Simply Simple

My 8 year old niece started at a new school this fall, and the bad news is: it's really hard to start all over and make new friends. The good news is: she's now close to GRANDMA!!!
They're working together really hard to get her reading skills back up to grade and they read together every afternoon after school. She's starting to get more confidence in herself, so I thought I'd do a little something just to let her know we're proud of her. I kept it very simple, but, because she really is Tilda, that's who I used for the image on the bookmark. I hope she gets lots of use out of it.
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Three Playful Mice

Silly meeses! They do love to clown around and take turns making each other laugh. Right now it's Muzzy's turn and of course, he's showing off!!!

Wonder what they'll be up to next. You just never know!

Making a List

Tilda's getting an early start on her Christmas list. She's sitting on her comfy BG Wassail  DP sofa, writing with her pink feather pen. Her foam Sizzix Christmas tree is already decorated, and she's snuggling her tootsies in her FlowerSoft shag carpet. She just finished hanging her Nestie wreath and has settled down to write a long, long list to send to Santa. The Nestie Fancy Tag is cut from Spellbinders Copper metal for lots of shine, and her dress and wreath rose are sprinkled with glitter. My first attempt at Copics were used on her skin, the rest Prismas.
Even though Tilda is only 8 years old, we know that she's a very generous little girl and is making her list for friends and family, especially Edwin, who has been very good this year!

Heads Up for October

Oh boy, October is my busy (read stress-out) month. Too many birthdays, Halloween, everything piles up in October for me. But this year I'm really proud of myself. I'm ALL DONE and it's only Sept 22. Now what am I going to fret about next month. November, maybe? Thanksgiving, another birthday, Christmas !?!?! Oh well,  I'm sure I'll find something. In the meantime I thought I'd post the Halloween cards I made for my nieces and nephew. Kevin, 10; Zoe, 8; Tracy, 4.  These are always fun and I hear that they make the kids laugh.

Kevin's card is a "gate-fold", literally. Metal photo slide secured with little magnet keeps it closed and I hope it's sufficiently grungy, inside and out.

Zoe's card is a little more on the cute? side.

and Tracy's card is a little simpler, for a 4-year-old

I did most of the work on my Cricut, especially the new October 31 solutions cart. The windows are all covered with SU's Crystal Effects and some of the background paper is from Bearly Mine digital collection, the rest from my stash.

Now that these projects are done, maybe I can play with some of my new Mousie images I'm so looking forward to working with. I can only hope!

Welcome, Autumn

Fall has fallen! Summer's over up here north of the Equator, so it's time for a little Autumn fun. I do so miss the huge raked up piles of leaves, running full speed and flying into them head first. Leaves in your hair, stuck on your clothes, spitting them out of your mouth, all the crazy things kids love to do with a simple pile of leaves. Then, at the end of the day, the pungent fragrance of those piles when Dad burned the remains. No more of that today. Not only is it against the law, now, but we barely have what you could consider a decent pile! So. Calif. isn't really known for its wild autumn colors (at least not here in the flatlands.) So, if I can't jump in the leaves or smell the fragrant burning, at least I can enjoy the thrill ride these little guys are having!

The leaves are from Prima, beautiful selection, and the sentiment is JustRite Stampers Autumn Blessings.

A Bushel of Love

Haven't done Red for a little while, so I thought I'd get back into one of my fave colors with this new card.  I just invested in several sets of the JustRite Stampers and have been having fun playing with them  They're a great addition to anyone's card making tools as they provide a whole new range of versatility and possibilities. For this card I used the 3 inch oval "Autumn Blessings" set and the horizontal stamper with Times Roman font to create my own sentiment.  With the fall season upon us and holidays galore rapidly approaching, I'm trying to get into a "seasonal" mood. Slow going, I'm afraid. I hate to say goodbye to summer. Not looking forward to cold tootsies and a red nose!! Wonder if I could move to Australia for six months or so.

I have to acknowledge that I  CASEd this layout from the JustRite website. Made some changes and additions, but it's their basic layout, so thanks to them for the inspiration.

How Sweet It Is!

I made this card a couple of weeks ago for a card swap on another group but I waited until I knew it had been received before posting.The theme is a card using the letter D. So I really had tons of fun making this little scene. except for the fact that it created the most awful craving for Krispy Kremes. Oh boy, that was rough! I colored the frosting with two different shades of Prismacolor Pinks, then sprinkled with the two matching shades of glitter. The letters were some white Thickers that I colored with an old Marvy marker I found that was, luckily, the right color. Finished him off with a fluffy bow and a Magnolia rose. I kinda like the outcome. I don't get to use sparkly sparkles as much as I'd like so I used a heavy hand on this guy. Hope you like him! 

Poor Edwin is Having a Bad Week!

I didn't know when I made this card yesterday that it was going to be of good use so soon. My DIL and I had to rush my son to the ER last night - much pain, fever, etc., etc.. We kept the vigil with him most of the night so I'm not exactly awake this am. He's okay now, luckily just a kidney  infection that should clear up soon. But it scared all of us for quite a time. His B'day is tomorrow and he definitely wasn't pleased with this early present! So I guess this card was timely, huh? Honestly, I'm not picking on Edwin, I'm really not. I promise to make him much happier with his next card.
I cut out all the pieces and put them back together on the Peony nestie. Used Basic Grey Green stack for background, cut branch and leaves w/Sizzix die and made the tag and bushel of apples with my new JustRite stamps. I love that I was able to cut the log from the BG textured card stock. Looks like a real log!

There's a lesson or two here, I think.
1. Always drink plenty of water
2. Never, never, never eat those little green apples!

Lonely Edwin

Made this card for the OWH Card Party this weekend. Little Edwin looks so wistful I just know he's dreaming of home and family. I added him to the Hero Arts Flick'r Gallery in celebration of the OWH  Birthday Bash. I don't get to use Edwin as much as I'd like so this was a great opportunity. Also, I just received a disc with some of the prettiest digi background papers I have ever seen. They're from Bearly Mine (you must check out her website if you haven't already). I used the blue plaid design for my accent paper, the green background is Sizzix texture plate embossed. Edwin is colored with Prisma Pencils 'cuz I'm still anxiously waiting for my SKIN TONE COPICS that I have on order. Can't wait to get them and start learning the Copics way! Now I must get back to more coloring, cutting and pasting. Busy, busy.

 Forgot to add. Made the tag with one of the new JustRite stamps I just received. Now I have more new toys to play with. The tag is heat embossed with Clear Tops Black ep.

Celebrating ........

Wonderful Weirdos Day!! Now this one's just up my alley. I don't know about the wonderful part, but I'm proud to admit I'm a weirdo - and lovin' it. So, in honor of the day dedicated to me and all of you like me, I have posted this cute little guy who really knows the secret to the good life. Enjoy!

Just Magnolia Anything Goes Challenge

How nice of the folks at Just Magnolia to give us a choice of card styles, either "Cracked Glass" or Anything Goes. I'll bet you can guess which one I chose. Yes, I know, the easy way out, but my excuse is, well,  I can't think of an excuse that sounds good. Anyhow, I thought I'd give it a try and since fall is approaching, I used my Sunflower Tilda. Haven't seen any real sunflowers for a few years, but they're very vivid in my memory. So tall, such huge blossoms. They're really quite unique! Summer's last fling in a grand manner!  You can't tell from the photo, but the yellow background paper is flocked and very sparkly. and Tilda's sunflower is a dimensional sticker. Had fun making her, hope you have fun looking at her.

Grandma's Kitchen

I was going through some of my older family photo files and found something that I'd forgotten I have. Now, I ask myself "How could I forget this?" A friend had loaned me stamps for this scrapbook page and I thought they worked well for the subject. Had never heard of Maggies, Tilda, or any of the great images from Magnolia Stamp. Just stamped away because they fit the theme, It wasn't until recently that I discovered Tilda and all her friends so when I found this pic in my file I had to smile. My sis is a wonderful grandma and her two granddaughters, along with her grandson, are spoiled to death (of course.)  I guess I've been a Maggie lover for longer than I thought. Not very good at coloring then, but slowly I'm learning.

Very Happy Tilda

Today I had a special reason to create this happy little Tilda dancing in the flowers, She got some unexpected surprises from a very kind friend and she just has to show her delight. Some days are just so sweet that you have to celebrate and, since I have two left feet, I'll let Tilda do the dancing for me. Thanks Kathy, for making my day!