Thank You Card

My current round of stamp club wrapped up tonight, but I am continuing with this monthly activity even though work is busier in the summer and fall for me. Stamping is a fun stress reliever and I enjoy meeting people through crafting.

I used the color combination from the recent 10 Minute Craft Dash and an Operation Write Home blog sketch to make a thank you card for our stamp club organizer, Pam.

Supplies:
Stampin Up!: pattern paper, Bashful Blue cardstock, stamps, punches, So Saffron ribbon and buttons (most items retired, current items linked)
Other: red card stock

Summer Weekend Fun

Last weekend, Alex and I attended two birthday parties for his preschool classmates. We had a great time, and I got to chat for a while with the other parents. Alex has been at his current preschool for over a year, and I appreciate that the center is small.

One of the birthday parties was at Vasona Park, and we rode the train. Alex was more interested in the train whistle than in posing for a picture.

Today we went to Happy Hollow Zoo & Park. I have been interested in taking Alex here for the past year. We met up with a couple of other families from our Las Madres group and had a fun time. We mainly rode the rides and did not spend time in the zoo part. (We can always go back for another trip.) Alex enjoyed the kiddie roller coaster, bike track, and all of the slides.

Hello 10 Minute Card

For this card, I combined the current Little Tangles challenge and the color combination from the current 10 Minute Craft Dash challenge.

It is a fun change to push myself to make a card in less then 10 minutes. My time for this card was 9 minutes and 43 seconds.

Supplies:
Stampin' Up: Bashful Blue card stock, So Saffron ribbon, patterned paper (retired products)
Neat & Tangled: Just Hello stamp set
Other: Neenah solar white card stock, Memento Summer Sky Ink, Bazzill Dotted Swiss red card stock.

On Monday night I will post a card I made in more than 10 minutes with the same color combination. My usual approach to cards to is take my time and add embellishments until I am happy with the card.

Card for Lawnscaping Challenge #59

I created a card for the Lawnscaping Coloring Challenge. The kangaroo and joey were colored with Copic markers (E33, E36 & R21). For the challenge, I played with some Lawn Fawn stamps and supplies from Stampin' Up!





Supplies Used:
Lawn Fawn Stamps - Say Cheese and Critters Down Under
Stampin' Up! - Tempting Turquoise card stock & button, Pool Party Baker's Twine and Cloudy Day Embossing Folder
Other: Neenah Solar White card stock

We live an hour from the beach.

We live an hour from the beach, so we met some friends at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk on Saturday. I am glad that we arrived early since it gets crowded as the day goes on. Alex loved the rides and playing in the water. He was born in South Texas, so he is not used to the cold Pacific water yet. We walked out onto the Pier and saw the noisy sea lions. We ended the trip with some ice cream, but Alex mainly wanted my chocolate cone.

Two Books

On Sunday I read Who Moved My Cheese for work (the second job where I teach a class during the fall semester). The book has me thinking about why I have (mostly) embraced change for the past year and a half. We had the Cheese in Texas. A house, a quick commute to our good jobs, family nearby, friends, good neighbors and more. In some ways I was curious to see if there is better Cheese in California. Mainly, I knew that life can really change at any time, and I have accepted a certain level of uncertainty. I did not want to get too comfortable. Moving has helped me examine my priorities. Change has helped me appreciate the good things that we've had in the past and not be afraid to keep searching for the right fit. It seemed to me that the book was written for people who have never been through big changes. For the rest of us, it is old cheese (pun intended), but I am still glad that I read it. It never hurts to reflect and now I can make some cheese jokes.

Next I get to move on to the book that my cousin wrote. You can buy it though the Amazon Kindle store, and it is free for a little while longer. It is a Science Fiction/Fantasy/Young Adult novel.

Coffee Filter Flower

The May/June issue of Paper Crafts magazine showcases cards using supplies from your kitchen. It inspired my to make a flower using coffee filters.



First I punches out some scallop circles and one inch circles. Then I generously misted them with the Color Shine spray. I gave then lots of time to dry before I layered them into a flower with a brad.



I used an OWH sketch to assemble a simple card with some of my favorite paper and ribbon. This is part of my "homework" for my June Stamp Club.

Here is the finished card:


I am adding this card to the Simon Says Stamp "Anything Goes" challenge.

Supplies Used:
Stampin' Up!: Pattern Paper, Scallop Punch, Small Circle Punch, Ribbon, Brad
Papertrey Ink: Card Stock
Martha Stewart: One Inch Circle Punch
Heidi Swapp: Color Shine Spray
Misc: Coffee Filters