it on a scrap of cream cardstock. I stamped the background, with C# Minor by Seaside Stampin’ Ink and my SU setiment in brown ink then brushed over both with my duster in the same ink to age it. I’m not sure where that ribbon came from, a nice scrap of it just seemed to turn up one day.   

Cheap Tricks: I have two for you today.

I picked up a pack of two Poly flexible cutting boards for a dollar at the Dollar Tree and have been using one in place of a craft sheet. I had planned on this being a temporary solution but it works wonderfully, clean up is a breeze and takes up no storage space at all.  The perfect alternative for a tight wad like me.
    
In my small space, even a small travel iron can be disastrous (ask me how I know).  I use a Hair Straightening Iron to iron the wrinkles out of my ribbons instead. Works beautifully, takes up very little space and there is little danger of burning myself, again.  Of course I found mine in a thrift shop.

Have an Amazing Day!

Blessings
Bernie
Click here to give --- It’s Free

Warning!!!! All Bloggers and Picasa users!!

 Michelle had a dreadful experience and was kind enough to post a warning for us Bloggers and Picasa uses.  Just thought this may save someone a BIG headache.  Check out her post here.

Happy Earth Day

Good Morning

In honor of Earth Day I challenged myself to make a card using items which would ordinarily ended up in the trash.

My flower was made from a plastic veggie net bag that held lemons. The pearl is a button from an old blouse. The leaves were cut from an aluminum can using SB Foliage and colored with Sharpie Markers. I used a Recollections stamp to stamp my butterfly with StazOn on to a bit of a SB packaging and colored on the reverse with Sharpie Markers then fussy cut. The little blue strip is a bit of another plastic net bag.

I am entering this in the Stampendous April Challenge Recycle
That’s it from me for today. I’m headed to the garden. I am determined to win the battle of the dandelions.

Have an Amazing Day!

Blessings
Bernie
Click here to give --- It’s Free

Flutterflies & Phlox

Good Morning!

It’s a glorious day here and the garden is pulling at me so I wont keep you.

My SIL Norma and I share a love of yard sales and thrift shops. From time to time we will find something the other can use and pop it in the mail. I’ve made Norma this card to thank her for a lovely little surprise package she sent me this week.

I was inspired by the beautiful carpet of pink phlox and hyacinths which are blooming in my garden and the butterflies fluttering around them.

I use the letterpress technique for the first time. Although I got a few smudges I do like this technique and plan to us it again. I’ve raised the blue card and white frame with foam tape so the butterflies are recessed a bit.

The larger of my butterflies is from Rubber Stampede and the little ones are Impression Obsession. All colored with color pencils and fussy cut. I used the smaller flowers from MS 3 in 1 Hydrangea punch.
Have an Amazing Day!
Blessings
Bernie
Click here to give --- It’s Free

Spring Is Here

Hi There
I do hope you are all well and Mother Nature is smiling on you.

Spring has finally arrived in our neck of the woods. I’ve been playing in the dirt amongst the gorgeous flowers and in the glorious sunshine.   Can't tell you how much I've enjoyed myself in spite of the sore muscles. We are having spring showers today, good excuse to pop in here and let you know I‘m still alive. I have found time to play in the Closet as well. Seems all my cards of late have been inspired by the flowers in bloom around me.

My card today was made for my DIL Ludy. I like to personalize my cards whenever possible, as Ludy is originally from the Philippines I used the traditional Filipino birthday greeting in the Tagalog dialect. It translates to say Happy Wishes on Your Birthday!

I followed Beata’s tutorial to make my Swing Z Fold card.  At the moment there are King Alfred daffodils, forsythia and lovely dandelions blooming in my garden and the Gold Finches are visiting the feeders.  Their lovely yellow colors have inspired the color of the flowers on my card.

Except for the base everything on my card came from my scrap files so I will be sharing it with the gals in Di’s playground for Pixie's Crafty Snippets Challenge - Number 16  Why don’t you get out your scraps (we all know you have them unless you’ve never made a card in your life or heaven forbid toss them out) create something and join in the fun. 

Have an Amazing Day!

Blessings
Bernie
Click here to give --- It’s Free

Green Eggs No Ham

Hi There 
Isn't it amazing, Easter, already.  Each holiday brings with it cherished memories of childhoods past.

My Auntie Alice always went out of her way to make every occasion special for everyone in our family. Each occasion meant a large family gathering at my grandparents home, a fabulous meal and something special just for us kids.

For Easter Auntie would boil, color and hide dozens of eggs for us to hunt. Since there was a wide range of ages between my brother, cousins and I, she'd leave eggs out in the open for the littlest ones but made them progressively more difficult to find for the older kids. Each age group was assigned different colored eggs. One year the oldest kids were assigned blue and green eggs. After the hunt we discovered one egg was missing, a green one. Auntie questioned each of us as to where we had found our eggs as she tried desperately to remember where she had hidden that green egg.  In spite of the adults helping we couldn't find that egg. Eventually we came to the conclusion Auntie had miss counted and there had never been a green egg.

A month after Easter the older grandchildren gathered at my grandparents for spring yard clean up. Weeding, pruning, trimming, mowing, etc. Those were the days before powered tools, well at least before we had any. We used push mowers and sickles. Do you know where this is going? 

Billy, being the eldest, was using the sickle when he found the elusive green egg. Poor guy lost his breakfast and lunch that day, the rest of us took off running to get up wind.  Sadly Grandma's house was down wind.

Auntie only hid bright orange and yellow eggs for the older kids after that. The blues and greens were left out in clear sight for the little ones to find.

The people who shape our lives and bring us such joy as we are growing up leave us far to soon. I’ve raided the scraps files and made a few Easter cards for the remaining elders in my family.  I'll be entering these in Di's Pixies Crafty Snippets Challenge.  Put on your Easter bonnet, bring your basket and come join us.  The Easter Bunny may be leaving some goodies, hopefully no green eggs, it's bound to be a lot of fun.  

For my first card I used another NOID stamp found in a thrift shop.  I stamped it with Stazon and colored it with color pencils. I cut it with SB Labels Four.  The ribbon is from an Easter hair band.  The embossed cards have been sitting around since I got my Cuttlebug last year and went crazy embossing eveything that didn't get out of my way.  The sentiment was computer generated.

  
I was inspired by the many tutorials on Easter Bonnet treat boxes showing up all over the web for my second card. My bonnet was quite simple to make. I punched a 1 ½” scalloped circle and a 1” circle. I placed three layers of foam tape between the two and glued a band around it. I then covered it with tulle and tied my ribbon in place then added a tiny flower to decorate it.  I've had bits of this glittery ribbon in a zip bag for 22 years.  It was in a grab bag of ribbons and lace I got when Ben Franklin closed it's doors.     

     /) /)
     (-.-)
    0_(“)(“)

Have an Amazing Easter!

Blessings
Bernie
Click here to give --- It’s Free



   

Happy Easter

Hey There
I am almost afraid to say it but the weather was gorgeous today.  Oh how I enjoyed the sunshine.
I made this little cutie for my grand-nieces.  I love that my sister refers to her granddaughters as her Little Ladies.  Poor little things have been quite ill lately, hopefully this will cheer them up a bit.  

My background paper is a free download from Debbie at Doodle Designs Online.  My Bunny stamped with StazOn and colored with color pencils, is from the Hey Chick set by Our Craft Lounge.  I won it in their Easter Hop last year.  The ribbon is from a little girl's hairband found at Wal-Mart.
Cheap Trick:  I don't know the reason for those pesky StazOn inner lids but I am very happy I found Candee's tip for dealing with them.  It's one of those 'why didn't I think of that' ideas and works beautifully.  Candee says its an old tip but I'd never heard of it before.  You can find the tip, instructions and photos here.  While you are there check out Candee's lovely cards, new craft room and wonderful storage ideas.   
    
Have an Amazing Day!
Blessings
Bernie
Click here to give --- It’s Free

So Proud

Good Morning!!

The weather guys were right, the sun did come out yesterday. Still cold and breezy but otherwise it was glorious. If the guys are right Wednesday is supposed to be perfect for gardening, I can hardly wait.
I am so proud of my DIL, Vona, I could just burst.  I'm rushing off to the playground to show and tell Di and the girls all about it.  Come join us at Di's Pixies Crafty Snippets Challenge  and see what my marvelous playmates create with their snippets/scraps.

I've loved Vona from the day I met her.  I must say I couldn't have picked a better wife for my son Kai or step mother for my grandson Cody.  She is a wonderful Mom to her own daughter, Callie, as well.  This family has been on a VERY LONG and very hard road for the last several years but Vona is like a circus act.  She can keep all the plates spinning and the balls in the air with a smile on her face in the mist of a hurricane.  Having had to drop out of college some 14 years ago I am sure returning was daunting but Vona did it. She has completed her prerequisites and has been accepted into nursing school.  I couldn't be more proud of her if I tired. 

I really wanted to make a special card to tell Vona how we feel and to encourage her but my mojo had taken a hike.  I finally resorted to Goggle for some sort of inspiration.  When I ran across a 1910 ad for a nursing school I knew instantly what I'd create.  What a difference 102 years can make.  I did love when nurses wore those crisp white uniforms and lovely hats but having worked in the medical field myself I know they really were most impractical. 

 I printed the ad, sentiment and little caduceus on a scrap.   I cut out the caduceus, threaded a gold thread thru it, coated it with Glossy Accents and set it aside to dry.  I found an Swiss Dot embossed red card not right for a previous project but perfect for this one. I added my ribbon, bow and flower from my stash and a few MS punched oak leaves. I then layered the ad and frame cut with SB Labels Three and over lapped my sentiment. Recollections pearls and the caduceus as a charm to finish.  At this point I debated on a black or white card to mount it on.  My in-house critic insisted on black, since he is almost always right...

I used more scraps and followed Beate's tutorial (I shortened the fronts by one inch) to make Vona a few page corner bookmarks, I know she will be buried in her books for the duration.  

Have an Amazing Day!

Blessings
Bernie
Click here to give --- It’s Free