Camp Create Shaker

Hi friend, friend, friend! I need to post all my cards from the MFT Camp Create. I have one last one to finish up to do all five days and it's been so fun!  This card is for the first day's challenge to make a shaker card. This die is the only MFT word die I have, so I worked with that I had. :) I think it turned out fun and cheery. 

It has been so hot here today. I had to run a few errands and came home just exhausted from the heat. My poor garden is a garden of weeds at this point because it's just too hot to be out there. I try here and there, but they grow so fast. We have had a lot of amazing butterflies lately though, so at least the flowers are being visited. 

Have a great weekend. Do something fun and crafty!

Camp Create Magnificent Masking

Hello!  I hope you've had a great weekend.  We haven't done much today and that's been nice.  :)  I've been in my stamp room again working on purging and organizing. I know it has to get worse before it gets better, but man.  It's a hot mess.  I did take some time last night to do a bit of stamping.  I did another of the MFT Camp Create challenges, this time masking. I struggle with masking, but I love the look.  I had trouble because I had to use regular sticky notes because my Post-It tape was hiding.  I think the end result is okay though.  I even decided to make a shaker card to use up some of the 4 billion sequins I "needed" at some point.

Sorry for the bad picture.  I'm trying to move my light tent and lights and I'm guessing the new place needs some tweaking.

Today we had one butterfly eclose, a male. Usually the males take off as soon as we get them out, but this guy stayed around for a while.  I think he liked getting his picture taken. :)  I'm sad because I have to take a break raising my guys.  Little Lady can't seem to shake her flea/worm issue, so I have to treat her for the third time.  The flea meds are toxic to caterpillars, so I have to avoid being near them for a while.  With school starting soon, it's probably a good time for a break anyway.  The current guys have devoured most of my plants anyway!

Two Paper Divas Cupcake

Howdy strangers!   Believe it or not, I'm back!   I finally stamped something again last night.  It's been a while, but I wanted to play with this cute cupcake from Two Paper Divas again.   I really love coloring that big cupcake for some reason.  It's fun to add some shading and bright colors!  :)   It's from the Large Cupcake set and the sentiment is from the Large Cupcake Accessories set.  I thought it would be fun to make a shaker card and I think it turned out pretty cute.

So an update on why I've been out of stamping and blogging...

Last week things got really REALLY tough for me.   I don't know if you guys know much about PMDD, but it's a horrible awful thing that I developed after having Laila.  It has been a tough journey to get it under control and last week my medicine just seemed to not be helping at all.  I feel like I almost had a complete mental breakdown.   Thankfully I was able to get a quick appointment with a new doctor and have a new medicine now.   I am crossing my fingers and toes that it helps because I do not want to feel like I did last week again.  

In addition to that, Sadie got sick.  So sick in fact, that the vet thought she had distemper and offered me the option of having her put down on Friday.   Not a chance, so we tried some different medicine for her and an experimental treatment.  This week she's been like a new dog.  She's finally acting like the puppy she is!   She still has some congestion and a runny, but let's hope she's on the mend.

This week has been a busy one so far.  Laila started dance class.  We also went to meet her teachers for Mother's Day Out yesterday and explore her classroom.  I am still a little nervous about her going, but she loved it.  In fact, she had to be carried out crying because she didn't want to leave!  She keeps asking to go back too.  I think it will be a great experience for her and a break for me.  Her first full day is next Thursday.  

Dancing with the Divas

It's Thursday, so I wanted to share a new card featuring the stamps from Two Paper Divas.  This sentiment stamp is called Learn to Dance and I love it!   To highlight it, I made a frame with distress inks and splattered it with water to mimic the look of rain.   I thought a shaker card with some "rain" aka clear sequins might work well with it.   I hope it all ties together and makes sense.  :) It's a fairly plain card, but I think that works well with the sentiment.

What's Shaking?

It's Wednesday, which means Freshly Made Sketches day.  Our sketch this week comes from our awesome pilot on the team, Jen Timko.   I decided to try and make my first shaker card.  I am not so sure about it, but I learned some things in the process to make the next one easier.  That's what crafting is all about, right?  Learning and trying new things.  

My creativity and enjoyment of creating is a bit off this week.  Today is the sixth anniversary of the day we lost our sweet boy and my heart feels a little more broken than usual.  I've tried to keep stamping as it's very helpful and calming, but I know not to expect fabulous results.   And that's okay...  it's not about making something that we love every time, but enjoying and savoring the process of being creative.  Such wonderful therapy.  

Sweet Eli.  Forever 5 months, 12 days old.