Memorial Day....

.... to remember and thank those who serve and protect our country, then and now. And thanks to those who march in their honor this holiday weekend. Miss and love you Dad; proud of you Sara - both with all my heart.

Fly your flag, enjoy your freedom, and remember them.....

Quick birthday card

Late this afternoon I remembered I needed a quick birthday card for tomorrow and this was what I put together. I wanted a clean and simple card, not lots of layers, so I stamped this small Stampin' Up image on a canvas metal rim tag and colored it with a few Copic markers. I used some K&Co. paper ribbon under it and printed my sentiment on a small piece of clear acrylic tape and ta-da, a 10 minute card.

June is a busy month in my family - birthdays for a brother, best friend, son-in-law, mine, anniversary for my brother and sister-in-law, throw in Father's Day and a graduation and we're having lots of parties and BBQs and cake. That means I'll need quite a few cards.....good thing it's a long weekend :) Enjoy yours!

Copic color chart, and roses

This afternoon I printed out a blank Copic color chart that I got here on good white cardstock. I don't have too many markers, but little by little my collection is growing. It's easier to see what colors I can use with the chart. They are just so much fun to color with! Want a tip on a great place to buy Copics? Here's the link to Oozak.com where I've found the best price, fast shipping (free on orders over $50) and great customer service. In order to get the cheapest price, create a free account.

I've also recently discovered digital stamps - what fun! Here's a great sight that posts links to free digi stamps, and I've found some really great images to practice my Copic coloring.

I have a new favorite flower in my garden - a multi-colored rose tree. I got it from QVC and it went from a bare stick to blooming in a month.

It makes me smile.....Enjoy the rest of your day!

Unmounting stamps, and pink flowers

As I continue the clean & purge of my craft room, I went to work on unmounting more stamp sets and store them in CD cases. That went smoothly for a while until I realized that I had no place to store all these unmounted sets. I decided to repurpose a CD holder that we no longer use and put my unmounted stamp sets in it. Viola!

After I unmount each set, I stamp all the images on a separate page in a notebook, number the set and add the corresponding number to the side of the CD case. When I need an image, I just flip through the notebook and pull the CD case. Works for me.

It was nice and warm today and I did a little yard work. I just love playing in my garden. This year the most prominent color seems to be pink - pink geraniums, pink petunias, pink carnations, and yummy strawberries. I need to pick them before the squirrels get to them :) Enjoy the rest of your day!

Cards and Poppies

Although the weekend weather wasn't too spring-like, I kept busy, busy, busy. I finished up 6 cards that need to get mailed today and continued the clean & purge of my scraproom. And I got to practice a bit more with my new Copic markers. I'm just getting the hang of them and need to keep practicing. There are some great YouTube videos and websites I've been visiting and would love to take a certification class. Here's a few of the finished cards::

This afternoon I took a pictures of a beautiful poppy that just opened next to the fence in my yard. I planted it two summers ago but this is the first time it's flowered. The flower is HUGE and looks pretty next to the purple Salvia. It made me smile... Enjoy the rest of your day!

Hello Blog land

I've read blogs for years and visit a long list every day, but I never, ever, thought I'd start a blog of my own. So why did I? My biggest reason to start this blog was to keep me motivated to keep creating something every day. For the past seven years I've been dealing with some health issues and although I've always been "crafty", it's been a great way to keep me busy. I love to cook, scrap, paint, sew, quilt, stamp and make cards. In fact, I'm already working on this year's Christmas cards.

So, as I challenge myself to keep creating, I also hope to share some of the amazing inspiration I find from my fellow bloggers with anyone who happens to stumble across my little piece of blogger-land.