Just One of Those Days.....

Hello,

Ever have "one of those days?"

What causes these days anyways? 

Well, I'm having one today.  Not sure what brings on these feelings.  Maybe it's my body telling me to chill.  Or maybe it's something that just has to happen.... because.  Who knows.

I do know that it's rather annoying!

I think what bothers me the most about it is that I can't even explain it!

I guess I just need to be alone for awhile and hope it passes quickly.

Well, here's my card for today.

Along the same lines as the card I posted yesterday.

I really like using my Big Shot to create these "windows" in the card!

Hope you like it.  

Supplies used:

Paper: DCWV, White cardstock, Silver ribbon,

Martha Stewart border punch, Nestabilities Scallop Oval,

Big Shot, Sentiment: Close to My Heart,

Ink: A la mode Green

Have a wonderful day (and I will try to also)!

Polly  :)

Our Family of Swallows

Hi there,

Thought I'd throw a curve ball out there and add a few different kinds of photos.

This is our family of swallows.  

They always let me get close enough to get a few pictures before they fly off.  They're so cute!  I think I need to add a few more bird houses around to get more families.

They swoop and dive getting all those bugs and flies.  Gotta love that!

And when the little babies are learning to fly it's really cute!

Isn't she/he pretty? 

Here's one of my flower beds, finished!

Beyond the flowers (upper right) is my herb garden.  There are a few herbs growing from last year.

I'm going to be adding quite a few more herbs this year.  Can't wait!

So yummy in foods.  And yes, I can tell the difference!  Fresh herbs are so tasty and flavorful!

To the left is my strawberry patch.  It looks kind of sparse right now, but there really are a lot of

plants in there that produce a great amount of strawberries.

In the fall I will replant all the "shoots" in the middle of the patch to fill it up again.  

And I may buy a few more plants to add to it too.

Here's my card for today.

Hope you like it.

I never seem to have enough Birthday cards!  And here's another one to add to my stash.

Supplies used:

Paper: DCWV, White cardstock,

Flowers and butterfly cut from DCWV pattern paper, Paper piercer,

Gems, Purple satin ribbon, Sanding and Distressing,

Nestabilities Labels Die, Big Shot,

Sentiment: Inkadinkadoo, Ink: A la mode Purple

I used my Big Shot to get the window in the center of the card.  I added pattern paper inside the card and stamped the sentiment within the window.  The flowers are hand cut from the pattern paper, folded, manipulated and inked along the edges with a gem added in the centers of each.

I used the paper piercer to trace a pattern the butterfly may have went (hee hee).

The bow is purple satin ribbon wrapped around two or three times then held together with a small piece of ribbon wrapped around the center and glued in place.

Have a wonderful day!

Polly  :)

Happy Memorial Day!

I've plastered this photo everywhere, simply because I love it so much!

Very appropriate for today.

Our daughter, our son, "me" and my hubby!

Happy Memorial Day!
Polly  :)

Father's Day Cards

Hi there,

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Remembering our Military on this day.... and every day.  

I can never forget this day, as all of my family is currently serving in the Military.  

Love them and are so very proud of them!

Hope you're having a nice, relaxing weekend doing what you love!

We're having a very quiet day today (empty nesters).  And, we're both getting used to that.

We had burgers on the grill, did a little gardening and my hubby worked on his pickup and 

we rounded off the day with naps!  Yes!!

I even made a few cards, which I'm not posting yet.  I will post them on another day.

So.... for today, I have several Father's Day cards to share with you, since that holiday is 

creeping up on us quickly.

Hey!  Speaking of "quickly" I think everything is going too fast these days.  Don't you think so?  

What's up with that anyways?  

It used to be that time would crawl, and now it's spinning by us so fast, we'd better hold on tight or else it will all pass us by way too quickly!!  Thus the reason for taking so many pictures!  How else

would we ever remember the events of our lives?  I don't know about you, but I forget things.... even the really important things that you want to remember.  It's just so important to "freeze" these memories.

These tools stamps were so fun to work with!  I was pleased with how well these cards turned out.

Supplies used:

Paper: DCWV, Other, White cardstock, Tool stamps: Stampin' Up! Totally Tool,

Ink: A la mode Black and A la mode Brown, ribbon, 

Sentiment (unknown)

Man stamps...... makes it so much easier to come up with a card!

Supplies used:

Paper: DCWV, White cardstock, Sentiment (unknown),

Ink: A la mode Black, Studio g Blue,

Tool stamps: Stampin' Up! Totally Tool,

Ribbon, corner rounder

More wonderful Stampin' Up! stamps!  Can't get enough of them!

I used the lighter ink for the trees.  The star was cut from textured paper, which made a

great effect with the inking. 

Supplies used:

Paper: DCWV, White cardstock,

Trees stamp: Stampin' Up! Lovely as a Tree,

Sentiment (unknown),

Ink: A la mode Brown and Studio g Blue,

Ribbon, Star: Cut from stencil

Love the blues and browns on these papers.

Supplies used:

Paper: DCWV, Other, White cardstock,

Sentiment (unknown)

Ink: Studio g Blue

Ribbons

And there you have it.... my cards for Father's Day.

Hope you like them!

Have a great day and thanks for taking a peek at my Blog!

Polly  :)

A Day to Create? Nope!

Hi there!

I did a different type of "creating" today.

I worked in my flower beds and got the weeding done.  Yes, I know, I've been working on these for awhile.  And I've kept telling you that I was weeding..... and I was!  It just takes a lot longer when you have as many flower beds as I have!  :)

I've been pulling, tugging, and destroying those weeds for days now.  

Then I shoveled and shoveled buckets of mulch to put around my flowers.

Wish I could say that I'm completely done.  But, are we ever "done" weeding?  

Even through 5-6 inches of mulch, some of those determined weeds still find their way to the sunlight!

Tomorrow I should be able to finish the rest of it (for now anyways).  

I need to finish putting mulch around one flower bed, then I want to put some within my strawberry patch.  There were some major weeds growing in my strawberry patch, but I got the weeds out of there 

a few days ago.  Yay!  Now I want to try to keep the weeds at bay.... for awhile at least.

This is the layout I put together a few days ago.

Sorry for the bad lighting.  It wasn't a good day to take photos, I guess.

Supplies used:

Paper: DCWV, White cardstock, Watercolor pencils (for journaling lines),

Lace paper doily, Ink: Stampin' Up! Lavender Lace, EK Success corner rounder,

Ribbon, Sheer ribbon, Prima flower, Ric rac flowers (hand made), 

glitter ribbon rosette (hand made), Sizzix leaf die, Gems, 

Sizzix, Butterfly and flowers cut from DCWV pattern paper

Here's a close up of the journaling block.  

I rounded the top corners then added gems on the upper corners.  Below the block, I added sheer ribbon and a satin ribbon bow.  The lines were made using a watercolor pencil.

 The paper lace doily was inked and flowers clustered in the center of it, with leaves added also.

I have to say making the ric rac flowers was SO FUN!  

Although the hardest part was weaving two strips of ric rac together, once I got past that, the flower came together rather quickly.  I added a dab of hot glue randomly to hold the flower in place as I was wrapping the ric rac around and around.  Near the end of the flower, I tried to glue the ric rac "out" so it would remain "open."  After the glue dried, I played with the flower, opening up the outer "leaves."

The flowers and butterfly were cut from DCWV pattern cardstock.  I bent the wings of the butterfly and only glued it in the center so it would look dimensional.  

I inked the flowers and distressed them a bit before adding a gem in the center of each one.

And here's a picture of me, tilling our garden.  This is one more accomplishment that I got done today.

You might be thinking, "What's so Whoa! about this photo?"

Trust me, it's a Whoa! for anyone who knows me!

  

Well, let's just say that I am not the mechanical type.  I stay away from weed whacking and tilling.  

Dangerous things for me to be around!

Since my hubby was not able to (due to recovering from surgery), he gave me a few 

pointers before I had to take the reins!

Guess what? It wasn't that bad.  The hardest for me is turning it around to continue onto the next row.

Now I know what my hubby meant about the "pain" it is to till around permanent items in my garden (i.e., my strawberry patch, my rhubarb, my newly created herb garden and my new blueberry high bush plants).

That was challenging.  Thank goodness I found the Reverse!  

That saved me from running over some of my plants!  :)

But I'm not done, so I get to have more practice time!  :)

Tomorrow I may put some lime in the garden before tilling it again.

Hope you had a wonderful day!

Thanks for checking out my Blog!  Kind comments would be so fun to get..... Just saying.

Polly  :)

Trying to Get Organized! HA!

Hello!

Here I am, posting late in the day again!

Busy day with appointments and running errands.  Best part of the day?  Eating lunch out with my hubby!

And, I still had time to try and organize my cards, layouts, mini albums and other crafting stuff when I got home.

Well, this is going to be a long process, but I'm hoping that when I'm all done, I'll be able to find a layout or card and get the "products used" list right at my fingertips!  That's the plan anyways.

So, I started by printing out a 4x6 copy of all my layouts, cards, etc.

Then I attached the "recipe" on the back of that.  The initial use of printer ink is going to be a corker, but as long as I can keep up with it as I'm making craft projects, it shouldn't be too bad, right?  

I started with a photo box to organize everything.  

I made titles onto cardstock, such as 2-page layouts, 1-page layouts, cards, etc.

Then I made subcategories such as, paper bag mini albums, toilet paper mini albums and all the holidays that I make cards for (Easter, Halloween, Birthday, Sympathy, Thinking of You, etc).

I actually wondered how this would work, so after today, actually filing a lot of what I've done so far, I really think this is going to work out!  Imagine that!

I got tired of searching everywhere for the recipe for what I made.  I knew there had to be a better way to get this organized.  And, it had to be something that "works for me!"

I'll have to remember to keep you posted as to how this is REALLY working for me!  :)

Here is my 1-page layout for today.... ummm.... I mean tonight.

Supplies used:

Paper: DCWV, White textured cardstock: Colorbok,

Watercolor pencil, Nestabilities Labels Die, Big Shot, Hand made satin ribbon flower, 

Hand made ribbon rosette, Hand made glitter ribbon rosettes, Hand cut felt leaves, 

Prima flower, Needle and thread 

I love making these flowers!  I really should try to make other ones too.  

There are so many pretty flowers to make and so little time!  :)

Hope you had a wonderful day today!

And, if you're checking out my Blog......... THANK YOU!!

Polly  :)

I Think I'm Going to Get Something Done....

Good Morning!

I think I'm actually going to get something done.... in my house today.  Maybe.

Things have gotten a tad neglected from being outside the past few days.

Wonder what would happen if we had nice weather for, let's say, 10 days in a row?  Yikes!

I could spend time in my craft room in between house cleaning....

Now that's a novel idea!

Enjoy your day!

Here's my card for today.

Same layout as the card I previously posted, but with different colors.

Super easy and fun card to make.

Supplies used:

Paper: DCWV, White cardstock, Nestabilities Labels Die,

Bird Stamp: Inkadinkadoo, Sentiment: Close to My Heart "A Little Thanks"

Martha Stewart border punch, Ink: A la mode Red,

Cuttlebug embossing folder, Sizzix, Big Shot

Have a wonderful day!

Polly  :)

Well..... It's Monday.... And I've Case'd These Cards

Hello!

There really isn't much to say about Monday.... other than I have to get through it to 

get to more favorable days of the week!!

I have to let you know that the black flies are out!  Those little creatures can really pack a punch!  I'm talking about bug bites!  You know when they're at their best when someone is standing outside and there's a black cloud swarming over their head!  Yup, that's when we're in the thick of black flies!

Rather short post, because I'm off to weed my flower beds!

Here are a couple of Birthday cards recently made.

 Love this card!  It was so fun to make!  I really love the cutout idea.

I case'd it from Bbpanoz's Gallery at Scrapbook.com.  

Click on over there to check out her wonderful crafty projects!  

And, I have a gallery there too!

It's worth your time to take a look at all the fabulous cards, layouts, etc. from various crafty people!

Supplies used:

Paper: DCWV, White cardstock, Martha Stewart border punch, Glitter ribbon,

Ink: A la mode Pink, Stamp: Inkadinkadoo, Nestabilities Labels Die, Big Shot

Another one of my favorite cards.

I case'd this one also.  It's from PawPaw1106's Gallery at Scrapbook.com.

She also has a wonderful gallery of cards.  Stop by and check them out.

Supplies used:

Paper: DCWV, White cardstock, Nestabilities Scallop Ovals, Sizzix leaf die,

Felt, Stamp: Close to My Heart, Ink: Studio g Red, EK Success scallop border punch,

Prima flowers, Lei flower, Heart jewel, Big Shot

Thanks for checking out my Blog!

Have a wonderful day!

Polly  :)

"I SPY" (3rd photo down)

Hello there!

Hope you're all having a fantastic day!

I finally got out in my strawberry patch to remove the weeds!  I really think some of those roots grow to the center of the earth!  I must have been a sight, loosening the dirt around the infamous dandelion, then with both hands, pulling and pulling!  Finally, it would come out of the ground and I

would almost fall over backwards!  

I don't mind dandelions on my lawn, but boy are they a pain (and for my back too) when they're in my gardens!  That's where they seem to grow most efficiently!!

Good news though.... I finished my strawberry patch!  And I even tackled a small spot of flowers near the steps to the entrance of our house.

I should have taken a 'before' and 'after' photo.  You would have been amazed!

Not so good news..... I got a burn on my shoulders.  It isn't bad, thank goodness!

This is the time of year when I always burn.  After the initial shock of sun to my body with a burn, then I begin to tan.  I know.... I know...... it's so bad to burn!

Sunscreen?  Nah!  Only when I'm going to be outside all day.  

So.... maybe tomorrow I'll use a little sunscreen.  I plan on being outside all day!  :)

Well, here goes.  The issue I have with sunscreen is that it works SO GOOD that I NEVER tan!

I'm seriously WHITE and I don't look so deathly when I have just a little tan.  I don't care to get so tan that I look leathery (or like that woman that's hooked on tanning beds... which was plastered all over FB and the news.... ya....she was a beauty (NOT)!!  Ewwwww!  Did you hear about that?

I only wish the sun to tan my legs, arms and face.  

My face is a little harder to tan, as I always wear face lotion with sunscreen.... and my foundation has sunscreen also.  

Ok.... onto more fun stuff.

Here's my one-page layout for today.

Supplies used:

Paper: DCWV, White textured cardstock: Colorbok,

Rub on (unknown brand), Chipboard, Ribbon, Watercolor pencil,

Adhesive ribbon: Forever in Time, Prima flowers, Gems, Silver wire ribbon, Brads 

A close up.  A piece of chipboard was turned over to reveal the white side 

(the other side had a design on it, which I didn't want to use).  Then I used a  fancy rub on over it.  Silver wire ribbon was laced through the holes in each end of the chipboard and the exposed ends were cut.  Flowers were layered on one section of the chipboard then gems and a brad were added for the centers.

 My Father's Day card!!  

Since Father's Day will sneak up on me.... I thought it best to 

work on one of these now.  Yes, only one card for now (I only have one hubby)!!!  

Supplies used:

Paper: DCWV, White cardstock, brown satin ribbon, maroon ric rac,

Stamp (unknown), Ink: Vivid! Brown, pop dots, the tie was cut out of the

DCWV patterned paper

Let's play "I SPY!"  Can you see him?

We had a little visitor today.  After our dog, Zoe, alerted me that "someone" was on "her" property (uninvited), I scouted the area and found this little guy!  

I think Zoe scared him!  :(

After he calmed down a bit, he looked so cute just sitting there among my flowers, 

watching our every move!

I made Zoe walk with me while I took pictures, because I didn't want her to chase the little guy.  I wanted her to know it was OK and to NOT hurt him!  But, I could tell Zoe did not want anyone on her property, especially one who was getting all the attention, which she didn't take too kindly to either!

I got a pile of pictures of this very photogenic animal!  

Do you know what it is?

I've been told groundhog, woodchuck or gopher.  How do you tell the difference between them?

I don't know.  But I would like to know the name of our little visitor.

We won't have issues as long as he doesn't make a home under our porch or under our shed!

When all was quiet, he scurried back across the road (almost getting hit in the process, while I was holding my breath watching him) and then dived into a hole under the neighbor's porch!  Zoe ran to the edge of our property, watching him and making sure he left "her" property promptly!"

After a hot day, Zoe and I relaxed with a Popsicle! 

Yes, I gave her a popsicle..... after all, she was hot too!  

This picture is so cute, especially how she was holding the stick so she could eat the popsicle!  (As soon as the popsicle was off the stick, I threw the stick out because I didn't want her to eat it!)

It's tiring for a dog to watch her owner weed and weed and weed!  

She isn't allowed into my veggie and flower gardens, so as I make my way around the garden, she follows me and lays down the closest to the edge and as close to me as she can get.  And she won't step into the gardens at all.  When she's tired of all this "work" she's doing, she stares at me and whines a time or two.  That's my cue, and we both go inside for awhile!  And when I'm ready to go back out, she is too!

Have a great Sunday!  

Thanks for checking out my Blog and I hope you enjoy it!

Polly  :)

Ever Have "One of Those Days?"

Hello!

The day is almost over and I decided to post a card.

That's how I roll!  :)

It's been "one of those days" in which everything is BLAH!  Didn't feel like doing anything... 

exhausted and very tired.

How could I feel like this when it was such a beautiful day outside?

I had plans to be outside all day, working in my flower gardens and 

strawberry patch, while it was nice out.

Instead, I stayed inside pretty much the whole day!  I did manage to get out of my own way enough to make a few cards.  I even surprised myself by doing that!

I usually get this way in the Spring.  And, I didn't even realize it until a friend recently stated, "It's that time of year when you feel like this... burned out.  You were like this around the same time last year too."  Then I put it all together and that's exactly what happens!  The only reason I can come up with is it's because I'm "coming down" from all the craziness of Holidays that are bunched together (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day and Easter)!  

Whoa....... that's enough to tire anyone out!

Maybe it's something else.  Maybe I don't want to know.  Maybe it's just another

one of those "mysterious things" that I just need to deal with.

Whatever the reason, I am thankful that it doesn't last very long (although for me, it's way too long) 

and it only happens once a year!

Strange, I know!  And I need to clarify that I'M not strange, it's the things happening to me that are!  :)

Anyone else ever feel like this?

Well, something to ponder on I guess.... or not!

Here's my card.  Enjoy!

Supplies used:

Paper: DCWV, White cardstock, Cuttlebug embossing folder,

Cake stamp: Close to My Heart, watercolor pencils,

Sentiment: Stampin' Up! For A Friend, Ink: Adirondack Purple Twilight,

Martha Stewart border punch

This was a quick and easy card to put together.  I embossed white cardstock to place in the upper half of the card and used a border punch on the patterned paper and purple cardstock strip to place on top of that.  I used watercolor pencils to add some color to the cake, but I didn't color everything because that would have been "too much."  I layered cardstock and patterned paper to frame the cake.  Lastly, I stamped the sentiment using the For A Friend stamp set and colored the candle.

That's it.  Easy peasy!
A great way to mass produce cards.
Just use different colored cardstock, patterned paper, embossing folders,
stamps and sentiments.  This layout would also be great for a box of gift cards.

Hope you're having a wonderful start to the weekend!
Polly  :)

Pretty Pastels....

Hi there!

The sun is finally shining.  How exciting is that?  I may even get to work in my flower gardens.... woohoo!

We've had dreary days for so long, I now have grass up to my shins within my flowers!  Yikes!

And we have a skunk that keeps turning over the rocks against our little shed so he can go underneath it.

The rocks were strategically placed, to no avail!  

Anyone know how to deter skunks?  They can be rather annoying little buggers!

I'm not relishing the fact that my dog could get sprayed.  This has happened before.

Wow, what a fiasco that was..... late at night, giving our dog a bath with the special "recipe."

Anyhow, here's my "Pastels Layout" for today.  

Supplies used:

Paper: DCWV, White textured cardstock: Colorbok,

Hand cut circles, Satin cording, Elastic sparkle stretch cord,

Lace paper doily, Ink: A la mode Pink 

Circles were placed randomly under the lace doily.  The edges of the circles were inked. 

The pink flower was folded/pleated all around it and the center of the flower is satin cording hot glued onto a small piece of cardstock.  I lightly inked the doily too.

Really love this sparkle elastic stretch cord.  It's so dainty and feminine!

Have a wonderful day!

Searching Blog Templates......

Hey!

Did you know it's very exhausting trying to find a new template for a Blog?  

I've scoured only "a few" websites trying to find something I liked.

You'd think out of the millions of choices I would find something!  I'm going to keep looking 

and trying out new templates.  Eventually I'll find something I really like!  

If there's a site you like or have used and would like to share, that would be great! 

The layout for today.  

It looks kind of Victorian or Shabby with the large florals and the stripes. 

A great layout for using many photos.

Supplies used:

Paper: DCWV, Silver metal corners, Ribbon, Sanding block,

Star stencils, Netting, Hot Off the Press Mini Envelopes template 

I don't use these little envelope templates often enough.  They're so cute!

I assembled the envelope and sanded the edges.  I used a strip of netting and ribbon to tie the knot.

I traced and hand cut the stars, sanding the edges and placing them randomly to look as if the 

stars were "bursting" from the envelope! 

 I left the ribbons from the bow longer and glued them in place.  

Looking at it now, I realized that it will be difficult to attach a photo onto this block, but it could work out

well for a title or journaling.  And if you're desperate to attach that "one more photo," then it could be placed directly over the ribbon!

A close up of the metal corners.  Found them while sifting through my stash.

A photo could be place in the center, for a title or for journaling.

Have a wonderful day!

Polly  :)

It's a Lazy Kind of Day

Hi!

It's a mellow and lazy kind of day today.  Rainy day = boredom.  

Great day to do some creating!

My layout for today.

Supplies used:

Paper: DCWV, White textured cardstock: Colorbok,

Seam binding ribbons, Watercolor pencils 

Thought these would make pretty 'knots" and the colors match! 

I braided the seam binding ribbon to use as a border.  Nothing fancy. 

Another close up of my braiding and part of the journaling block.

Have a wonderful day!

Polly  :)

Total Annoyance!

Hi there!

Does anyone else have trouble with electronics?  

I thought I could deal with them well enough to get by.... guess I was wrong!!  This only solidifies that I don't do well with electronics!

A thumb drive/data stick should be easy to use, right?  Apparently, not for me!

I decided to dump all my pictures onto this new thumb drive -- for a few reasons.  The first being that I needed to get them off my computer!  The second is to store them all in one place.  And the third is because it would be nice to empty my memory cards so I can reuse them! 

I have quite a few memory cards.  The endless amount of photos on them is staggering!

You might be asking yourself why don't I just get them printed out.  Well, I STILL need to save my pictures somehow.  And, I have so many of them, that it would cost a small (maybe large) fortune to get them printed.  I know, I should have kept printing them out, but a lack of funds thwarted that real quick, and the pictures began building up.  It was cheaper to just buy the memory cards!

Ok, so.... I put the thumb drive into my laptop and everything is fine.  So I begin the process of dumping my photos onto my laptop then onto my thumb drive.  I got about 3,000+ transferred over..... or so I thought.

When I checked the thumb drive to make sure all the photos are there........ guess what?  The thumb drive is EMPTY!  You've got to be kidding me!!  And, I cannot even get my laptop to recognize it anymore!

Grrrrrr!

Well, I got all my photos restored from the recycle bin.  Phew!  

Now I'm back to square one!

All those photos are on my laptop and I have 3 memory cards empty!

I have only one thing to be thankful for at this very moment..... my photos are not gone forever!

As for the thumb drive....... right now I want to smash it into a bazillion pieces!

Am I missing something?  Doing something wrong?

I may tackle it again when the steam stops shooting out of my ears!  

Or I may just find another way to save my pictures!

Either way, I feel the stress overloading me, so I think I'll just forget this whole process.... 

at least for awhile!

Now, onto a much better subject... a new layout.

Supplies used:

Paper: DCWV, Ink: A la mode Royal Blue, Stamp: Stampin' Up! In Full Bloom,

Lei flowers, seam binding rosettes, ribbons, elastic sparkle stretch cord (Dollar Store),

simulated pearls 

  Here's a close up of the stamping.

These flowers are so fun to make!  I start out with a small cardstock circle, then began the process of twisting the seam binding in a circle, hot gluing every so often to keep the ribbon in place.  I finished off the flower with a pearl in the center. 

I placed the flower on top of two lei flowers (which was originally a lei necklace from the Dollar Store).  

I placed a bow with the elastic cording between the flowers and ribbon under it all.  

Here's a close up of the pink flower.  Hope you like it!

Good day to ya!

Polly  :)