Be Awesome Today

Howdy friends. How are you? Are you handling this social distancing thing okay? I admit that it's been a struggle here. We don't go out a lot, but I guess I take for granted being able to run out to the store or a restaurant. Plus Laila just joined Girl Scouts this month and now all the activities have been canceled. She's so bummed about that. But, we're alive and we have food. And toilet paper. lol  I hope you are finding all you need and are staying healthy.

One good thing about being stuck inside on a rainy day today was time to clean my desk off and try to stamp. I FaceTimed with my friend Mindy and we had a nice time. I used the color combo from the week at Splitcoast and the sketch from MFT. 

 

I haven't stamped or even colored anything in months, so this was definitely a challenge. I tried though. I do want to make up some cards to give to the awesome folks who bring out my grocery order. I know they are working their butts off and not getting a lot of appreciation. I don't know what I'd do without them. I can't do crowds without panicking. They are truly lifesavers.

Big Hugs from Texas.

Falliday French Foliage

Hey guys! Happy Monday! I've been stamping, but I haven't had time to do posts or upload. I moved my room around and had to set back up my light tent and computer. Jason helped me and I'm finally back up and running! This card is one for the Falliday Fest challenges on Splitcoast. We were asked to use a technique that starts with the same letter as our first name. I haven't done rock and roll in a while, so I decided to grab French Foliage and try it! I need to practice! lol

A pretty Gulf Fritillary from this weekend. I think my butterfly raising is about over. We have a few eggs in the garden, but I need a break. I have one Giant Swallowtail left to feed, but after that it's just waiting on the others to come out and then clean up all my equipment.  I need the break. It's been fun, but it is seriously a lot of work!

For those who asked about the moon background on my MFT Witch Way is the Candy card, it's just a background made on watercolor paper with Brusho crystals. I made it when I first got them and was trying to figure them out. I had put the results in my to-use bin and finally found a way to use them!

Stampin' Up! Dragonfly Dreams Inspiration

Splitcoast has weekly challenges, a different one every day.  I saw the Inspiration challenge on Saturday and thought I'd play along. I found this pillow and used it for my inspiration.  There's a lot of stamp sets going on here.  Stampin' Up! Best Thoughts, Dragonfly Dreams, and French Foliage, plus a Stampers Anonymous set called Papillon. It was fun to try to make and I think I need to remember to do that challenge every week if I can. :)

When we went shopping last week for school clothes Laila found one of her favorites, THE PIGEON!  She loves the Mo Willems books so much, so I had to get it for her. :) I can't believe how well she's reading. She read me a huge book of fairy tales yesterday.

And thank you guys who commented about keeping the blog going. I have a month or so before I have to pay Go Daddy again, so that gives me some time to see how things go once Laila starts school. My garden needs a lot of work after the summer heat, so that might keep me busy.  Plus I am determined to donate like half of our house.  The clutter is making my mental health issues much worse.  I can't wait to get stuff out of here and the rest organized.

And before I go, I thought I'd share a Gulf Fritillary butterfly.  We have so many caterpillars for this guy!  I only have a few in my enclosures because they make their chrysalises in places that make me have to move them and I'm afraid of hurting one.  We also have close to 20 Monarch caterpillars who are almost all in their chrysalis, plus about 5 Eastern Black Swallowtails who are still eating away. They are my favorite butterfly and I deal with the awful smell of dill on my hands to feed them. (I hate dill and all pickles!)  It's been a lot of work, but we love raising and releasing them.

I hope your Monday is going well.  Little Lady was on my shoulders kneading my arms to let me know she needed attention at 5:15 today.  I've had two coffees and am hanging in there.  Maybe I'll sleep well tonight after being up so early. :)

Stampin' Up! Branch Out

Playing along with the weekly color challenge over at Splitcoast. It was olive, suede, and gold, but I had to substitute because I don't have gold.  I feel like a one person anti-gold club.  lol I love silver, but I've never purchased gold paper that I can remember.  I don't know if I even have gold embossing powder.  It's probably gross by now if I do.

This card was a bit of a blast from the past for me. It's more the original style I started out as. And it's only Stampin' Up! products too.  I've been trying to declutter my room and figure out what I want to keep and what to donate/sell, so I thought I'd play around with some stuff before I decided on them. I'd never get rid of Branch Out EVER, but some inks and paper might have to go.  I have so much.  I may hang on to it for a while and see if I need it when I volunteer with the PTO this fall. Or maybe not. lol SO MUCH STUFF.

We haven't had any pictures of Laila done in ages because she just won't cooperate. Last month we went home to Kentucky to visit with family and I had my cousin try to do some.  She didn't cooperate of course, but he did manage to get a few good shots. Not posed studio ones, but ones that reflect her I feel.

Now I'm off to bed. It's been a long week and I'm pooped. Laila has play therapy at 8am, so we'll be getting up early.  Yawn

SCS Swipe Your Credit Card

Getting in a last post for the month.  :)  I am finding the challenges on Splitcoast helpful to get back in the groove of stamping.  This card was made for their Monday technique challenge.  Karen has a fun technique this week and I loved her card.  I decided to make a version of hers just to get the hang of the technique.  I can't wait to try it again now!  I love the result! I love swiping my credit card without having to pay it back. Go give the technique a shot and see how you like it!

We had a Silver-Spotted Skipper visit today.  So cute!  We also had a Monarch visit and leave eggs.  More babies!  :) Yay! I'm off to collect the eggs and see how many she left us.

IC599: Stampin' Up! Butterfly Basics

I sat down to stamp today and yet again, felt lost on what to make.  I decided to go back to where I started, Splitcoast Stampers.  I haven't been over there for a while, but there are always great challenges.  Today's challenge is the Inspiration Challenge.  There's a link to a Pinterest board of gorgeous baskets to take inspiration from.  I chose this basket and wanted to use the Butterfly Basics stamp set.  I am in a mood to use butterflies and cats.  I actually NEED some cat stamps, so I'm on the lookout for some cute ones.  :) I have a lot of cat loving friends I like to make cards for but not that many choices to use.

The background is the Watercolor Wash background from Stampin' Up! I find it fun to play around with that one to see what looks you can get.  I inked it with Smoky Slate, stamped off, and then sprayed lightly with water before stamping on watercolor paper.  I liked the look. I used that same method on the fern stems.

I'm off to figure out dinner.  Jason finished up Laila's playset today, so he's tired.  I haven't felt the best, but I think I can handle cooking some hot dogs.  :)

Have a great weekend. zIC