PRETTY DOILIES

Good morning all! It is a beautiful day here in Northern California so I will have to be spending some time outside today in the pool :-) I love days like this - a little breeze, warm but not blazing hot, and not a cloud in the sky - makes me smile!!! I finally got my stamp room clean and back to normal - I am one of those people who cannot create unless everything is clean and back where it belongs.  Drives me crazy! So, I will definitely be getting some creative time in today as well!!! My husband is still home - he took the whole week off to get used to a new routine and to get caught up on some much needed rest! It has been nice to have him home, but hard to keep to my regular routine, lol! I usually hang out in my stamp room all day long, but I feel bad doing that when he is home, I feel I should be spending that time with him! But, I DID tell him that today he might get ignored somewhat while I try and get back to business *wink*

Today I want to share with you a fun card I made using the Delicate Doilies stamp set - love it! I never thought much about doilies, I just associated them with elderly people and as decorations on the arms of chairs, heehee! So, when this set first came out, I was not blown away.  But, then of course I saw some amazing things done with it and thought - WOW! I am missing out, and now I just love to play with it! Isn't that always the way??  I love this color combo too, fun and bright, which I love! The base of the card is Calypso Coral, a new yummy in-color that quickly captured MY attention because I am a huge fan of anything in the orange family :-) I paired it with Baja Breeze, and though it might be hard for you to see here, I stamped the background using the new Netting Background stamp, another new favorite of mine. The pretty lace was made using the Lace Border punch, soooo pretty! The doilies are stamped in Daffodil Delight, Island Indigo, and Calypso Coral classic inks, and then punched out using my circle and Scallop circle punches. Every other one is popped up on a dimensional to give the card some depth.  Then, I had to add some rhinestones because I just think they were needed, lol! The last touch on this card was adding a bit of the super cute ruffled ribbon in Calypso Coral - this ribbon comes in all the new in-colors and is so very pretty I tend to hoard it, heehee! Don't you just love it??!  This card makes me happy, and it was super fun to make! I actually did this card in a workshop, although it is a little more involved than I would normally do.  However, they are a group of seasoned stampers and they had no problems at all :-) I will leave you with the recipe and if you would like any of the items featured here, you can purchase them all in my online store or by contacting me with your order.  I hope you all have a wonderful day and have time to be creative!!
Card Recipe:
Paper - Calypso Coral, Baja Breeze, Whisper White card stock
Inks - Calypso Coral, Island Indigo, Daffodil Delight classic inks
Stamps - Delicate Doilies, Netting background stamp
Tools - Small Oval Punch, 1 3/4 inch, 1 3/8, 1 1/4  inch circle punches, 1 3/4 inch Scallop Circle punch, Lace Border punch, dimensionals
Accessories - Rhinestones, Calypso Coral ruffled ribbon

GETTING BACK TO NORMAL

Hi all!!! I wanted to take the time out to tell all of you who have called, emailed, sent cards etc. that I TRULY appreciate you all as does my family - it is so heartwarming to know how many really care!! Thanks from the bottom of my heart <3.  Things are slowly getting back to normal around here - I actually am cleaning my stamp room today from the mess I left it in last week after my workshops and classes - I never do this, but well, it was NOT a normal week! So, I am hopeful that once it is clean (was going to do this yesterday but watched movies all day with my husband instead) I will feel like doing some stamping :-) I have two events this weekend to prep for, and I need to make some things for my daughter's bathroom walls since we just painted it and bought new stuff for it.  She now wants some nice pretties on the wall and THAT I can do *wink*

  I thought I would share a cute workshop project I made for one of my events last week - it is a corner bookmark and just sooo fun to make and looks pretty too! I have to make some "cool" looking ones for my daughter and her best friend because they both want one, lol!  I made this one using the Timeless Portrait Designer Series paper along with the Elements of Style stamp set, one of my very favorites from the catalog! I paired the DSP with Cherry Cobbler and Marina Mist - love this combo!! We punched along the bottom using the Scallop Trim border punch, and then added some pretty Victoria Lace ribbon as well! the back of the bookmark has a pocket built into it that allows it to slide right over the pages of the book or magazine you are reading to save your place for those moments you get interrupted, lol!

Here is a picture of the bookmark holding my place in the Summer Mini (which goes away at the end of this month), just to give you an idea of how it works!  I think it is so cute and fun, what a great way to pretty up something practical! For my demonstration project and hostess gift, I decided to make a card that went along with the bookmark, so that if anyone wanted to give a bookmark as a gift, they had a cool way to present the gift and a card all in one! I used the same color combination for the card, adding in the Basic Black card stock for the base of the card and the bookmark placeholder. I also used a different stamp set for the sentiment.  It is called Precious Butterflies, and it my absolute favorite hostess stamp set - you can only purchase this one if you host a workshop and believe me, it is soooo worth it! Just a beautiful set chock full of gorgeous butterfly images!!! Check it out - so stinkin' pretty!!!! I used some of the new yummy Cherry Cobbler scalloped polka dot ribbon - oh my!!! Love this ribbon, and it comes in eight fabulous colors (and yes, I have them all, heehee!)  What is so fun about this card is the middle triangle piece - see how it is shaped like the bookmark and popped off the page a bit? Well, that is so you can slide the bookmark right over it and give the card to someone with the bookmark included! Clever, right?! 

So, let me share a picture of the card with the bookmark attached.  See how pretty it all looks when you put it together? I think there are lots of people out there who would appreciate this little gift - I know I have given them out, and never had anything but smiles from them, lol! My workshop gals loved it, and the hostess was thrilled that she got to keep the card with her bookmark although she DID tell me that she was NOT giving hers away, LOL!  All of these items that you see here can be purchased in my online store or by placing an order with me! You can contact me and I will be happy to place your order and answer any questions you might have.  Also, if you would like to book a workshop where I come over and stamp with you and your friends, I would love to do that as well!!! It is always fun to get together with friends and make pretty things :-) I love it!! Now, I am off to finish putting my stamp room back together, finishing up the laundry, and then I have to pick up the kiddos from school - no rest for the wicked, right??! Have a fabulous day and I will be back tomorrow with something fun I made in one of my other events! Until then, I hope you have time to create - go stamp something!!!

Card/Bookmark Recipe:

Paper - Basic Black, Cherry Cobbler, Marina Mist, Very Vanilla card stock, Timeless Portrait Designer Series paper

Inks- Cherry Cobbler, Marina Mist classic stampin' pads

Stamps - Precious Butterflies, Elements of Style

Tools - Scallop Trim Border punch, 1 3/8 and 1 1/4 inch circle punches, 1 3/4 inch Scallop Circle punch, Large Oval punch

Accessories - Victoria Lace ribbon, Cherry Cobbler Scalloped Polka Dot ribbon, Basic Pearl

VERY SCARY WEEK FULL OF EMOTION

Good morning!  I realize it has been over a week since I posted last, but it was an extremely stressful and emotional week in our house.  First, my son had oral surgery to have his wisdom teeth taken out. He had a really bad reaction to the anesthesia, and had a seizure, and lost consciousness. Well, naturally I freaked out because I was with him when it happened.  I immediately called the doctor, got Tyler on the couch with the help of my daughter, and got him conscious again.  Then, he started to lose consciousness again and so I put a cool, wet towel on his head and this seemed to really help. I had the doctor on the phone with me for about 30 minutes as we talked with Tyler to ensure he really was okay, or if he needed to go to the emergency room.  Once I got some water into him, kept the cool towel on his head, he was fine, but WOW! very scary moments for mom and sister, who was with me, and thankfully was helping me with him.  I stayed up with him over night , waking him every hour to change his bandages in his mouth (not fun at all!) and then every four hours to give him his medicine to keep the pain down.  Needless to say, I was exhausted by the next morning, only catching a few hours of sleep in between taking care of Tyler.  At about 7:30am the next morning, I head my husband yell my name out in a panic.  After seeing him, I rushed him to the emergency room where he was admitted - for the next three days, it was test after test for him as we realized a very serious thing had happened.  Out of respect for him, I will not discuss this in detail, but it was a very real and frightening experience for all of us, including his parents and siblings who came to the hospital to see him.  I think I aged ten years this past week.  Tony is my best friend, and the love of my life - I cannot imagine life without him.  I am sooo thankful he is home now, with no lasting effects of what happened.  We have had to make some changes here in the Hobson family, but nothing we can't handle.  Thankfully, things seem pretty much back to normal for all of us as the kids started school this morning, and Tony went in for a quick doctor's appt before he too will head back for work on Wednesday.  As you probably realize, I have not been doing any creating this past ten days or so, but I plan on changing that today.  I need to go to my happy place for a little while today - it really does make a difference for me! So, I will have something creative and fun to share tomorrow, but I wanted to let you all know that we are doing much better! For those of you who have been calling, and have helped out this last week, I cannot tell you how much it has meant - my love and hugs go out to all of you!!! I hope you all have a wonderful day, and remember to hug your loved ones and let them know how much you love them!  Be back tomorrow!