Gumball Machine Shaker Card

Sometimes my cards reach their intended recipients. Sometimes they don't. And sometimes I just don't know.

This one, I'm told, never made it.

I love shaker cards. They provide a nice, clean way of adding sparkle without messy glitter or time-consuming glitter glue (how many days does that stuff take to dry, anyway???) But quite often they either get destroyed by postal machines (I'm assuming) or, to my horror, sit in the post office with a big, ugly "postage due" notice, waiting for the addressee to come stand in line with money in-hand to retrieve a mystery package that the well-intentioned sender failed to stamp properly.

What a let-down that must be. ("I spent my afternoon in line and paid good money for this????") LOL. The trials of life.

And now, onto the card details.

 ("I spent my valuable time reading nonsense for this??????") Big LOL.

I used a sweets-themed stamp set from Jillibean Soup for the gumball machine and sentiment. The circle was cut from a nesting die set from Darice. And I used my We R Memory Keepers Fuse tool to create the shaker pouch that holds the sparkly bits, thinking that with less bulk my card would make it safely.

It didn't.

Thanks for stopping by!

Thinking of You Card

Sometimes life deals us hardships, and that's when we need someone to remind us we aren't alone. I never want anyone to feel the pain of abandonment on top of whatever else they might be going through, so I like to use my simple cardmaking "talent" whenever possible to help someone through the tough times.

The design on this card was cut on my Cricut Explore using the Lacy Labels cartridge. I added a little twine under the label and put some sparkle in the flowers using glitter glue. It was a simple project, but I hope it reminded the recipient that someone cares.

Thanks for visiting!

Happy Birthday, Teresa

Today my older sister, Teresa, turns 60. It's a bittersweet day because she has been in a vegetative state for 17 years, but as long as she's alive I won't stop asking God for a miracle. And if that isn't His plan, I pray He will give her comfort as long as she's here.

Teresa has loved giraffes since she was a teen, so I try to use them in her cards as much as possible. This giraffe was cut on my Cricut Explore using the cartridge Bits and Pieces, the tree was cut from the Heritage cartridge, and I hand-cut the grass along the bottom.

I used Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks to create the sunset background (or sunrise, if you prefer). I die cut the sun using my Sizzix Big Shot and a circle die, then backed it with shimmery paper. I used craft foam to create dimension between the sky and sun, but because I used a good bit of liquid glue to attach the front panel to the card base, I inadvertently caused a reaction with the distress oxide inks. (I tried to minimize the damage by adding a little more ink and pretending it was all intentional.)

I wanted to acknowledge Teresa's milestone birthday, but in a subtle way, so I simply stamped "60" in VersaMark ink on the tree trunk and embossed it with clear embossing powder.

As always, I really appreciate that you took a few moments to visit!

Simple DIY Sketch Pads

Last Christmas I made baskets of art supplies for my youngest grandchildren. I thought it would be more meaningful (and less expensive!) to make personalized sketch pads instead of buying them.

(The gifts were ready in a timely fashion; this blog post...not so much.)

Since the Christmas season is hectic enough already, I kept the designs simple. I cut front and back covers for each book from chipboard, then applied patterned paper to each surface. The inside pages were cut from white cardstock to be slightly smaller than the covers. The names were stamped using a simple alphabet stamp set and ink to match the cover papers. I used my Bind-it-All machine to punch holes in the top of all covers and inner pages, then bound each sketch pad with O-wires.

Thanks for visiting!

Guilty

I'll go ahead and put this out there (since it's impossible to hide)...I'm cracking under the pressures of life.

I've been accused of being the worst mother ever and an all-around horrible human being that no one wants to be around. If you've given your heart and soul and everything else you had to raise children, just let that sink in for a moment...

Funny, nobody can stand to be around me, yet they keep coming back. If I felt that way about someone, I assure you I would move heaven and earth to be able to stay far, far away.

If you don't have children you might not understand the frustration of never being able to plan five minutes ahead for anything. Children always need something. Or think they do.

Why don't I set them straight, you might ask? Refer to paragraph 2 above. If you've never been blamed for everything wrong with the world, you might not understand how that, combined with typical mommy-guilt, plays with your mind.

Yes, I've thrown another cup of coffee across the room today over what might seem minor to anyone else. Unless you've been raising children every day for the past four decades, all while giving up your hopes and dreams because nobody lives forever and you've been watching the years slip by, you might agree with paragraph 2. I beg you not to judge too harshly.

I'm simply a human being who has faults like every other human being. I love imperfectly. I try every day to be a better person...and fail miserably. I pray for help and forgiveness every night. I try to let go of the heavy baggage I carried into adulthood, but much like the children who suffered under my dictatorship, it always finds its way back into my home.

All I really need is some consideration. You want something from me? Try asking instead of expecting. Don't assume whatever you want is more important than whatever I'm trying to do. Yes, I'm old, but believe it or not I had things in this life I wanted to accomplish, and as important as you are to me...and as important as you think  you are, your desires don't always trump mine. Just be thoughtful of me once in a while. Contrary to the stories going around about me, I did put your needs ahead of my own in ways you'll never know.

There are still a few things I want out of life in the short time I have left. Please don't make me feel bad about that.

Stamped Floral Card

I have a bad habit of wanting to try every craft I come across. YouTube videos created by those who have mad skills and make everything look easy are playing right into that desire. Unfortunately, I haven't yet found my talent. And I'm quickly running out of space to store my crafty tools...and the money to finance my habit. But I'm tenacious and refuse to let that stop me.

This card was created with Tim Holtz stamps and Spectrum Noir alcohol markers. Since the stamp set is sort-of a mix-and-match set, I have no idea if I got the parts matched up correctly. And I'm just learning to color (saddest statement ever made by a woman approaching 60). But I had fun anyway, and hopefully the card brightened the recipient's day. After all, aren't those the two most important reasons we craft???

Thanks for stopping by!

The Day I Forgot My Mascara

I'm in no way what you'd call "high-maintenance", but I don't think there's been a day in over 40 years that I haven't worn mascara.

Until yesterday.

Every day of my life, unless I'm deathly ill, I put on at least a little bit of makeup. I guess I feel I owe my husband that much. (I'm not easy to live with.)

I had errands to run yesterday, and on the days I'm forced to leave the house I usually put a little extra effort into my appearance. I can't do much to make life on this earth more beautiful, but I can try not to frighten small children. (A little lot of makeup can cover a multitude of problems.) I thought I'd applied everything I needed--spackle, paint, and the like--but somehow I forgot mascara.

I swear I checked my appearance in the mirror before I left the house. At some point before the day was over, I'm sure I took another quick glance. And last thing before going to bed, I spent a ridiculous amount of time in front of the mirror removing my makeup so I could apply my magic potions that do all the heavy lifting while I sleep.

I never noticed something was amiss.

At around 4 a.m. I awoke with a headache...and an odd panicked thought. "Did I ever apply my mascara today???" (The mind is a very strange thing.)

So what exactly is going on in my post-menopausal brain??? Have the nearly 40 years I've been raising children taken a dangerous toll on my memory??? Is life on Planet Earth simply getting to be too much for me??? Am I losing my mind completely???

I might never know what happened yesterday, or why I had a 4 a.m. "awakening". But if I start to forget too many steps in my beauty routine, it could get real ugly real fast. It's hard enough to be called "Ma'am"; my fragile ego could never handle being called "Sir".