Feeling Truly...

This card is perfect for how I'm feeling today. I'm happy to report that my sinus surgery went well Thursday. Thanks to all of you for your kind words and well wishes. Although I'm feeling a bit crummy, I'm doing okay and the pain is mostly gone. My doctor tells me I'll feel 90% better once the packing is removed Tuesday. I can't wait! I'm also thankful for the great care shown to me by all the nurses and doctors before, during and after my surgery. It doesn't take much to make an anxious patient feel at ease! And, lastly, I'm thankful for my wonderful husband who has been taking great care of me (while still managing to work on our kitchen!). Yesterday was our 16th wedding anniversary and I couldn't ask for a better man to go through life with! We'll just have to postpone the fancy dinner until I can breathe...lol.

Hopefully I'll be up and stampin' soon. I have some brand new stamps just calling my name...

I Told You!

See, I'm back already! I bet you weren't expecting me so soon! I've planned a few posts in advance, just in case I need to hit the pain meds sooner than expected. Just kidding...


This is one of my favorite Purple Onion projects this month. Can you believe it's already that time of year? Weddings, graduations, Memorial Day. All right around the corner! Where did this year go?!?

This card is very simple, but elegant. The dark gray, black and silver really makes a statement. The little diploma is a piece of scrap paper I cut and rolled, then tied with a piece of black and white twine leftover from Halloween. The background was stamped in New Canvas ink and I outlined it with a white gel pen. The pen skipped as I marked around the edges, but I like the way it turned out.

So it use to be that graduations were mostly about high school and college. But now even the Kindergartners get a graduation ceremony! Do you know anyone who is graduating this year? It's an exciting time, regardless of the age, wouldn't you say?

Stamps: Date Me, Late 1800’s Script Background (Purple Onion Designs)
Ink: New Canvas (PTI)
Cardstock: silver metallic, True Black, Smokey Shadow, SS White (PTI)
Tools: Cuttlebug (ProvoCraft), classic square Nestabilities dies (Spellbinders)
Other: foam mounting tape (3M), white gel pen (Signo), black and white twine (Martha Stewart Crafts)

I Interrupt This Blog to Bring You...

A kitchen remodel update! A while back I mentioned feeling overwhelmed and behind due to a few "challenges." Well, this week those challenges collide!

Challenge #1:

In case you cannot tell, that, my friends, is what is left of my kitchen floor. And to get down to the sub floor, we've (okay he - my husband) had to dig through three layers of tile, plywood and press wood. And about a million nails. For three days straight. And he's not done yet. As I type this post, I hear the loud sounds of a huge piece of metal scrapping the floor, taking out everything in its path. And in the process leaving the entire house in a layer of dust. Achoo!

Challenge #2 (there are no pictures, thank goodness):

Sinus surgery on Thursday. It's been planned for weeks and weeks now, and it's finally come down to a few days away. And I won't lie. I'm a little scared. I've never had surgery before and the thought of someone spending two hours in my nose makes me a little nervous. There's some important stuff in there, ya know? I know that it will be alright and that maybe at last I'll be free of sinus infections and antibiotics, but...I'm scared. Just a little.

Okay, so now you know why I've been MIA lately. I do plan to get some serious stamping done while I'm recuperating at home over the long weekend. I have brand new stamps that have never seen ink! There's no way I can sit around for five days without breakin' those puppies out! So I'll be back soon (I promise!) to share some of my latest creations, including my May Purple Onion Designs projects. Good night!

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope all you Moms out there are enjoying a day of rest and relaxation! I'm not sure what the plans are for me today, so I'll just wait and see. My daughter did present a hand painted birdhouse to me today - something she's been working on all week at Preschool. Aren't those handmade presents the best? She's a crafter, for sure!

Here's the card I made for my Mom. I've been itchin' to try out this Green Tea Leaves patterned paper from Papertrey Ink since last month when it arrived in the mail (the day I left for vacation!). I will definitely be making a few more cards with it soon. And I got a chance to try out my new flowers die for my CuttleBug. I can see that it will be a versatile addition to my die collection.

So, what will you be doing today? Whatever it may be, enjoy the day and do something nice for yourself!









Stamps: Wishing You (PTI)
Ink: Melon Berry (PTI)
Cardstock: Lemon Tart, Spring Moss, Ripe Avocado, Melon Berry (PTI)
Patterned Paper: Green Tea Leaves, 2008 Bitty Dot Basics (PTI)
Tools: Cuttlebug (ProvoCraft), ribbon tags trio die (Spellbinders), flowers die for CuttleBug (ProvoCraft), corner rounder punch (Fiskars)
Ribbon: Lemon Tart satin (PTI)
Other: foam mounting tape (3M), Stardust pen (Sakura)

Where Did the Time Go?

The anticipation. The worry. The sleepless nights waiting for you to arrive. The miracle of birth. The wonder of another little being sleeping in our house. Watching you grown. Teaching you. Loving you. Enjoying every moment.

Happy Birthday to my baby girl, Olivia, who turns five today. You tell me you are a "big girl," but you'll always be my "Stinker." Just don't grow up too fast, okay?

Let the Creativity Begin!

I’m having a hard time finding my mojo. It started before we left on vacation, what with the rushing around, packing, etc. And I didn’t touch a single craft supply the entire week we were gone! So you can image how anxious I am to get back into the swing of things. I find that the best way to do that is to recreate a previous design. So this is what I came up with tonight:




This is a simple design based on this card. I like the color combination of the cream, green and purple. And my curved rectangle die hasn’t been used for months! While I’m not completely in love with this card, it did the trick to get me back into my craft space and inkin’ up my stamps once again! And with Mother’s Day and my daughter’s birthday both happening this weekend, you can bet I’ve got to keep the creative juices flowin’!








Stamps: Life, Everyday Classics (PTI)
Ink: Plum Pudding, Lavender Moon, Spring Moss (PTI)
Cardstock: Plum Pudding, Lavender Moon and Vintage Cream (PTI)
Patterned Paper: 2008 Bitty Dot Basics (PTI)
Tools: Cuttlebug (ProvoCraft), classic curved rectangle Nestabilities dies (Spellbinders), slit punch (SU!), Crop-a-Dile, corner rounder punch (Fiskars)
Ribbon: Vintage Cream satin (PTI)
Other: foam mounting tape (3M), button, twine

There's No Place Like Home

I'm back...barely. My husband and daughter and I were gone last week visiting my in-laws in Arkansas. The trip was nice, we got a lot of visiting in, and I even survived the 85 degree temperatures and humidity. Then it was time to go home. Or try to go home. Our flight Saturday afternoon out of Little Rock kept getting delayed due to severe weather, including (gulp) tornadoes. We needed to get to Dallas in order to make our connection to Seattle. Well, after spending eight hours at the airport (thank you, portable DVD player) we finally were able to fly out to Dallas. By the time we arrived (it took us twice as long to get there and we had to wait on the plane for an hour for a gate to open), we had missed the last plane to Seattle and ended up spending the night in Dallas. We got to the hotel at 2:30 a.m. and slept about five hours before we had to turn around and go back to the airport to catch our flight to Seattle. Oh, and we did not have any of our luggage. It stayed in Dallas. Which meant a purchased hotel toothbrush and toothpaste were about all we had to work with! It was all quite an adventure, and a little scary. Have you ever flown through lightning flashes? Not exactly ideal. But we are home. Safe and sound, wet luggage and all. I hope to be posting again soon...