Just Dandy

Update on Rodney

Thanks everyone for the well wishes for Rodney. For those of you who are new to my blog you can read HERE about what my husband has gone through and why I'm writing about it now. Back to the appointment he had on Friday....he initially went in for his lower back. He had an x-ray done and the doc didn't see anything abnormal in that area and told him to try a couple of new things to see if it helped any....medicated patches, heating pad, pain meds. If not, go back in and see him. He said he did notice something else though.....Rodney has new bone growth on his pelvis (it is right above where the ball joint is) which was NOT what we wanted to hear. I'll back track a little....after his intial injury he had numerous surgeries to repair his pelvis. He had completely shattered it. Because he had such a serious pelvic injury and had major surgury he was at high risk for developing heterotopic bone formation. A little over a year after his initial surgery he had developed this growth which causes a ton of pain and little range of motion. He had surgery to remove it and had radiation therapy to help 'kill it' and prevent it from returning. He felt somewhat better after and was not in quite as much pain and his range of motion had improved. Well, it is now back again causing pain and poor range of motion.  So unfortunately it is not the news we were hoping for. The doc says it is Rodney's decision to have this done or not but that if he did it should help with his pain and ROM, like before. The thought of having surgery again and being cut from the middle of his side to the middle of his thigh scares him and me too, to be honest but I will 110% support whatever decision he feels comfortable with. I wish I could take half of his pain away....if I could I would do it in a heartbeat!

Thanks so much for listening! Have a great day!

((HUGS))

Get Well Wishes

Ever lose your mojo? I feel like I've lost mine lately. I haven't had as much stamping time as I would like lately but when I do find the time to do it I feel like it's lacking. It needs to come back badly!

This card was made using Floral Frenzy (promise I will take a break using this set for awhile after this one). I stamped the flowers using Berry Sorbet and Sweet Blush and then gently cut them out. I layered them on a plain oval Nestability and then punced slits for my ribbon using my SU! horizontal slot punch. The patterned paper....Sky Garden Floral.....is from Chatterbox's Garden collection. 

The sun is shining bright here today!! We're finally getting the summer weather we should have been getting weeks ago.  Rodney has a doctors appointment this morning. He did something to his lower back a couple of weeks ago and it's still really bothering him. He went in on Monday to have an x-ray and the doc said he'd call back if he saw anything. Well he called back and wants to see him today. With all the metal he has in him....he has 16 screws and 3 metal plates holding his pelvis together on his right side and a loooong 4" screw on the left.....I'm praying it's nothing too serious! Wish us luck!

Have a great day everyone and thanks for visiting!!

{SUPPLIES}

Stamps: Floral Frenzy (Papertrey Ink)

Ink: Berry Sorbet, Sweet Blush, Spring Moss (Papertrey Ink), Chocolate Chip (SU!)

Cardstock: Stampers Select white, Berry Sorbet (Papertrey Ink), Bashful Blue (SU!)

Patterned Paper: Sky Garden Floral (Chatterbox)

Accessories: plain oval Nestabilities, Fiskars scallop scissors, horizontal slot punch (SU!), Spring Moss twill (Papertrey Ink)

Just Because Bouquet

Ok-just a quick and easy card for today! Another one layer wonder! I haven't been able to squeeze a whole lot of stamping time in the past few days so I'm digging back in the archives for one I've made in the past.  The past couple of days have been spent school shopping for the kids. I am happy to say we are now done. I took Kacey to the mall yesterday to finish hers up. We left at 8:30 AM and didn't get home til almost 6 PM. I was completely wiped out when we got home and couldn't wait to get my jammies on and just relax. My Mom is on vacation this week so she was able to go along with us which was great but I think she was pretty worn out as well. Shopping takes a lot out of you...especially as you get older. Not that I'm old....I just don't like to shop as much as I use to. So between school shopping and everything else I have going on (lots of new stuff....I'll share all of that later) I haven't had much ME time.

I did go my eye doctor this morning to look for a new pair of glasses. I'm on the fence between two pair. One pair is black...similar to the ones in my photo (those are brown) and they have flowers along the sides which I absolutely LOVE. The other pair are so sheek looking and something I totally wouldn't have tried on unless the lady hadn't handed them to me. They are a reddish/burgundy color and are just so cool. I need to try and find a picture so I can show you all! I wear glasses everyday from the time I wake up until the time I go to bed and I get kind of tired of wearing the same ones day in and day out. I'd like to have a second pair so I can switch things up a bit! Decision, decisions!!

Back to the card. I used Floral Frenzy, my plain square Nestabilities, a piece of Kraft cardstock and ink! Nothing fancy...just simple which we all love for mass production. The same design as these ones I had made.

I'm sure you have all stopped by Nichole's blog to see what she has in store for this months release! Amazing stuff, isn't it? Oh My Goodness....this is Heather's very first release, Rustic Wreath, which is so perfectly her! I just love it. And Lisa too, with Remember! More flowers which you all know I can't get enough of. Check them out!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

{SUPPLIES}

Stamps: Floral Frenzy (Papertrey Ink)

Ink: Only Orange, Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive (SU!)

Cardstock: Kraft (Papertrey Ink)

Accessories: plain square Nestabilities

Rubber Soul - It's Your Day

Good Monday morning all! Hope you all enjoyed your weekend. My Grandmother has been here since last Wednesday. My Grandfather went away for 10 days and Gram isn't able to stay home alone so she came down to stay with my parents. She's having such a hard time right now. She was diagnosed with Parkinsons disease about a year and a half ago and has been struggling even since. Growing up I spent most of my time at her house. Her home was right down the street from where my brother and I went to school so we'd always go there before school and after until my parents picked us up. She had so much spunk and was so active....always cleaning, organizing, sewing, shopping, cooking....you name it she was doing it. But now she isn't able to do any of those things and it makes me so sad. I never knew much about Parkisons before she was diagnosed. I had heard of Michael J. Fox and his struggles but never really KNEW until I saw it first hand with my Gram! It's so awful to see someone you love so much suffering.

Here's another card from Rubber Soul that I thought I'd share with you all. Isn't he the cutest? I just love this set. The green patterned paper is from their Meadow's Edge collection and the brown dotted paper is from Doodlebug. I created a base for my owl to sit on with my scalloped and plain square Nestabilities. After stamping the little guy out I carefully trimmed around him and then attached him to the front of my card. I tied a piece of Lemon Tart ribbon and then tied my tag off of that. The tag was created with my Cuttlebug tiny tag die set. Lastly, I added a couple of buttons to the bottom. These buttons are the clear ones from Foofala. I actually painted the backside of them with Making Memories Buttercup paint so they would match the ribbon.

I'm off to pick the kids up from my Mom and Dads. They both spent the night there last night which was nice but very different for Rodney and I. Usually they take turns....one sleeps over one night and the other another night but they both wanted to stay last night! Then I'm off to run some errands!

Have a great day everyone!

{SUPPLIES}

Stamps: It's Your Day (Rubber Soul)

Ink: Chocolate Chip (SU!)

Cardstock: Lemon Tart, Stampers Select white (Papertrey Ink)

Patterned Paper: Meadow's Edge (Rubber Soul)

Accessories: Scalloped and Plain Nestabilities, Buttercup paint (Making Memories), clear buttons (Foofala), Cuttlebug tiny tag die set, Lemon Tart ribbon (Papertrey Ink)

Rain, Rain

Will the rain EVER go away! It is coming down in buckets right now and I'm beginning to think that our summer weather is about over which completely bums me out. Rain, rain go away, come again...not for a long, long time!!

In light of all this rain we are getting I thought I'd create a bright, summery card. I used a combo of 3 PTI sets for this one....Beautiful Blooms, Flower Garden and Green Thumb. I think it looks pretty straight forward so I'm not going to go into detail on how I created it today.

Kacey and I spent the day school shopping on Wednesday. I truly enjoyed the day with her and wish we had the chance to do it more often. I've had to learn to step back and let her pick and choose what she wants to wear this year. Gone are the days of frilly dresses and pigtails. She is completely against both of those and I've accepted that my girl is growing up and turning into a lady. Boy, sometimes accepting is sooo hard though. One of the things she just HAD to have was these >>>>>>>>>>>

Remember these? I had a pair of high top hot pink ones when I was her age and absolutely LOVED them. I wore them everyday....I think even when they didn't match the rest of my outfit. LOL! So I was so thrilled when she chose these....so girly and they have pink in them which she rarely wears!

Have a great day everyone! I hope the sun is shining bright where you are!

{SUPPLIES}

Stamps: Beautiful Blooms, Flower Garden, Green Thumb (Papertrey Ink)

Ink: Lemon Tart, Summer Sunrise (Papertrey Ink) Black Noir Palette, Old Olive (SU!)

Cardstock: Lemon Tart, Stampers Select white (Papertrey Ink), Basic Black, Old Olive (SU!)

Accessories: black brads (Bazzill), ticket corner punch (SU!), Stardust Stickles (Ranger), Summer Sunrise twill (Papertrey Ink)

Got Soul?

I thought I'd get up a little earlier this morning so I had time to post before my day started. I made a pot of my Dunkin Donuts coffee, sat here at my computer, typed up a post and Typepad decides to NOT work for me and I end up losing it ALL! So much for having good intentions. I had an appointment early this morning so I had to give up trying to fix it and now here I am....trying again! Hoping it works this time!

I got a box full of goodies from Rubber Soul a couple of days ago and couldn't wait to dive into it and start creating! This card is made using the set Wedding Day. The cake is stamped onto a piece of Stampers Select using Berry Sorbet ink. The roses are colored in using Copic marker RV11 and the leaves with G99. I used my Marvy punches to punch out the cake and the Berry Sorbet scalloped circle. I used my paper piercer to poke tiny holes inside each scallop and then outlined them using my white gel pen. After attaching my ribbon I used 3D adhesive to adhere it to the front of my card. I used Polka Dot Basics on my Aqua Mist cardstock and the Berry Sorbet strip was cut with my Fiskars scalloped scissors.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

{SUPPLIES}

Stamps: Wedding Day (Rubber Soul), Polka Dot Basics (Papertrey Ink)

Ink: Berry Sorbet, Aqua Mist (Papertrey Ink)

Cardstock: Berry Sorbet, Aqua Mist, Stampers Select white (Papertrey Ink)

Accessories: Marvy punches, SU! slot punch, white gel pen, Fiskars scallop scissors, Copic markers, Sweet Blush ribbon (Papertrey Ink)

Simple & Fresh All Occasion

Happy Monday everyone! I can't believe we are in the month of August already. School starts here in about 3 weeks and I have to be honest...I'm not ready for it. I've enjoyed having the kiddos home so much and us having no schedule, no rushing around.......just being. I'm going to enjoy these last few weeks and try to make them go as s.l.o.w. as possible!

I pulled out Simple Little Things to make a set of all occasion cards yesterday. I've mentioned before how purple isn't a color I normally feel comfortable using but I loved using it yesterday. I thought the end result was so fresh and clean looking and I love those kinds of cards. This was beyond simple to make, an easy mass production. Just stamp, layer and adhere. Spring Moss and Lavender Moon was the color combo I chose. I used the sentiments from Faux Ribbon and stamped them onto Stampers Select and then punched them out with my SU! large oval punch. Using my 1/4" circle punch I made a hole to attach my Lavendar Moon twill ribbon. I adhered everything to the front of my card and Voila!

I hope you all have a great Monday! Thanks for visiting!

{SUPPLIES}

Stamps: Simple Little Things (Papertrey Ink)

Ink: Lavender Moon & Spring Moss (Papertrey Ink)

Cardstock: Lavender Moon & Spring Moss (Papertrey Ink)

Accessories: SU! Large oval punch, Fiskars scallop scissors, Lavender Moon twill (Papertrey Ink), Stardust stickles (Ranger)

More work and a Sweet Sundae

Thanks for all the comments and e-mails giving us tips on our homebuilding. We were at the lot again this morning cutting, hauling and stacking! So much work to be done but it will be so worth it in the end.....that's what I keep telling myself anyway. I've heard so many times that if you can get through building a home together as a couple than you can get through anything together. So far, so good!

Rodney is completely miserable right now though! Not from me...haha...but from a bout of poison ivy. Poor guy! He's had it twice before this summer but this time he got it much, much worse. Right now he's covered in pink calamine lotion and drugged up on benedryl. His arms are covered, his neck and now it's getting on his face....even his eye lids. I feel so bad for him! So far the kids and I have steered clear from getting it. I hope it stays that way! And if that wasn't enough for him, he was stung not once but 4 times on his foot by a swarm of bees tonight!

So, needless to say with everything we have going on with the lot I haven't been able to squeeze a whole lot of stamping time in or by the time we're done I'm too tired to do anything except plant my butt on the sofa. So, I'm going to share a card I made a week or so ago. Yes, you are seeing a stamp set other than PTI. I know it's shocking! LOL! I purchased this set from Gina K Designs some time ago and didn't have my Copic markers at the time so it sort of went to the side til I purchased them. Now that I have them I'm sure I'll use this set a lot more. $7.00 of each of the 'How Sweet It Is'  sets that are sold is divided between two foundations.....The American Diabetes Association and The Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. Since I've been a type 1 diabetic for 25+ years I definitely had to purchase this set. My daughter saw this card and loved it. Of course, she is not a diabetic (Thank God) and LOVES her ice cream! Seriously, the girl could eat it for every meal!

I stamped the sundae onto white cardstock and colored it in using these Copic markers.....

• Cherry - R24
• Ice Cream - RV11
• Sauce - E18
• Dish & Spoon - E13

I cut the spoon out and then used my Marvy scallop punch and punched out the sundae. I used Polka Dot Basics from PTI on a strip of Berry Sorbet and Chocolate Chip (did you actually think I could create a whole card without using atleast 1 PTI set...LOL!). I added a couple of buttons and a tag with ribbon to finish it off!

Thanks for visiting!

{SUPPLIES}

Stamps: How Sweet It Is (Gina K Designs), Polka Dot Basics (Papertrey Ink)

Ink: Chocolate Chip (SU!), Berry Sorbet (Papertrey Ink)

Cardstock: Berry Sorbet, Stampers Select, Sweet Blush (Papertrey Ink), Chocolate Chip (SU!)

Accessories: Copic markers, Berry Sorbet twill ribbon (Papertrey Ink), Marvy scallop punch, buttons (Lasting Impressions), Stardust Stickles (Ranger)

Making Homebuilding headway

I know I've mentioned before, probably more than once, how we have decided to build a house. I can happily say that we have finally started the process and it feels like we are now getting somewhere. I know from the pictures it might not look like it but believe me when I say...you should have seen it before. It was all woods and now it's cleared to the point where we can put a house, our house in there. Thanks in HUGE part to my awesome Dad. He has done so much for us over there....we can never thank him enough!!!

We have 3 more rows of trees to cut and then they will be able to get in there and excavate it and do the ground work. So, this is what we have been up to lately. Lots of time spent cutting and hauling wood and brush. I should say all of us except for Brody.....he'd rather be king of the hill and let's us know when we've dropped or left anything behind.

I can't even begin to tell you all how excited I am about this whole process. This is such a huge step for us....the last and final step!

Thanks for letting me share my excitement! I'm sure I'll be sharing more pics and info as we go through this whole process. And if any of you have gone through this before and have any tips at all....we welcome them!! :-)

Flower Garden - Thanks Sow Much!!

Good Monday morning! I hope you all had a great weekend.

I wanted to share one more card I created using Flower Garden. It's sort of similar to the one I made for the blog hop but has a different color combo and I didn't use vellum. By the way...thank you all for the great comments you all left on my blog hop card! I had such a great time looking at everyones creations. I'm looking forward to next months challenge!!

Ok - back to the card....color combo for this card, Lemon Tart, Summer Sunrise and Tempting Turquoise with a little Certainly Celery for the flower centers. I first stamped my card base with one of the flower center stamps using Lemon Tart ink.  I made my tag out of Stampers Select and then created a flowered border strip using the inks I mentioned above. I stamped two additional flowers on a separate sheet of carstock and then trimmed them out. I used the dotted swirl line again from Little Lady to create the trail for my bee. I stamped my greeting, adhered my flowers, attached my ribbon and I was finished!

Thanks for stopping by today! I'll be back later today to share a few pictures on how we spent our weekend!

Have a great day!

{SUPPLIES}

Stamps: Flower Garden, Flower Garden Sentiments, Little Lady (Papertrey Ink)

Ink: Lemon Tart, Summer Sunrise (Papertrey Ink) Tempting Turquoise, Certainly Celery (SU!), Noir black Palette

Cardstock: Lemon Tart, Stampers Select (Papertrey Ink), Tempting Turquoise (SU!)

Accessories: Summer Sunrise Saddle stitched ribbon (Papertrey Ink), button (Foofala)