Lawn Fawnatics 109

 Hi friends! Are you enjoying the first week of autumn? It's been cooler here in Texas, so we have been loving it. Anything below 90 degrees feels amazing. lol I wanted to play along with a challenge and use some of my fall stamps, so I decided to finally ink up my cute apple set from Lawn Fawn for their Lawn Fawnatics challenge. I decided to go with a clean and simple card to let the red of the apples pop. 

That's it for me. I'm a Jeopardy fanatic and strangely it comes on in the morning in Texas. I gotta go get my laundry folded to get ready. 

Have a great rest of the week!

Rita 

Lawn Fawnatics 106

 Hi, friends. I hope your week went well. Can you believe it's the weekend already? Wow! I don't know where the week went, but it's been so hot all week that I think we just sweated our way through the days. I'm so over summer, especially now that I've started walking every evening. I end up a sweaty mess. Anyway, I wanted to share my card for the current Lawn Fawnatics challenge. They had a sketch challenge and I decided to play along I love this cute little camper set. 

Have a great weekend!

Rita

Fall Leaves

Back again! Don't faint. lol Thank you to those who have reached out. It's always nice to know someone is still following along with me. :) Do you have a favorite season? I LOVE autumn, but we don't really have one here in Texas. My husband ordered and planted a red maple in our backyard this month so that I could maybe have a little bit of the colors in the years to come. I thought that was so sweet. For now though, I enjoy the colors in my crafting. This card was done using a technique from the Falliday Fest challenges. You can find the directions here. 

The leaves are Lawn Fawn dies and I used a few colors of Distress Oxides. I don't have all of those, just one of each color really. It works though. 

My sweet girl. I sure do miss her a bunch. I thought they returned her to me so thoughtfully. I keep touching her urn every time I walk by. I've lived in Texas for 18 years and she was with me for all but 6 months of that. I just love cats and she was a special one. We have two others, but they aren't "my" cats if that makes sense. 

Lawn Fawnatics Camping

I haven't played around with the cute set from Lawn Fawn very much, so I grabbed it this week. I used some fun hillside and mountain dies to make a little scene. The current Lawn Fawnatics challenge is all about bling, so all my stars have Wink of Stella and my tire centers are rhinestones. I can't ever seem to do photos where shiny things show up, but it's there!

Sorry I crapped out on you guys. It's been a rough parenting week and my depression and anxiety are through the roof.  I'm thinking it's just going to be like this for the next 12 years and I should get used to it. :/ Blah.

Dog Explosion

Ever make one of those cards that you just can't wait to send??  We made a new friend during our trip to Kentucky and she had the three cutest dogs. I wanted to send her a little care package, so I had to include a card of course. :) I tried my best to color the dogs to look like hers. Yorkies are beyond my capability, but I tried. lol The dogs are from Lawn Fawn.

The inside has explosion stamped all over it. When we spent the night with her, Laila didn't get to see the dogs until the next morning. They pretty much exploded out of the bedroom all crazy and she was laughing saying it was like a dog explosion. We had fun laughing about that the whole trip. That was a pretty accurate description.  lol

Can I ask a huge favor from those of you who have Facebook?  Laila took some pictures this week with my DSLR and got this shot. She's entering it in a gardening photo contest to try and win a gift card. She's currently in second place, which is still a winner, but she's only like 11 likes out of first place. That's the difference of $100!!  If you have time to like it, you can find it here. Thank you!! We also have another junior photographer contest to enter at one of our favorite nurseries, so I need to print it and get a mat for it. I'm so proud of her. :)

Are you ready for Shark Week?

Happy Trails

Hey guys! I hope everyone is doing well. It's been kinda busy and crazy here, so I haven't had time to post. I haven't been stamping much until this past week when I crazily decided to make cards for all the staff and teachers that Laila interacts with at school.  That sure kept me busy!!  This was the card I made for the technology teacher. I'm hoping she is old enough to remember The Oregon Trail. It was one of the first games I remember playing on a computer. (Yes, I'm old.) The stamps are from Kindred Stamps. The dies for the background are all Lawn Fawn.

Today is the last day of school for Laila. I'm thankful for that as it's been a rough year. I've had some talks with her principal over the past two weeks and it seems that our concerns about her teacher were also noticed by him and the assistant principal. He is thinking a lot about the right fit for her next year and seems positive that we'll find what works for her. I just hate seeing someone obviously dislike my girl to the point that she pretty much tells us that. :( So only 3 more hours of that and we move on to better things!! 

I should have more cards to post over the next few days.  Take care!

FMS309 Thankful Leaves

Time for a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches. I had a difficult time with this one. I wasn't have a good day mentally yesterday and that really impacted my creativity. I did finally get something that wasn't totally awful, so I decided to go ahead and post it. I'm trying to get better about playing along again and they won't all always be masterpieces, right? lol  Linda is the sketch designer and I am absolutely in LOVE with what she did with the sketch. Be sure you jump over to the FMS page and check it and all the other DT cards out.

My card is also for Ceal's challenge over at the Splitcoast Falliday Fest challenges. She asked everyone to use an acrylic block on their background. I used the Stampin' Up! D block and distress inks for mine. I did mess up my original background, so I die cut the area and moved it to a new front. 

Laila had an awful day at school yesterday that included kicking her teacher. They did a reflection discussion at school over it and she did apologize. We talked about it more at home and decided to do something nice for the teacher. We decorated a bag and added snacks and then also made her a card. I was hoping our success on Monday would keep going, but it was the total opposite yesterday.  She did do good in specials at the end of the day, so that was a plus. That's been one of her biggest problem areas, so that was good to see. We'll keep working and seeing how things go.  We've always been told that it gets worse before it gets better, so... 

Fall Coffee Lovers Blog Hop

It's been a crazy busy past week, but I didn't want to miss out on the Fall Coffee Lovers Blog Hop.  I have been in a bear mood lately, so I grabbed my Honey Bee Stamps Flakey set and colored this cute bear. The set also has a cute little coffee, so my bear wanted a pumpkin spice latte. :) The sentiment is from Unity and the leaf die cuts are from Lawn Fawn. That's a lot of white space, huh? lol

Everyone ready to welcome in Fall tomorrow?  It will probably be 90 degrees in Texas, but at least the coffee drinks change. 

School is going as I figured it would.  Two phone calls from the teacher so far, spending time with the principal...  She has made major improvements though, so I hope we can continue with the positive things.  It's just hard not to be frustrated already. Social skills playgroup might have to come back in play as it helped so much. She already got sick and missed a day, but she's on the mend with just a little cough left.

On day one of school she wouldn't color anything. One sheet she brought home had nothing colored, the second had a swipe of orange. This was towards the end of last week, so yay!

Now I gotta run and go pack her lunch and then wake her up! Have a great Thursday!

Freshly Made Sketches 302

Jumping in and playing along with Freshly Made Sketches this week.  I saw the sketch and had an idea, so I tried to find time to see if that idea translated well to paper.  I am happy with how it turned out.  I had the watercolor background in my stash waiting to be used, so yay for one less thing being stored. :) I've been trying to use more vellum lately too as it's been sitting unused for a while too. I hope you like it!

Before I run off and get ready for playgroup, I thought I'd share pictures of Laila's school.  

 This is the library.  It is amazing. I wanted to just move in!

 I took this when we were walking in.  It's neat because all the grades have their own hallway.

 Her classroom.  They are still waiting on tables for the room.

She made herself at home.  She was pretty overwhelmed, but she did hug her teacher by the end of our visit.  I hope she's excited to go on Monday.  I'm a bit nervous about figuring out drop off and all that, but Jason took off all next week.  I'm happy to have backup! 

Owls and Puppies Oh MY!

Yappy Saturday!  Just checking in with a couple of cards.  I haven't stamped much this week, but I finally made myself come try and was able to make a few.  More Falliday challenges.  Today is the last day and I think there's a week to play catch up.  I won't finish them, but I do hope to do a few more.  This challenge was to make a pet thank you card.  It is for a card drive for the Tri-County Humane Society in Minnesota.  I'm glad they are doing some card drives for the challenges.  I'm trying to at least do those and maybe follow up with a few more of the theme before I mail them.

(Did you see I used some Baja Breeze for this one?  I totally hoard it, but I need to use it!)

I had to edit and add that I used the sketch at Freshly Made Sketches!  I am taking a little time off, but I want to play along as I can. :)

Sorry for the bad picture.  I prefer taking them on our dining room table with natural lighting, but Laila seems to pile all her crap up on it and it's a half-day job to clear it off.

Next was a challenge to make an owl card.  I love this Winter Owl stamp from Lawn Fawn and thought it would be fun to use.  I wanted to make Jason a card.  All the things going on with Laila are putting a lot of stress on our marriage.  I don't know how that will all play out, but I hope we can figure out how to make it work.  I love him.  Marriage is hard though, especially with an extra challenging child.  I'm going to sneak out and put in the car so he'll find it going to work tomorrow.

Laila picked Pikachu as her Halloween costume for the year.  It was so hard to find one in her size, but I finally got this one.  It's kinda cute and is actually pajamas so she can wear it after Halloween too.  She seems to be in some crazy growth spurt with how she's eating, so we shall see how long it actually fits.  Of course this happens AFTER we buy her pants for winter and new shoes!

Falliday Leaves

Hey!  I missed you guys yesterday.  I had a card to post, but things got busy and I didn't have time to sit down and do it.  I'll share more on that later.  :)   First here is my card.  Dina's challenge was to use die cuts for masking.  I cut some leaves out of masking paper and masked off some watercolor paper.  I followed up with some Brusho crystals.  I finished it off with a bit of distress ink and a die cut sentiment.   Fun, huh?  the Stampin' Up! Dictionary stamp added some fun detail as well.  Be sure to go check out the Falliday challenges!

Stamps:  Stampin' Up! Dictionary (retired)
Ink:  Brusho Crystals, Vintage Photo distress ink
Paper:  Stampin' Up! More Mustard, Canson Watercolor paper
Other:  Lawn Fawn Stitched Leaves dies, Concord & 9th grateful die, bakers twine, masking paper

Now about yesterday...

As I sat down to eat dinner I looked outside and saw a little dog.  He was cute, a little black scruffy one.  I looked closer and I could tell that he was a stray.  His fur was matted and he was so dirty.  I set up our extra dog crate, got some food, and headed out to see if I could catch him.  I didn't know what I was going to do with it, but I at least wanted to feed him.   I caught him and he was the sweetest thing.  Laila and I took him to a vet and they didn't find a microchip.  He had a collar but no tags. I could tell he had been out on his own for a while.  I contacted a local rescue and they were able to take him.  I was sad to leave him, but my life is too crazy for anything else.  Here he is:

Laila and I drove him over to the rescue's vet this morning.  Last I heard he was being groomed.  I can't wait to see some after pictures and see him in a loving home.

I appreciate everyone's words about Laila and sharing our struggles. I'll try to share as I can to let you know how we are.  I know Kelly mentioned that I don't share as many photos of Laila like I used to.  Part of the reason for that is because she doesn't make eye contact with the camera much anymore.  It's a struggle to have her be still long enough to snap one too.  If I do ask her to take one, I get this.  lol

Fall Coffee Lovers Hop

I haven't been stamping much lately due to no mojo/life is in the way, but I took a little time to try and make something for the Fall Coffee Lovers blog hop that's going on this week.  Fall and coffee are two of my favorite things, so it kinda had to happen.  lol  I used some dies from Avery Elle, My Favorite Things, and Lawn Fawn along with a sentiment from Wplus9.  And my distress inks of course!  :)

I'll be back another day to update on Laila and all that's been going on.  We've both been sick and more school issues, so I'm worn out!  I'm heading to relax and listen to a podcast before cleaning and dinner time starts.  

Have a great week! 

Rita

Fab Friday Unicorn

The past week has been icky, so I thought I'd try to stamp something tonight.  I love the new sketch over at Fab Friday and it looked like a fun starting point.  I got a couple of new stamps this week and this cute Winter Unicorn from Lawn Fawn was one of them.  It looked like it might work, so I colored him up and added some festive paper.  I don't know that I love it, but I'm proud of myself for trying. 

Stamps:  Lawn Fawn Winter Unicorn

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin' Up! Real Red, Ranger Caribbean Coast

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, SU Real Red, patterned paper scrap

Dies:  My Favorite Things Stitched Mini Scalloped Circles, Lil' Inker Stitched Rectangles, MFT Blueprints 20

Copics:  R20, R32, R35, R37, R81, R83, R85, B000, B00, B02, BV23, T0

Last Friday was one of the saddest days of my life.  I had to say goodbye to my Bandit.  He was such a huge part of me and I miss him so much.  I love our other pets, but he was just something special.  You can see how silly he was.  He was always taking toys, shoes, whatever he could find to his box nest to snuggle with.   I know we had many days where we scrambled to find our missing shoes, not knowing where he might have put them.   He was just full of spunk and personality.  He hated everyone that didn't live in our house, but he loved us something fierce.  I don't think we'll ever find another like him.

Owl Birthday for FMS

Wednesday again?  It is going to be Christmas before we know it!   It's Freshly Made Sketches day!  This will be our last sketch of the year, so you have some extra time to play along!  It's always nice to have a little less stress over the holidays, right?  :) We will be back on January 6th for a brand next sketch in a brand new  year!  Linda is our last hostess of the year and her sketch is just awesome.  I made a birthday card for someone special for my card.  I'm also entering in MarkerPOP's challenge since it is anything goes.  :)  

I just love owls. Monday night I was watching some being released from a wildlife rescue here in Texas and I think that influenced what I used for my card.  The cute Winter Owl mini set from Lawn Fawn is just adorable!  The sentiment is from a flamingo set from Newton's Nook.   

I hope you have a great holiday!  I should be back with more cards before then, but you never know...  I have some crafty Christmas gifts making their way here to me, but who knows if I'll get time to play! 

Four more...three to go!

I'm still working on my Hope You Can Cling To cards!  Down to the wire!  lol  I have until noon tomorrow to finish my last three, so I'm thinking that MAYBE I'll make it.   Here are my last four that I did.  I've been playing around with watercolors and watercolor paper and just having fun with it.  Have a great weekend!   

And oh, if you are interested in getting an occasional card in the mail, leave me your address here.  :) 

 Challenge:  Rainbow

 Challenge:  Orange

 Challenge:  Pink Thank You card

Challenge:  Roses

Happy Trails

I'm going to go ahead and share this card, but it is currently in my "remake" pile because I don't like how it turned out.   I think I've gotten used to making cards with lots of white space and this one just doesn't have enough.   It is for another Hope You Can Cling To challenge to use a mode of transportation on your card.   I've had this cute Lawn Fawn set for a while and it seemed like time to finally ink it up.  :o)

I was sitting at the table coloring one of the crazy birds the other day and Laila asked to color some with me.  :)   I love when she's interested in what I'm doing.

Monster Mash

It's Wednesday and I'm here with a card for Kim's great sketch at Freshly Made Sketches.   I just love this layout and will be using it again for sure!   A sketch that makes you do a bit of math is always good for the brain!  :o)   I decided to play along with The Paper Players again this week and their challenge was a Halloween theme.   I love these little Lawn Fawn monsters so I thought they'd be fun.  I started off wanting to make a monochromatic card but I couldn't resist a bit of green to break up all the black and gray.  

Stamps:  Lawn Fawn Monster Mash

Ink:  Memento Black, Copics

Paper:  Stampin' Up! Green Galore, MFT Black Licorice, misc. Stampin' Up! retired Halloween DSP