*Two Tone Flower*

Today is Round 9 of 12 of chemo treatments... will be heading over to the cancer centre in a bit to start the process.  I'm honestly getting tired of this routine, but am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  I will be so happy to start feeling more energetic again.  Right now a 10 minute slow walk exhausts me.

It's been a long week for me as I haven't really been out of the house other than for a walk on the days it's been nice.  I had to go out to get blood work done last Friday, but otherwise, I've been at home.  It's a crazy world we're living in right now, but I am trying to make the best of it.  Friends and I (and my sister) have been getting together the last few days to craft.... using the Zoom app.  It's been great to "be with" other people while maintaining our social distance from each other.  We craft, talk, laugh...  it's been great!

This card was super simple to put together... but I really like it

Items Used:
*Cardstock:  Neenah Solar White 100lb; Stampin' Up! Almost Amethyst, Lovely Lilac
*Images:  The Stamping Village Happy Birthday
*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne
*Dies:  A Jillian Vance Designa Daisy and Open Daisy
*Tools:  Gemini Jr; Perfect Layers
*Embellishments:  black pearl

*Fall To Layout #245*

This is my creation based on the sketch over at the Clean and Simple Stamping blog this week...  I saw the sketch and just *knew* that I had to use my Washi Tape for this card....

And of course, there are some go-to (for me) items on this card... some bling, some Michael's Bridal flowers and my Perfect Layers Tools.

*Don't Fall Over!*

I know... it's been a LONG time.... thanks for being so patient!

I think my lack of creating has been a combination of lack of mojo, using my time differently, lack of desire to sit in the basement, lack of desire to create....

But I challenged myself yesterday and I made a card.... and I made another one this morning.  I've been fortunate that Natasha over at the Clean and Simple Stamping blog is quite relaxed about the design team...  I'm still part of the team despite not participating in months.

So for today, a card for the current sketch over at the Clean and Simple Stamping blog (the link is on the left side)....

I've already created the card for the next challenge... so pop back to see it next week!

*FTL220*

Today is my "Friday"... it's amazing how much less exciting a regular Friday is when you have to work on Saturday morning LOL  But let me tell you... I really like Mondays these days!

I had fun playing around to create a card for this weeks Fall to Layout at the Clean and Simple Stamping blog....  Once I saw the strips on the sketch I knew I wanted to use my Washi tape....

And I love the elements of the snowflake die I bought from Stampin' Up!

*The Countdown is On!*

Happy December everyone!!!  We are so close to Christmas, the winter solstice, the New Year.... time sure flies!

I have been happy having Mondays and Tuesdays off from work... it's given me a chance to get some Christmas shopping done while the malls aren't quite as busy.  I am hoping to do some Christmas baking in the coming days.... I am toning it down this year because it just doesn't get eaten.

And over the next serveral evenings I plan on writing my Christmas cards and getting them in the mail.  I love making Christmas cards and I love having that little contact with friends and family over the holidays.... I just wish my hand didn't cramp LOL!

The card for today is following the latest sketch from the Clean and Simple Stamping blog.  I wish I would have outlined my trees in black before I put them down on the card... but otherwise I like this one!

I hope you are able to play along with us this week!

*FTL218*

We've had another snowy week here in Calgary....  last weekend was warm enough that snow was melting but the shade that hits the front of our house meant that the snow didn't melt on the roof.  It was finally clearing up on Monday so Bruce took some time off of work on Tuesday so he could put the Christmas lights up.  Tuesday we hit our daytime high at 3am and by morning it was foggy and there was a layer of frost on the roof.  By the time he got home after lunch it had started to snow a bit.... and now it's snowed some more and I am not at all sure that we will have Christmas lights on the house this year....

I love this sketch from the Clean and Simple Stamping blog.... I saw it and knew I had to play with the Martha Stewart snowflake punches I just purchased...

All of the cardstock I used was shimmery....  so in real life, this card just sparkles!

I hope you'll play along with us this week!

*FTL216*

Good morning my friends... I am up and ready to head to work....  I am going to assume that Saturdays will be busy at the clinic and that the four or five hours will FLY by....  That's what will make working Saturdays easier to take....  that the hours will fly by.

The Fall To Layout at the Clean and Simple Stamping Blog is a quick and easy one this week....  I used embossing at the top of my layer, but I think you could do some all over random stamping or use a large background stamp as well.  I hope you'll play along and link your card to the challenge!!

I might try this card in reverse....  a white base with perhaps a shimmer blue layer that is embossed with the sentiment embossing in white....

Have a great day!

*FTL215*

I love love love these intricate dies from Memory Box....  they are just so beautiful!  If you happen to purchase some for yourself, save yourself some grief and order the metal shim as well....  it makes the cut cardstock just pop out of the die, saving you a lot of grief and wasted cardstock.

For those wondering, I use my Xyron to put adhesive on the backs of my intricate die cuts.  The glue pen (the one that looks like a gel pen) dries too fast for the larger dies and I found that my Mono Multi just made a mess.  I ended up buying a Xyron with a 5.5" base to fit all of the dies I have by Memory Box.

*FTL214*

Happy November my friends!!!  Where on earth did October go?  It seems to me that the older I get, the fast time flies by!

Did I warn you the other day that the majority of my card will be Christmas cards???  

I used to make some different prototypes of cards and then decide on one favourite and make that design for all of my Christmas cards... the last few years I've made mostly single designs and sent those off.  If my deadline is approaching and I'm short on cards I will choose a few designs to make extras of and make a dozen of those instead of trying to make all different designs.

I'm not sure about this card... I love the new Gumball Green by Stampin' Up but on this card, I think it's too much solid green on the bottom of the front panel...  perhaps I should have done some embossing down there....

I hope you'll play along with our sketch this week... as always, our sketches are "current" for two weeks, meaning you have more time to post your card using the linking tool at the end of the post on the Clean and Simple Stamping blog (the link is in my left sidebar!).

*FTL213 A Little Late*

I'm a day late and a dollar short (more like 5 days late) posting my card for the sketch for Fall To Layout 213 on the Clean and Simple Stamping Blog.  I had the card made with enough time to post it, but I made it while I was in Ontario visiting my sister and I only managed to unpack my stamping bag yesterday.

I hope it's better late than never!

I had a great time at the fall retreat in Brantford Ontario (at the Circle Square Ranch) organized by The Kit Company.  This is the third year in a row that I've flown to Toronto to spend a week with my sister and to attend this retreat.  Some good friends, food and fun!!!

I used Washi tape to create the strips on this card... it was a little tricky to cut the ends but so easy to use otherwise.  I loved it so much that I promptly spent about an hour surfing Etsy for more Christmas themed Washi tape... and am patiently (?) waiting for my order to arrive!!!

*FTL209*

I am so sorry that it has been another long absence... I just haven't felt overly inspired to create.  I sold more than 200 Copics in the last month and am thinking about what else I could purge from my stash... but then, Sunday I went down to play and had a great time!  I have a few friends coming over on Friday to play... hopefully I get more done than just chatting!

When I saw the current sketch at the Clean and Simple Stamping blog, I knew that I just had to use the Washi tape I purchased and have never used...

The hardest part of this card was figuring out which sentiment I wanted to use!!

*FTL205*

Happy Hump Day my friends....  a week from right now I will be the only one in my house.... I can't believe how fast the summer has flown by....not to mention how fast my kids' childhood went by.  Alex will be starting grade 12 next week and Matthew is starting high school (grade 10).  Crazy!

I really wasn't sure when I saw this sketch for this week.... but I sat down to see what I could come up with. I played around with a few ideas before I thought of this great Memory Box die...

And of course I had to use my Perfect Layers tools to create that perfect 1/16" mat...

*FTL#202*

Hi all.... we had a great weekend camping in Saskatchewan this past weekend.  Bruce's Mom's family had a reunion at a campground near Carrot River SK... there were 110 of us there ranging in age from 1 to the late 80s (or maybe even the early 90s).  There were I think four different generations there... aunts and uncles, their kids, the kids of those kids and even a few kids of the kids of the kids LOL!  The weather was great and the mosquitoes were hungry!

I wasn't sure about this sketch over at the Clean and Simple Stamping blog but I ended up really liking the card I created...

I love how the Perfect Layers Tools helped me make those layers just POP!

*Too Much White Space*

Hi all... here is my take on Sketch #201 for the Clean and Simple blog....  I think there is too much white space.  I had hoped that the twine would be enough, but it's really not... perhaps I should have used an embossing folder or something....

*#200*

It's an exciting week at the Clean and Simple Stamping Blog as Natasha has hit the 200 sketch mark!!!  I hope you will find some time to play along with us for this milestone!!

I almost skipped doing this weeks' sketch as my first few ideas just weren't going to fly.  I'm so glad I stuck with it because I like the card I created.

I'm thrilled that I finally had a chance to try out one of the washi tapes I bought a few months ago...  what's what the polka dot layer is.  I also made use of my Perfect Layers Tools to create at great 1/16" border around everything.

*Fall To Layout #190*

Happy Saturday everyone....  it's been a great week weather-wise in Calgary.... nothing like last Saturday where it snowed and the flakes were the size of cotton balls!!  I can see my peonies poking through the ground... my stargazer lilies as well.  I love spring!

I really like the card I created using the sketch for this week at the Clean and Simple Stamping blog.  The colours are a little bright for me (Pumpkin Pie, Poppy Parade, Lucky Limeade, Black and White) but I still like how it turned out.

I hope you'll be able to find some time to play along with us this week!  Check out the link on the left sidebar to see the sketch and to see what others have be inspired to do!

*Fall To Layout #189*

It would appear that my blog break wasn't as long as I feared it might be.... I was given some extra time at home today and after running a few errands, I decided to play a little.

The company I work for is renovating the floors in the building I am in, floor by floor (we have offices in five different buildings downtown), and the 10th floor, where my office is, is next.  So we spent a few days this week packing all of our personal items and all of the files for our project and the movers are moving us to the 9th floor tomorrow.  I was at work at 6:45 (my normal start time... I know, I'm nuts) and by 10am pretty much anyone who would have work to give to me was gone.  I had a little stuff in my inbox that I decided to get through before leaving so that I can spend time on Monday unpacking and getting settled.  I left the office at 11:15, got myself some new sandals (a great pair of Birkenstocks), went to Walmart, had lunch... and then came home and created.

And the best part?  I actually like the two cards I created!

For today, I have my take on the current sketch at the Clean and Simple Stamping blog.... I hope you'll find some time to play along with us....

This card is just bright and fun and spring-like....  the flower is a smaller version of the flowers I made a few weeks ago.

Have a great Friday evening!!!

*FTL#185*

I'm not really sure about this card.... I feel like it needs some texture or something... perhaps I should have put the elements on the left side through my Big Shot with an embossing folder or something.... and maybe I should have made the card base pink and the flower orange or something.  The flowers are kind of lost on the card...

Items Used:
*Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Pear Pizzazz, Peach Parfait, So Saffron
*Images: Hero Arts Sending Smiles
*Ink: Versafine Onyx Black; Copic
*Tools: Big Shot; Spellbinders Nestabilities
*Embellishments: Michael's Bridal flowers; Kaiser Pearls
*Challenges:  FTL185; ColourQ#131


I hope you'll be able to find some time to playing along with the sketch at the Clean and Simple Cards blog....

*Fall To Layout 184*

I created this card last weekend.... And had a lot of fun. The hardest part was trying to figure out what colours I wanted to put together. I could see this same card with some wonderful pastels as well....

I hope you'll be able to find some time to play along with us this week... Be sure to link your creation on the Clean and Simple Stamping blog... You can click on the link in the left sidebar of my blog.

*Fall To Layout 183*

I played for a bit on Sunday which felt great. The mojo was flowing and I had fun... It's been a long time since I had fun creating....

This is my take on the sketch Natasha posted last Friday over at the Clean and Simple Stamping blog...