More Cards in My Stash!!!

Hi there everyone, how's it going with you??? September is right around the corner...where did this summer go to???? 

My husband and I would have been married 50 years yesterday, August 27th. I still remember what we were doing that day, of course, every woman remembers her wedding day!!! Mine was kind of weird, as JP was racing cars and just could not take time off for a wedding. So, we got married by the "Justice of the Peace" in Chicago at 11:00am. When we came out of the courthouse, JP went to get the car and there was a ticket on it, good grief!!!! The day was hot and sunny, I think we might have gone out to eat. No, our family was not there, as they did not appreciate the way we got married, they had already said, "It would not last!!!"

At 3:00pm we were signing the papers on our new little house in Arlington Heights. I had told JP I would not move into that house unless we were married, otherwise he would have been very happy had we never got married. He was very unconventional to say the least!!! The paper saying we were married, and the ring meant nothing to him. Oh, I had to buy my own ring, because he had no time for that!!! Oh well, water under the bridge. Here it is 50 years later, I guess we did okay, his racing ended after we got married in 1973. He got the Track Championship with fastest car which still stands for that year, because the track was torn down in 1980 or so.

Now on to some cards I made for Hospice. I am definitely into these lovely butterflies; they make such a nice card that can be used for anything actually. I used yellow vellum for the background and the butterflies in black with pearls colored yellow.

This next card was done the same way but with blue vellum and gems embossing them.

Both these cards were done with a corner embossing folder and cut out with a die. The top card was covered with silver past and rubbed on gold paste to enhance the rose, flowers and center of daisy. The bottom card, I rubbed on the gold paste and enhanced with the silver paste.

These two cards are a sampling of the Veterans cards I made, the top card was strips of paper layered on a pattern and embossed with button as the center of interest. It's kind of like and "Iris" fold card without the folding of the papers. 

The second card is a napkin glued on to cardstock and smoothed out like wallpaper and then embellished with the "Freedom is not free" and blue stars. We will be making Veterans cards every month now because these cards will be going to the Vets that take that plane ride to Washington DC to see the Wall and out to Hawaii to see Pearl Harbor.

This last card is another Christmas card I will be making for this Christmas. It's a stamp which I colored in with copic markers.

So, there you have it a few more cards for Hospice, our next meeting is September 1st, so I have quite a few cards in my stash for the next few meetings. I just need to add a verse of Happy Birthday or Thinking of you or Thank you in the rest of the cards.

I have been getting a few vegies from my gardens. Beans, cherry tomatoes, onions, cucumbers and dill. Actually, the chipmunks have gotten quite a few of my tomatoes, here's hoping they get a stomachache after eating too many tomatoes!!!!! I kind of gave up getting tomatoes from my garden.....not like the old days when I was not so hard to garden around my house.

Well time to close here, need to get some things done around this house and water the plants outside. All those putsy everyday things to do. You have a great day and keep looking up, better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Happy Birthday, Flowers, a Cake, Food and Captain Serious

Hi there everyone. Hope you are having a good Merry Month of May. My month has been VERY shaky, to say the least. I try to tell myself everyday the above Meme.....but I am only human, not perfect as yet. As much as I want to give up, I can't. JP is wanting to give up, as he is very tired of all these physical and mental health issues he faces daily.

JP's birthday was yesterday, 17th, he is now 74 yrs old....yep an old man now. He got a 3 birthday cards, a call from his brother in Hoffman Estates, and a few birthday wishes from the doctor's office. I bought him a new pair of slippers that look like street shoes, he can slip them on and off with very little effort. Never got a chance to make a card for him. Forgot the cheese cake in the freezer....tonight will be okay I guess.😍

This week-end was really a tough one. I had to call the fire dept. to help me pick JP up off the floor in the bathroom. We were doing a Cath. and over he fell, that was early Saturday morning. Then early Sunday morning, I had to call again (as per his nurse that comes weekly). This time he was transported to the ER. All his vitals are perfect, BUT he needs his meds changed, the Doctor in ER says he has dementia. There needs to be a follow-up with the regular doctor and the physiatrist.

Above is a picture of my pretty tulips that opened up like roses, they are so pretty in the sun light. 💓

To continue on with JP's problems and mine, (as I am the caregiver). JP has had 4 eye doctor appointments. All confirming he has Melanoma in his right eye. The next appointment will be in Green Bay at St. Vincent's Hospital. Do not know when that will be as yet. If you would please pray for JP. We are living day by day, I just can't go any farther then the next hour.🙏🙏🙏

This was a cute Valentine's cake I got for JP......sorry to say, he was really GOOD!!! He was devoured in a day!!!😊

So once I find out when the appointment is, Community Care will find a ride for us up to the Hospital in Green Bay and home again. (I hope). The last two trips to ThedaCare Hospital in Neenah, a car-pool picked us up.....really nice people, and they helped me get JP in the car too. So helpful (the first ride, the second ride, the caregiver and car driver both got JP in the car).

In these two pictures, is a meal I made for JP. He has to have soft food, so I thought stuffed peppers would be good on a sheet pan. It's just hamburger, rice, egg, bread crumbs and seasonings stuffed in green peppers. The asparagus has oil, salt and pepper then I cut up onion, covering the asparagus. Oh and those orange strips are sweet potatoes. So everything was soft, then I covered his food with gravy. The above picture is before it was baked, below after it was baked. Yummy meal. 👍👌😀

I guess I will be getting help to find a place for JP to live, where he will get 24/7 care. He is getting very hard for me to care for and I am losing sleep, staying up with him during the nights to make sure he does not do anything crazy, like fall. 

On Monday's, Wednesday's and Friday's a caregiver comes to watch JP for 3 hours, while I can go to the store, or just get away for some free time. 

On Monday's a landscaper comes to cut our grass. (the neighbor took advantage of the situation (yesterday) and had the landscaper cut his grass also).👎I did not like that situation, but who am I???? My other neighbor did not think that was right either, because this neighbor is capable of doing it himself!!!!! Oh well, that is people for ya'!!! I asked the landscaper if this neighbor paid him and yes he did. I just did not want this neighbor getting a free grass cut on my dime....you know what I mean????👎💢😝

So now I guess we just wait to see what happens next. Tomorrow, I have an appointment at 11am to get my blood drawn for the A1C...it's been 6 months since the last one. At that time, the A1C was 6.3 which was good, I have a feeling it will be much higher with all that has been going on.....I hope not though. JP has an appointment at 10:30 with the doctor as a follow-up from his ER visit. Also the eye doctor wants JP's doctor to know what is going on. Sure glad they keep in contact....I have had to explain everything, cause JP can't remember anything.😢😭😩

Thursday, I have to take the car in for it's oil and grease job plus get some new tires for the front. JP says I do not need to do that, that they are fine. I am still going to have them checked. JP has not driven the car 5-6 months now. I do the driving. They will have the car for most of the day. Then call when it is ready and they will pick me up in the car, driving back to the service station, then I can have the car.

At 2pm I have a virtual meeting with our Insurance Co. to up-date  our insurance....hopefully there won't be a lot of changes and the price won't change much.

Friday the caregiver will come at 1pm, hopefully giving JP a shower and clean clothes and I can take off for a few hours. She also washes my dishes, if there are any (which there usually is), she vacuums, washes the floor, cause JP pees the bathroom floor a lot. She folds towels, doing little things in keeping this place clean. She is a real help.😌😌😌Much relief to me.

So this handsome hockey player is in need of prayer. 🙏🙏🙏He plays for the Chicago Blackhawks and he is the Captain of the team. He has been out of commission this whole season. He has been dealing with an illness that has not been diagnosed as yet. His complaint is that he is weak and lethargic and nothing else has been said. His name is Jonathon Toews. The Blackhawks did not make it to the Play-offs this season. Covid 19 messed things up for all the teams. Well, the next season starts in October and hopefully Covid 19 is just a passing thought.

Time to close here, if you are still with me, I hope you will pray 🙏🙏🙏 what the world needs most is prayer, never ending prayer!!!!

You all take care and keep looking up....better days are coming and when the trump sounds we are on our way to meet JESUS!!! 

Cheers ~ Louise

PS had lots of fun playing with the emojies today....you just may see them a lot more!!!💚💛💜💙💖

November Stuff

Hi there everyone.....wow, where did this month go to. My mother was right, "the older you get the faster time goes" yep, now I see what she meant.

November has been a little rough for yours truly. Guess that is why I have not blogged that much. Both JP and I have had Doctor appointments, he deals with a lot of health issues. One of his main issues is his constant arm pains, he's dealt with these pains for over 10 years now. The older he gets, the rougher they get.

Well, 12/2 he has an appointment with a pain specialist....I hope this works as all the other Doctors could not find the root problem. On 12/10 he has a sleep test. Hopefully we will know what his problem is soon. 

               

Even though it is still Thanksgiving....Christmas is not far off. I bought a wreath for the front door. My birthday present to me. It's been a long time since I bought a wreath, at least 4-5 years. I thought it was time. Also, a little decoration for the back door too. I shall have to take some pictures. Not sure how much Christmas decorations will be done inside the house....since JP will not be able to help, he always brings the containers up from the basement.

Do you like the snow flake card above? I think this will be my Christmas card to send out to friends this year. Just have to take some time to get them done. Hospice cards are done and dropped off. So now I can zero in on making my cards for this Christmas.

I love this Christmas card. I wish I could find this die, I did give 3 of these cards to family in Chicago and one to a friend last Christmas. So, I will continue to hunt for this die. Maybe when I get extra $$$ I will search more diligently.

I always loved this card....some day I will make this card also....looks pretty easy, just have to find that happy, jolly snowman.

Gosh, I did not realize, this is my 900th blog today....wowsers. Time flies when we are having fun....right?? I started blogging in 2008....12 yrs ago??? Wonderful days before the Corona Virus. After all these months, I am still not used to the masks and they look so funny on people too. But, I will obey the rules and wear the mask, even though I do not like them.

Oh....when I went to the Doctor Monday...he asked if I wanted a flu shot, first I said no, he told me the pros and cons, especially someone like me with diabetes. I thought about it and decided maybe it was time. So I got a shot. Amazed the arm does not hurt and seems there is no side effects to this shot. Maybe it will even protect me from the Corona. My last flu shot had to be when I was still working at the Salvation Army, and that was over 20 years ago....again where did all that time go???

Well, I think I will close here before November passes us by and I didn't get to publish this blog. Have a great Thanksgiving and enjoy those that sit around your table....you are blessed.

Keep looking up, better days are coming....Cheers ~ Louise

Hebrews 12:2 "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throune of God."

Life in 2020 and Cream Puffs

Hi there everyone.....I know, I know, it's been a while, like 2 weeks since the last post?!?! I used to be so diligent writing my posts, 3,4,5 a month. Now it's just 1 or 2 posts. Guess not too much is happening in my life. I can post just so many cards, so many recipes, so many Hawk games, till people get tired of reading my posts, guess that is better then no posts at all.....right?!?!

Have not been doing any cards lately. But I need to make some for Valentine's Day. Hospice meeting is coming up on the 31st. and I have very few cards for that day. Maybe it's a good thing I have a Hospice meeting, cause it makes me make cards, even if I don't feel like it. Need some inspiration I guess.

The cookbook has taken up a lot of my time....we are nearing the end though. I have typed in 275 recipes (there are a few more coming....so maybe it will be about 280). We will be sending the book in with dividers, pictures and info to have Fundcraft put the book together. Maybe the end of this month or the beginning of February is our ending date.

Speaking of recipes (no, this one is not in the cookbook) I made these cream puffs the beginning of this year. Don't they look delicious?? Always wanted to make these, found a recipe that sounded pretty easy. So many times, these fancy recipes sound so complicated....thought I could handle this one. Following is the recipe.
Eclairs - Preheat oven 400 degrees.
1 c. water
1 stick butter
1 c. sifted flour
4 eggs
Heat water and butter to boiling point. Add flour, stir constantly till the mixture is smooth and forms a ball. Remove from heat and let cool. Beat in 4 eggs one at a time. Till all mixed together. Drop dough on greased cooking sheet (or use parchment paper to line the cooking sheet.) Bake 30 minutes until light brown. Set aside and cool. Prepare your filling. Cut puffs lengthwise, but not through. Pipe custard into center. Melt chocolate and frost puffs.

I tried making the filling, but it burned the pan. So I filled the puffs with sliced banana and spooned Cool Whip into the puffs. Covered the puffs with Chocolate syrup. 

I do have a package of vanilla instant pudding. I will try that next time I make these puffs. A fun dessert to have on hand. The ideas are endless. How does strawberries sound...oh yum!!!

 I believe in my Christmas post I mentioned I would post "My 3 Kings" I made these guys 52 years ago. Using paper Mache and material. They have their own container, an "All" soap detergent container that is probably 53+ years old.....everything is antique. It would not be Christmas without "My 3 Kings".

Isn't this a great picture of a Blackhawk, so powerful and strong. Speaking of the Chicago Blackhawks. Patrick Kane got his 1000 point last night. It was so cool to watch. All the guys came off the bench and surrounded him, congratulating him on his 1000 point. The announcer said he scored 500+ goals and 400+ assists (meeting somewhere in between.) I will find the exact stats and insert them in this post at a later date.

So I have been watching lots of Hockey....my entertainment. Would be wonderful to go to a game....but a little expensive and too far to travel. So it is cheaper to watch at home on TV.

Patrick is only 31 years old....so he has lots of years left to score more goals and assists. Patrick is the 4th Hawk in Franchise history to score over 1000 points. I heard also, he is the 90th player in the League to score 1000 points...so many mile stones he has reached and he is not done yet. His mother and father must be VERY proud of him. All his team mates love him and look up to him....he has become quite the icon for young kids that want to be just like him. Even some of his team mates are young enough to remember watching him and wanted to be like him. So awesome. I tear up thinking about this man!!!

So I guess I will close here for now. Who knows when I will come back. Maybe when something exciting happens, not sure when that will be. Just know I will be watching Hockey, making cards and cooking till the snow subsides and the days start getting longer. I am ready and it is just January.

Talk to you later, keep looking up better days are coming. 
Cheers ~ Louise

My Favorite Sport 2 Watch

Hi there everyone. Hope you are having a good August. Well, it's been 2 weeks since I last posted. Thought it was about time to do something. No new pictures of cards or the gardens...been a little laxed in taking pictures. Guess I will have to get on the wagon again pretty soon.

I know this may not be an interesting post for you....but it is for me. I love hockey....maybe if more people would watch hockey there would be less problems in this world, it's an exciting game to watch and easy to follow. Just follow that puck and you get the idea of what the game is about. Baseball is so slow moving, football is pretty slow too....but hockey, man, down the ice and back, score a goal and hit a player so much action going on!!! Yeah, I like hockey best of all. 

I have been a fan 57 years. My first taste of Hockey was through my stepfather, he had season tickets to the Chicago Blackhawks in 1962.....back then there was Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita, Chico Maki, Moose Vasko, Reggie Fleming to name a few favorites. We went to every game for almost 6 years. Loved, loved loved the game.

My life changed a bit after I started Beauty School and then left home, getting my first job and an apartment. No more hockey games. Not even sure the games were on TV at that time....I kept track of the Hawks via the newspapers and such. I met JP in '71 and he was into stock car racing. I guess my interests changed and was into stock car racing till 1973 when JP and I got married and he retired from racing. Did I do that???

1976 we moved up to Ladysmith on our 20 acres and raised cows, chickens, ducks, rabbits, cats and dogs. I lost track of the Hawks. We had NO TV for 10 years.....how in the world I did that, I do not know. 1987 we moved to Appleton, but still no TV for awhile. Finally in '92 I got a TV with rabbit ears......nope, no Hockey yet. I missed being able to watch the Stanley Cup Finals 2010, 2013, 2015. FINALLY 2016 brought Hockey into my house!!!! FINALLY I could watch the Blackhawks again!!!!

      The above picture was taken off the TV, March 25, 2019. 

Yep....Fear the Feathers....I think this year will be the year that brings another Stanley Cup....I am hoping, that would be great. 4 Stanley Cups in 10 years. Would that make history for the Chicago Blackhawks!!!!???

This is a shot from the TV. It's an old picture. 2 of the players in this shot are on different teams. Panarin, a winger is with the NY Rangers now. and Hjalarson is with the Coyote's...he was a good Defense player. Hopefully with all the trades this season we will have a good defense again.

This is the Blackhawks hat I want to buy before the season starts....hopefully. Or if another hat catches my eye, I will buy that one.

So now I have had Directv and now Spectrum and I can now get Hockey on TV and if I can't get it on TV, I can get the games on the computer. There is a site that shows all the home and away games of the Blackhawks and those of the other teams. I have no excuses now. Of course I can spend $40+ to get hockey on TV and that would include home and away....not affordable at this time.

So there you have it....if you do not see many posts from me starting in September you will know I am somewhere out there in Hockey land. You all take care and keep looking up.....better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Here We Are....Two Weeks Into September!!!

Hi there everyone. What can I say.....I guess my blogging has been lacking lately. Not much happening, but then, a lot has in small ways. Least we are not facing hurricanes and typhoons and fires. Here, it's lots of rain, heat and lots of mosquito's that seem to find me no matter where I am. That's one good thing about winter, NO MOSQUITO'S!!!!

So JP lost some hours at work, which means finances have been a little tricky of late. I had to sell some old gold and silver jewelry  left by my grandmothers, mother and myself. Total income this time around was $315 which will go partially towards paying the rest of our house taxes. Then, we start all over again next January 31st 2019.

My doggie, Kylie has not been feeling well lately. I am so afraid that I will have to have her put down. I don't want to....God, could she just die in her sleep???? Not sure what is wrong...she is going on 14 years...hope it is old age. Now why, do we put dogs down and not people??? I asked my Vet that question, she said, because we care more for our animals then we do people!!!

Next Saturday, we are having company from Chicago. JP's brother and SIL...they usually take us out to eat, we visit a bit and then they leave late afternoon, so they are home for the evening....it's a "Kwik Trip" like the gas station. If you live in this area, you would know what I mean. We probably won't go out to eat though and just may order out and have it delivered to our front door. I am going to order a Pumpkin Cream Pie from Schwan's, which looks delicious....I always have the dessert.

Some good news, poundage wise, I have lost 30 lbs since last July 2017. Losing has been a very long and slow process....still have much to lose. My blood sugars have been much, much better. Hopefully I can eliminate the pills after a 50 -75 lb. loss. I am still doing the Atkins/keto diet which has proven to work the best for me. I have to admit though, I don't make it a religious thing, as there are some days I eat potato chips and popcorn, oh, and tater tots too. But pretty much stay close to eating the right things.

Well, I guess that is about all that is going on this month....and there is still 2 weeks left to go. So I thought I better put some cards up, as this is a "Card Blog" so following are some cards I made at Betty's last month....just a little slow in posting. Our next meeting will be this next Wednesday already....time flies when we are having fun???? Card making on my own has been at a minimal....as I have not been in much of a mood....need some inspiration, that's why I like to go to Betty's....there is always something that gets my juices flowing.

So this was a fun card to make, I actually made quite a few of these cards for Hospice. Birthday, Thanks and Thinking of you. I have the stamp set and the background stamp....so yeah, I think this will be my "go to" card for everything....easy and fast to make.

This was a fun card to make, punched out owls. We made the branches for the owls to sit on then pieced together the owls. Bright and colorful.

This was a pretty card. The flowers were embossed. The background???? You know, I forgot what we did. I shall have to ask, was it water color??? Anyways, it turned out really pretty.

This card was stamped and embossed, we colored it in with copic markers and sponged in the blue sky and water. Stamping the birds and verse. Betty always has the pieces cut, so we just have to piece it all together.

Thought you would like to see a few cucumbers growing in my garden....gosh these cucs made a great salad and tasted so good....just wish I had more.....maybe next year.

Well time to close here, you all take care and have a great couple of weeks. I may be back before the month is over....depends. Keep looking up, better days are coming!!! Cheers ~ Louise

4 More Days!!!

Hi there everyone. Hope you are all enjoying this Christmas season. It's 4 more days till the big day!!! I am mostly done with everything. There's a few things I want to get. JP needs a new pair of shoes for work. But I need him to come with me to the store to try them on and buy them. He is not one for shopping. So after Christmas, and the big rush to return things is over, we'll go find him another pair of shoes for work.

I want to get a "Spring-form" pan.....so I guess that will happen after Christmas too. I am looking forward to making a few things in it, like a CHEESECAKE!!! I have an apple cake recipe that uses the spring-form pan, so I am looking forward to getting this pan.

In the picture below, is what I bought for ME....a Chicago Blackhawk beanie hat. I will wrap it and tag it from JP and Kylie. Their shopping is done!!!

This will keep my head warm during the winter months. My summer hat will be another Chicago Blackhawk hat also. Maybe something like this. 

Or maybe this one, I like that gold Chicago Blackhawk....pretty! Maybe I shall have to invest in both of them?

By the time summer comes, my hair will be long and I can wear a pony tail and stick it through the back of the hat. That was my style this past summer....was fine with me....a very easy style to take care of.

JP is also getting a large tin of pop-corn. He also wanted $$$ to buy apple juice at work, so I will give him a bunch of quarters to use for the machine so he can get "his apple juice addiction." Oh and I bought him a bottle of "Miracle Marvel Oil" for the car. He will be happy with that.

I want to make a special meal for Christmas....but I have to wait to see if we have enough money after paying bills. Maybe Sunday after church we will stop at Festival foods and buy a "Boneless Rib Roast" I saw a recipe on Facebook that made my mouth water.....I want to make it for Christmas!!! I told JP that the menu for Christmas will be prime rib, asparagus, maybe corn, and potatoes and some kind of dessert. BUT....it depends on how much money is in the check book. If not enough, we'll have to get a cheap steak (poor us) and mushrooms. Actually, that sounds good too.

I am making an apple pie tonight....I doubt it will last till Christmas...I guess by then, if it did last, it would be pretty old by then. My pies don't get very old when JP lives in the house!!!!

I am starting to make cards for Hospice, I have till January 26th before our next meeting. Least I can take my time to make them and not be rushed. I found a new technique using coffee filters. It's called "Tie-dye" using brushes or stamps. I saw a couple of different ways to do this....it should be fun trying to make and duplicate the technique.

So, I guess it is time to close here....no telling when I will be back. If I don't come back before Christmas....Let me just wish you a very Merry Christmas and enjoy your family and friends. Remember too, that we are celebrating Jesus's birth.....JESUS is the reason for this season. Have a great time and keep looking up....better days are coming!! Cheers ~ Louise

Cards Made for the Revealing Party on Sunday

Hi there everyone....yay! It's Friday and Saturday is coming!!! I have a busy day coming up tomorrow. Starting with a Continental Breakfast at WG&R Furniture store. I also will get a free gift, a coffee mug and spoon....yeah, I like to collect the stuff they give away for free and then it gives me a chance to look a round at the beautiful furniture that I cannot afford....so I just dream and dream and dream.

After dreaming a bit, I will head over to Betty's to buy some card stock. A 96 year old lady is giving up stamping and asked Betty to sell her stuff. So the paper will sell for 25 sheets for $1. I need red and blue....so hopefully there will be some colors I need. I may or may not head over to GFS to get some mushrooms, frozen fruit, butter and bread.

Saturday night Betty and I are going to the show to see "Let There Be Light" a Christian movie. I have had these free tickets for two years and never used them......tomorrow night is the night!!! Sean Hannity and Mark Levine have been talking about the movie....it's playing at the Marcus Theater....so I called Betty and she said she would go. So, another Yay for the day!!! Oh and I have a ticket for FREE pop corn too!

Following are some cards I made for the revealing party on Sunday. Betty and I are involved in this group. There is about 18 ladies in the group. We send 12 images to a mystery lady and maybe the same lady or another lady sends me 12 images for 6 months. We are supposed to make two cards with the images. Sometimes I am a bit stumped as to what to do, but finally I get inspiration.

So in the above picture, the mystery lady sent me the scare crow and corn stalk and a few fall sayings.

In this above picture, the mystery lady sent me the orange background, I inked it with Distress Oxide and embossed with clear embossing then added the die cut leaves and bow. I like this card...think I will make a few more for Hospice next week.

The picture above, she sent me the master gardener, tools and seed packets....this was one of those images I did not know what to do with. I added the saying "Grow where you are planted" seems apropos for this card.

Now this was another card that had me stumped for awhile, actually the stars came in July and it wasn't till October that I finally thought of something.....just a card decoration using the die cuts she sent.

In this card....the mystery lady sent me the lip stick, mirror and perfume bottle. I had the shoes and the pretty lady and just made it a "Ladies Night Out" card.

This card was actually the first one I made from the mystery lady....she sent the frog, so I colored her in and added the hi's and hello's and google eyes.

We had to make two cards each. A set to lay on the table and a set to give to the lady that sent the images AND a set of cards of the images I sent to. I will put those cards up in the next few days. I will let you know what the movie was about, I am sure it will be a good review. I hope Betty does not get tired of my face after this week-end.....lol!

Well time to close, Chicago Blackhawks are playing the Nashville Predators....hard to type and concentrate on the game. The game is 2-1 in Nashville's favor.

So talk to you later and keep looking up, better days are coming....for sure!!! Cheers ~ Louise

Secret Stamper Images

Hi there everyone. Well....I should be outside in this beautiful weather spreading mulch in my gardens. But chose to do a quick post while watching the Chicago Cubs.....win.....it's only the 5th inning and the cubs are winning 7-5. Hopefully the Cubs will do better then the Chicago Blackhawks. Sorry the season is over for them....as my Step-father always said, "maybe next year."

So tomorrow, I will be going to the "Image Stamper Revealing Party." I will find out who had my name and sent 12 images a month (she missed April altogether). And who I was sending 12 images to for the last 6 months. In the pictures below, are the images I sent and how I turned them into cards and the images my secret stamper sent and how I turned her images into cards. I will let you know which is what and who as we go.

NOTE: If you go to April 5th post you will see the other cards I made, turning my images and secret stampers images into cards.

In these two pictures are the 12 images I sent to my secret stamper. I kept two images and turned them into cards as you can see below. So the images (above) were in black and white. With the two I kept, I distressed inked the House Mouse image then used pearl-ex to make them shine.

Here is the finished product. One card for the secret stamper and one for me to keep or send. I just layered the House Mouse mice on black card stock then the orange back ground is crinkled up tissue paper and layered on glued up card stock. The scalloped edges were run through the cuttlebug with a boarder die cut. A gold heart embellishes the corner.

In these two pictures are the images I sent to my secret stamper.....I love this snowman....so cute. In the picture below is what I did with the snowman. I have a die cut that cuts him out. I used speckles for his nose and buttons.

Sorry about the lighting, I was using a lamp, I thought it gave a fare amount of light but didn't. I should have taken these picture  downstairs where the lighting is better. Anyways, I turned the snowmen into jugglers of snowballs....I think he turned out cute. The snowballs are just punched out circles and then I outlined the circle, they are on pop-ups. Embellishments are a die-cut Hi, gems and string. The snow is a Stampin'up embossing folder. The white layers are just ripped up card stock to look like layers of snow.

Now whoever has my name.....sent me these Bunny heads. All I did was color in the background, his ears and nose and tie. I was at a loss for what to do with them till one day I just decided to put a picture frame around them and layer them on crinkled up tissue paper that was glued on card stock. Turned them into Thinking of you cards. So I will keep one and give the other to the secret stamper.

In this card.....for the life of me....could not think of what to do with this image. My secret stamper sent me 12 images of the "golf ball on a tee with a bird and the word "Birdie." Finally I remembered I had a vintage golfer and just turned the cards into this. I will give my secret stamper the card on the right. I did end up making 5 more cards like this and will probably send my BIL a card for his birthday. He's a golfer.

Now in this card, I sent my secret stamper 12 pink Flamingo's....I saw a sample of a Flamingo card and liked it....so here it is, cased and turned into a card with my Flamingo. Cute card, it can be most any kind of card I want and simple to make too.

Now, I was completely at a loss with this image and almost did not want to make a card with these 12 images of a dress. Finally I just colored the dress in with red, making a red polka dot dress, adding red feathers, gems and a "Happy Mother's Day" greeting. I actually made a few more cards using this image. For Mother's Day of coarse.

Well, as I said before, the secret stamper lady who had my name, did not send me April's images, so she will only be getting 5 cards from me. That's the breaks I guess. I hope my next secret stamper holds up her end of the game and follows through. Why ruin it for someone else. It does take the fun out for others.

It was a fun game and a challenge to turn these cards into something, I never would have thought to do. I do hope the next session of 6 months is more fun.

You all have a great weekend and enjoy the weather. I shall go work outside and spread some mulch in about 30 minutes or when this Cub game is over.

Keep looking up, better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise