Sympathy in Plum

I had a commission for some sympathy cards, and this is one of them. I used the hostess set Organic Grace, which I LOVE! And I'm really happy about how the light picked up the embossing!


Stamps: Organic Grace, Warmest Regards (retired)
Paper: Perfect Plum, Always Artichoke
Ink: Perfect Plum Classic and Craft, Always Artichoke Classic
Accessories: Clear EP, Plum ribbon, Pewter brads from retired HPH, stampin sponge

Holly Homemaker

Sorry this post is late--here's why:


First batch of home-canned peaches for the season. We're hoping to be done (for today) in a couple hours, and then if I have any energy left, I'll stamp!

I learned to can from my mother and grandmother. We did peaches, pears, grape juice, tomatoes and tomato sauce, cherries, apricots, and I'm sure more I can't remember anymore. Now my girls know how. It's important to me to "preserve" the tradition and the knowledge. You just never know!

What I love about home-canned food is first of all, the TASTE! So much better than anything else. Second, I love knowing exactly what's in my food. Especially now! And third, I love that the skill I kept up all these years finally makes financial sense. Preserving food has never been a particular money saver for me--more of a luxury. But food prices are so crazy, this year it actually "pays" to can your own!

Do you have any memories of canning with your family? What did you can?

I've been swapping!

I live for symmetry. Seriously. I have to really concentrate to do "random" stamping! And normally, symmetry does not make for great card design. But in this case, I just couldn't make the card do anything else! I think it looks like a Christmas present! (My kids are getting the Wii for Christmas--don't tell them.)

Anyway, this is my contribution to the Convention Quality Swap #5, hosted by Lyssa. I love the fact that the Top Note die matches the Curly Label punch and stamp set! To make the texture on the Kiwi Kiss Top Note, I used crumpled up wax paper dabbed on the ink pad and then on the paper. The wrinkly-er, the better! The top blue layers are popped up on dimensionals to give it a little more depth. Oh, and I sponged ink on the bottom layers of Pacific Point and Baja Breeze, too!

Stamps: Cute and Curly
Paper: Pacific Point, Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White
Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Pacific Point, Baja Breeze
Accessories: Big Shot, Top Note Die, White Taffeta ribbon, Baja Breeze 5/8" striped grosgrain, Curly Label Punch, dimensionals, stampin sponge

Cubed

I made these for Convention swaps. You can find the tutorial here on Splitcoaststampers. The cool thing is that they fold flat for mailing! Wouldn't that be a great thing to include in a Christmas card???

I've been working on such cool cards, but I can't show them yet 'cause they are for swaps! Waaaah! But soon, I promise!

More mini notebooks

After Danny got his notebook, nothing would do except that Jake and Maddy each got one, too! Hafta be fair when you can, in a big family! I think I'll be making a LOT of these as we get closer to Christmas!

Let it snow!

Ok, first we should establish that when it comes to scrapbooking, I am the worst mother in the world. Really. The only time I scrapbook is for samples. LOL So here it is, my yearly attempt at using pictures of my children to entice people to buy stuff. (See, I told you I was the worst mother!)

My husband's boss very kindly allowed us to use her cabin last winter. (I stayed home, that's why I'm not in the pics!) It was one of the snowiest winters ever, and the kids had a blast. Oh, Dad did, too! Did you notice the not-so-subtle use of Big Shot dies???? Didja? I bought that snowflake die last winter, so I was thrilled to see it in the new SU catalog of Sizzix dies. I used the snowflake die on some sparkly white felt from Michael's. The alphabet is the Cuttlebug Red Tag Sale alpha (don't have an SU alpha die yet).

Hibiscus

I know summer is coming to an end when my hibiscus blooms start slowing down. These gorgeous flowers only last one day, but they are 9-10 inches across! My grandpa always had hibiscus growing, so I needed one, right? The really expensive ($45!) hibiscus gave up the ghost this year, but the "run of the mill" hibiscus that was only supposed to get 30 inches tall is still going strong. Almost five feet tall instead of three--guess I shouldn't have planted it in the front of the garden?? {wink} At least it's on a corner, and the way it grows, it's staying!

Just B Mine

I love this little album! It's made from badge holders, and it was my swap for the Mini Album Swap at Convention. Can you believe nobody at my Card Buffet wanted to make it????