Falling Flowers Sympathy Card

Hello Stampers!

I am sure you think I forgot all about you, but I haven’t.  I’ve just been feeling a little unmotivated the last week or so and I have accomplished little.  I think that feeling is gone for a while.  I went to the gym this morning which is something I barely did last week.  Saturday go be back into the swing of things.  My son and I spent the day together.  It started with brunch, then shopping, then a nice long walk.  I tried to get him to stay for dinner but he had other things to do.  Anyway, his medicine was just what I needed to re-energize.

I have a card for you today.  I made it a month or so ago.  I’ve needed way too many of these cards this past month and a half.  Sad.  It is a simple one that can be whipped up in no time, and it is made with another of one of my favorite stamp sets; Falling Flowers.  You can find it in the Annual Catalog.

falling-flowers-sympathy

I am sorry about the light glare in the top right corner.  Try as I might, I was not able to get rid of it.  This card is made with Kraft Card Stock.  The base measures 4 1/4″ x 11″.  It is a top folding card.  The top layer is attached with Stampin’ Dimensionals, and it measures 4″ x 5 1/4″.  The banner is 1/2″ wide and is wrapped around the top layer and stapled.

There is not much more I can offer on this card, other than I used the oldie but goodie stamp set, Teeny Tiny Wishes.  EVERYONE should have that one.  ! Hope you like it!  Until next time…

Happy Stamping!

Josie2

 

 

 

 

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Out of Touch

I have been MIA for the last few weeks!  It has been so long since I posted anything, I was wondering if I remembered how it was done.  Summer has been filled with a flurry of activity, and I will try to catch you up.

My husband and I visited family in Ohio for two weeks at the beginning of June.  It is always nice to get home and visit not only with my mom, sister and brother-in-law, but with all of the cousins I so seldom get to see.  One of the things we did while in Ohio was visit Niagara Falls.  It is about a 4 hour drive from where I grew up to the falls.  It was cloudy and rainy for most of the day there, but I did manage to get a few good photos.  Here’s one of the American Falls from the Canadian side.

Niagra Falls American Falls  June 2015

Right after getting back from Ohio I went to work in my stamp room preparing for an art and craft fair in Denver in which I participated over this past weekend.  I was really there to support my daughter in her small business endeavors.  If you click on the tab at the top of the page it will take you to her etsy store, free/bird philosophy.  She set up a booth to sell her line of jewelry and clothing at the fair.  I had some of my hand stamped stuff.  Okay, I had A LOT of my hand stamped stuff.  It was a fun adventure and I enjoyed very much watching her in action!  I had never done a craft fair, and I would like to do one again some day.  It is a lot of work though.

Jenn’s father did a nice job creating a changing room out of peg board so her customers could try on her clothing.  It is behind the peg board wall in the photo.  Also, she was able to hang her clothing on a rack  he build into the thing on the outside.  All of it was easily assembled and disassembled and relatively light weight for moving.  You can also see some of my hand stamped items on the shelves in the background.

Jackalope Arts & Crafts Freebird Booth

This next picture is one of the free bird in my family… part of my pride and joy…Jennifer.  And she truly is a free spirit!

Jackalope Arts & Crafts Jenn

Something else I’ve been up to is walking everyday. I quit smoking over a year and a half ago, and I decided it is time to do something about the 20 lbs. I gained.  I have been walking 5 to 6 days a week in an effort to shed a few pounds.  Just when the scale says I’ve lost a pound or two, a couple days later it says “Just Kidding!”  It seems like an impossible task, but I sleep and feel better after walking, so I guess I’ll keep doing it.

Our four-year-old refrigerator died on the Fourth of July.  Talk about being upset!  Fortunately, we have a second refrigerator in the garage.  I bought it in 1993 when I purchased my house on Sequoia Dr.  We had a repair man come look at “the new one” and he said it wasn’t worth repairing.  It somehow managed to leak all of its coolant over the last 4 years and he said it would take hours and a lot of money to find the leak.  So, later that day We finally settled on another LG at Home Depot.  We gave the salesman the dimensions of the opening and he said the one we were interested in would fit.  A week later it was delivered.  The delivery man immediately said it was too large for the space.  After a lot of measuring and talking back and forth, it sounded like he would be able to get it installed.  He then looked at the water line for the refrigerator and when he realized it didn’t have a dedicated shut-off valve and we’d have to turn the water off at the house, he said he couldn’t do it.  He didn’t want to be liable for anything that might go wrong.  I called Home Depot and refused the delivery.  I was so frustrated I spoke with the store manager and filed a formal complaint!  I feel they should have alerted us to that before selling the appliance.

Later that day we went out shopping again and purchased a GE at a locally owned appliance store.    They’ve been in business for 57 years.    We thought it might be a bit more expensive, but it isn’t.  The salesman was very helpful.  He said LG has flooded the market with refrigerators that are nearly impossible to repair or take months to get parts.

The refrigerator finally arrived this past Tuesday.  It is a little smaller than the one we just got rid of, but I guess I will get used to it.

Enough about what’s been going on here.  My card for today is one we made in an all occasion class I had a few weeks ago.  I used the stamp set You’ve Got This to make a sympathy card.  I got the idea for the color combinations from the Annual Catalog.

You've Got This Sympathy

I’ve run a bit long, so I won’t bore you any longer.  Until next time…

Happy Stamping!

Josie2

 

 

 

Sharing in Your Sorrow

It is always sad when someone passes away.  But I think it is even more sorrowful when someone young dies.  Yesterday, I had the occasion to attend a young person’s memorial service.  I didn’t know the deceased person at all, but the young man’s father is my husband’s Air Force buddy.   So, we attended the service for the family.  That’s why we do the things we do when someone passes.  We do them for the family and dear friends that are left behind.  We have funerals, not for the dead, but for the living.  We cry, not for the deceased, but for ourselves because we have lost someone we loved,  and we must now live without that person’s presence in our lives. 

As a mother of two adult children, the youngest soon to be 27 and the oldest currently 29, I CAN NOT  imagine what it must feel like to have out-lived a child.  I know that I have felt some pretty heavy heart ach when my children have experienced hurt.  I know what it feels like when my children come home to visit, and then a few days later leave again.  I miss them.  But would I survive the ach of loosing a child?  My heart was heavy most of yesterday after attending this service, but not for me.  As I mentioned, I did not know this young 23-year-old man who passed away.  I won’t know what it is like to miss him.  But my heart was heavy for his parents who I also don’t really know.  All I can do is put myself in their shoes and imagine what the ach must feel like.  For them and their heart ach, I am truly sorry.

Thoughts & Prayers

Here’s what I used on this card.

Thoughts & Prayers Stamp Set  128751-w/127805-c

Jet Black Staz On  101406

Basic Black Card Stock  121045

Very Vanilla Card Stock  101650

Modern Medley Designer Series Paper  126926

Scallop Oval Punch  119856

Large Oval Punch  11985

Pearl Basic Jewels  119247

Basic Black Ribbon (Retired)

Until next time…

Happy stamping~

Josie

Finally Done!

Finally!  I finished my Christmas banner today.  It was a long time in coming.  When I first started it, I was spraying my ink over the stencils that come in the kit and I had ONE BIG MESS!!!!  A friend of mine told me to use a sponge and it turned out much much better.  I must say myself that I LOVE IT!  My husband asked why it wasn’t “Christmas colors”  as in the traditional colors of red and green, but I like these two shades of blue for Christmas too.  I think they look very elegant.  You tell me what you think.

Here’s the full banner.  If you click on it, it will enlarge.

Christmas Banner-Full

And the next two shots are the banner from either end.

Christmas Banner-1

Christmas Banner-2

The second two photos are a little larger, but they will enlarge as well when you click on them.

Here’s what I used to create this beauty.

Build a Banner Simply Created Kit  133507

Kit includes:

Pennants and accessories for creating custom banners.

Includes 18  5″ x 7″ blank canvas paper pennants, 6 ea. of 3 designs

9′ of jute twine

alphabet and image stencils

Stampin Spritzer.

Christmas Banner Simply Created Accessory Kit  132697

Kit includes:

Paper and centers for 4 rosettes

3 glittered die-cut accents

2 18″ pieces of Silver 1/8″ Ribbon

2 18″ pieces of Bermuda Bay/Pool Party 1-1/4″ Two Toned Ribbon

36″ of Whisper White 3/8″ Taffeta Ribbon

5 Vintage Faceted Designer Buttons

10 Large Rhinestone Jewels

Other things you will need to assemble this project are a hot glue gun with glue sticks and glue dots.  Careful with the hot glue gun…it really gets hot!  I managed to burn and blister two fingers and the palm of my hand with the hot glue.  Oh, and another thing would be sponge daubers or sponges for spreading the ink onto the canvas.

On a sad note, the next item I am sharing is a sympathy card I recently made for a former coworker that passed away recently after a long, hard fought battle with cancer.  He retired about 4 years after I took my current position, and he was a great help in my making the transition from private to public education.  He will always be remembered.  I used the Thoughts & Prayers stamp set.  Item number  128751-w/127805-c.  The card stock I used is Early Espresso (119686), Coastal Cabana ( 131297), and Very Vanilla (115318).  I also used the Early Espresso Stampin’ Write Marker and the Coastal Cabana Stampin’ Write Marker, along with Pearl Basic Jewels (119247).  The ribbon is Very Vanilla 3/8″ Taffeta.

Thoughts & Prayers Sympathy

Hope you enjoyed your stop here today.  Until next time…

Happy Stamping!

Josie