Hip to be Square!

I struggle coming up with creative titles for my posts! But this card has lots of little squares and I grew up in the 80s, which was synonymous with Huey Lewis and the News, for me at least. It's how my mind works.

This card was really inspired not by Huey, but by Mary Fish. I chose this card's color scheme to give some time in the spotlight to a few colors that are retiring at the end of next month: Really Rust and Sage Shadow.

The retiring colors will be available until June 30, or while supplies last. We demonstrators were informed last week that some card stock has already begun to be depleted, so textured card stock in the same color is being substituted until it runs out too. The reinkers will be restocked until May 30, and then once the stock is depleted, they will not be replenished.

I stamped images from these sets, just pulling out what I liked and what I thought went well together. All were stamped in Chocolate Chip classic ink, which is being moved from the Earth Elements family (which is being renamed the Regals Collection), into the Neutrals Collection.

These 1.25" squares were mounted on the Really Rust card stock, and accented with Sage Shadow .25" grosgrain ribbon, and a butterfly stamped in SS and mounted on top of the same image, creating a shadow of sorts.

Happy Birthday in BLUE

My dear friend and fellow blogger Lydia of Understand Blue is celebrating life today, and, to overstate the OBVIOUS, she LOVES blue. So, of course, her card had to be in shades of blue. I chose Pacific Point from last year's InColor collection because I know it's her most favoritest blue ever. I opted for a Flip Flop card, which does this seemingly magical "flip" when you open it. I"m not going to go into detail about how I made it; there's a great tutorial on SCS that I've created a link to. It includes step-by-step pics. Check it out.

Once I had the color scheme and the layout design chosen, I began hunting around for an appropriate stamp set. Along the way, I found these Eastern Blooms rub-ons, and the rest almost happened on its own! The center of the flip flop card has a double mat of Night of Navy and Bashful Blue--the more blue the merrier!--and the images are stamped in those two colors and PP. I used 2 additional sets, both retired Hostess sets Best Yet and Live Like You Mean It, to create my message for my favorite Texan.

Lydia is one of the most generous crafters I know, and she is among the wittiest too! If you don't subscribe to her blog, you should. Her approach to cardmaking is unique, and I always enjoy getting a slice of life along with the card (and cat) pictures. Girlfriend, I hope your day is fantabulous! You're the best and just getting better! Wish I was there to eat sushi at Uchi with you. Thanks for teaching me to embrace life.

Givin' It Another Go

When I posted Saturday's card, I was frustrated with the amount of pieces parts it had so I went back to the drawing board to see if I could find inspiration from another layout. This one is from Stephanie Hargis, a blogger and demonstrator in CO, who was using Beate Johns' weekend sketch challenge #54. See how nicely we ALL share?

Of course, I had to make it harder on myself by adding that fourth color, but I was bound and determined, and don't get in my way when I'm bound and determined! And I know that the sentiment is a little bit off, but I pulled scraps out of my folders and they looked fine until I looked at the photo. You get the idea!

In the end, I think I like this one better. There's more going on visually with the different shapes and such, but I'm on the fence. This weekend's stampers will just have to wait and see which one I choose!

Do You Recognize This Shape?

I'll bet you do! When I pulled it off the top of the tissue box the other day, I was struck by the shape and stuck it in my craft room so that I could glean inspiration from it later. Well, now's later.

I also wanted to challenge myself to use Pacific Point, a very vibrant blue that a certain blogger friend of mine ADORED when it came out this August. Me, not so much. I also wanted to use the Level 1 Hostess Set Live Life Like You Mean It.

Here's what I came up with. The tissue box cover didn't match up with my oval Coluzzle Cutting System, so I had to trace it and cut it myself. No biggie. Getting some colors to mesh well...well, that was another hurdle. While I was struggling and meandering around my craft room, I came upon a list compiled by Mary Jo Albright that shared color combos she's seen in the Fall-Winter Catalog. DUH!

The one I chose was Pacific Point, Old Olive, Bashful Blue, More Mustard, and Real Red. Pull out the markers--except for PP..argh!--and get to work. It came together relatively quickly, and I'm particularly pleased with the look of the "Life" tag. Those ARE cool colors together!

Off to think some more, though. This layout's just a tad bit too complicated for SAS. Why do I think so much? Hope you're enjoying your weekend!

Live Life...for Rocky

Over the past year of serving customers at Starbucks, some have become friends. One such woman is Rocky. (That's her nickname because her last name is LaRocca.) She comes in daily for either a mocha with whipped cream or a mocha frappuccino without whipped cream, depending on the weather. Right now, I have to ask, "Hot or cold?" because the weather's not sure what it's doing in Georgia.

Rocky is one amazing woman. She has a heart condition that requires her to wear a fanny pack that administers medication to her around the clock. She travels regularly to the Cleveland Heart Clinic to get the best care available in this country for her condition. Still, she goes about life, drinking coffee with her friend Marie, gambling a bit, visiting her new granddaughter.

Rocky came in on Monday and stopped to have a brief conversation with someone else she knows in the cafe. I was busy making her drink, so it took me a minute to notice that she wasn't her usual self. When I paused from my activity to engage her, she blurted out, "They think I have liver cancer." WHAT?!? This can't be happening. Rocky has already fought HARD to live the life she's living, and now THIS?

We chatted and she shared that she was on her way to get bloodwork done that would determine if the suspicions of her oncologist were correct. She was a bit shook up, so we hugged and I tried to bolster her with a pep talk about how strong I know she is and what a positive attitude she's had through all she's been through. She agreed with me, but we both knew we were pretending to be tough. Because here's the kicker--the medication she's been on for her heart is what's CAUSING the cancer. So, if she has cancer, and if they've caught it in time to eradicate it with surgery, she STILL will have to get OFF the medication she's on for her heart. It's crazy.

I wanted to DO SOMETHING to encourage Rocky, so I sat down tonight to make a card. I chose the Level One Hostess Set, Live Life Like You Mean It. It's a simple set with a flower, a flower outline, the word "LIFE", and the set's namesake phrase. I have Laura Fredrickson to thank for the layout. I didn't want to mess with figuring that out too. I just wanted to craft.

The details of this card are pretty easy to figure out. Haiku DSP, Very Vanilla card stock, So Saffron mat, More Mustard mats for the DSP, and Old Olive grosgrain ribbon.

I really hope Rocky's spirits are lifted by this. And I really hope and pray that she doesn't have liver cancer.

BTW, the woman who is a caregiver for her mom was very touched by the card I gave her yesterday. She said it made her day. That's what this hobby is all about for me. Spreading encouragement, one person at a time.