InkaBlink

Where Have I been?

2009-05-01T09:40:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy spring! Mostly revolving around baseball. I've learned to really appreciate the relaxing aspect of watching baseball. When I'm sitting in my chair or in the bleachers watching a game, it means I'm not doing laundry or cleaning or cooking...you get the picture! When I'm at home, I see all the things that need attention and it can get overwhelming. At a baseball game, I can watch my kids play, chat with friends and enjoy the weather. Here's a photo of one of our boys from last June. He's the one rounding 3rd base in the maroon jersey.
Because of the amount of time I spend doing baseball stuff, no time left for creative things. I'm ok with that because the boys really enjoy the sport and my husband and I enjoy watching them. The ink and cardstock will be there later...
Thanks for stopping by!

A Christmas card

2009-02-24T09:15:00.000-08:00

This cute little snowman card is from the gifts I gave to friends and coworkers at Christmas time. I wanted to post something- anything- to keep things moving here. The set is retired from Stampin' Up. All supplies used are SU, plus a Sukura Gelly Roll glitter pen for a hint of sparkle on the snowflakes. The snowman is cut out and popped up on an SU dimensional. By the way, the gifts were bags of homemade caramels- always a hit!

Have a great day!

Peggy

From a recent class

2009-02-10T17:08:00.000-08:00

I had a great time teaching a stamping class that included 2 pages and a card. It was a small group of women from a church we attended for a while. It's always fun for me to figure out what to do, then prep everything, then go and get everyone excited about being creative. Here's what we did:A simple card- could be a valentine- using Stampin' Up's "Season of Friendship" stamp set, and a retired set called "Love It" for the hearts, and the scallop edge punch. The layout for the scrapbook page we did next is from the new SU catalog. We used "Big Deal Alphabet", "It's All Good", and some of the new "In Colors"- kiwi kiss and pacific point on kraft cardstock. The other ink colors are close to cocoa, tempting turquoise and rose red- they go well with these colors. The journaling piece of cardstock was punched with SU's spiral punch. The picture is son #4 and dad on the first day of kindergarten- don't look too closely because I mistakenly wrote first grade. I wouldn't have noticed but was corrected by my son- he said "Just look at the shoes!"Lastly, we did a "no stamping" page and used just paper, and a computer-printed saying on the circle. The layout is from a gal that is very creative and does gorgeous stuff that she sells on ebay. The designer papers are from SU (can't remember the name) and baja breeze cardstock. The photo is of son #2 and #3 on the farm in Iowa back in 2002. I purchased the felt flowers from Target- dollar spot a while ago- yey! They match almost perfectly.

Thanks for stopping in. Have a great day.

Yippee!

2008-12-09T13:51:00.003-08:00

I won! I haven't had any time to use my limited digital scrapbooking/photoshop skills lately...but I have a prize that might motivate me.

On this amazing blog, which I go to often for inspiration and to see what's happening,
Emily Giovanni is celebrating her blogaversary. I ended up winning one of the prizes- a gift certificate for some digital goodies...what a great Christmas present! Go check out her blog if you have a chance!

Have a great day- I'll see if I can whip something up with my new goodies!

Some Thanksgiving cards

2008-12-02T17:21:00.000-08:00

I had a little bit of extra time on my hands so I had to stamp. I cased one layout from the SU! mini that has this stamp set in it, "Season of Friendship", which I had to have because of it's versatility. The other card has the same colors in it, and is basically the same. All supplies are Stampin' Up, except the brown ribbon in the first one- can't remember the brand name, but I purchased it at the LSS.

Stamps: Season of Friendship (holiday mini catalog), Enjoy Every Moment; cardstock: more mustard, really rust, chocolate chip, whisper white; Autumn Vine designer paper; ink: more mustard, really rust, chocolate chip; other accessories: scallop edge punch, gold brad, pumpkin pie grosgrain.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family in the area. Great food and fellowship- I couldn't ask for anything more. Well, maybe another day or two of vacation with the boys and hubby...I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving as well. When I stop and reflect on life, I find I have many things to be thankful for. When I do this, it helps me have a more appreciative attitude which in turn spills over into my outlook on life and how I treat others or react in various situations. So, I want to keep this mindset as I'm out and about during this Christmas season.

Have a nice week, and thanks for stopping in!

Is it really November?

2008-11-02T11:26:00.000-08:00

Where, oh where does the time go? Our 4 boys keep growing, and it seems to be going by so fast. This fall has been very busy with school, soccer and not much else. I haven't been taking pictures to document what we've been doing during these last weeks- that needs to change.
As some of you may know, soccer is my FAVORITE sport, so to see the boys doing well and enjoying the game makes me very excited. I should try and get some photos of them in action. Son #1 was playing in a recreational league and did an outstanding job on Saturday in their tournament. His team took first place- it was a very exciting game. The other 3 also had games- one win, one tie and one loss. They all played well, had fun and demonstrated good sportsmanship.

I must add that the kids are doing very well in school. They're all pretty motivated to get their school work done in class when the teacher gives them the opportunity. If not, they finish it shortly after getting home. The evenings have been busy with soccer practice so they know the "work now, play later" mantra is a good thing. When one is at practice, the others come along and can play football or run around, or something else that catches their eye.

Not much time to stamp these days...I did manage to squeak a quick one in for a friend. All SU stuff. This is my therapy!

Family outing

2008-09-15T09:38:00.000-07:00

It's been so crazy around here. Our 4 boys are back at it with school and sports. I've been subbing at different schools in the nurse's office, which I really enjoy. It affects us though as my time and energy are spent elsewhere...

We recently drove up to a resevoir named Millerton Lake and had some simple fun. The boys have always loved to dig in and build something in the sand no matter what body of water we're around. It was a gorgeous day, and very relaxing. I had to keep my shoes on because I HATE trying to get my feet clean and dry to put on my socks and shoes. Even with flip flops it's a challenge to get the sand out. I don't like my feet dirty...can anyone relate?

Here's a card from a while ago. The images are from a retired SU! set. I don't remember any of the details regarding supplies except word window punch, kraft cardstock, close to cocoa ink...um, that's all this brain can dig up! I have loved this set for both boy and girl themed cards. And yes, girls can like frogs! ;-)

Thanks for stopping by.

Puppy update

2008-08-23T22:04:00.000-07:00

A quick update on "Crumpet". Also known as "Pumpkin", "Biscuit" and "Puppy". After posting signs in the neighborhood with no response, calling the local shelters, vets and SPCA to check if anyone is missing this puppy, we ended up taking her to a shelter. The man who took her in said she looked like a purebred Rottweiler. My question was "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" He responded that being a puppy is always good- they get adopted all the time. And being a purebred is good too. My concern was her well-being, and that's why we decided to give her to the shelter. I needed to be realistic about the time and energy it would take to have another big dog here. The organization was pretty sure she'd get adopted, especially with her great disposition and good behavior. I'll be checking up on her online to see when she gets adopted!

Found: smart, cute puppy. Call to claim

2008-08-19T00:29:00.000-07:00

She is really a sweetie! Very smart and well behaved. Where'd she come from you ask? My husband and I walk in the mornings- for our health and our dog's. This morning a college-aged gal was standing in her driveway across the street from where we were walking, talking on her phone with a puppy at her feet. She hollered to us, asking if we'd ever seen this dog before. No sooner than she said that, the pup was on her way over to us, or rather, to our dog. After the initial greeting the dogs gave to each other, seriously about 10 seconds, the girl was gone. Huh? Husband says "C'mon, lets go..." What do I do with this puppy? She has no collar. We're at the beginning of our walk and I only have one poop bag...Do we go back home? Go knock on her door? She obviously is not a dog person! Fast forward to right now. Puppy- whose name is now "Crumpet" is out front in our gated courtyard after a full day of playing with kids and her new 90 lb friend (our dog). She looks like a lab/rottweiler mix and I'm guessing about 3 months old- maybe? We'll be putting signs up around the neighborhood on Tuesday, taking her to a vet that can check for a microchip, and hoping for a happy reunion very soon.

This next picture is a bit blurry, but it reminded me of those toy stuffed dogs with the big noses- do you remember them? They included many of the popular breeds. A retail store where I worked long, long ago carried them, so I bought a few for my kids- using my employee discount of course. She sure is cute, isn't she?
Have a nice day! Peggy

Finally, a card! And some sewing...

2008-08-16T17:24:00.000-07:00

It's been busy, busy, busy around here with a "cram the last fun stuff in before school starts" chaos. But I did manage to stamp a bit. This card uses SU stuff- I'll list specifics at the end. I made 2 versions, this one and one with a zig zag stitch- just for variety. A close relative is getting baptized so this card is for the special day.

Stuff I used:

cardstock: whisper white, so saffron, mellow moss

ink: so saffron, mellow moss

stamps: refuge and strength

accessories: mellow moss taffeta, marvy scallop punch, sewing machine

We have some birthdays to celebrate this coming week. My husband has a niece and nephew that are both married and have kids. So the birthdays are for his great-nephew and great-niece. I was inspired by Nichole Heady's post on fabric purse construction on her blog. Since I also look for excuses to sew (just like stamping!) I thought that a book tote would be perfect for these budding readers (ages 3 and 2). I simply changed the measurements to make the totes a bit larger for books (I started with fabric 14" wide by 24" long) and made the straps from the fabric, otherwise it's exactly the same. Nichole's instructions are clear and simple, plus her photos are very helpful. If you have ever wanted to make a simple gift, this is a good choice. Her project is ideal because it combines sewing AND stamping!! It doesn't get any better than that! Here's her blog:

http://nicholeheady.typepad.com/capture_the_moment/

Look under her list of tutorials for fabric purse construction

She has lots of other very inspiring things to look at too.

The book is one of all the kids' all-time favorites. It was one that my mother-in-law read to my husband when he was a boy- it's a great story for counting, and a few laughs. I recommend it!
Thanks for stopping by!

Something fun to do

2008-08-02T23:28:00.000-07:00

I came across this website: http://wordle.net/
and this is what I made.

Something fun to do by yourself or with a family member! Have a great day!
Peggy

I'm into something new

2008-08-02T01:45:00.000-07:00

I recently took a short course on digital scrapbooking and fell in love with a new *hobby*! I've been long admiring what some creative people can do with some software and their computer...and I had to jump in. I'm still so new at it and the learning curve is high, but it's so fun. I've also found some really terrific sites on the web that are very helpful if you're inclined...lol! Here's a fav:
http://thelegacylady.typepad.com/
She has great tutorials! And a giveaway.

I will post some of my work soon, as one of my issues is learning how to upload the page...that wasn't covered in class! I also have requested some materials from the library, so the problem should be solved soon:)

Baseball thank you card

2008-07-31T22:30:00.000-07:00

I made a few of these baseball cards for son #3's baseball coaches. It's case of a card I had in my favorites on Splitcoaststampers. Here's a link: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/100702?si=baseball&perpage=12&thumbsonly=0&thumbcheck=

I used SU! cardstock, Ranger Inks (walnut, antique linen, old paper) and embroidery floss. The stamps are SU! Classic alphabet and inside is Just Baseball. To get a scuffed look on the ball I used both a needle and some sandpaper.

Thanks for stopping by.

Peggy

Happy Birthday!

2008-07-27T18:08:00.000-07:00

Today is my third son's 9th birthday. A fun reason to celebrate! I haven't been one to make cards or other special things for my own kids! But I'm trying hard to be better at that. Here's the card I made for him- very simple using all SU! stuff.

A sporty thank you

2008-07-24T15:12:00.000-07:00

This is a simple thank you card for my youngest son's basketball instructors. I stumbled across this textured paper at the LSS, and because most of the boys play basketball I knew it would someday come in handy...The lines are drawn in with a sharpie marker. I had to run to the garage to get a basketball to model for me- couldn't do it from memory.

stuff I used:
stamps: sporting, classic stars wheel
ink: su black, really rust
paper: su whisper white, really rust, textured basketball paper (the paper company?)
accessories: gingham ribbon, silver brad, sharpie marker, coluzzle

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day!

A perk to living in California

2008-07-17T09:11:00.000-07:00

One of the great things about living here, besides the weather, is this kind of thing in our backyard. The house we purchased has many fruit trees, which being from Minnesota, is a huge treat. These grapes are almost ready to eat...not sure what kind they are but they look like Thompson grapes.

Here's a quick card too. I made two of them for two friends. The stamps are from "Time Well Spent" and all the stuff is from Stampin Up!

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day!

Peggy

Simple Sundays

2008-07-13T18:15:00.000-07:00

Here are two simple cards I made recently. The "All Star" card was for a swap with a group of demonstrators in the area. I'm NEW to the demo world, but becoming one was actually more than 10 years in the making =-) The second card uses "Enjoy Every Moment", which I made for a relative.

Thanks for stopping by!
Peggy

Stuff I used:

All SU! unless otherwise noted.

"All Star"

cardstock: blue bayou, soft sky, ruby red

designer paper: western sky
ink: versa mark, white craft
accessories: star and large star punches, clear embossing powder, diamond brad (ret. I think), dimensionals, mat pack

stamps: Sporting, classic stars wheel

"Enjoy"

cardstock: whisper white, wild wasabi, chocolate chip

designer paper: afternoon tea

ink: chocolate chip, sage shadow
accessories: ribbon, mat pack

It's coming!

2008-07-10T10:21:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends! I'm in the process of building my blog. I'll be posting some recent projects I've made so please check back. I do appreciate you stopping by!

Have a great day!
Peggy