BloomingPink

I get a call this afternoon at work from "a friend" of my daughter's. He said that my daughter had been in a serious accident --> hit by a car. He told me that she had a compound fracture and was being taken to a hospital (he told me the name of the hospital). I asked a few more questions as my panic increased to almost hysteria. I had started to cry and was shaking pretty badly My daughter lives across the country - literally. I was so frightened that something had happened and she was injured and well, you know....all sorts of terrible things started running through my head. So, in a scurry, a few of my colleagues here at work searched Google and found the number for the hospital ER and the State Police for me. What a blessing they were. The ER said that she hadn't arrived yet. They also said that they hadn't received any "codes", meaning, that at least they were not having an emergency brought in that was life threatening. The emergency room sugg...

I think I was a really lazy card maker in June. Finally, on almost the last day of June, I finished these cards for my June Card Flood. Cardstock, rubber stamps, ribbon, and design paper are Stampin Up! The lacy punching is a Martha Stewarts punch on Kraft cardstock. I used glossy accents on the center of the flower. I think it would have looked much nicer with a little design in the center, but I was feeling somewhat simple today.

After making significant headway on THAT DOCUMENT, I finished up a swap that is due soon. It's a Christmas humor swap. I had fun with this one. The gingerbread cookie is an old rubber stamp from Personal Stamp Exchange. And the "Bite Me" text is from Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers. Both companies are no longer in business. I really enjoyed the images from both companies. It was nice to take them out and use them again on something that will make someone smile! The little peppermint is an accent I picked up last fall for an inspiration I had for inexpensive Christmas jewelry. I secretly thought it might be fun to decorate mysself as a Christmas tree and was putting together all sorts of things to adorn a fully green outfit! But alas, didn't get around to that project...maybe this year, eh? Enjoy your week!

So I took a little timeout from the document I'm writing to finish up my ribbon container swap. These are from repurposed Crystal Light containers. I love these containers and just knew they'd be good for something someday.(if you look at Friday's post, you'll see where I spruced up one of the containers I did for Hip Hop Friday). Also, my neighbor's daughter graduated from college and they were having a party. So, I quickly created her a card before we went over: Now, really, I'm way behind on that document. Heads down!

Just a quick post (today, tonight, this morning...early early early). This project features a repurposed Crystal Light container (so many uses to keep from decaying - NOT - in a landfill). This was super quick, using a clean and simple, no frills design. Full of chocolates, because, why not pad those thighs some more, eh? Stamps, of course, Unity Stamp Company , from their June Kit of the Month ! Have a happy fun weekend for me...I'll be writing a whitepaper on recommendations and options for account and access management attestation (Yawn...Roll eyes...DOUBLE Yawn).

While I was finishing up this evening at work, my boss yelled over the cubicle and said she had just looked at the CNN website and saw that both Farah Fawcett and Michael Jackson had died today. A wave of immediate sadness rippled through me as she told me that Farah Fawcett had succumb to her long term battle with cancer and Michael Jackson, a heart attack. How sad I felt for their families. Both of their families have, for different reasons and causes, dealt with so much pain and trauma over the last few years. Then in rushed an onslaught of memories from my youth. I always find it amazing how idols from my past are so pinned to significant personal memories. Like so many other girls my age in the 70's, I was a devoted fan of Farah Fawcett. I wanted her long legs, thin and perfect figure, smile, and hair. I WANTED TO BE HER. I secretly longed to own a bathing suit that, when on, magically turned me into a beauty that all men desired. I wished to be on a picture that boys wanted ...

Yesterday was not only the first day of summer, but it was also my anniversary. The following is a mixture of Dave's inner voice around the flowers he gave me on Saturday and how one sentence (from John, the youngest) can change everything. PART 1 - ORDERING FLOWERS I think I'll surprise Bek with flowers. She won't be expecting these and she'll remember what a charming guy I am. Points for me. I would really like to get her those roses. Wow, would she be surprised. With those, I might even get lucky! Let me ask the guy how much. Ouch. That price, no way. Not right now, anyway. I just got my Visa bill. Okay, let me see what sort of price he will give me for a bright bundle of mixed flowers and a couple roses. That will work. And those roses he suggested...good choice. Better than the the "average" rose. They grow twice the size of standard roses...While I'm only getting two roses, I'm actually really giving four...yeah, yeah...That will work. He will ha...

If my momma was close by, I would be running over to her house, wearing this dress, saying "Momma, look at what I made!" Yes, even at 45, I still feel like a proud little girl at times. I started this dress at around 8 pm on Saturday night and finished most of it by 4 am on Sunday! (I really, really wanted to finish it before I went to bed, but didn't dare to a hem that late...I mean, that early) I finished the hem and made the scarf this morning, finishing everything a little before 1 pm. Not too bad for a beginner, eh? Now...I need to find a party and a drink with a little umbrella!

It was time for another pancake feast. The excuse...Joni's "If I Have to Leave, I'll Retire" breakfast. Because Joni (all smiles above) will be retiring at the end of the month, Kathy and I decided to take her to breakfast to "celebrate". Joni is laughing in the picture, because I couldn't believe how much food she ordered(and finished, by the way)! Actually, I couldn't believe that this was a single item on the menu! I had to snap a photo because I'd not seen a breakfast of that size since I stayed overnight with my Uncle Tommy and Aunt Shelia last year (they really wanted to make sure John, Dave and I didn't go hungry). When I asked her what her plans were after she finished here, she said, well, first things first, I'm headed to Florida to see Mickey.... After that, who knows.

I created the pillow above on Saturday! The pillow features about a dozen 1 inch pleats and about 100 colorful buttons hand sewn and layered on a scrap of linen. It took HOURS longer than I anticipated...mostly spent sewing on the layers of buttons...but that detail was so worth it! I like it! I am not sure what I'm going to do with it yet...right now it's on the couch in the living room...where my cat, Yello, likes to sleep. I hope my cats don't discover it too soon. I can just imagine them manicuring their nails on it or getting playful with the buttons! Or...or... even playing hockey with the buttons after they discover how easy it is to pull them off!

I created the above gift bag last night. I started it believing I could do something Father's Day-ish, but alas, I added a butterfly, because none of my more masculine images inspired me. Guess I'll have to try again on the Pop's Day gift. The images used on the front are from Unity Stamp Company , from several different sets. The cardstock, ribbon, and Manchester Series designer paper are from Stampin Up! . I have a couple smiles to share: On my way to work this morning, a cute little turtle was making his way across the road. It's about the 4th turtle I've seen lately. All the rain must be running them out of their normal living environment. Since I wanted him to survive, I pulled over, picked him up (and he was not a happy fella about that one bit), and walked a good 50 yards into the back yard area of a retirement community...and put him down in the wet grass. I hope he isn't motivated to start the journey back in the direction of the road again. He ...

Available here: Graduation Gift Box This box uses an image from the Hanna Graduation set. I'm submitting it for a design team call. You can find out more information on the design team call and see all the other project on this post in the SCS forum: HERE Wish me luck.

Ha! School's out, but symmetry and geometrics are still in!

Today is John's High School graduation! Both Dave and John have been waiting 18 long years for this day! (although I really don't think John was really happy about it until this year, when reality set in). Here's a picture of the graduation boy, taken by Dave several months ago. I made the gift box for John over the course of the week. I finished the details this morning: The diploma enclosed contains an image of his gift and a short quote: To be all that is possible we must attempt the impossible. To be all that we can be, we must dream of being more. When I complete the tutorial for the box, I'll post a link. Here's a quick summary: The cap/diploma image is from Hanna Stamps, the Hanna graduation set. I layered it with gold scalloped (Nestability) and basic gray cardstock. The "2009 Congrats" uses Justrite's vertical stamper and the Times New Roman font set. I used gold embroidery floss for the tassle, and a star brad from Stampin Up!

Latest card. It's for a friend's daughter who graduated from college. All stamps are from the Unity Stamp Company . The background stamping uses two stamps, which say "Transform", and "Celebrate". Fitting. She really blossomed into a great young woman during her years in college. Bravo.

Here's my latest painting. I finished it last night. It is not as large as the last one - measuring 18 x 24. I started it in February. I'm getting a bit faster with each painting. It needs a name. Any ideas?

Gift box made with elegant earthy tones. Almost too pretty to open, which means that gift enclosed MUST be better than the packaging! I'll show you what is inside later this week!