Tomorrow, October 16, 2014, is National Boss’ Day.(For those of you that forgot, aren’t ready, didn’t know – I thought I’d post a day ahead!) 🙂
I am one of the fortunate ones that works for a great company and has a wonderful boss, so I enjoy letting him know that I appreciate his kindness, fairness, support, and leadership. I feel privileged to work for the company I do and in the field I do. It is an honor to wake up every day and know that what we are doing in hospice and home health is making a difference in people’s lives. We are helping people LIVE when they are facing the last leg of their journey. We are providing dignity and quality of life. We are helping families cope, understand, and support their loved ones. I am truly grateful for the opportunity to do what I do and the boss that allows me to do it every day.
My boss is a man, so no “froo-froo, fussy-fuss” card for this occasion, but I thought I could use The Paper Players Color Challenge (PP217) to make a nice Fall gratitude card to honor my boss and the day.
For my stamping friends, I heat embossed the leaves with white on SU Whisper White card stock. I then sponged on the SU Hello Honey, Tangelo Twist, and Mossy Meadow inks (in that order) and hit the edges with some brown distress ink to create a better edge. I glued on a white border and then Mossy Meadow card stock base, heat embossed the SU Grateful for You sentiment on Mossy Meadow, hand cut and attached with dimensionals. I finished it off with just a couple sequins, and though you cannot really see in the photo, I hit the leaves with a coat of Wink of Stella to give it a subtle sparkle in just the right light. On the inside, I randomly stamped the maple leaf with the same three colors.
So here’s to National Boss’ Day. A great excuse for me to make a card! 🙂
I recently made and sent this card as a sympathy card for dear friends.
I really enjoyed just sponging and layering and creating the background and using one of my all time favorite SU stamp sets, Lovely as a Tree.
When I saw the SUO Challenge this week was Out in the Woods, it seemed a perfect card to enter. The challenge is to make a card featuring something you’d find out in the woods.
Hope you get to enjoy some time out in the woods or just outdoors wherever you are and whatever season it is in your part of the world. It’s always good to get fresh air whether warm or cool and enjoy the beauty nature provides us.
I’ve been looking forward to playing with the SU Holiday Home Stamp Set. So many of the elements are perfect for a Halloween card. I did some sponging to create the dusk sky, some masking for the moon and house, then some coloring and Wink of Stella.
And this card gave me another excuse to use the Autumn-colored Flower Soft again.
I’ve also been looking forward to using the SU Mingle All the Way Halloween sentiment here, so added it to the inside with a few more spooky, screamy bats.
I really enjoy playing The Paper Players Challenges. Such a talented, encouraging design team and lots of creative participants always inspire me.
With our first fire of the season crackling in the fireplace, a nice glass of wine, and rosey cheeks from a fun hiking adventure at McConnell’s Mills this afternoon with my buddy, Janet, this afternoon, I wish you a fun October and fun Halloweeny times at…
life in between.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
(PS Looking forward to sharing a fun photo blog with you soon on our trip to McConnell’s Mills!)
And seriously, with a major holiday like this, how could I not share and post and wish you a Happy #WCMD2014 ?! 🙂
So here’s a cute little fuzzy owl (made with brown flower soft glued to Mr. Owl from with Jillibean’s You’re Tweet Stamp Set. I added some googly eyes, glossy accent hearts, and used Stampinup DSP, cardstock, ink, and ribbon in Chocolate Chip). And since it kinda matches the sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches FMS156 (maybe a stretch – but what the heck!), I thought I’d enter it there.
I just adore this punny saying and love adding googly eyes to these little tomatoes (#WPlus9 Punny Produce). I made them in “heirloom” colors – and for some reason this card reminds me of The Brady Bunch (minus a row) 🙂
When I saw this week’s Friday Mashup, I had to play along.
Especially when I saw Cindy’s Card – she is the queen of clean and simple and beautiful card-making. (Be sure to check out her site to see more of her creative, beautiful designs: CindyLeeBeeDesigns)
I couldn’t resist trying the technique (blowing ink through a straw), and in the end, realized my card is not only inspired by Cindy, but ended up looking almost like it.
This technique reminds me of childhood spin-art and the recent melted crayon art trend. Sometime it’s fun to just see what will happen.
I embossed the “hello” from the SU My Friend Stamp Set in black on vellum, which I “randomly” stitched onto the card.
Here is the FM179 challenge: Create a project using the Ink Blowing Technique and the colors Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry and Basic Black.
Happy Friday! What a BEAUTIFUL Fall week it has been here in Western PA!
Today, I’m sharing a card I’ve made for The Paper Players Challenge (#PP214), but I can’t take credit for the design. I copied this one from one of my Stampin’ IDOLS, Michelle Zindorf. You can check out her blog here and her much better version of the card here. I had fun making it nonetheless. Thanks, Michelle, for the inspiration. And thanks, Jaydee, for the challenge.
This week’s challenge was to make a Masculine CAS Design. I think I got CAS (Clean and Simple) confused with CASE (Copy and Share Everything)!
Cards for men are always a bit more difficult. They don’t usually like all the froo-froo fussy-fuss many of us girls like. 🙂 Michelle did some brayering when she made her card. I just sponged my colors on. It was actually quite a quick and easy card to make using the SU Wetlands stamp set. I added the taller grass, extended the ground, made the transition into the “ocean” a bit softer, and gave it an olive green background to be a bit different.
And while I’m sharing cards, here are two I made at “card class” this week with one of my other Stamping Idols and mentor Stacey Ailes.
I had so much fun making this boot and bandana card. Especially the bandana – which was started from scratch on a red piece of card stock, randomly stamped in black, then the most fun part of doodling in white.
It was fun to make this Fall-colored card look like it is “glowing.”
Check out Stacey’s blog here. She is one very talented, creative lady – and an even sweeter friend! Her card is even more exquisite with an embossed gold maple leaf and framed in tiny pearls.
You discover a letter on a path that affects you deeply. Today, write about this encounter. And your twist? Be as succinct as possible.
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Well – of course its a love letter 🙂 …………
Bear with me, friends, on a fiction challenge.
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It was just like any other Friday morning in September.
Mikey and I were on our morning walk.
The sun was bright, the breeze light, the air crisp, and the crickets chirped their Autumn lullaby.
Mikey saw it first – or most likely smelled it first, and he tugged on the leash I was leisurely holding.
“What now,” I thought.
Then I saw it.
I couldn’t resist picking it up.
I unfolded the tattered composition paper that was tucked into the torn and faded yellowing envelope.
“My Dearest Love,” it began.
“I miss you more than the number of stars in the sky. I miss you deeper than the depths of the sea. The only thing that makes this time away from you bearable, is knowing that you are there, waiting for me, praying for me, longing for me – as I long for you. I am the most fortunate man in the entire universe, because I know in my heart that you are…..”
The page was torn. The rest of the story is lost – – – lost in time, lost in space.
Maybe it belongs to one of our neighbors.
Or maybe it has traveled for hundreds or thousands of miles – floating through the winds of time.
Mikey and I will never know.
He trudges ahead, sniffing and searching for the next treasure.
I smile and wonder…. imagining…. dreaming…. hoping…. longing…. for a happy ending.
(The card pictured here was designed for The Pals Paper Arts Color Challenge PPA213. The challenge was to use: Blackberry Bliss, Brown Sugar, Cajun Craze, and Always Artichoke.)
The thing I love most about it is the tiny gold embossed hearts amidst the plethora of random dots. It’s like the hidden treasure – in the mass of chaos.
For the MUSE Challenge, participants are provided with a photo to be inspired from and are asked to explain their interpretation.
Here is the inspiration card:
My tomatoes are placed in a similar position as the flowers in the muse challenge card. It is also similar in its Clean and Simple (CAS) approach with plenty of white/blank space surrounding the featured image. The flowers have leaves – the tomatoes sport stems. Both cards have a similar font for the sentiment.
It’s 11:11pm, and I am in a Holiday Inn about 4 1/2 hours from home in Eastern PA where I will be speaking at a conference tomorrow on “Using Social Media in Healthcare to Meet, Engage, and Retain Patients” for the Central PA Chapter of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE). I’m looking forward to it and hope it will be an engaging talk.
Before I turn in, I wanted to do my “homework.” Today’s #Writing101 Assignment: Write about the three most important songs in your life — what do they mean to you?
Music is such a wonderful expression of feelings and emotions, and I was able to quickly come up with three that came to mind immediately that represent important moments and people in my life. (And I even have to add a bonus one!)
So here goes:
#1: “You’re Still the One” by Shania Twain
When Marty turned 40 about 15 years ago (holy shmoly – where did that time go?!), I threw a surprise party for him. At that party, I had this song played for us to dance to. At that point, we had been married 17 years. I was 19 and he was 23 when we married that April afternoon 32 years ago. At the time, I thought the lyrics were so perfect and appropriate, and they are even more so now. It has become “our song.”
Looks like we made it. Look how far we’ve come, my baby. We mighta took the long way. We knew we’d get there someday.
They said, “I bet they’ll never make it.” But just look at us holding on. We’re still together, still going strong.
You’re still the one I run to – the one that I belong to. You’re still the one I want for life.
You’re still the one that I love – the only one I dream of. You’re still the one I kiss good night.
Ain’t nothing better. We beat the odds together. I’m glad we didn’t listen. Look at what we would be missing.
I have always loved this classic – the words, the instruments – Louie’s raspy passion when he sings it. It always makes me feel so grateful – makes me realize the simple pleasures – makes me think to myself what a wonderful world…
So when Jake and Colleen were planning their wedding last summer, Jake asked me what song I would like to dance with him to for the Mother-Son Dance. I immediately chose this one, and he immediately agreed to thinking it was a great choice. (And those that know Jake know that is a monumental occasion)
During the weeks prior to the wedding, I listened to it over and over.
And over and over.
And over and over.
Until I could get through it without crying.
And the day of the wedding, when Jake and I danced to this beautiful song, all I could do was smile and be happy and hug and hold him tight.
But the even more awesome thing was when a year later at Jackie’s wedding (the oldest daughter of my BFF Jill), the DJ played this song, and Jake sought me out from another room and escorted me onto the dance floor to dance to “our song.” This time I had tears in my eyes…
#3: “What a Difference You’ve Made in My Life” by Ronnie Milsap
This is the song I played over and over when I was reunited with my Dad four years ago. For at least a year, neither he nor I could listen to it without crying tears of love and gratitude.
For our first Christmas together after 30+ years, I made a CD of songs for him, and this was the first one I put on it.
It will always be “our song.”
And for the bonus one I mentioned – way back in the beginning – I had to share this photo that was in Marty’s work newsletter, The Cranberry Township Staff Lines. KUDOS to the witty writer who captioned this photo that sure made me one proud mudder!
the creative life in between 