Nice Lil Autumn Mice!

 I recently took the leap of becoming a subscriber to the Unity Stamps Kit of the Month.  I find the kit to be of huge value, with savings and member benefits to go along with.  I thought I'd give it a whirl for awhile, and I have enjoyed having the decisions made for me.  I can expect a delivery each month that will give me hours of entertainment, plus t's a good deal.  The kit includes the contents of 5 stamp sets that are new and fun each month.  You can opt out of a month too, in the case you already have similar stamps in your stash...in that case, you can purchase any of the "sets" individually.  

 This set is called Mice & Cozy and might be one of the funnest set of images I have ever colored!

I felt the simplicity of these cute little mousies merited the same with the card...  not my typical style, I decided to go very light on embellishments and layers.  These went quickly...I colored 15 card fronts in one night, the hardest part was probably getting a smooth blended sky.  (I'm still learning, although I will say the brush, ink and card stock will play a huge role on success.)  I decided to do that prior to my coloring, and I didn't put a lot of masking effort into doing so, like NO masking at all... That being said, I didn't get any distress oxide inks inside my uncolored mice or leaves or acorns, etc...I was fearful if I did, I might ruin my markers.  (Tell me I'm lazy without telling me I'm lazy)...  It wasn't that I wanted to prove a point that I could do something fast.  I actually was a little overly critical of my work towards the adhering to the card stock part....in fact so much that I got flustered and said a few words that I can't really share...hands shaking and STRESS...it was my GLUES fault... (another topic for another day)

I couldn't decide...vanilla base or white base for my card stock choice....  so...I did both for each mouse...  I think originally I thought white, but felt Autumn is more of a golden color, so perhaps the ivory cream shade of card stock would be a better option....  then in the end... I preferred the white. . 

I made these for a gift to give to someone near and dear to me.  I did decide to make extra and plan to mail a few out this week.  These will only require 1 postage stamp, I know the dimension isn't too thick, and I left them simple to leave space inside for any occasion, from a simple "Hello" to a "Happy Birthday".

 

I hope to make more simple cards in the future.  It truly is interesting to see my style change over the years.  I just go with what feels good and makes my eyes happy.  I do like the crisp and clean look, and will probably do more and more.  I find all of this relaxing, and goodness knows, I have the supplies!

 

Lastly, a few things to address:  I am not affiliated with any company, I just like to share with others some of the vendors I love to use along the way.  Unity is a great company, and if you haven't already heard about them, I can say my experiences have been top notch.  I also often times will publish a blog post with a typo or grammar error.  I will try to go back and fix later on, but in defense to me, I'm usually doing all of this on the fly, and won't catch things until after I'm at home in bed reading my tiny cell phone!

 

Well, be on the lookout for some recap of Paperganza this week!  If I have time, I plan to share some of the fun we had here!!!! 

 

 

With Lemons...There is Lemonade!

 I'm suddenly craving lemonade.  The mere mention of a certain restaurant in Spokane (Tomato Street) is making me want a Huckleberry Lemonade.  (My daughter and I were just talking about this place...)  I know, off topic, but this wonderfully fun place to eat is a MUST GO TO if you are ever in Spokane.  We've been during volleyball tournaments, it's a charmingly fun place to go to, and the food is exceptional...you MUST order a signature lemonade while there too!  It's known for their signature lemonade drinks....

OK...enough about that....

 I actually found inspo last night, to start and finish my card.  I have bloopers on this one...and I even lost a couple of cut out ephemera pieces that I chose not to use...I had them, put them in a bag to stash with the rest of the super fun components that came with the  You're the Zest June 2026 "Whit Kit"... then POOF they disappeared.  It was only 2 pieces, and even after today, cleaning my desk...I still can't find them.  yikes yikes and more yikes.  I choose today, to NOT stress about 2 ephemera pieces that came in this kit, there remains to be what's left, plenty of fun that I didn't lose on that ephemera sheet.  I may never find them, but...it is what it is...no stress..this is supposed to be fun...although it was driving me batty last night, and even a little today.  It appears I have a craft ghost playing along with me.

 So a little about the parameters and my reasons why I went this route....

Number 1:  Include an ATC

For starters... I have never EVER made an ATC card.  I'm under the impression, an ATC card is made to trade with others, similar to a business card.  I kind of like that notion, but, I wasn't under the impression I needed to spend hours and hours on cranking one out ... not only because of the small size which is:  2-1/2" x 3-1/2",  but also IF I were to crank out a big ole stack one day to trade, I honestly wouldn't want to spend hours and hours doing so...so...I went with simple and fast...  I will say, my original ideas, were ICK...so I wasted an hour, trying to make ICK work...  but, when I finally settled with keeping with lemons, things went faster for me...  I absolutely LOVE coloring these lemons, I might make a little stack of these to trade one day at a card retreat.  I know I received some really fun ones this year at Paperganza, 

 

I wanted my ATC to be removeable, so my lemon branch, served as a pocket...

 

 Number 2:  Produce Aisle Colors:  

I have a feeling I had lemons and limes on my mind....  I have planned to cook a chicken, jalapeno &  pineapple taco dinner thing, and I was gathering limes, next to some lemons yesterday at the grocery store....  I also have been wanting to ink up these lemons, so..my produce aisle is the lemons & limes, in a kraft colored produce box.  I can picture this in a grove actually...  I love these colors.  For a brief moment, I was trying to justify the blue on here...  well, it came with the kit for starters, and it goes so well with this set of cool patterned papers that is included in this kit.  It's called Limoncello Garden, and it just gives me that European vibe, or maybe the vibe you feel when you walk into the MGM Park, kind of the bistro, cobblestone street vibe you'd see in a village in Italy or France.  I am probably watching way too many cooking shows, but, I truly get that vision in my head...  wish I was actually there!  lol

 Number 3:

 Lemon tree!!!!  So today, after looking once again the parameters...  I really do think, a Christmas tree would have been SUPER EASY... especially since I just got the Spellbinders July Crate full of Christmas dies, including a tree, and a stencil with circles.  The colors too, would have been  produce aisle, lettuce and veggies.  yikes.  I'm glad I went the lemon route though, and although this is only a branch...it does come off a TREE... I do not feel this is a bit of "stretchy pants"...  we assume that this branch is connected to a tree...  I guess if we want to get technical, we also could graft this branch to become a tree.  (We have grafted fruit trees here on the farm, and in our beautiful state of Washington, orchardists here have developed world famous varieties by doing so.  (Think Cosmic Crsip, which personally, I believe is over rated...just my opinion...I'm a true and true Golden Girl for multipurpose use, and I sure LOVE Fujis..crisp and sweet)  That being said, each variety does have its perks.

Number 4:

I actually prefer parameters that make me think of some unique way to get them on there...but...after my hours of working on this card last night, I did see those circles in the pattern of the background paper jump out at me...so...my 3 circles are featured in the pattern of the paper.

This is now ready to mail to someone.  That's been one of my hopes this year, is to finish up each card to have ready..rather than leave insides undone.  My next goal, is to actually mail them out.  lol  

 Moving forward...

I have a bunch to share.  I made a simple set of cards, that I will share on there this week...and I do want to show you a little of what came home with me from Paperganza.  That being said, I've been spinning my wheels now for a couple of weeks, or I feel that way.  Our holiday season hit me while I was away visiting and having fun in the Midwest!  So, I've been playing catch up with many chocolate quotes and holiday gift design.  As much as I want to play with stamps and ink and card stock...my day biz, has to take priority...I think I'm mostly caught up....but, I see possibly a big 4th quarter, I just go with the flow...

 Till next time!

 

I'm not following a particular recipe, I'm going to wing it...but, I HOPE to make these for dinner...I'll eyeball quantities, I'm not wanting to follow a recipe for this, I really don't want to dig out my instant pot, and it's too late for crock pot.... so I found these instructions, looks easy enough! 

Instructions

Simmer Sauce: Combine pineapple juice, honey, hot sauce, paprika, and jalapeño in a skillet over medium heat for 3–4 minutes.
Add Chicken & Fruit: Stir in the shredded chicken and pineapple chunks, cooking for about 5 minutes until warm and coated.
Assemble & Serve: Warm your tortillas, spoon the chicken mixture inside, and top with optional slaw, cilantro, lime juice, and sour cream.

Paperganza ReCAP!

 I'm back!  I'm still recouping, and getting my groove back ... while I was gone, Christmas hit the factory, and my head is spinning in many directions trying to get organized again!!!  Last year, I regret that I didn't rally myself to do multiple posts, not even ONE post of the fun time we had in Kansas City at Paperganza.  So...this year, I am going to attempt a few days of posts...  I can't get it all in one, since there were multiple FUNN things going on during the craft getaway.

 First... I HIT A MILESTONE!!!  This is my #125th entry!  That's a lot of cards!!!! 

I plan to retake this photo, when I run across my card in my treasures that came home from the event.

Whipping up a card in a short turn around time, is a challenge, that's for sure.  It's even more challenging when I don't have my endless supplies at my fingertips.  The flight to the Midwest started out with my check on bag weighing 50-1/2 pounds.  I held my breath, relieved I wasn't told to remove anything, it was 4:00 a.m. and I hadn't had ANY sleep leading up to my flight.  I was still packing at 1:00 a.m. and at that point, I decided to watch TV ... for fear of not being ready on time.  Good intent to be prepared always goes out the window, and I was once again, mindlessly throwing things in, but, not nearly as much as last year....  I brought only the essentials, (scissors/tape/glue, etc....black stamp pad...alcohol markers...etc.) and next year, I think I'm going to even nix more.  EVERYTHING I NEEDED FOR THE PARAMETERS WAS INCLUDED IN MY SWAG BAG!!!!!!  I could have save on space and weight, had I not lugged all those markers with me...  NOTE.TO.SELF....

My table mates.... I LOVE MY TABLE MATES!!!  2 of my mateys are my sisters, and one is my beautiful daughter...so, of course...it's a given, family bonding time....  We again, shared our table with 4 who are like family to us...3 sisters and their lovely Mom!  We all seemed to vibe well together then, and again this year too.... so, good friends are to be had.  One of of the sisters, is getting together a craft cruise...so, if anyone is interested...drop a note here, and I'll forward you info.

One thing about these mates...is they like to race to see who can get done first....  That is a hard one for me, so pressure is ON!  I decided to let paper and die cuts do the work for me on this one, and literally had everything in my swag bag to pull off the 4 parameters:

1.  Project:  Square Card

2.  Colors:  Excited

3.  Element:  Country

4.  Random:  Frame

  I'm not going to elaborate too much on my justifications:  

1.  My card is a square

2.  My daughter played volleyball on the collegiate level for 4 years, and her university colors are dark blue and gold.  So very exciting...so so exciting...so exciting that cheering and clapping can result in no voice and hurt hands.  And...season is starting within a week or so.  We are still EOU fans, and yeah for them, they are ranked #1 in the nation, NAIA!  So exciting!

3.  You can find bees and sunflowers in the country!  

4.  I frame this by cutting a square die cut out of a square piece of cardstock!

 

My supplies:  

The fun paper is from:  Relatively Thoughtful and was included in our swag bag.  It looks like there is a free download on their website.  I love this paper and have started playing with digitals more and more!

The bumblebee die was given to me by another crafter!  She gave one to each of us on our table, and I see she gave one to everyone in the room, I think...as this cute little bee appears on MANY cards submitted that night!   Episode #332 Gallery 

I think the rest is pretty self-explanatory.  I was tickled to complete my card before packing it up that night.  Craft Roulette was going for those at home, virtual retreaters and physical crafters who attended the retreat.  I really do have so much to share, including what our make and takes were, and other fun to be had.  I'm going to TRY to get to it all, but for now, at least I got farther with it than last year!!!

 Now... HO! HO! HO! I have Christmas quotes piling up on my work desk!  YIKES!