Wedding Card Attempt

I have to say, I'm a little disappointed in how this card turned out. Live and learn. I used A muse stamp and MFT card stock for the actual image. Love the card stock. The papers were pretty too. I wanted to use grey as I thought the papers I picked would be a little more sophisticated. In retrospect, I think this would have looked better if the image were on a smaller piece of cardstock, especially, using white. The Amuse images are always small and I think that's why their cardstock is so much smaller. Proportionately their images are better on smaller paper. I really had fun using the cuttlebug embossing envelope for the grey paper and I think the ribbon and pearl brads are perfect for a wedding card. I am afraid to mess around with the card at this point though, because the wedding shower is at 2 today and I just don't have time to start over. It was still fun to shop for the stamp. That was another thing, I didn't really have time to order a stamp I really liked and the bride is older and this is a first marriage for her and she is not a "foofy" kind of person. I would have liked to have found a bella stamp or something just a little bit "more". Twelve more days til I graduate and just a few days after that I finish with finals and then I think I am going to do quite a bit more experimentation and class taking for my rubberstamping hobby=)

Here is the birthday card I needed to make. I was short on time, but think I made a cute little card for my 11 year old niece. She loves dogs and I don't have any cute dog stamps (yet!) and since she went to Build-A-Bear for her bday party, I'm kind of keeping in theme. I used my A muse bear and sentiment stamps and prisma colors for the color. I just love the little fiskars scallop edger. I think it dresses things up just a bit and needed/wanted one for my Bella stamps. I love cutting with it. Well, hope you enjoy. Off to bed and then studying for tomorrow and a little spring clothes shopping for the kiddies.

Coloring with Copics....

I've just been cruising around SCS.com and reading, among other things, about coloring with Copics. I was watching some tutorials and find them very interesting, but also very overwhelming! Some of these tutorials are done by some very talented people. I start to feel "way in over my head", so I left. I did find out how the pens are coded and wish I had the money and the talent to warrant getting the air brush system. That looks really cool. I need to get a blender pen. Now I understand how that works and it is very cool and would be very helpful. The whole shading concept is going to take some time, which I don't really have right now. So, I need to be patient and do what I can. There is some real talented stamping and artwork out on the blogs!

Now, I must go make another birthday card!

This is my first "Bella" card and I made it for myself. I have a pink Townie cruising bicycle that I love to ride. It has a bell on it and I feel a bit sassy on my pink bicycle, so this stamp really spoke to me...no pun intended! Anyway, I had to wait to buy my first Bella stamps and this was one of them. I am going to put it up in my cubicle at work. I hope that it will inspire my self-confidence, which sometimes lags, as a 50 year old woman back in the workplace learning something totally new for the first time in many, many years=) I also needed to do something creative today because I have been studying CPT medical codes re the cardiovascular system. I always get kind of anxious when I am studying about the heart and all of the different procedures that can be done. In some ways, it is very amazing to know something about this area of medicine and in other ways, it is just downright frightening. I got some other Bella's and Stella's (stamps) that I hope to be able to play with sometime in the near future. I have to be patient with myself and life right now. I knew going into this full-time work situation and schooling situation that February through mid-May would be tough. So I am in the thick of it...but I only have about 5 weeks left too.

I will really miss school. I have so loved going back as a mature adult and learning so much new information and earning A's. This is SO not what college was like for me at 17 1/2. I was even invited to join Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, which I did quickly, before they realized that they may have made a mistake in inviting me;-D

I know I need to make a couple of more cards this weekend for a birthday and the birth of a baby. I'm only a few months late on the baby card. By the time I actually get the card made and sent, the baby will be a toddler :-] I had to wait til I found the right stamps in order to make the card. My new Bella stamps came last Friday and I am sooooo looking forward to making actual cards this weekend and not just imprints. I got some Stella stamps too. I just love her attitude! ......until this weekend.

This is the second card. This is a card for my father who is retired and an avid golfer. I wanted to think a little bit about the colors I used on this card as my father is red and green color blind and I wanted him to be able to see the colors in their true glory!

Well, two more cards to add today. This is a birthday card for my son's 12th birthday. I have finally found paper and ink that work with my copic pens. I used my new copic pens for the second time and really, really enjoyed using them. My black ink didn't run and I seem to have gained a little control over my pens. I want to learn how to blend with the copics and hope to take a class soon.

I had a fairly productive weekend. I was able to get a very decent amount of homework done and got a bit more caught up with my CPT Coding coursework. Only 7 more weeks and a week of exams and I will be done. I know I will miss studying, but it is not near as enjoyable when I am stressed for the time. I have really enjoyed studying and being successful with my grades as an older adult, in a way I was not when I went to college the first time at 17 1/2.

Sunday Evening March 15th - Finally

I am thrilled to have an image to add to my blog. I made this particular card because I needed to get it done. I would have like to wait until next week when my new Bella stamps may have arrived. My friends birthday was last week and what with working full-time and going to school at night, I have been hard pressed to find time to do anything fun. I've worked full-time now for about 3 1/2 weeks, so I think we (my family and myself) are starting to get used to the changes in our lives. This week is Spring Break, so the kids are home and I have no night school this week. Hopefully, I can catch up with my CPT Coding and make some more cards next weekend. I have at least 3 family birthdays that I need to make cards for =)

I used an A muse stamp and sentiment on this. I used a bigger background card and it turned out ok. I've noticed on most of the samples I see on the A Muse website, they use their smaller 4 bar paper. Well, as you can see I've been busy stamping this afternoon, so that means tomorrow is dedicated to homework...unless I make significant progress on my homework! ;-)

I'm trying out "simplifying" a layout. My little A Muse stamps are so cute and little. This is also their 4 bar paper and my first time using such a small piece of paper for a background and card. It was fun because it didn't take me too much time and I didn't "sweat" over matching papers.

This is my first "Bella" stamp. She is a "Stella has something to say" Bella brand stamp. Stella will be going on my cubicle wall at work to keep me company and look cute! I still have another Bella stamp I need to try out. I may get to it this weekend or not...the laundry still needs to be folded and the groceries still need to be purchased =]

This is a list that I saw on another blog that really speaks to me

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.
2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if you have to.
3. Buy a DVR. Tape your late night shows and get more sleep.
4. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, "My purpose is to__________ _ today."
5. Live with the 3 E’s — Energy, Enthusiasm, Empathy.
6. Watch more movies, play more games and read more books than you did in 2008.
7. Make time to practice meditation, yoga, tai chi, and prayer. They provide us with daily fuel for our busy lives.
8. Spend more time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.
9. Dream more while you are awake.
10. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
11. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.
12. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
13. Clear your clutter from your house, your car, your desk and let new and flowing energy into your life.
14. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
15. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
16. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.
17. Smile and laugh more. It will keep the energy vampires away.
18. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
20. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
21.. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
22. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.
23. Don’t compare your life to others’. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
24. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, and wear the fancy lingerie (not you guys.) Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In five years, will this matter?"
27. Forgive everyone for everything.
28. What other people think of you is none of your business.
29. Time heals almost everything. Give it time, time.
30. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
31. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
32. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
33. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
34. The best is yet to come.
35. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
36. Do the right thing!
37. Call your family often.
38. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: "I am thankful for __________." Today I accomplished _________.
39. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.
40. Enjoy the ride. Remember that this is not Disney World and you certainly don’t want a fast pass. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy the ride.May your troubles be less, May your blessings be more. And may nothing but happiness come through your door!

Courtesy of http://berrybitchprincess.blogspot.com/

I'm still perusing other websites and trying to figure out how to format and reformat my page. What I really need to be doing is studying for a quiz I have in my Medical Reimbursement class tomorrow night. I also should be reading for my CPT coding class. I am not going to have as much free time as I've been having because I am starting a fulltime job tomorrow...but as you can see, I am not doing what I SHOULD be doing;-)

These are valentines that I made for Bo and the kids this year. All of the stamps are Amuse stamps and various papers.

These are 2 birthday cards that I made. These are some of my first attempts and I think they are pretty decent. I am going to work on taking better pictures and hopefully get a little better camera soon.

These stamps are from Impression-Obsession

This is another personalized "composition" book I made for Talia. She loves to journal and write things.

This is a cover a made to personalize a "composition" notebook for Talia

Today is Febuary 16, 2009

Today is February 16, 2009...the birthdate of my new blog. I've been looking at so many other blogs, and although I would not consider myself computer savvy, and have wanted to start my own. Stay posted