Too sad to stamp

I wanted to post a card for the Kristina Werner Color Challenge and had a good portion of it was done this morning. I planned to come home from work, finish it up, photograph it, post it and then sent it to my aunt Mary Ann. A thinking of you, you are in my prayers kind of card.

Mary Ann died today.

Now I'm too sad to post the card. It's gone from a happy thinking of you card to a sympathy card for myself.

15 days ago my uncle John died. Brother and sister, both taken by different kinds of cancer. Please pray for my father, the only remaining sibling, the new family elder. He is hurting in ways the rest of us can't imagine. We have all known Mary Ann and John for our whole lives but he's been around a lot longer than the rest of the family. He's lost his heros, his childhood playmates, his confidants.

Tell your loved ones you love them everyday.
Live each day like it's your last, one day it will be.

Something Old, Something New, Nothing Borrowed, Something Blue

Something Old

The patterned papers on this card are Apricot Appeal DS Patterned Paper which on the retired list and Summer Picnic which retired with the Occasions Mini.

Something New

I got my preorder stuff from Stampin' Up! recently and am in the process of mounting all the stamps. The new policy of all new stamp sets are die cut makes this process a lot quicker than it used to be. I have some of the older sets in my new stuff and I have only mounted a few stamps in each set. 

This is one of the new level 2 hostess sets and I hope all my coloring customers can get to this level because this set is beautiful and so much fun to color. The image on this card was stamped it basic brown (which is water proof) on watercolor paper and used an aqua-painter with ink from the pad lids on this image. I tried to use the new colors as much as possible. I'm fairly resistant to change but the new colors are wonderful! The grass is Kiwi Kiss, the butterfly is Tangerine Tango, the bird is Pacific Point, and the sky is Baja Breeze. 

Nothing Borrowed

I own every paper and stamp set used on this card. The only thing that may be considered borrowed was the time it took me to create it. I really should have been sleeping at 1 am.

Something Blue

The base is Pacific Point. I love this color it's so rich and goes well with so many other SU colors. I can't wait to get started on other cards using this color.

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SU announced the other day that customers will be able to buy direct on line. Those who buy direct through a demonstrator will get the catalog price and regular shipping rates. Those who don't want to be associated with a demonstrator will pay higher prices and higher shipping. This is great news for my customers who are too busy to have a party and like to shop in the wee hours. The exact date is "Fall" so when it goes live I'll let you know.

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Look for the next Kristina Werner color challenge card later today. I hope I can get it done in time. 

Bloomin' Beautiful Get Well

Sometimes I am so slow to get it. It being a stamp set I love. I bought this set, Bloomin' Beautiful, in the eleventh hour of the last day I could order it. I have used it A LOT since then, mostly for Sympathy and Get Well cards. I have several pieces I have colored/painted waiting to be added to a card base too.

 I have been using an aqua painter and ink from the cover of my ink pads on all of them. I didn't like the aqua painters at first - too hard to control, too much water comes out. Well practice makes perfect or at least practice makes pretty darn good.

This particular card was made for a coworker who is recovery from back surgery.

Hopefully I will move past this season of sad and be using the Bloom and Blossom sentiments from this set soon.

Thanks for looking.

Katie

Details
Stamps: Bloomin' Beautiful (retired), interior features Better Get Better from Quick Thinking (retired)
paper: Watercolor, DS Patterned papers in Wild Wasabi and Apricot Appeal, base is Blush Blossom
Accessories: Metal rimmed tag from Office Supply store, Dimensionals, Wild Wasabi Double Stitched Ribbon (retiring - call now to order)

My first Challenge Card

This is for the Kristina Werner Color Challenge. The colors are Very Vanilla (NOT WHISPER WHITE), Soft Sky, Pumpkin Pie and Certainly Celery. These colors are basically the same tone except for the Pumpkin Pie so I had a hard time making something that had enough contrast for my liking. I'm not big on challenges because my time is limited (I want to see what everyone else is doing for the challenge and that just takes way too much time) so I wasn't sure if the black dot for the bird's eye was "legal" it felt wrong when I did it. But it needed it and I like the way it turn out (for the most part).

The patterned papers are all from Stampin' Up! and are either retired or going on the retired list. The stamp set is Always.

Enjoy Kristina. This one's for you.

Katie

Playing with myself, …er BY myself

For me making tags is often easier than making a card. I’m not worried about wasting cardstock, which needs to be ordered from far, far away. There is no expectation that something sendable will result from my efforts. I get to just PLAY so it’s more therapeutic and God knows I need that now. Here are the results of my recent play dates with myself.



1) Summerhouse Bliss

Stamps: Garden Silhouette, Word by Word
Inks: Weathered Wood (Tim Holtz Distress Ink), Night of Navy, Garden Green, wash of So Saffron on the printed page.
Extra elements: Chair was cut from a 3x3 note card, Printed page from an old Ellery Queen novel.
Production Notes: Patterns produced by rubbing the distressed ink pad over Punchinello (sequin waste) and then smooshing it with a baby wipe. Same technique used on a plastic screen produced the grid pattern.

2) Flocked Friendship

Stamps:Garden Silhouette, Word by Word
Inks: Basic Brown, More Mustard, Orange Sharpie
Extra elements: Printed page from an old Ellery Queen novel, Flocking in grapefruit
Production Notes: The puzzle piece is from an old Ellery Queen novel. I spritzed it with a mixture of Pearlex and Aquanet hairspray. Ran it through the crimper and then cut it with my newest Cuttlebug die.
The orange splotch on the background was produced by spraying compressed air on the tip of a Sharpie. Woo hoo it works! Then I put down a piece of plastic screen and sprayed through it. I'll have to share the set up on this one so those that can't afford Copics can air brush too. I tried it with a Stampin' Up! marker and got a bit splat of color - see it poking out from behind the puzzle piece.

3) Good Dog

Stamps: Alpha stamps, ink drops
Inks: Chocolate Chip, Tea Stain (Tim Holtz Distress Ink), Real Rust.
Extra elements: Dog on chair from a card front my aunt gave me featuring a tea party. Printed page from an old Ellery Queen novel stained with diluted So Saffron ink.

4) Bloom Bee

Stamps: Bloomin’ Beautiful set, Garden Silhouettes, Polka Dot Background.
Inks: Basic Black, Certainly Celery, Creamy Caramel, Barely Banana.
Extra elements: none
Production Notes: Stamped flowers and bee then colored with Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol. [Click here for technique tutorial]. Masked them and then stamped the leaves behind them and the yellow polka dots.

5) Heartfelft Thanks

Stamps: Heartfelt Thanks, Amazing to Zany
Inks: Always Artichoke, Only Orange, Apricot Appeal
Extra elements: none
Production Notes: Straight forward stamping here.

6) Giant Owl

Stamps: Lovely as a tree
Inks: Chocolate Chip and Garden Green Markers, Weathered Wood (Tim Holtz Distress Ink)
Extra elements: Owl and Airplane (at top) cut from old postage stamps, and adhered with an SU’s Anywhere Glue Stick.
Production Notes: Stamped then colored with Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol. The sky was sponged in with Weathered Wood using a makeup sponge, which gives a completely different look. Though I think it works best with Distress Inks because they stay wet longer.

7) Hello

Stamps: Priceless, Amazing to Zany
Inks: Cameo Coral, Wild Wasabi
Extra elements: None
Production Notes: The colored background on this tag was created by laying a baby wipe that had been used to clean up an ink mess and had a little bit of ink on it over the tag and running the pair through the Cuttlebug. Did many experiments with this technique and may share more later.

8) Bonjour

Stamps: French Flair, Carte Postale
Inks: Bashful Blue, Not Quite Navy
Extra elements: None.
Production Notes: Nothing special here, just straight stamping.

9) Bird Berries

Stamps: Infinite Goodness, Carte Postale, French Flair
Inks: River Rock, Bashful Blue, Going Grey, Basic Grey.
Extra elements: none
Production Notes: Aquapainter with ink from pad lid.

10) Pear Goodness

Stamps: Infinite Goodness, Priceless
Inks: River Rock, Garden Green
Extra elements: none
Production Notes: I stamped the pear from Infinite Goodness then colored with Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol. Thought it looked a bit plain so I added the swirls from Priceless and the word goodness from Infinite Goodness.

Songs after a sad weekend.

This was one of the saddest weekends of my life. We buried my uncle John this weekend and I spent the rest of the weekend in a hospital room with my aunt as she received blood transfusions and chemotherapy.

I drove back from Indiana without any problems yesterday evening. No sadness, no crying. Relief that my uncle was no longer in any pain and had begun his eternal life with Christ.

Today was another story. My iTunes at work is set to random. It plays whatever it wants in no particular order. Sometimes I just tune it out while working but the songs drown out the office din that I find distracting. Today was one of those days, except that every once in a while a line from a song would hit me and I would become a weeping mess. Here are the lines, artists and songs that hit me today.

"…and when he died, all he left us was alone." Ray Brown (Temptations) Papa was a Rolling Stone.

“Heaven’s the big time baby.” AOK Fallen Angel

“One eternal presence and one everlasting truth” Moodswings God knows what I want

“Oh well this world’s over, Oh well the next one begins.” XTC This World’s Over

“Live every day as if it were the last.” Golden Palaminos Ride

“Death’s the final word.” Monty Python Always Look on the Bright Side of Life
“Death’s a joke, it’s true” Monty Python Always Look on the Bright Side of Life


When I went to lunch I was listening to KLove and the Superchick song We Live came on and I lost it again. But by the end of the song. I felt so much better. There are too many key works, phrases, ideas to just type here so I’ve included the video. [Hope this works, it’s my first attempt at anything video on a blog.]

Please continue to pray for my aunt that she has no pain (the drugs for pain were working well this weekend) and some peace at the passing of her younger brother. Heck my whole family could use a prayer.

Thanks

Katie

Thank you

Thank you to all the people who prayed for my aunt. The surgeon removed only one tumor on her back to do a biopsy on and ALL her pain was gone. This was my prayer for her, I am so happy that she is no longer in pain. She is doing much better.

Now for the details on this card.
Stamps: Follow Your Dreams (97655) Clear Mini Stamps by Inkadinkado available in the dollar bin at JoAnn Fabrics, Baroque Motif, , Priceless, Sentiment from a retired SU! set.
Paper: Old Olive CS, Summer Picnic patterned paper (retied), Whisper White (inside tag)
Accessories: Red Gingham Ribbon from SU!, Ringed tag from Office Supply Store.

Me through another lens

My creation
Originally uploaded by Kalyber

I've seen this on a lot of blogs and I thought it looked fun so I decided to play.
Here's what you do:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker).

The Questions: (of course you could use any questions you'd like...)

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your Flickr name

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Thank you for your prayers for my aunt. She is in the hospital and still in need of prayer so if you are the praying kind please join in.