Trauma Drama

Today my browser is no longer supported by Blogger. I am not happy about this new development. For one thing, I can barely read what I am writing because the font is so small. And I am not sure how to enlarge it. Oh, never mind, I just saw the wrench up in the corner and was able to zoom the font to a comfortable level. If you do not understand that, don't worry about it. Also, I have no idea if this post will look like the former posts on my blog. I guess I will figure that out when I post this. And I am not really crazy about having to use Google Chrome. I have all my favorite addresses on my Internet Explorer browser. And I don't know how to transfer them over to Google Chrome. Which means I need to do some reading, and I don't want to take the time. Yes, I know I am lazy, but also, I am very busy at the moment! So there. (Besides I am somewhat technologically-challenged. OK, OK, I am very technologically-challenged. I live in the right side of my brain most of the time.)

OK, rant over. I'll manage to get this all sorted out somehow. :^)

The other semi-traumatic thing in my life right now is the fact that my month as Guest Designer on the Outlawz Copic/Promarker weekly challenge is over. I am truly sad about that. I have had an absolute blast doing this, and the Outlawz Copic Design Team is the best group of gals to work with! I want to thank each and every one of them for this opportunity and for their support and friendship. It has meant the world to me! It also has checked off one of my "bucket-list" items! You don't realize that you even have "bucket-list" items until you get older. Then you know that there are certain things you want to accomplish or experience before you take your walk to the "other side." (Oh, my daughter is not going to be happy I mentioned this. Sorry, Angela, but we just don't live forever.)  I am so grateful that I have had this opportunity to design with this amazing group of talented ladies. Thank you, Lynne, Carla, Jo, Dawn, Linda, and Linda from the bottom of my heart!

So, without further ado, I will get on with my last Guest Designer card. This challenge was Anything Goes. I decided to do a birthday card for my sister, Barbara. I chose the Sarah Kay Spring Blossoms image and stamped it and the Magnolia Summer Background on Cryogen CS with Memento ink. I took my color scheme from the Crate Paper Paper Heart Collection. I also used a Stampin' Up Birthday Wishes stamp and SU CS. I cut out grass with a die from MFT and colored it with my Copic markers. I also cut out clouds with a die from MFT and colored them lightly with Copics. Leafy flourishes (from Marianne Designs dies) and a pair of scissors (from a Marianne Designs die) were also added to the card. I had intended to add several flowers, but decided to use only one Prima flower, which was also colored with Copics. The scalloped circle was made from a Spellbinders die. I added Glossy Accents to the scissors in the image and accented the image with a Signo Uniball white gel pen.  Copic colors used:  RV000, RV42, YR20, C0, C2, W1, E000, E00, E01, E02, E11, E13, E31, E35, G0000, G00, G82, G85, B0000, B000, B41, B91, B93, R000, R01, R02. 

I am going to enter this card into the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Challenge

7 Kids Challenge

May everyone everywhere have a fabulous Friday and a wonderful weekend!

Yup, I am thrilled!

I am so thrilled because the card I submitted on the last 7 Kids Challenge was picked for a Top 3 award! Is that cool, or what? I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw this today! In fact, I closed out my browser and reopened it, thinking I must have been seeing things. Really! I did. I was up late last night, working on Tristan's Easter card and watching some dumb movie (I can't even remember what it was anymore). I went to bed about 3:00 a.m. So when I got up this morning I had to double-check the 7 Kids challenge website to make sure I wasn't dreaming! I'll have to tell my brother, Larry, that the birthday card I made for him won an award! Ah, it makes my heart so happy! :^)

Yeah, and about the card I was working on last night. That's another story! I spent several hours on it, like I usually do. (I am not a fast creator. My cards take a lot of time to make. Mostly because I spend so much time trying different LO's.) Anyway, when I went back to work on the card today, I found several things I didn't like about it. Like the image, the oval stack, etc. I redid just about all of it. And I had thought I had plenty of time to get it done before the deadline on the CMC Birthday Bash. Um, not so much. I took a photo, then checked it on the computer, found more problems with my image, deleted the photo, fixed the image, took another photo, etc., etc. I did this so many times that I lost count. And patience. I finally gave up and ran with what I had. I photographed it one last time, uploaded the photo, fixed the color, cropped it, and got it in to Suzanne about 20 minutes before the deadline. Nothing like cutting it close or anything! An exercise in exasperation!

I have to get a card made for my sister, Barbara, who is having knee surgery on the 4th, and I need to make another Easter card for a granddaughter. Hopefully, I will be caught up in a few days. But I won't hold my breath.

The image I used for Tristan's card is Magnolia's Edwin with Egg Basket, which I stamped on Cryogen CS with Memento ink. My color scheme came from Basic Grey Lime Rickey patterned paper, and I used Bazzill CS with it. I tied a double bow with my Bow Easy on ribbon I died with my Copics. I topped the bow with a button brad from Stampin' Up. I accented the image with a Signo Uniball white gel pen and applied Glossy Accents to Edwin's buttons. I used several dies: Spellbinders' Grand Ovals and Grand Scalloped Ovals, a Marianne Designs flourish, Memory Box Filigree Egg, and Magnolia Doohickey fence. Copics used were: G20, G21, G24, G28, B32, B34, B37, B39, E0000, E000, E00, E11, E13, E31, E35, YR20, W1, W3, W5, Y00, Y02.

I am entering this card into the following:

Magnolia-licious Challenge

Here's wishing everyone everywhere a terrific Thursday!

Happy Birthday, Larry!

Today is the 59th birthday of my brother, Larry. Happy Birthday, Lar! Hope you have many, many more. And expect to get a load of crap when you turn 60 next year! After all the grief you have given your three sisters about age, you will pay. I promise you that.

Well, I finished the Copic Intermediate Certification Class yesterday. That was a lonnnnng one! I left the house about 8:00 a.m. and got home at 8:30 p.m. Marianne Walker told us that we would be tired at the end of the day. I wasn't tired. Not at all. I was exhausted! Oh, my! I had trouble waiting up for Gary to get home from the wine-tasting party he attended with our daughter, Angela. My eyes were slamming shut by the time he arrived about midnight. And then I collapsed into bed and didn't wake up until 10:00 a.m. this morning. Yeah, I was one pooped-out old lady!

But I did enjoy the class. I found it to be informative and more technique-driven than the first Copic certification class I took. A person can learn something new every day--in fact, I really recommend it to keep your mind fresh, especially as you age. And I did learn some new things about color and using different combinations than I have done so far. I am very glad I went!

We got some "goodies" at the class, but my favorite is the 72-pc. Copic wallet. I was able to replace the last one that I bought that smelled like mildew! I spent this morning cleaning the markers that were stored in the smelly wallet. Had to use Lysol wipes to get rid of the odor on the markers. But they are all clean now, and even my craft room smells better! Of course, most people couldn't tell that there was a mildew-odor on the wallet. Someone even tried to tell me that it was a "plastic-bag" odor. Snort! I knew better than that, because I was cursed with an overly-sensitive nose. I can detect a lot of odors that other people cannot smell. Even the 15 years of smoking when I was young didn't damage my sense of smell.  OK, enough about that.

I am watching the PGA golf tournament. Tiger is up by four strokes right now, and I hope he pulls it out. Why am I cheering for Tiger? That's a good question, since his "fall from grace". I guess I want to see the current records broken. And he is the most likely to do that in the near future. Of course, if he breaks Jack's records, someone like Rory McIlroy will come along and break Tiger's. And I probably will cheer for him, too, if I live long enough. I think I just like to see new records set in sports. (Except when Hank Aaron's record was broken.)

We finished watching season one of "Game of Thrones" on Friday night. Season two starts next Sunday. I can hardly wait! Love that storyline.

Switching gears here:  today's card is a Saturated Canary image, "Bunny Luv". So cute, as all of Krista's images are. I stamped it on Cryogen CS with Memento ink. The sentiment is from Stampin' Up Teeny Tiny Wishes. Patterned paper is from Basic Grey Indie Bloom and CS is Stampin' Up. I added Stampin' Up Baker's Twine, a Tim Holtz Bauble, Wright's lace trim, Queen and Company pearls. The tag, made from a Doohickey die, and embossed with a SU Textured Impressions Houndstooth embossing folder, was lightly sponged with Stampin' Up ink. The eggs were die cut with a Memory Box Filigree Egg die. I used a Spellbinders Classic Heart to make the heart die cut. Lace corners were cut with a Cheery Lynn Lace Corner Deco B die. I accented the image with a Signo Uniball white gel pen, and I added Glossy Accents to her lips, eyes, and egg. She was colored with Copics:  E0000, E000, E00, E11, E13, E50, E53, E57, G20, G21, G24, BG32, BG34, RV52, RV55.

I am going to enter this card into the following challenges:

Basic Grey Girlie
Saturated Canary Twine
Simon Says Bingo
Cheery Lynn Easter

Here's wishing everyone everywhere a wonderful week!

Outlawz Easter/Bunnies/Chocolate Challenge

Today's challenge at the Outlawz Copic/Promarker group is a theme of Easter, Bunnies, or Chocolate. I usually make Easter cards for the granddaughters, so I had no problem with doing something for this challenge. I fell in love with this Marci image, and knew I needed to use it. I am not sure if it will be the card for the girls this year, as I have other images to use for Easter as well. But it certainly fit the "Bunnies" portion of the challenge, right?

I would like to make different cards for each of the girls, but I am concerned that one or both would be unhappy with the card she got, and wishing that she had received the one her sister got. You know how kids can be. So I go with the same image for both, and that way neither one gets jealous.  (You can thank me later, Angela!)

I can hardly believe it's been so many days since I posted last. Where does the time go anyhow? It's almost time for vacation again, and I'm not ready!!!

OK, for this week's update: let's see, I had my mammogram on Monday. I heard today that it was normal. I knew it would be, but it is always nice to have that confirmation. And I got the results of my Lifeline scans--they were pretty good, too. So, for an old lady, I am really, truly, in great shape. Bwaaaahahahaha! Oh, we all know better than that! I am in my "big girl" clothes right now, so my "shape" is not great. It might be super-sized, but it is definitely not great. However, I am in fairly good health. Which would be even better if I could manage to lose some of the extra poundage I am carrying around.

I had this talk with my sister, Merrilyn, just yesterday. She was telling me that I look good and skinny. Yeah, compared to what? The Goodyear Blimp? How dare she! She is getting thinner and thinner due to eating right and swimming an hour a day, everyday. So she is doing everything right for her health now, and me, ah, not so much. But, before I take the next step to even bigger "big girl" clothes, I will do something about my weight. Perhaps I'll have a tummy tuck. Yeah, that's the ticket. That should get rid of about 20 pounds, give or take. Oh, I'm just kidding. It would get rid of 30 pounds, at least. Nah, I really am kidding. I would not have surgery to fix my problem. I hate going under anesthesia for surgery! Instead, I have to bite the bullet and eat better and work out. Gosh, this sounds familiar. I think I was saying this last summer before we went to Maui. Then winter came and the weight piled back on, and now I have to pick myself up, dust myself off, and start all over again. Ever have that problem? B.O.R.I.N.G.

We went to dinner at J & G Steakhouse at the Phoenician Tuesday night for Gary's birthday. They have great steaks, which we had; but honestly, their shrimp salad is unbelievably divine. I didn't even need the steak after that salad. (Yeah, but my body was screaming for more calories, so I just had to oblige.) Maybe the next time we go there, I will only order the salad. Yeah. Right.

Then we went to the Deli on Wednesday for another yummy wine dinner. We went with our football buddies, Andy and Amy. We sit next to them at the Cardinals' games. We renewed our season tickets for this fall and chose to stay in the same seats. Rather than upgrading those seats, the four of us are going to buy Diamondbacks' 10-pack tickets for this baseball season. I know we will enjoy those games, too. It is nice to live in a metro area that gives us a variety of ways to spend Gary's hard-earned money!

I found another way to spend his money. I broke my paper trimmer, so I finally bought myself a new one. A very expensive one. It's a professional model Rotatrim. OMG! Does it cut beautifully! It takes a little getting used to, but it makes fabulous, even cuts. And it cuts paper like buttah! Hopefully, I will never need another trimmer. My daughter, Angela, recommended it. I can see why! It arrived today, and I am so very happy to have it! Gary is very happy for me. Sure he is.

I am currently working on a card for several challenges. I hope to get it finished before Sunday, but since I am spending all day tomorrow at the Copic Intermediate Certification class, I have my doubts. I'll just have to work really hard on it today. I will post it when I get it done. In the meantime, I will leave you with my "Bunnies" card.

This darling image, (and sentiment), is La-La Land Crafts Marci with Bunny, which I stamped on Cryogen CS with Memento ink. My colored CS is from Stampin' Up. The color scheme was dictated by the patterned paper from the SEI Sunny Day collection. The die cuts were made from Spellbinders Fancy Tags, Floral Flourishes, and Parisian Motifs. I added Queen and Company pearls and some flowers by Prima and Wild Orchid Crafts. Marci was accented with a Signo Uniball white gel pen. My Copics used were: Y17, G94, G99, YR12, YR15, YR16, RV52, RV55, C00, C0, E0000, E000, E00, E11, E13, E25, E31, E50.

I am going to enter this card into the Anything Goes challenge at the CMC classroom:

CMC Copic Challenge