Newton Needs Coffee

Wednesday means a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches!  I love Jen M's sketch this week so much!  I also used it for the card I posted yesterday; it was just flipped for that one!  :)   I love this week little coffee and kitty set from Newton's Nook.  That looks like me every morning as I want on my coffee to finish brewing!  The colors from this card come from the Cupcake Inspirations challenge.

  

Snowman and Cocoa

I'm running so behind with my stamping, but I wanted to be sure I used this adorable image that's the From the Heart Stamps stamp of the month.   I love snowmen and hot chocolate, so together they make my heart happy.   :)   If you haven't played along with their monthly progressive challenge, it's a great month to jump in and start since this guy is only $1.  What a deal, huh?   I'm really enjoying digital stamps now, so I love getting the new one every month!

Laila is feeling much better and not coughing much at all.  I'm so thankful because those nights getting up and down all night with her was wearing us out.   Of course now Jason is sick, so...  lol   I always have sinus issues going on, but I sure hope to avoid this yuck.  

Super Girl Birthday

Whew.  I actually made a card!  I spent most of the weekend working on organizing my stamp room, but I did sneak in one card.  I wanted to play along with the sketch at MFT Card Challenges and the Anything Goes challenge at 7 Kids College Fund Challenge.   I just love this super girl image.  It is the perfect (late) birthday card for a special friend of mine who loves superheroes.  I hope its cuteness makes up for its lateness.  lol

Laila is finally starting to feel better.  She's still coughing a little, but the oral steroid they gave her at the doctor last week helped with part of the croup.   She sure woke up early today, so I'm going to need another cup of coffee to stay awake!   Have a great week!

Magical Harry

It's Wednesday and time for a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches!  My sweet friend Jen T. is the hostess this week and she has a simple sketch that is super versatile for everyone.  I hope she forgives me for changing the orientation to portrait.  :)   I didn't have much time to make my card so I grabbed this panel I'd colored a while back, added a sentiment, and a little strip of Crushed Curry.   Super simple.

A couple people had asked about the stamps for this card.  The Harry Potter is a digital one from Bugaboo stamps and you can find it here.  The sentiment is from a set from The Cat's Pajamas called Presto.  I hope that helps!

We are having a rough sleep week already.  Laila is sick with what might be croup, so we are off to the doctor with her today to see what's going on.  Jason and I starting to get sick as well, so chicken soup might be on the menu for dinner.   And hopefully naps are in our future.  ...yawn...

Happy Birthday Bird

Well, I'm only like super late with my Freshly Made Sketches post.  lol Better late than never though, right?   Amy has such a fun sketch this week and I was excited to play along.  My brother is a St. Patrick's Day baby so I decided to get ahead and make his birthday card!   I used the fun bird stamp I got at From the Heart stamps because he cracks me up and my brother needs some laughs right now.

  

I am still struggling to create very much.  I think about it, but I just can't bring myself to go in my room and do it.  I might try to challenge myself to redo one of the Online Card Classes I've done in the past or even make a card every day in March to get myself back in the mode.  Or just color images for now and work on the card part later?  I don't know...   Laila is sick with a cold now so sleep is a bit rough.  I'm headed to take a nap now!  

Before I go, here's the newest member of our family.  His name is Pet (Laila named him).  lol  Laila LOVES him and he seems to like his new home in our 10 gallon tank.  :) 

Winter Thinking of You

I thought I'd share another card we made in my class on Sunday.  I had pinned this video from Penny Black ages ago and thought it might be a fun technique to try with my ladies.   I had a bit of a touch time with it using watercolors, but it was pretty easy with distress inks.  Their cards all turned out so great and I was so happy at how adventurous they were in trying it.  I did take a big leap and let them use my awesome Branch Out set that I don't like to share.  lol  (Thanks again, Pat!)

I'm enjoying the freedom of teaching classes with no worry about who makes the product or if it is retired.  I love not worrying able selling things either.   I loved my time with Stampin' Up!, but I'm having a blast with so many other products.  I keep debating on selling off more of my SU stuff, but I know I still love some of it and will get back to using it more one day.   I think...  ;)

Laila loved the local nature park we went to and it really is a great place.  They have a playground, a center with all these bones/skeletons/skins as well as furs and preserved bugs and birds, live snakes and turtles, a turtle pond, and a little old time village where they host heritage days.  They have a program for 3/4 year olds, so I signed her up to go next month.  I hope she enjoys it!

Freshly Made Smiles

Surprise!  Two days in a row. lol  Today is a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches and I was able to make a card yesterday while Laila was at MDO.  :)   Yay!  Narelle created this fabulous sketch and I loved using it! I pulled out a Simon Says Stamp card kit and used the products from there along with my SSS stitched circles die and a Tim Holtz stencil for this cute, but simple card.  The current SSS Flickr challenge is anything goes, so I just had to enter!

Isn't that a fun sketch?  I just love it!   I also love what the team did with it and can't wait to see the gallery this week!

Look at that face!  I swear she's a mess. So smart, but so sassy.  SOOOOO sassy.  It's hard to figure out how to discipline her without breaking her spirit.  She's been a huge challenge for me as I struggle and fumble my way through PMDD and my low iron/vitamin D issue.  Three year olds and a tired, grumpy momma are a volatile combination at times.  I'm trying so hard though and I hope one day she knows that.  <3 arenting="" attempted="" difficult="" ever="" for="" i="" is="" most="" nbsp="" p="" sure="" the="" thing="" ve="">

Chemistry Love

Believe it or not, I'm still alive.  It's been a rough start to the year and I haven't had much luck creating anything.   I did have a class on Sunday, so I thought I would share one of the projects we made.  I love this Undeniable Chemistry stamp set and matching dies from My Favorite Things.  As a science nerd, they were a must have for me.  I wanted to teach my ladies about distress inks, so we used those as well.   Everyone did an amazing job and I was so proud of them.  :)

On a side note for my dog loving readers, I donated all the money I made to Reggie's Friends to help with a special girl named Flora that they recently rescued.  They have two dogs with VERY bad injuries that need a lot of love and help and it was just on my heart to help.  If you would consider helping as well, please check out their Facebook page.

Chef Laila and I are making an oven omelet (thanks, Pinterest) for dinner and she is a great stirrer.  :)  So silly!  She's still having a rough time at school, so I guess we are going to do an official evaluation through the school.   The counselor I had her see says she's just gifted and strong-willed, so fingers crossed that it.   She's doing a lot better with other kids now, but we still have a long way to go.