Basic Grey

I managed to scoop up some of the new 6x6 paper pads by Basic Grey this spring. I take them out and flip through the pages every now and then and I think that it sure would be nice to keep them all to myself. I can be so selfish. :-( I really shouldn't be selfish either. There are so many people that have been generous to me. I am thankful for their generosity and I am humbled by it too. Well, here is one card that I made with my Basic Grey papers. I did more stamping on the envelope than I did on the card. I guess that's how it goes sometimes.

TAG-ged X's Four

Oops! I am so bad! Through all the excitement yesterday I plum forgot that Flossie had tagged me too. I feel so bad for not mentioning it last night. Sorry Flossie.

For the most part my tag answers would remain the same. Here's an update in honor of Flossie:

Your Hair: Messy
Your Dream Last Night: Silly

Who You Hung Out With Last Night: Andrew
One of Your Wish List Items: Tummy-tuck

What Are You Thinking About Right Now: Sorry
What Are You Doing At The Moment: Wincing

All the rest of the answers would remain the same. :-)

TAG-ged

It's been long day ladies. It's only 8:43 and I am feeling it. Boo-hoo I know. I've been suffering from a couple of tooth aches since the baby was born. Come to find out that I have been clinching my teeth. They had a mouth guard thingy made to protect my teeth from the clinching pressures. So after waiting things through with the adjustments and such we have concluded that I fractured my tooth. I have an ouchie tooth fracture! Can you imagine a cast for that? Anyways... I had a new filling put in today and if that doesn't work I will have to travel to Anchorage to see an endodonist for a root cannel. Humm... a trip to Anchorage would be so fun but not the root cannel.

Oh total surprise... I was tagged twice today (Kimberly & Michele). Rebecca, Bella Carta, tagged me a while back. So, let's get "taggy".

Yourself: Perspicacious
Your Partner: HUSBAND
Your Hair: Comfortable

Your Mother: Homesick
Your Father: Enigma

Your Favorite Item: iMac
Your Dream Last Night: NIghtmare
Your Favorite Drink: Coca Cola
Your Dream Car: New!!
Your Dream Home: Heaven
The Room You Are In: Living Room

Your Fear: Abandonment
Where You Want To Be In Ten Years: Married
Who You Hung Out With Last Night: Son
You're Not: Lost
One of Your Wish List Items: Another Mac

The Last Thing You Did: iPhoto
You Are Wearing: Scrub Pants and a Tank Top
Your Favorite Weather: Anything above zero degrees
Your Favorite Book: KJV Bible
Last Thing You Ate: Ice Cream

Your Life: Blessed
Your Mood: Tired
Your Best Friend: Husband
What Are You Thinking About Right Now: Husband

Your Car: Subaru
What Are You Doing At The Moment: Dictating this post to my Husband ;)
Relationship Status: Married
What Is On Your TV: Dust
What Is The Weather Like: 20 Degrees (Above!!! Yippie)
When Is The Last Time You Laughed: Today
Now to tag 5 people. Hmmmmmm?

Hello

I hope you are having a nice day today and I thank you for your kind comments and for visiting my blog.

We have had a very busy couple of days and I haven't had access to the computer like I usually do. So... that's it for now.

Smiles,
~NG.

New Tennants

We might have new tenants in our bird house. This is our third summer in our home and I don't think that there has ever been any birds in our birdie quarter. I saw this little birdie with some grass in it's beak yesterday. He kept a nervous eye on me as I watched him. Today he was perched right outside again. I don't know... I could be wrong... it would be nice to have new neighbors. New birdie neighbor that is.



Speaking of birds. Right across the street tonight I spied a small group of geese or ducks. I'm not a bird expert so I really don't know what kind of fowl they are. However, I enjoy watching them and trying to get a good photos. It's cheap entertainment. Anyhow, here's the best bird stalking snap shot from tonight. I was worried that the watcher bird would tell the other guys that I was coming too close and to flee. They do that too! One will always be keeping watch as the others eat or rest and the moment he sees you coming too close he will squack the alarm. Half the time they fly away the other half they waddle further out. It's a good system I guess.

One STAMP Wonder

Uhg! I attempted to do a card sketch last Monday. This is not it! I never was satisfied with my design so I finally gave in and tore it apart to make something else. I'll try that challenge again but not now. There are a few remnants of my icky card luckily this scrap paper covered it mostly up beautifully. I've been hesitant to use any paper from this pack because I want to keep it all to my self. I keep saying that I'm going to make a scrap book with it but here I am a scrap book-less woman. I have come to realize that I am a cardmaker with high hopes to make many scrap books. That's a whole other posting in itself.... There is only one stamped image in this card. It's my one STAMP wonder card. Smiles!

CARD DETAILS:
SU! Sentiment Stamp
Various Cardstock from SU! & TAC
The Angel Company Scrap Paper "Rustic Chic"
Palette Ink Noir
Square Brads

ALOHA Sketch

The baby is finally sleeping and I'm stamping out a card challenge. Check out Beate's Weekend Sketch #3 on Fresh & Fun. Here's my go at it. I was inspired by the scrap paper. Too bad it's mostly covered up.

CARD DETAILS:
Stamps from The Angel Company "Tropical Flowers"
Retired TAC Aloha Stamp
TAC & SU! Card Stock
My Mind's Eye Scrap Book Paper
Versa Magic Chalk Inks
Palette Ink, Burnt Umber & Noir
Ribbon
Cuttlebug Embossing Folder

Love BIRDS

I've had this stamp set forever. I hate to admit I've never even inked it up before. (Don't tell Andrew!) I must say that this modge podge card looks so much better in person. I took paper scraps to make the strip on the bottom. I might do that again. That's not my original idea... I saw it suggested on someone's blog. I used The Angel Company stamps to make the background and I took the bigger hearts from a Michael's Dollar stamp set. Oh yeah, before I forget. Black scrapper's floss was used to sew around the corners of the main image. The tricky part was to tie a good bow with such thin string.

CARD DETAILS:
SU! "Olive You"
TAC Background stamps
Michael's $ Stamp
Black Stamper's Floss
Palette Ink Noir
Grey Tombow
Prisma Colored Pencils & Gamsol

DRIVING

Yesterday evening we went out for a drive. It was so nice to be outside. The weather was gorgeous! It was probably 20 plus degrees with hardly any wind. I loved it. I thought I'd show you a couple of pics from the drive. The first one is of me and my daughter, Ellie Rose, and the second is a landscape. Wonder what the arctic looks like right now. That's it. White with specks of tundra and dirt here and there. We saw a few ducks flying about and way off in the distance I saw a flock of black dots. I wish I would of remembered to take the binocs. I don't know if I shared this but I am half native, Inupiat Eskimo. Hence the parka. I think I would want one even if I wasn't native. They are so pretty and functional. My Mom and I made the parka cover together a year ago. I love how it turned out. We will have to design and make a new one when this one wears out. I need a better lining that's for sure. I can feel the wind through this one when it's really blowing. That can be life threatening if we ever got stuck outdoors. When the baby gets bigger I will carry her on my back under my parka. She's small enough to carry in the front for now. Guess that's it. I'm off to stamp... I'll share it later.



OOPS! I forgot to put this one in too! Here's Andrew, my husband, holding Ellie in our muddy car. We don't have pavement here. Mud is a part of Spring break-up. We'll wash the car when it's warm enough not to freeze the doors shut.

HAPPY Bug Day

I love The Angel Company's Spring Fling stamp set called "Happy Bug Day". It's so cute and I don't know... it's just buggy I guess.

I've seen a couple other bug sets out on the market that look similar to this one but I like this one the best. I'm a TAC girl and I can't help it. :-)

Card Details:
The Angel Company's "Happy Bug Day"
SU! Bold Blue Card Stock
TAC's Scrap Paper from Surf Shoppe
Palette Ink, Green
TAC Ink, Lucious Lips
Scrapper's Floss, Yellow
Ribbon
Dry Embossed w/ Cuttlebug Folders

My True RAK - Rebecca Grohall

I've been thinking about it for the last couple of weeks. Why do I stamp? Well besides wanting to make pretty things, I stamp because the cards I send to people bring them encouragement. Encouraging (exhorting and edifying) people is one of the gifts that God has given to me. I am an encourager. Then I was thinking about the rest of the stampers I know. They are encouragers too.

One stamper in particular encouraged me when I was feeling sorry for myself. I was having a pity party because I couldn't get to Michael's to have the privilege to buy their dollar acrylic stamps sets. Since I live in a very rural community I depend heavily on the internet to buy my stamping supplies and Michael's does not have an on-line store. There aren't any paper crafting supply stores here at all. We can't even commute to one by car because there are no roads leading out of town either. Anyhow, Rebecca Grohall of Bella Carta was having a blog candy contest with the dollar stamps in her prize package and in my entry comment I told her that I couldn't get them where I lived. Although I didn't win the blog candy, she sent me two Michael's dollar sets and two acrylic blocks. Her kindness has really touched my heart. I never knew what a RAK was until now...a true random act of kindness. It's very humbling.

Thank you Rebecca for thinking of me.

Sneak-a-PEAK

The Angel Company will be putting out a new catty this season. Here's a sneak peak of one of their new sets. It's called "Curls & Swirls". Of course this is one on my must have lists.

RAINING Snow

As I went to lay my sleepy baby down for her nap I heard the pinging of rain on her window. I had to take a look...it wasn't rain. It was snowy rain. Big flakes of snow that hit her window sounding like rain. It didn't look like hail... snow. Oh, it's so nice to experience the change of weather from the winter coldness to the spring coldness. We all can finally see the road instead of ice. The snow machines will be put away while the four-wheelers will replaces them for the summer. I prefer four-wheelers over the snow machines. First off, it is usually warmer when you ride them and second off, no one rides them between or behind our houses. Not only that four-wheelers aren't as loud. When the snow finally melts my yard becomes a marshy pond tall with tundra grass. It's too muddy and deep with water for four-wheeler to pass. I like that. :-) We have planks that go all the way around our house. It looks like a mini-wharf or boardwalk. Walking the boardwalk reminds me of where I grew-up in California. I still live by the ocean but it's slightly different. No summer surfers here that's for sure!

Here's a picture of my driveway and the road again. It's hard to take a snapshot of it snowing when everything out is so white.

Ooo...what a soft and soothing sound... raining snow.

A Serious Challenge

Whew! Here's one project that me and my husband, Andrew, worked on together. He helped me with the folding whereas, I chose the papers and did the decorating. We are printing up some pictures of our daughter for the album and maybe I'll send it to Grandma and Grandpa in California.



Thanks to Kimberly at Crafty Me for the challenge.

TAC Meet Fancy Pants

What a great combination. I used my scraps from the last few cards to make this one. The main image is from The Angel Company (TAC). It's called Flower Collage Trio. Thankfully it's not on the retiring list so I have at least one more year to demo it. I could of used TAC's Flourishes but instead I used my new Fancy Pants stamp from the Pollen Dust set. I keep this short because the baby is a calling. Gotta run.

I Can't Help IT!

Ooo... I'm having too much fun with this folding template!

CARD DETAILS:
SU! Sentiment from Warmest Regards
Die Cut w/ a View Card Stock
My Mind's Eye Scrap Papers
QuicKutz Flourishes (Victorian)
Prima Flowers
Brad

DIY Card Samples

Here's my cards that I made using the template I just posted. All of them were stamped with SU!'s set called "Birthday Banter". I dry embossed the flaps with Cuttlebug folders and cut the edges of two the samples with decretive scissors. Also note that the yellow card flap was sanded too. They were so fun and easy to make!

CARD DETAILS:
SU!'s Birthday Banter Stamps
Kissy Fit Sassy Sequins from Queen & Co.
Dollar Ribbon from Michael's
Blue CS from SU!
Die Cuts w/ a View Yellow Textured White Core CS
TAC Scrap Paper, Surf Shoppe & Vintage Holiday
Palette Ink Noir
Prisma Colored Pencils blended with Gamsol
Grey Tombow Marker
Sakura Souffle Pen
Crystal Lacquer

Do-It-YOURSELF Dollar Store Goodies

There aren't any Dollar Stores here in town, so I only have a chance to buy from them once a year when we go on vacation. It's tempting to load up on cheap goodies but luggage space is a premium. On my last trip out I came across these blank cards. I love them! Eight cards, four different colors and designs a pack all for a dollar. They were textured card stock with a folded flap on one end. Get this... the flap was dry embossed! (See the turquoise card on the left.) My only regret is that I should of bought more. In an effort to recreate these gems, I've modified the template and size to make my own. You can get two cards out of one sheet of 8.5" x 11" card stock and they will fit in a standard A-2 envie. :-)

DIRECTIONS:
1) Cut your 8.5" x 11" card stock in half to make a really long rectangle. (The cut would be at 4 1/4" on the shorter side of the paper. This will leave you with two 4 1/4" x 11" papers.)

2) Measure in 1 3/4" and score. Take the opposite end and measure in 4" and score.

3) Fold on the score lines and set with a bone folder.

4) Stamp and decorate card as desired.

Optional Flap Design:
1) Trim the flap edge with decretive scissors. Be careful not to cut too much from the edge. Just trim. :-)

2) Dry emboss flap with embossing machine or by hand.

NOTE: I used my cuttle bug folders with the Big Shot on my card flaps. In the future I am going to mix it up and dry emboss the card front instead. You can see my samples using this template in the next post.

The possibilities are endless with this template! I hope you give it a try.

BLESSINGS!

My childhood bestest buddy, Mona, sent me some stamps! What an awesome blessing to receive! I don't know what was better Mona's letter of encouragement or the Michael's dollar sets.

Thank you MONA! I was so inspired that I made three little note cards with them right away.

Card Details:
Michael's Dollar Stamps & one SU! Sentiment Stamp
My Mind's Eye Scrap Book Paper
SU! Card Stock
Palette Ink
Stickles
Souffle Pen

My Little SISTER

I am so proud of my little sister, Cassandra. She doesn't stamp but I won't hold that against her. Actually she's asked that the next time I make it down to California that we sit down and stamp together. She paints so I'm sure stamping will be a piece of cake for her. Anyways... tonight is a big night for my sister. She will be on an internet radio show called Job You Deserve hosted by Kristen Hallows, career coach, author, and resume strategist. Cassandra is a life coach and focuses her practice on parenting and family support. She just published her first book and is in the process of opening an office in Sunnyvale, CA. So go to the listening lounge tonight, Sunday May 20th, and check it out!

I'm so proud of my little sister, Cassandra.
:-)

NOTE: The photo was taken by my brother-in-law, William Lentz. His photos are awesome!

Creative CORNERS

In keeping my stamping budget in mind, I've come up with a creatively inexpensive way to have a photo corner stamp. I really wanted to order SU!'s retiring set "Totally Cool" primarily for the photo corner stamp. The cute lady holding the shopping bags and present is nice too but for now I can't justify buying it for those two stamps. So here's my clever alternative. You can make this alternative with leftover rubber and creative cling. New rubber usually comes in a big rectangle. Snip-off the corner and shape to your liking. Mount on cling and wha-la! You've got a new stamp custom made by you! Attached are before and after pictures of my new photo corner stamps.

By the way... I've also used leftover rubber and cling to make various sized skinny ovals too. You can see one of the oval stamps I've made on the Froggy Card from Beat's challenge last weekend.

Blog ROLL!

I'm so excited to be added to a second blog roll list. Share with me in my happiness and go visit Michele Kovack at Thoughts of Cardmaking. She has fun and creative cards and I've enjoyed reading about her life too.

UPDATE: I just received a comment that I was also added to InkGenious by Jill too! Her designs are awesome and full of inspiration. Okay... I know this probably isn't as exciting for you all as it for me but blogs are for sharing and this is too much fun! After all this attention I'm gonna have to add a blog roll of my own. WHEW! BIG SMILES!

WORK'N

Father's Day is next month and I'm working hard to get our inventory up. It's so tempting to add flowers and girly things but I'm holding back. I don't know too many men out there that like girly froo-froo's on their cards. These were all made with Stampin' Up! stamps.

LAURIE Serino

Before Laurie, my stampin' celebrity, left on vacation she handed over her stash of cards to me. Oh! I wanted to keep them all for myself but then I would owe her a ton of money. You see Laurie and I have buddied together to sell our cards around town. (It really helps with offsetting our stamping expenses.) So far it's worked out for us. Laurie is awesome about quickly pounding them out, whereas I am slower at it. I can feel the pressure when we have a short turn around time. The pressure usually leads to stampers block. UHG! Anyways... since Laurie doesn't have a blog yet to share her cards and such, I thought that I would show you two of my favorite cards from her stash.

MADE BY LAURIE CARD DETAILS:
The Angel Company Stamps "Special Delivery"
Papers and Inks are most likely SU!
Ribbon May Arts

Spring Break-Up

It's really here! Spring break-up is starting. I can see the dirt road again. No more ice. This means it will be dusty and for a week or two the pot holes will be really bad but it's so nice to have the warmth of spring. Each day more and more birds are returning. Pretty soon I'll be trying to go to sleep with the snow buntings chirping away into the midnight hours. I don't think they know how to sleep with the 24 hour sunlight. I'm sure they rest I've just never seen it.

Last night Andrew and I stayed up pretty late. When I went to check the locks I saw golden sun rays streaming through the door window. I opened the door to see the splendor outside. Now I can't say that the sun was setting because it won't set until August... but I can say that it looked like it wanted to. Yellow, reds, and orange light everywhere. It was so beautiful. I took a picture to share however the picture isn't as splendid as it actually was in person. Across the open tundra field, just past the electric poles is the arctic ocean. The ice pack is still there other wise you would see the sparkles of open water. Oh, such a simple thing makes my heart smile. Behold the beauty of the Lord!

BRADS

Don't have the right color brad in you stampin' stash? Make a quick change with embossing powder. I read about this technique some time ago and thought it was a bit crazy and that it might not work so I tried it for myself. I found it to be quick and very easy.

TECHNIQUE:
1) Place your brad in reverse tweezers or something that can withstand the heat.

2) Heat the head of the brad with your embossing heat gun for about 30 seconds.

3) Quickly stick the very hot head directly into the embossing powder.

4) If your brad was hot enough the powder is completely melted. If it wasn't hot enough you'll have to hit the heat again. You can see in the photo that I needed to re-heat.

TA-DAH! Now you have a very hot customized card goodie!

5) Since I wasn't in a hurry I let the brad cool on its' own but if you are in a hurry you can dip it into cool water.

NOTE: I did a quick change with the brads used on both of my entry cards for Beate's blog candy over the weekend. Here I used the office supply cheap brass brads with a not so cheap brad and turned them into a matching set. I loved the results.

Special thanks to my husband, Andrew, for taking the photos for me. :-)

OH WOW!

It's another first for me!!! LOOKIE... Flossie over at Flossie Goes Hi Tech has listed me in her blog roll! I'm so honored to be listed!!! She has neat card creations. Go check her out!

Eye Spy!

Oooo... did you see me?! One of my cards is posted on Allison Fillo's blog, Stampin' When I Can. What an unexpected honor! I'm so tickled! If you've never been to Allison's blog you really should check it out and leave her a comment. She takes the time to post lists of links to wonderful blogger card techniques, challenges, and blog candy. She also makes inspiring cards and shares them too. I am a big fan of Alison Fillo. She has really enabled me. What a wonderful lady!

NOTE: Allison sent me this card with the Prego Stamp from Michael's last month as a runner-up prize from a blog candy drawing that she did. WHAT A TREAT! :-)

REdo - It's a Card Cover Up!

Have you ever made a card and put it down and then some time later you come back to it and think "This just won't do! I don't like it at all." Well, that's what happened with this creation. Thankfully I was able to take it apart and salvage the card stock to make a totally new card. Most rubber stamping yuckies can be covered-up over and over until you get a design that looks pleasing. The entire front had to be concealed to hide the remnants of the old design. Whew! I'm glad that you can't see what used to be there. So here it is with a fresh face...it's a REdo.

Card Details:
Stampin' Up! Happy Harmony
My Mind's Eye Scrap Papers
Versa Magic Chalk Ink mixed with Palette Ink
$1 Ribbon from Michael's (Stacy Smith picked up this ribbon for me last time she went down to Anchorage. What a blessing!)

SCRAPS

I had some leftover scraps from the cards that I had made for Beate's layout challenge. Instead of tossing the snip-bits away I was inspired to make this sweet card. The design is very simple and I plan to send this card to Grandma and Grandpa Grant. Their 60th wedding anniversary was over the weekend. Unfortunately we couldn't make it down to Oregon for the celebration. However, we were able to iChat (video chat) with them. It was fun to meet some of my husband's cousins, aunts, and uncles. Andrew hadn't seen them since he was three or four years old. I am so thankful for our Mac. It has made living in the arctic easier. I iChat with my Mom at least once or twice a week. When the baby is awake I pull the window almost full screen size so she can see Grandma. Ellie is five months old so she tends to stare more at the key board than the screen. At least she listens to my Mom's voice. It nice that Ellie can come to know Grandma even though we live so far away. I wish my sisters had Macs too. How I miss them. I am thankful that God has given me such tender friends to help when I am homesick for my family. Oooo... I can go on and on!

QUICK NOTE: I've been tagged by Rebecca of Bella Carta. I'm gonna play but I need a few to compose my list. :-)

TO All...

Moms, Mothers, Mommy's, MIL's, Step-mother/mom's, and like a Mom's,
I hope you have a blessed day!
Smiles,
Nancy

You Gotta READ This!

I've been a long time fan of Anna Wright's blog, paper art, and photos. She had a very extraordinary day... you've just gotta read it! Click here: I was brave. I fixed the link... you can give it a try now. SMILES.

NICOLE Heady's Birthday Invitations

Check out Nicole Heady of Paper Trey's project called ""Birthday Invitation". She shared the tutorial too! Since I was on a roll on trying new layouts, I decided to make one. The only stamping here was the circle right under the Prima flower. I can envision this design gem being done and re-done in the future. Give it a TRY!

By the way...three more days till the June Paper Trey stamp set will be released!

Card Details:
My Minds Eye Papers
Plain White Card Stock
The Angel Company Stamp
May Arts Ribbon
Prima Flower & Brad
Palette Ink

SECOND Try

TA-DAH! I'm done! Here's my second go at Beate's card challenge & my entry in her blog candy. Let's hope that chance shines on me for some lovely ribbons, a card made by Beate, and a free stamp set. Not to mention a the honor of having Beate check out one of my cards!
"BIG SMILES"

Card Details:
Stamps are from The Angel Company "How Swell"
White Card Stock & Pattern Papers from "My Mind's Eye"
Inks are Versa Magic Chalk Inks & Palette Ink
Prisma Colored Pencils & Gamsol