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5 in 5: Shore Birds

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This has turned out to be a last minute post. Entries to Sandi's 5 in 5 meme are due by tomorrow. Not that I don't have photos from our road trip, but 5 in 5 minutes hadn't happened. Yesterday as we took our daily walk down the beach there were an unusual number of birds on the beach

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We spotted a bird we've never seen in all our trips to Florida. It's a Black Skimmer—identified with Tracy's iBird app. They're the ones with the two-tone beaks–black and orange.

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I rarely manage to catch the birds in flight, but yesterday I did. All these were taken with my iPhone 6.

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And finally a photo of a bird we knew as a Pilot Tern (black heads), but we're now not sure since we can't find a bird with that name in our bird library. Our friend thought it was a Royal Tern, but a Royal Tern doesn't have as much black on their head. 

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This is our last full day at the beach. We're meeting friends of ours for lunch who are also on Longbeach. Tuesday night we had dinner with another couple who are also here. Amazing that we can have such a nice social life here as well as the wonderful weather! You can click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Memos, No Mail, Me: A Road Trip

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Saturday evening we arrived on Longboat Key, Florida to spend a week with friends. We took a road trip on our way, and there will be another road trip on the way home. We left just in time to escape the biggest winter storm of the season—and one that dumped more snow on Rochester than we’ve seen in a long time—30 inches. I’m not sorry to have missed it!

We made a stop in Asheville, NC where it was bitter cold, but sunny. There we got to have lunch with a friend and explore a bit more of the city than we’ve had time to do in the past. We’ve come to the conclusion, though, that we need to schedule a trip in the late spring or early summer when the weather is more conducive to hiking and sightseeing.

We arrived in Savannah, GA on Thursday afternoon, took a trolley tour of the city, visited the SCAD Museum of Art, and had dinner at one of our favorite restaurants. Saturday was St. Patrick’s Day as well as Tracy’s birthday.

The parade for St. Patrick’s Day in Savannah is the second largest in the country. Only New York City’s is larger. We weren’t quite sure what to expect so decided to purchase seats on one of the bleachers set up on the parade route. We arrived well before the beginning of the parade, but despite the fact that the bleacher seats were sold out, ours was never filled, and quite comfortable. Good thing, since the parade is very long.

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As you can see from the photo above, many people dress up for the day. I had a bright green vest on and purchased some of the shiny green beads from the vendors selling up and down the parade route. (No photos of me, however. What else is new?)

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Of all the outfits, this was my favorite:

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Mother, daughter, and dog were all decked out in tulle.

The parade included:

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Marching bands from several states; some as far away as Indiana.

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Floats; some very professionally done, others not so much.

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Bagpipers, and drum corps.

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Many military groups. Check out the cheeks of the soldiers. It is, evidently, customary for woman and girls to rush out and kiss their cheeks as they march by. It happened regularly where we were sitting, and the soldiers took to it quite well.

All in all, it was a fun time, and probably the biggest birthday celebration Tracy’s had. Before we left I got his birthday card made. I took a page from Sian’s playbook, and used some scrapbook ephemera to create a travel inspired card.

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Because it was an odd size, I needed to make the envelope as well. It had been ages since I pulled out my envelope punch board, and I’d forgotten how easy it is to make an envelope of almost any size.

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Sunday was rest and relax at the beach. Bill and Tina have rented a lovely condo with a long screened in porch overlooking the gulf. Just the sound of the surf is relaxing, and keeping the door to the porch ajar last night probably contributed to the best night’s sleep I’ve had in a long time. I read, uploaded some photos, and we took a long walk on the beach.

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We'll need to rest up here for the fun trip planned for the trip home. Waving to Sian and all the Monday Memo Makers. Hope all is well with you.

 

Final Four: Winter Photo Scavenger Hunt

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By the end of February, I had just four items left on Eileen's Winter Photo Scavenger Hunt. In the end, one of my final entries is a bit questionable, and there's no excuse for it. Number 4 on the list reads "a signpost with an image of an animal." I'm quite sure I've driven by a minimum of 100 deer crossing signs since the beginning of the scavenger hunt, but not once did I stop to take a photo. Now I'm in Florida, and there are none to be seen. This is the closest I could get:

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I must admit, there are tons of these here! 

Number 9 is "a diamond." My diamond is pretty small, but one of the women in our bridge group has quite a big diamond and willingly posed for my photo.

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Number 12 is a "market or market stall." This one I found on our road trip here, at the Western North Carolina Farmer's Market in Asheville, NC.

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And last, but not least, Number 16 is "a memory from your childhood."

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I chose several items: my first edition copy of Charlotte's Web. The binding has almost fallen apart, and I need to find someone who can restore. Although I loved Stuart Little, as well, it was clearly not as beloved as Charlotte's Web. I have no idea where my little piggy bank came from, but it sat on my dresser as long as I can remember. The Bill Ding's are the originals from my childhood, and the grandchildren now play with them. We've also purchased new ones for them. Some toys just don't go out of style.

Thanks, Eileen, for a great list. I love working on these photographic projects.

Masculine Birthdays

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Creating cards for guys isn't as easy as it is for my female friends or even for the kids. It's even worse when you've missed someone's birthday. Admittedly, I don't miss many. I keep a birthday calendar on the bulletin board over my desk and each month can easily see the events for which I want to create a card. When Papertrey Ink released "Blue Skies," I grabbed it right away with a card like this in mind. I've had it for a couple of years, but this year I needed a belated greeting for my brother-in-law (of all people!)

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The first (or was it the first two or three?) attempts at this card ended up in the circular file, but I learned a lot in the attempts. In the end, finding patterned paper from the My Favorite Things "Watercolor Wash" pad was the key to success. I die cut clouds inside the stitched circle, then backed it with Hawaiian Shores cardstock which I overlaid with smaller cloud dies. The plane was stamped with Hawaiian Shores and then die cut and bumped out with some foam tape.

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The next card came together in no time, which made up for the first one. When Papertrey had their January sale of patterned papers, I picked up one called "3 Piece Suit," clearly designed for masculine cards.

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I cut a narrow piece from the patterned paper and adhered it to a gray card after stamping the sentiment from one of my all time favorite sets:  "Stylish Sentiments: Birthday." I found the perfect embellishment in my sticker collection. Within the week, I needed two more masculine birthday cards. One for an older gentleman, and one for my niece's husband. I'll let you guess which one goes to him! Same design; different papers.

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For this one, I couldn't find an embellishment in my stash, so die cut multiple starts with Simon Says "Large Holiday Shapes."

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Once I found the right patterned paper, this card came together quickly as well. (I have to admit, though, the paper search took awhile.) I finally found it in one of the loose packs of papers in my stash, so I'm not sure where it came from.

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Several months ago, I picked up some pack of birthday stickers with the idea of using them in my Project Life pages. These balloons were just the right colors, so onto a card they went!

I'll be returning to this design again. Quick and easy—especially when you need a card quickly.

Mail, Memos, Me: The Weekend Edition

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Our weekend started with a lovely birthday dinner on Friday night with Tracy’s sister and brother-in-law at a new Italian restaurant. Delicious food; good conversation!

Saturday I spent most of the day working on a project I’ll be able to share next month. I also spent some time watching a webinar hosted by Capture Your 365 in celebration of their 6th birthday. One of my favorite sessions was on creating flat lays. Afterwards, I created one to post in the Facebook group for their birthday bash.

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I’m so glad I rejoined CY365 this year. I’m picking up my camera every day, and being inspired by the photographs shared in the gallery. I also worked on the assignments for an online class on photography and visual journaling that started last week. More on that soon.

We were busy yesterday. Both Tracy and I were communion servers at the early church service. Although bitter cold (it was 6° when we left for church,) it was a bright sunny day, good for a drive to Buffalo for lunch and discussion with our book group. I spent the evening watching women’s college basketball games on television. I’ve been following the University of Connecticut team for at least 15 years, and now that we’re closing in on the big NCAA tournament, I’m interested in watching all their possible competition as well.

What about the mail? Well, like Melissa, I’m not in the need for any more books, but that’s what arrived in the mail this week.

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Although I love my Kindle, reading a paper-bound book is still my preference, especially if I think I might want to underline or make margin notes. These all fit that category, and at least two of them will be accompanying me on our upcoming road trip.

I also ordered an inexpensive, but clever, pencil sharpener.You can see the numbers on the dial—choose the number and you will get a different kind of point as shown in the diagram. I bought it for my colored pencils hoping that choosing #1 will extend the life of the pencils.

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Waving to Sian at From High in the Sky and other memo makers! Here’s to a great week!

 

 

Happy Birthday!

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Here are two birthday cards in the same color scheme–teal and white. 

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This card has a lot of color and texture but came together in a hurry. The background paper is from Papertrey Ink's "Winter Woods" paper pack, covered with the "Dainty Scallop Cover-up" from My Favorite Things cut from white. All it needed was the "happy" die from a free set from Papertrey with the accompanying sentiment white embossed on a black strip of paper. I ended up adding three little pearls as a final embellishment.

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This one makes me happy–bright colors and CAS design. I used a piece of Washi tape down the left side of the white card and added a thin strip of True Black cardstock for an accent. The sentiment, from "Scribbled Sentiments" (PTI) was stamped in Hawaiian Shores to match the card base and black as a repeat of the black accent. Three enamel dots finished it off. 

I'm linking these up to the newest Less is More Challenge: Mostly Teal.

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Quick and EasyThanks!

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If I think about the number of cards I make each year, Christmas cards would be #1, followed by birthday cards, and then thank you cards. Even when I'm creating cards for a challenge, I have a recipient in mind, so I never really have a backlog of cards to draw from. The few I have never seem to match the person I'm sending the card to and end up in the file for way too long. So here are a few thank you cards that have gone out, but never gotten shared on the blog. 

The first two use the same die fro Papertrey Ink. Add it to some patterned paper, and you've got a quick and easy thank you note.

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Can't be much easier than that. Although this one might have been even easier:

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I found a cute set of tags at a shop in St. Petersburg last year, and saved them for times when I need a card pronto. I added it to a piece of striped vellum cut with a stitched rectangle die and adhered them both to a bright yellow card.

And one last that required only one die cut. I started with one of the papers from a Papertrey Ink card set (no longer available) and added a Wet Paint sentiment cut from metallic gold paper. 

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This gives a better idea of the flashy metallic of the card:

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After nearly a week of spring-like weather, winter has returned. I'll miss the daily walks outside, but the weekend is a busy one with lots of creating that needs to happen as well, so the weather shouldn't be much of a factor. Hope your weekend is a good one!

 

The 12 Kits of Occasions – February 2017

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In December I received the most wonderful invitation to guest design with a talented group of women who host The 12 Kits of Occasions each month. Michelle Leon and I knew each other only from blogland despite living within a few miles of one another. One of the pleasures of this invitation was getting together with her, and making a new friend. Thank you, Michelle, for thinking of me! I had a ball creating with your kit.

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The kit was filled with bright, spring colors with lots of great die cuts and patterned papers to play with. I laid it all out on a table, and started picking out pieces to play with. It was a whole new way of creating for me, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I made seven cards, and still have a sizable bag of goodies with which to create more cards. 

The first card I made was one for Easter. As soon as I saw the cute die cut bunnies, I knew just what I wanted to do. Michelle included quite a few tags as well and the bunnies looked so cute on the pink and white tag.

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I lightly added some pink to the bunnies' ears and a sentiment from Papertrey Ink's "Bunny Basket." The flowers and leaves were part of the kit as well. It's nice to have a head start on Easter.

Next up, is an encouragement card. I loved the patterned paper, and fussy cut the umbrella and tiny flower from stamped images in the kit. I used a banner die to cut the sentiment, also in the kit. The tag was another included in the kit.

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Michelle included a sheet of seed packet designs which I loved. It took me awhile to figure out how to use them. I also loved the white die cut with scallops. Once I found the sentiment in an older set from Papertrey, "Floral Frenzy," I knew what I wanted to do. The gingham patterned paper worked perfectly, too. I fussy cut a couple more of those cute flowers as an embellishment and added two tiny pearls.

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The focal point of the next card was also a preprinted piece in the kit. All I had to do was die cut a scalloped card with the die from Papertrey's "Don't Forget to Write" kit, and added a tiny stitched square of contrasting card stock. It's been awhile since I played with flowers, but these were the perfect embellishment.

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There was a cute bird cage and a tiny bird die cut in the kit. I colored the bird (and the die cut flower embellishment) with some Distress Inks, and adhered them to yet another tag in the kit, tied with the perfect twine and die cut sentiment. I added the two stamped word from Winnie & Walter stamp sets. I scored the white card base at every 1/2 inch for a little texture.

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This card is probably the simplest and fastest one. The pretty flowered patterned paper was just too nice to cut up, so I used it as the main event. The die cut "Hello" and some Nuevo dots that Michelle made for the kit fit right onto the stitched oval from the "Don't Forget to Write" kit.

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And although it ended up pretty CAS, the last card (and probably my favorite) took the longest to create. I colored the cute birthday cake with Copics, and then made a mix of pink Perfect Pears and Glitter Glue to add some oomph to the cake layers. Then I was stumped, and there were several variations of the card that hit the circular file before I came up with this. I added another oval of patterned paper from "Don't Forget to Write," which perfectly coordinated with the colors in the kit. Once again, I die cut the stamped sentiment provided in the kit with a banner die. Three clear sequins added a bit of glamour to the card.

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This gives a better look at the texture on the layers of the cake.

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I'm off now to see what the Design Team has created with the kit. You can find all the inspiration at the 12 Kits of Occasions blog. Thanks again, Michelle, for letting me play with such a fun kit.

 

Memos, Mail, Me: Birthday Weekend

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It's Monday, and I'm waving to Sian at From High in the Sky and fellow memo makers from afar!

Matthew and his family just returned from a week long vacation in Florida. Before they left, we decided we would celebrate Matt's birthday two days early since trying to get together during the week often proves difficult. I did bake a delicious and gorgeous cake this weekend, but not for the birthday boy (who only likes cookie cakes from Wegmans), and I neglected to take a photo of it! The duplicate bridge group that was here on Friday night, however, gave it rave reviews. It was a chocolate praline cake, frosted with whipped cream. 

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Dad had his arms full, but had help from the five year old in blowing out the candles. Ella was a little unsure about the whole event, although she had been singing "Happy Birthday," to her daddy all evening. Skylar came over early to help me cook dinner:  steak, roasted potatoes, asparagus, wild rice for Skylar and brussel sprouts for me and Betsy. Miss Madelyn was in Momma's arms during this photo, but posed for several before dinner.

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The mail was filled with the usual bills, flyers, and catalogs, but at the last minute the Simon Says March kit arrived.

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As usual, it was packed with goodies. I especially love the stamp set since now I'll be making multiple Easter cards. The patterned paper by Echo Park has one delightful paper after the next, and all are double-sided. I've never tried the Nuvo Mousse, but Simon Says included an Easter egg stencil and a palette knife so I'll be giving that a try. The first card is done. It was inspired by a cute card by Yana Smakula where she used the sunglasses with the little chick. Ella LOVES her sunglasses, and I couldn't resist the perfect sentiment in the set.

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I trimmed a piece of patterned paper that had a set of borders for the bottom of the card, and colored all the images with Copic markers. After fussy cutting them, I added a mini-Wobbler to the back of the chick. Try as I might, I cannot get a photo of the chick wobbling although I've seen it done on other blog posts. The purple dotted egg sports glitter as well. I found the perfect little heart stickers in my stash. Here's hoping your week is off to a good start!

Papertrey Ink February Bloghop

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There was, once again, a beautiful inspiration piece for the Papertrey Blog Hop this morning, and I was glad I was around to take part in it.

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It took me awhile to think about how I might want to interpret it. I'm very happy with how it came out—pretty much as I envisioned it which doesn't always happen. I knew I wanted a dark background, and I also wanted to use my newest Papertrey Ink set, "Gathered Garden."

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I actually stamped and die cut more branches and flowers than I needed. Once I started arranging them on the Stitched Oval from the Noted A2 die set, I found I didn't need as much as I thought I might. The gold, purple, and bright pink all come from the inspiration piece.

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I absolutely love the delicate bow die in this set which I die cut from some matte gold paper, as well as the sentiment which is a die cut from a favorite set, "Uncorked."

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I tried several different colors for the card base, but once I laid the Smoky Shadow pieces on the Amethyst Allure paper, I knew that was the right one. A few muti-colored sequins and it was finished. I'm anxious to see what other folks did with this inspiration piece, and you, too, can take a peek at Nicole's blog.

 

Winter Scavenger Hunt Update

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I've collected a few more items for Eileen's Winter Photography Scavenger Hunt, and thought I'd get them posted. I just have four more to find, and think that I'll be able to complete the hunt well before the March 21st deadline.

I wasn't too sure what to do with the first item on the list, "Layers," but then realized that one of the cards I made last year (but never posted) was the perfect example of layers. Actually, a card like this is often hard to find in my files, since I tend to more CAS designs. This one has five layers by my count.

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A key is #3 on the list, and I took this photo for one of the Capture Your 365 prompts in January. One advantage of an old house is interesting little details. This lock is to the china closet in our dining room.

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Tools is #18. Tracy recently installed a new thermostat. It will allow us to set the heat from afar with our iPhones among many other improvements over the old one. This time owning an older house had its disadvantages as there were many more wires and connections than he anticipated. I found him next to the furnace, tools laid out next to the iPad which had directions for the installation, and ran to get my camera. 

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Number 19 is a bird feeder. Finally today I was able to get a decent shot from our kitchen window. Frequently when I pick up my camera the motion from inside sends all the birds scattering to the trees and bushes.

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Finally, one of the alternates:  a pinecone. This ought to have been an easy one, but I kept missing my opportunities. Then last month, at bridge, our friend had this arrangement next to her fireplace.

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We're continuing to enjoy April-like temperatures in February. Lady Ella asked me, not long ago, if there were any signs of spring here yet. At the time, I hadn't seen any, but today on my walk, I saw multiple bulbs pushing up through the soil. Our new hydrangeas in the front yard have some buds on them as well. I hope when the winter snow and weather returns (as we know it will) that they all will survive!

Celebrating with Papertrey Ink!

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Papertrey Ink is celebrating their 10th anniversary this month. They've been hosting a post each day highlighting some of the stamp sets released during each year, and hosting a challenge to use a set from that year. I would have loved to have participated every day, but it just wasn't in the cards (pun intended.) Today I finally had time to play along with three of them.

First off a favorite set from 2008: "Bitty Baby Blessings." It's one of the first sets I go to when I need a baby card. I have an baby shower to attend next month, and was excited to see that this was one of the sets highlighted. 

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I paperpieced the little onesie with some paper from Carta Bella's "It's a Girl" paper pack, created a little clothesline with some twine and clipped it on with a tiny clothespin onto a Stitched Circle from Simon Says. The flowers were punched from Sweet Blush paper and highlighted with a center from a flower in the "Petite Pots" set and a tiny pearl.

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The sentiment is also from "Bitty Baby Blessings," stamped with Raspberry Fizz on a banner die.

Next up, a card using "Take Three:  Summer," from 2010. I'm not sure where the blue cardstock came from; it was scrap in my scrap folder. I love the contrast of the black and blue, and mounted the three images behind a Pretty Pink Posh "Stitched Film Strip" die.  I couldn't decide where to put the sentiment so decided to leave the front of the card without a sentiment. Most likely, I'll stamp a "Thinking of You" sentiment inside for a friend who's having some health issues.

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Last an image from 2012: "Sentiment Signs." I was pleased to discover that the sentiment fit perfectly on a stitched rectangle mounted on the Papertrey "Center Style: Masculine" die which I don't use often enough. I adhered both to a piece of Ombre Striped paper (also Papertrey Ink). 

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A few gold enamel dots from Simple Stories and a cupcake sticker finished it off.

I'm linking each of these to the appropriate challenge at Nicole's blog. I've enjoyed seeing some of the older sets highlighted during their celebration, but also looking through all the releases from each year. I was reminded of some favorite stamps that need to see some love!

 

 

 

Memos, Mail, Me: A Breath of Spring

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Waving to Sian at From High in the Sky and other Memo makers this bright, crisp February morning.

This weekend brought a breath of fresh air to western New York. We had two days of temperatures around 60°s with abundant sunshine. Despite a nasty cold that attacked me on Valentine's Eve, I got out for a much needed walk both days. The snow has finally melted from the roadways and sidewalks, but the ponds are still frozen.

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As we walked from Brickstone Trail through the neighborhood, I got a glimpse of the landscape reflected in the lightbulb of someone's outdoor lightpost. Too good to pass up as I'm practicing (once again) with the manual option on my camera.

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Our other outing was to the Black Button Distillery. One of the men on Tracy's reunion committee won a group tour and tasting, and nine of us took him up on his offer. I'm not one for spirits, so I skipped the tasting, but the tour was fascinating. I knew that Scotch had to come from Scotland, but I didn't know that bourbon had to be made in the United States in order to carry that label. We all went out to dinner afterwards, which gave us a chance to catch up with one another since the big reunion in September. (No, those cute young things in the photo were not in our group; we are all old enough to be their grandparents.)

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And there was abundant happy mail again this week. Several weeks ago, we noticed holes that appeared to be cut in our quilt. It almost looked like we had critters eating pieces from the quilt. There's no explanation for it, but I started watching for something to replace it. A catalog from Pottery Barn arrived, and I found a comforter that was just the right colors for our bedroom—and a much more restful pattern than our previous quilt. It was on sale, and I had a "Friends and Family" coupon I could apply as well. I knew if it didn't work out, I could return it for free to the store at the mall. But, luckily, we're very happy with it.

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And then on Valentine's Day, what arrives but two valentines from blogging friends–Honorè and Alexandra! Ellen Huston had a sale, and I picked up two sentiment sets I'd had my eye on for awhile.

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Schools are closed here for a February break, and both organizations where I volunteer are also closed. It opens up a good deal of time for some serious crafting and work on photography projects. My cold seems to be on it's way out, so I'm hoping to be a lot more productive this week than I was on the weekend.

 

Tag, You’re It: A Card for Charlie

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I've seen the Tag, You're It Challenge pop up occasionally, and recently I added it to my Feedly. This week's challenge was just perfect for a baby card I needed to make and get in the mail.

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I rearranged the elements a bit in order to get the sentiment where I wanted it, but otherwise, it's a pretty close match to the inspiration piece.

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The little giraffe was in my stash of die cuts, and I'm not sure where it came from. I found the bright orange twine when I reorganized last month. The price tag was still on it. It only cost $1, but I have no idea where I picked it up. The patterned paper is Echo Park's "Dots and Stripes," which I've had in my stash forever. The sentiment die cut from a scrap of paper in my stash is Papertrey's "Wet Paint II," and the little hearts are Simon Says "Holiday Shapes" die. I guess you could say this was a "Stash Tag," but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

I wanted to put the tag on a card so I'd have room to write a note. I ran the Aqua Mist card through a Lifetime Crafts embossing folder.

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And here's a look at the inside where I used Papertrey's "Baby Button Bits."

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I used a light blue Copic marker to color in just the bottoms of the open letters. It's cold and windy here today; a good day for some more crafting.

 

 

Happy Valentine’s Day

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Happy Valentine's Day! Tuesdays are now a little busier since I've started volunteering at two different agencies–one in the early afternoon, and one after school. Before that I got a needed new haircut. And a little later we're meeting friends at a new sports bar/tavern for Valentine's dinner. As he often does, Tracy sent me gorgeous flowers. He really outdid himself, sending cut flowers and a stunning orchid which will last well beyond Valentine's Day.

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You can see the purple hyacinth tucked in the bouquet which smells so wonderful. We got about 6" of snow today, so the spring flowers are really appreciated! My favorites are the freesias.

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Of course I've been busy making valentines for the last few days. I posted one earlier this week, but here are the rest of them.

For Matt & Betsy. . . the pick-up truck by Honey Bee reminded me of Matt's truck for his landscape business, although his is white (not a very interesting color for a card.)

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The sentiment is from Simon Says "Sending Happy Thoughts," their July 2014 Card Kit.

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For Sarah and Adam . . . the hedgehog is definitely for Sarah who collects them. I found this cute stamp at Paper Source when we were in Chicago in January and couldn't resist it.

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The die cut hearts are all from Spellbinders Nested Hearts; the patterned papers are from Echo Park, Carta Bella, and Pink Fresh.

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For Caleb . . . some monster hugs from "Silly Monsters" by Your Next Stamp. I have to admit, my collection of fun stamps has definitely expanded now that I have grandchildren old enough to appreciate them.

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The fun eyes are from Doodlebug. They were out of stock for weeks on end, but Tracy managed to find some for my Christmas stocking. (Granted I didn't get them until January when they came in, but I didn't have to keep searching for them.) The heart die cut is from Concord and 9th. I found it in my pile of pre-cut die cuts and it worked out perfectly.

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For Baby Hannah . . . another polar bear card from My Favorite Things, "Polar Bear Pals." The sentiment was cobbled together with a Cocoa Daisy stamp set and one from Avery Elle.

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The heart on this card was also in the pile of pre-cut dies, the paper is from Papertrey Ink. You can see the metallic heart in the close-up.

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And for the man of my heart . . . 

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The die and stamps for this card are from Simon Says' newest release, "Love." It's the first die cut set I've bought that comes with the shadow background and the script. Love it. I don't usually use a die cut for the inside message, but I did this time.

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I also made a couple valentines for friends.

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This is also a new die that came in my Christmas stocking. I have all kinds of ideas for it, but die cut it this time in a variety of bright colors for an inlaid heart. A few enamel dots and it was done.

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And just one more . . .

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I bought this stamp set,"Be Mine, Valentine," last year when Papertrey Ink released it, and I'm actually surprised that this is the first time I've used it. There are all kinds of great images and sentiments in the set so I think it has potential for much more than just valentines. The background is an older impression plate from Papertrey called "Book Print." The heart is from My Favorite Things.

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It's been lots of fun getting ready for Valentine's Day, but now I have an equally big project ahead of me. More to come about that later this month.