Celebrating Susie!

Today is my OLDER sister Susie's birthday and this
is the card I made for her. I've always introduced
Susie as my OLDER sister and now that we're really getting older, I think she would like to strangle me when I do that. :) But, in my defense, she IS 4 years older than I am . . . and we do have a YOUNGER sister too.

Tomorrow we're going "junkin" (garage sales) which is one of our favorite things to do together. She especially *loves* books and hopefully she'll find a few for her collection. If not, all is not lost because I got her the new best seller "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle". Have any of you read it? I read a review that said it was one of the best novels of the year.

Back to the card... I've used this rubber stamp by Inkadinkado quite a bit as it makes a fun & simple birthday card. The designer paper is by The Paper Studio ~ "All Over Doodles" is on the bottom and "All Over Dots" is on the top. This line also has a fabulous floral that I'll have to use on another card.
The image is stamped with Versafine vintage sepia and clear embossed on a scrap piece of yellow. I sponged all the edges witht he vintage sepia too. The cardstock is Stampin Up ~ chocolate chip and certainly celery. The front is stamped with the Linen background stamp.


You'll notice I decorated the inside a little to...

That's all for tonight. I'll be back later tomorrow and hope to tell you about all the great "treasures" we found while junkin! :)





Quotes for Today ~ for "Sisters" ~

"A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost." ~ Marion Garretty

"It was nice growing up with someone like you - someone to lean on, someone to count on... someone to tell on! " ~Author Unknown

"If sisters were free to express how they really feel, parents would hear this: "Give me all the attention and all the toys and send Rebecca to live with Grandma." ~Linda Sunshine

"I'm smiling because your my sister, I'm laughing because there is nothing you can do about it! :)"

Happy Autumn!

What comes to your mind when you think of Autumn?

Do you think of the changing colors and falling leaves, a visit to the apple orchard, raking piles of leaves and jumping in, cool crisp air, warm cider, football games, combines in the cornfields, a flock of ducks quacking overhead, carving jack-o-lanterns and the pumpkin goo on your fingers...
Your description of autumn may be different than mine, depending on where you live. Here in the great state of NEBRASKA, this is an especially beautiful time of year and one of my favorite seasons.

When I was shopping at Micheal's in Sioux City last week, I spotted this fantastic "Fall Harvest" mat pad with gorgeous colors and illustrations by Johnny Yanok. I have to tell you though, that as much as I *love* this paper, I struggled to make a card with it tonight. Why? Because it speaks for itself and I didn't want to cover it up. I played around with different sentiments and images and this is what I came up with...not one of my favorites, but I guess they can't all be, right?

In case you're interested, the
K & Company Fall Harvest pad includes 18 sheets of double-sided cardstock mats sized 4.75" x 6.75", three each of six designs.

The tree rubber stamp I used is "Falling Foliage" by Hero Arts and the "Happy Autumn" sentiment is a portion of a rubber stamp is PSX.

I would enjoy hearing what season is your favorite...or what Fall is like where you live. I read all your comments and appreciate them so so much.

Have a Happy Autumn!

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower." ~Albert Camus

Upsy Daisy! A Warm & Fuzzy Challenge

This card was created especially for Barb's {grammastamper} World Cardmaking Day Challenge yesterday at the Stamp Shack. Her challenge was to make a card using a stamp that made us feel "warm & fuzzy" inside. You all know I have a lot of stamps that would have been appropriate for this challenge, but I really wanted to use my new Stampin Up "Upsy Daisy" set. So, I selected one of my favorite "warm & fuzzy" sentiments by Hero Arts to go along with it. The inside sentiment is "You're on my mind" from the Upsy Daisy set.

My daughter in Hawaii has been on my mind a lot lately so I'm planning to send this card to her. She loves living in paradise, but I know she misses home and our beautiful autumn season here in Nebraska. I hope this gives her that warm & fuzzy feeling... love ya KT girl! :)

I suppose I've been playing long enough and should get a few things done around the house today. I've got the bedding washed and need to make the bed and do a little more laundry. I rarely bake goodies anymore...mainly because I love to eat them, but I've been craving one of my favorite desserts, "Hawaiian Pineapple Cake". Since it's super easy to make and I had all the ingredients, I whipped one up this morning and put it in the refrigerator. Here's the recipe if you want to try it... ENJOY! ~ Pam :)

Hawaiian Pineapple Cake
1 yellow cake mix
4 eggs
1 stick oleo
1 can mandarin oranges (11 oz)
1 tsp. vanilla
Beat together until well blended and orange pieces are small.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes
Topping: 1 small pkg instant vanilla pudding
1 can crushed pineapple (20 oz)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
4 oz Cool Whip
Blend together & spread on top of cooled cake.
Refrigerate until serving. Enjoy!

Yoo Hoo! Let's Get Punchy!

One of the World Cardmaking Day challenges
at The Stamp Shack was to get out our punches and use at least one punch on a card. Well, earlier this week one of my stamping friends {Hi Sara! } showed me the cards she made at her Stampin' Up Club and one of them had this super creative punched owl. Isn't he just a HOOT?! :)

Whooo-ever thought of this deserves an applause. How unbelievably clever! So, if you know whooo...please let me know so I can give them credit, ok?

The second challenge I did was the "Cuttlebug Negative Effect". This is something I would have never thought to do, but I really like the result and may try it again sometime. If you're wondering how we did it, below are the instructions that Sherri {Iloveflipflops} posted at the Shack. She said that it was originally found at Splitcoaststampers, but again, I don't know the original creator of this technique.



1. Take your cuttlebug folder and open it up so the negative side is facing down on your table. This is the side where the CB logo is.
2. Using whatever color ink, and whatever type of ink, ink up the negative side using either a sponge, brayer or the ink pad itself. (Don't use Stayz-On as it will not come off!)
3. Lay your cardstock over your inked side, close the folder and run it through your CB.
4.Make sure to wash your folder ASAP, to avoid any staining from the ink. I used SU ink and it rinsed right off.




For my little 3-1/2 x 3-1/2" card, I used the same color ink as my cardstock, so my results aren't as obvious as if you used a variant shade of ink. Basically, the background is getting ink and the embossed design is not. It's a terrific way to add texture to your design. :)

I'm not going to go into anymore detail about these cards, but if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. I still plan to make a card today with my new "Upsy Daisy" set. And I have some new designer papers too, so stay tuned for more later!

Have a Happy Day!




List for Today ~ [borrowed from "Lists to Live By-the First Collection"]

A Better Life

Feel positive emotions
Think positive thoughts
Focus on the positive in people
Offer positive prayers
Speak positive words
Practice positive actions

Life Gives You Many Reasons to Smile

It's been a long time since I've participated in one of Beate's {Fresh & Fun} "Weekend Sketch Challenges". There is something so special about her layouts and they always inspire me.

For today's card, I started out with the sketch and this fantastic designer paper my sweet DIL Jami gave me. It is "Haiku" by Stampin' Up! Aren't the colors wonderful? The sentiment is one of my favorites from the Stampin' Up! "Reason to Smile" set. As you can see, I did a little zig-zag stitching around the edges and added the felt "Flower Fusion" flowers. Do you think they're too much with this background? I was determined to use them since I've had them for a few months and hadn't even opened the package yet! :)


I received my new SU order today and was thrilled to see my new "Upsy Daisy" stamp set was already die cut for me. What a pleasant surprise! I've already got it assembled and my next card will be with this fabulous set. Are you wondering what else I got? I am the happy owner of the new scalloped edge punch and paper and ink in two of the awesome new In Colors ~ kiwi kiss & tangerine tango.


Do you have plans for the weekend? Whatever your plans, I hope "life gives you many reasons to smile." Enjoy!




Supplies ~
Rubber Stamps: "Reasons to Smile", Stampin Up!
Paper: Stampin' Up! - old olive, tangerine tango, so saffron, vanilla; Haiku Designer Series Paper
Ink: old olive
Other: stitching with Janome Sew Mini, Flower Fusion felt flowers, so saffron brad, old olive twill ribbon

Quote for Today ~
"Autumn....the year's last lovliest smile." ~ Bryant

Word for Today ~
effulgence \i-FUL-juhn(t)s\, noun: the state of being bright and radiant; splendor; brilliance.