Simply Wishing

....for Spring to arrive! Yes, I am.

Are you dreaming of gardening and flowers, fresh produce and Farmers Markets? I can't wait for all of that to arrive :) February is almost gone, and March will bring some serious cabin fever for me. The most severe part of winter will fade and I will just want all the snow to melt and to be able to play in the dirt. I spent an hour combing the internet for more information on how to prep my raised bed veggie gardens in the spring. I had built them 3 years ago and filled them with old cow pasture dirt. It was real dirt. Like the dirt in the garden on the farm where I grew up. Of coarse, my dad tilled it with composted cow and pig manure every year before we planted, and we mulched with grass clippings. That was a GARDEN. I bet it was half an acre. I know I had to weed a 50 foot row every day, as did my three siblings. By the time a week went by, it was time to start over, lol! I also want to change our 20 year old compost pile into something that will actually produce some compost I can use! I guess that means you have to actually do something besides toss all of your old kitchen and yard waste (minus meat and dairy) in a pile in your yard, huh. I did buy a new pitch fork 2 years ago! The old one's handle broke and it was cheaper to buy a new one... in the mean time, how about some stamped gardening?

While I wait, I am playing with my big order that came Wednesday afternoon. I have not placed an order since December, during the pre-order for the Occasions Mini. I had been trying to combine as many of the new things as possible so I could have a good SAB order and take advantage of all the fabulous SAB free stuff!

I have been just drooling over all of the new floral sets, and I had a really hard time choosing just one. (I didn't keep that resolution, lol! I got 3!)

So now it was time to challenge myself. I had a couple of challenges in mind to try and here they are! 

Colour Q had this color challenge. I love the print on this box, but those are tough colors! I had to substitute Crisp Cantaloupe for the Apricot Appeal, and Calypso Coral for the Peach Parfait.

This sketch from the Friday Mashup was a great starter for this card! As I am typing this, I realized that I missed the deadline to add it to the Inlinkz gallery, oh well!

I must admit, this card is really front heavy. I love the rose/posy image in this set sooo much! It is the image that made me buy this set. After I completed the card, I realized that I have no idea who I will send this card to with that sentiment! I know I was dreaming of lush flower beds while creating it, lol.

• Stamps: Simple Stems, Just Sayin', Secret Garden
• Ink: Summer Starfruit, Crisp Cantaloupe, Calypso Coral, Always Artichoke, Early Espresso
• Paper: White, Crumb Cake, Core'dinations: Summer Starfruit, Crumb Cake, Crisp Cantaloupe, Calypso Coral, Always Artichoke
• Other: Big Shot with Scallops and Decorative Dots embossing folders, Ovals, Apothecary Accents, and Secret Garden framelits, Dazzling Details, Signo white gel pen, Paper Piercer and Mat, Occasions and Essentials Paper Piercing Packs, Rhinestones Basic Jewels, Sweet Sorbet Twine, Sanding Block, dimensionals 

A little masking, admittedly not my best masking, and the inside is prettied up too :)

Now, don't forget to check out the Stampin' Up! Weekly Deals, there is always something good there :)

February 18-24, 2014 Weekly Deals:

InLinkz.com

Supplies for card:

InLinkz.com

"Honey, can you make me a box quick?"

Yup, those were the words of my husband on Feb 13th, one hour before I had to leave for work :) I don't know if I have shared that my hubby is an RN also. He is an RN Pediatrics Care Manager in an IHS (Indian Health Services) clinic. He followed me to IHS :) That lasted for a year and a half until I got a job closer to home and for better pay. ANYWAYS! He has a special pediatric patient that he takes care of and this little guy had an appointment the next day and Jamie knew that this fella would be bringing him a Valentine, so he wanted to be prepared with one to give him back. He's sweet that way :) But I could have used a bit more warning!

So, I got out my tea light box directions and whipped this little puppy up. I told Jamie he had to pick some colors and a stamp set at least. If you leave me to my own devices, I can take HOURS to decide what I am going to do, lol! He pointed to the Valentine framed wall art I made for the Hearts A Flutter edition of the Stamp Review Crew and said that a banner would be nice. We had some Hersey's miniatures in the cupboard. About 6 or 8 fit in it overlapping very nicely. The nuggets fit perfectly but that's not what we had in the house :)

• Stamps: Hearts a Flutter, Hardwood BG, Grateful Greetings (retired)
• Ink: Raspberry Ripple, Midnight Muse, Baked Brown Sugar, Whisper White
• Paper: Crumb Cake, Whisper White
• Other: Big Shot with Hearts a Flutter framelits, Sgino white gel pen, sewing machine and thread, Simply Scored, Sticky Strip, Bone Folder, Paper Snips

 I like to stamp inside the boxes too. You get a little surprise when it is empty then! Jamie said it was perfect and that the little guy would love. I said "Na, he'll open the box and eat the chocolate. But that's ok! His mom will think it's cute." I know the family well also. The dad and the son have a very rare hereditary condition that can cause life threatening airway issues. I have had to assist in life-saving procedures with both of them more than once, as has my hubby. They are special to both of us. And they are glad that I work where I do now because they know there is someone there who understands their condition now. OK, I better stop now! I very, very rarely share anything about work as it can be sticky to maintain patient privacy. Maybe that is why I don't share a whole lot about myself. Being a nurse is a HUGE part of who I am and what I do. Oh, the stories I have in my head! But, they should probably stay there, lol!

Stamp Review Crew: Gorgeous Grunge Edition

Wow, this is the 6th Edition of the Stamp Review Crew already, can you believe it?! We are so ready to provide you with a load of surprising ways to use this set :) Don't forget, you can always get to the landing zone for this hop here so if you get lost, it will get you back on track.

If you are following in order, you have just arrived from Adriana's blog with her grunge gorgeous projects!

 This card combines a couple of techniques, Emboss Resist, and and Inked Acrylic Block to achieve a watercolored look. I have to admit, I had to sponge a bit to fill in all of the block, and the embossed spatter prevented the inked block from reaching the paper.

I hope you can see the embossed splatters on the flowers, they are done with Iridescent Ice on coffee filters I die-cut with the Floral framelits, embossed, then sponged the color on. I was going for raindrops as the effect on both the panel and the flowers.

I repeated the same effect on the inside. It could have been a little smaller. BUT, I am typing this up late Sunday evening and still have at least one more idea I want to get on this hop before midnight. Priorities I tell you!

I had to make a coordinating tag for this card. This one I just sponged over the embossing on the tag, no Acrylic Block stamping on this one.

Here is my take on grunge rainbow, and some mud! I had to do some mud :) The rainbow and mud is more emboss resist with clear embossing powder on Crumb Cake paper. I used a retired embossing folder, Cloudy Day from last year's Occasion Mini. You probably have it in your stash too, it was just too darn cute to skip! But in case you did, it is currently on the clearance rack for a steal ;) The sentiment is something I typed up on MDS and printed out. Sometimes you just gotta do that to get the phrase you want.  With MDS, it is easy to get the right size with no trial and error. When I printed it out, I thought I messed up because it looked so big on the sheet of card stock. Then I cut the strips out, and they were just the size I was looking for!

The sentiment continues inside. I can see sending this to my nieces and nephews, they would love to play in the mud with me. Although, we will have to wait a few months to FIND any mud to play in here, lol! I am hoping for a little in April....but more likely it will be mid to late May.
Well, that's it for me folks, time to go visit Debra's blog and see what she has in store for us!

Supplies for Raindrops Card and Tag:

InLinkz.com


Supplies for Rainbows and Mud Card:

InLinkz.com