Quick update, but no artwork...

Hi Friends!

I hope you are enjoying a lovely week. I thought I'd let you know that Amy stayed home from school again today and judging by her behavior, I'm not sure if she'll go tomorrow. :(

First off, yesterday she was bouncing off the walls, literally! She and Jessica chased each other and played really well. I thought we had turned the corner. When we picked up Jess from school, she was running around the area by Jessica's room. I took them to swim class, but only Jessica got to swim. Amy stayed with me. Then she started acting tired. At dinner she barely ate, so I took her temp (which had gone down to almost normal during the day) and it was up to 102.5 again. Darn! She went to bed fine, then kept waking me up with her coughing. So, at 1:30 we both parked on the couch again so she wouldn't disturb Jessica's sleeping. Because she is more reclined on the couch, instead of laying flat, it also helped her cough. She slept til about 6am. But all day today she's been quiet and lethargic. The temp has stayed near 99-100, which is better, but she keeps telling me she's tired (I'll bet after being restless all night and she won't nap). Sigh...we'll see how she does tonight I guess.

I haven't been able to get into my corner to work on any cards this week. Sorry about that. IF she goes to school tomorrow, I'll try to work on something to share, otherwise it'll be the weekend.

I mentioned Jessica swimming. Well, it was the last day of this session and it's a "fun" day. Meaning, they usually have a big blow up slide or something for the kids to play on. They didn't have it yesterday. Instead, Jessica's instructor had them do swim relay races. They paired up and did different strokes to see who was the fastest. What made me grin the most was that Jessica, my little, teeny, tiny, 40 pound (barely) 6 year old peanut, was winning most of the little races! I cannot believe how far she has come. She's even moving up to the next level for the next session! She has the know-how, but lacks endurance, because she is so small. I was so tickled that she beat boys who were quite a bit bigger than she is (and that acted like they were "better" at swimming) Go, Jessica! She even did a few belly-flops, I mean,  dives, off the diving block. She has made such great strides since we've started these classes. Well worth the investment, I say!

Okay, that's all from me for now. Hopefully I'll be back soon with something pleasing to look at!

Jeanne

Little Baby Giraffe...

Hello! We (Amy and I) had a bit of a restless night last night. She wanted to sleep on the couch so she could be close to me. That meant that I hung out with her all night waking up every time she moaned or coughed. Jessica came out for a short while saying she was lonely and she curled up on top of me. It was kinda squishy. Then she decided she wasn't so lonely after all and she went back to her bed. Because Amy didn't go to school today, she could sleep in and sleep in she did, til almost 8am. Amy, on the other hand was wide awake at 6am or so. She's soooooo tired, but soooooo not sleepy. Sigh. She's had a fever all day, goes up and down according to when she took her ibuprofen or acetaminophen. At least it hasn't climbed back up to the 105 she had last night!

You can tell she isn't feeling well when she doesn't want her picture taken...

She's whipping the blanket back over her head. I know, I am a mean mommy for taking one when she didn't want me to, but I thought it was funny. Please excuse the mess around the house...LOL I guess I could have used PSE to show you just Amy...but what the heck this is what it looks like around here!

Oh and you can plainly see the pattern for the latest project I made...

Jessica's Little Baby Giraffe...who is nameless at the moment, but I kinda like Ginny. I was searching for crocheted dinosaurs (for Amy) and came across the pattern in my search. Jessica was looking over my shoulder at the time and squealed with delight when she saw it. So, of course, I had to make it for her. I would have been done earlier today, but I fell asleep when she was at school. Go figure...Amy won't nap, but Mommy took one...you know I was tired if I did that!
Here's a comparison of the size next to Amy's giraffe...

Oh and Jessica told me earlier today..."Mom, you're kind of crafty...do you think you can help me make a leprechaun trap?" I guess there is some sort of contest at school. I just giggled to myself at the "kind of crafty" part.

I'm thinking since Amy hasn't kicked this fever, she's going to be at home with me again tomorrow...

Great...Jessica just asked about the trap again....just what does a leprechaun trap look like????

Jeanne

From Happy to Unhappy Camper in a Day...

This photo is one of Amy taken last night when I was chatting with Erin. I was telling Erin I felt crowded in my corner and snapped this pic to show her why...

Yesterday, Amy complained of a headache off and on during the day. She didn't want any medicine though. She didn't eat all that great, but she played pretty well and seemed almost normal. When she came out to me at about 10pm to tell me she wanted to snuggle with me, I knew she wasn't feeling well. Amy usually sleeps through the night. We snuggled for a bit and she finally consented to taking some ibuprofen as she had a slight temperature. She went back to bed fine and hopped up this morning saying she felt good. She was her perky self. I told her if she didn't feel well to go to the nurse. I thought we were doing well when I didn't get a phone call.

The moment she saw me after school, she burst into tears. This is so not like her! She clung to me for a few minutes and said she wanted to go home. Another atypical response from her. When we got home, I knew why...her temp was 103.5! That's when I took the second photo...about 3 this afternoon.

Because this was so not normal for her, I called the doctor and we got a 4:30 appointment. They determined she has strep throat. However, it must be in the early stages as her throat isn't very red, nor are her tonsils swollen. She sounds like she has phlegm in her throat, but says it doesn't hurt...she keeps saying her head hurts, though. Her temp has climbed up again, but she's had a tepid bath and more ibuprofen. I hope she'll soon fall asleep and stay that way all night. We shall see. She'll be at home with me tomorrow. Poor Jessica had to skip her swim lesson because she was at the doctor with us. She took it well though.

Now I hopeAmy bounces back quickly (since it wasn't too bad) and that Jessica doesn't get it! Sigh...

Take care of yourself. I hear this is going around...
Jeanne

Vellum Flower Card

I absolutely fell in love with the flower on this card from Crafter's Kitchen. Of course, I cannot find the punch locally and I'm too impatient to wait on an order for it. So, I took a quick run to Archiver's on the off chance they had a similar flower punch. They did, by Quick Cuts, but they were around $20 and I wasn't in the mood to spend that much. As I wandered the store, I found a package of chipboard flowers called Jigsaw Flowers by Making Memories in the Hot Spot ($1.99) area. I could see a flower with a similar shape to the petals in the inspiration card and figured $1.99 wasn't too much to try my hand at making the flower. I know it isn't quite the same, but I still like it a lot!

What I did was trace the flowers onto white vellum and cut them out. I erased any residual pencil marks. Then I sponged Baby Pink ink onto the vellum so it would look more pink. It needed a little darker color too, so I added some Hollyhock. If I owned a lighter shade of pink vellum, I might have used it. Actually, I love the look I achieved, so I'm a little glad I didn't have any in my stash. I tried to get the petals to stand up a little more by rubbing them with a large balled embossing tool, but it didn't come out quite the way I'd hoped. Still...I think it looks nice. Then I cut a strip of vellum, inked it with Baby Pink and Hollyhock. Then I created the fringed flower in the center using a quilling tool. I glued it to the center of the flower. I also didn't own the same punches as were used in the inspiration card, but I think the Martha Stewart punches I own did the job well. Using that lace paper from Basic Grey, I didn't think the card needed anything more added to it.

Paper: Vellum (Hobby Lobby), Porcelain (Basic Grey), white
Ink: Baby Pink, Hollyhock (CTMH)
Ribbon: Pink Carnation organdy (CTMH)
Accessories: Martha Stewart punches, Jigsaw Flowers~chipboard (Making Memories), quilling tool (can find at Michaels, Joann's Hobby Lobby), glue, sponge,  large ball embossing tool (found at Joann's in the Sculpy clay area)

I hope you've enjoyed the projects I created today. Thanks, as always, for stopping by! Hope your week is a good one!

Jeanne

Whimsical Owl Card...

That's right...I used an owl image. I've seen lots of owl images on various cards across the blogosphere, but not many of them appeal to me enough to want to own them. The Cornish Heritage Farms one, U R A Hoot that Kathi uses might be an exception, but I haven't broken down to buy that one. On my retail therapy visit to Joann's the other night, I found a set by Paper Company called Whimsical Birds. And this owl image really appealed to me. So I bought my first owl image.

Here's the card that came to mind with this image...
 

Pretty cute owl, yes? What you might, or might not, be able to see is that the owl is mostly a solid image. So, I stamped it repeatedly using different inks and cut it apart, then pieced it back together. I added some ink with a sponge to the edges before I did that to hopefully give it a bit more dimension. Other than that, everything else is pretty straightforward.

It took a bit of time, but was worth the effort, I think.

Paper: Topiary (CTMH), Porcelain 6x6 paper pack (Basic Grey)
Inks: Brown Bag, Chocolate, Cocoa, Topiary (CTMH), Tuxedo Black (Momento)
Accessories: Ribbon (my stash...from Big Lots of all places), Square and Scallop Square Nestabilities, sponge, colored pencils (for beak and feet)

Jeanne

Urban Prairie and Butterflies...

Hi there! I've got three cards to share today, but I think I'll do it in separate posts as they each have a different "feel."

First up, I was inspired by the second card on this post made by Amy Sheffer of Pickled Paper Designs. Gotta love that Urban Prairie paper from Basic Grey!

I've tweaked it just a bit from Amy's card and I really like how it came out. I wasn't sure what sentiment I wanted to use, so for now, I've left it off. I don't think there's much here that needs explaining. I'm surprised I used three different border punches though. I don't think it's too much...well, I hope it isn't. LOL

Paper: Ocean & White (CTMH), Textured Black (Hobby Lobby), Urban Prairie (Basic Grey)
Ink: Ocean
Border punches from Fiskars and Martha Stewart, butterfly punch (Martha Stewart) Silver rhinestone stickers (Michaels), Ribbon (American Crafts)

Next up will be a bit of a whimsical card...using an image I never thought I'd like so much...

Jeanne

Hello Embossed Butterfly Card

I don't recommend this as a regular solution to losing one's mojo, but in this case, it worked for me! I went to Joann's last night to have a look around and hopefully get inspired. Well, they have put out new Inkadinkado clear stamp sets and I fell in love! It helped that the sets were 40% off!

I picked up a set called Gem Stone Insects (98846). In this set are some gorgeous butterflies and I think I've made clear my love of butterflies. I have found a new butterfly stamp that I love, love, love!

The design of the card was inspired by this monochromatic white card by Denise of The Paper Landscaper blog. I hope you like this one as much as I do!

I am so tickled at how the butterfly came out! I stamped it with Versamark onto vellum. Then I carefully heat embossed white embossing powder and cut it out. I kept seeing blue and white in my head, so I used a blue Bic Mark-it marker and colored in some of the open areas. Then I wondered what Prisma glitter added to it might look like. So I added liquid glue with my Quickie glue pen and sprinkled Prisma glitter over the glue. I bent the wings up just a bit and adhered it to the blue oval. Did I mention that I LOVE how this turned out? LOL Thanks for the card design inspiration, Denise (like she's gonna read my blog...)!

Cardstock: White, Heavenly Blue (CTMH)
Stamps: Gem Stone Insects (Inkadinkado)
Tools/Accessories: vellum, Versamark ink, white embossing powder, heat gun, Prisma Glitter (CTMH) Oval and Scallop Oval Nestabilities, Cuttlebug w/Swiss Dots embossing folder, Martha Stewart border punch, Ribbon (Wal-Mart), Blue (Bic Mark-it pen)

 

And that does it for me today! Thanks SO much for stopping by! I am hoping to get to make something tomorrow, so check back and see if the mojo stays with me...

Jeanne