My First Paper Pumpkin Kit From Stampin'Up

Hi there everyone. How are you all doing? I have been busy...and 5 days behind in posting something on my blog...slacking a bit. Been working in my gardens and not taking a whole lot of pictures. I should take some tulip pictures before they all start pooping out. The tulips are so pretty this year and so vibrant. I counted my tulips and I have 95 tulips growing.....really that is lots to me.  I do have a pot of tulips that were given to me for Easter....need to plant them soon.

Been busy making cards for Hospice also....which is where I should be right now, down in the basement making cards for Hospice. We have a meeting this coming Friday. Been working on Father's Day cards....I will take some pictures of them. We also will be making Father's Day favors with a Hersey Nugget inside. So I need to make 20 favors with a ribbon holding it together. Oh, it might take an hour to make them.

So in these following pictures, is the Stampin'up Paper Pumpkin Kit I received for April. This is the first time I ordered a monthly kit from Stampin'up.

This is what the cards will look like when I start to play with this kit. Been too busy to even play with these cards. I just want to take my time and savor the moments while I play with this kit.

Lots of neat things came in this kit. Card stock, envelopes, ink, stamps acrylic block, color pencils, paint brush for water coloring, embellishments and glue dots. Probably by the time I start working on this, the next one will be sitting at the door.

I just realized.....I sure can keep myself busy doing things, can't I??? Gardening, card making, cooking with Blue Apron.....but, not as busy as other people who can run circles around me. I think I have slowed down a bit. I have decided to only work ONE hour outside, anymore and I am worn out and exhausted the next day. Perhaps by Fall, everything I want to do will be done by then.

I am hoping the weather stays cooler this summer and not get too, too hot. Guess I don't want to invest in a new air-conditioner as yet.

Well, time to close here, need to get my cards done for Hospice before Friday. Have a great evening and keep looking up, better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Class Cards and JP's Birthday Card

Hi there everyone....I think it is finally Spring. According to the weather forecaster on my computer, for the next 10 days the temps will be in the 70's. Now that is perfect weather to me. Spring like and not too hot. Gosh, I sure do hope my air conditioner works this year, I may have to think about getting a new one for sure. But I will cross that bridge when I get to it....not sense running towards it if I don't have to run.......

So following are 4 cards I made at Betty's card class yesterday......the top one, as you can see is a bride and groom.....very simple and easy to put together.

The tulip card was fun to do. Stamped the tulips on black card stock with white ink. Then colored with colored pencils.....very relaxing, now I know why those adult coloring books are so popular now a days. Just gabbing and coloring can sure relax the mind.

This little birdie was told it was your birthday.....a simple card and fun to put together. We cut the tree in half then added the black and green strips that were punched out with a border punch. Betty had the bird cut out for us, so we just had to glue dot him in place.

I love this card and those two peanuts....it was fun coloring them. The inside verse says "Oh nuts, I forgot your birthday" The two nuts were colored in with copic markers then layered on a die cut frame and printed paper. I shall have to look for these two nuts at the different sites I visit.

Now here is a card I made for JP for his birthday. I thought he would really like this one. I got the stamps and folder from one of those magazines that come from the UK.

Here is the inside of the card....don't you just love this card. It did take a long time to put this card together and I made 5 of them. So I actually spent a whole evening on these cards. One already went to Kylie's groomer for her birthday, JP got one and another one is going to a friend. Two more left.

Well, time to close this quickie post and go walk Kylie. Hopefully I can get up the energy to do that. I wanted to work outside, but for some reason....the motivation was not there....Oh now I understand that saying and how true...."the mind is willing but the body isn't."

Note: After Kylie's walk, I did work outside for about 1/2 hour, raking leaves and moving them to under the tree. I moved the swing a bit, turned on the water fountain and sat on the swing with Kylie for awhile....I think a mosquito found me. Well, I am armed with Vicks Vapor Rub, which I did not have any on. I read that Vicks keeps the mosquitoes away.....we shall see.

Have a great day and keep looking up, better days are coming.

Cheers ~ Louise

Flowers. Cards. Water Pond, Food

Hi there everyone. Hope you are having some nice days. I think it will finally feel like spring this week. Maybe I will get some things done outside this week. I have been enjoying my flowers....tulips, but they are starting to poop out now. It's a good thing I took some pictures of them before the rabbits and frost got them. The flower below, is actually a store bought bouquet that I treated myself to for Mother's Day. It's still sitting on the dinning room table, but it's little petals are starting to fall on the table.

My variegated tulips....so pretty, but for some reason the rabbit thinks it is food. Good thing I took a picture this day, because the next day they were down like the rabbit thought he was a lumberjack and "timber" they fell to the ground. (darn wabbit!)

My pink variegated tulips....I think I planted these the first couple of years we were living in this house and they are still going strong.

Pretty yellow tulips.

My pink tulips.

My orange tulips. I think I need some white and red tulips, maybe I should plant some this fall.

Here is a card I finished last night. I bought a new die cut which makes these cute little flowers, a nice little card for Thinking of you notes or birthdays.

Got my pond going the other day.....love the sound of water trickling. I had to tip the bond back upside and replace the rock around the pond. There's a few rocks that I need to have JP move, too heavy for me. I don't want to get another hernia.

So here is another Blue Apron meal I made the other day....very yummy and tasty. "Pork Tteokbokki with Asparagus and Spicy Black Bean Sauce" I didn't make it as spicy as it called for, so JP ate it with pleasure.

The asparagus was cut, blanched and drained thoroughly. Ginger and the bottom part of two scallions was cooked in oil with salt and pepper. Add the ground pork and cook till browned. Rice cakes (These rice cakes are Korean-a deliciously chewy ingredient often shaped and prepared much like a rice noodle) have been boiling in water till tender then added to the mixture along with 1/4 cup of the rice cake water. Then add the blanched asparagus, black bean sauce, soy glaze and half the reserved rice cake water and as much of gochujang as you like....(that is the spice). Cook a few minutes more, then divide between 2 dishes and garnish with the green tops of the scallions.....Enjoy! Yep we sure did.

Tonight I am making Zucchini pancakes for JP's dinner along with some left-overs. Bought a cantaloupe a few days ago and still have to cut into that. So I guess JP's dinner will be a modge-podge of things to eat tonight. 

Tomorrow, I have to go to the store and get some meds for JP and will probably tackle some weeds. I did get my front porch water fountain going.....yay! Now it is time to sit on the front porch, that is Kylie's favorite place to watch the world go by.

Wednesday, I have a date with Betty....my card making day......so you probably will see those cards on Thursday or Friday.

Well, you have a great day and keep looking up......better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Looking Forward To.....

Hi there everyone...guess I have been "MIA" again. Just not a lot of things to write about....winter starts to get a little bit long by this time. Although the snow is beginning to melt and the birds are tweeting louder...so it is feeling like Spring.

I am looking forward to Spring and my gardens, flowers and trickling water in the pond. Bringing out all my ceramic animal creatures.....there's just something about Spring....you know??

Maybe this year, I will be able to "ENJOY" the Summer and my backyard. Sickness won't be a focal point in my life this year. It's hard to believe a Hernia can rule one's life the way that hernia did.

These are my little Cosmos....I bought some little plants and also planted some seeds. I am thinking there may be some volunteer cosmos coming this year....hand hardly wait to see what happens.

These "Brown Eyed Susan's" volunteer every year in my front yard. I wish they would volunteer in the backyard too....maybe cause it is not that sunny. Front yard is all sun.

Tulips.....love those tulips, I was not able to plant new bulbs last Fall, because of being sick with the hernia......maybe this Fall some new bulbs will get planted. (geez...the thought of Fall, put that out of my mind.)

My Crocuse's growing along side the house....a sure sign of spring when they show their little flowers.

Another picture of my little babbling pond....gosh I love the sound of water trickling....oh, but I guess the pond was not trickling in this shot.....but it sure looks nice.

My lovely rose of summer....can't be any more beautiful. I must make a copy of this rose and frame it. (Some day)

This past week I have been working on getting papers together for  Income Tax time. Be glad when this is over and the refund comes, then I can breathe a bit. I am hoping that we will get enough of a refund that I can buy a new (used) stove. My stove is going on 25-30 years and a couple of burners do not work along with the clock and timer......with all the cooking I do, a new stove is needed, tools of the trade, right???

JP's family was here last Friday....they got here about noon and left at 2:30....not a long visit....we went to Festival food and got some take out food at the salad bar, which is always good. They wanted to get back to Chicago before it got too late and the kids were a bit crabby too...so time to leave.

Sunday, I am going to a Stampin' Up Camp. Those are always fun. I will post the cards I make on Monday. They will be mostly Birthday cards....so that will be neat. I need some ideas for Hospice, cause next week is my Hospice meeting and I need to get about 50 cards put together.

Next week I have my Blue Apron meals coming....that seems to be the highlight of my week is cooking something different. I bought a plantain banana today...I am going to fry it in the next few days. I saw a recipe from Blue Apron doing that, do you think I can find that recipe...nope, so I guess I will try www.cooks.com. one of my favorite places to go for recipes.

Well, time to close, need to get some dishes done and dinner cooked before JP comes home. Have a great day tomorrow and keep looking up.....better days are coming!!! Cheers ~ Louise

Flowers Make Us Happy

Hi there everyone. Well, finally I am feeling better. That was a long drawn out icky sickness. The Doctor is treating me for an ulcer. Guess I let too many things get in my way and get me upset.....time to back off from gathering too many things on my plate. I must learn to take one day at a time and one plate full of stress at a time.....just seemed like many things were coming at me from every direction. The problems are still there...but I have eliminated a few things out of my life to ease the pressure. If that makes sense.

Yesterday, my kitchen ceiling was getting fixed, so I took a long walk with Kylie and got a few pictures of the neighbors flowers. In the above picture are her lovely daffodils...aren't they cute? They all seem to be smiling in this 70 degree weather.

Here is my neighbor's Magnolia tree....gosh it is so pretty. Was hard to get a picture of the flower up close....all the flowers were facing upward towards the sky.

These are my red tulips in the front yard....I am amazed that I have over 50 tulips planted in the front....wow I did not realize I had that many...I shall have to count the tulips in the back too.

These lovelies are in the front yard also. A red variegated tulip????

Last but not least, a close up of my red tulips.....sweet.

In my next blog I will update you on our kitchen ceiling. You won't believe what the men did, like everything came down, right down to the beams....it was totally unbelievable. They only found a little bit of mold.....so that was a miracle. For all the water leaks.....yes that was a miracle, I think God had his hand on our roof, protecting us from the mold.

Well, time to close, hope you all have a wonderful weekend.
Cheers ~ Louise

Vintage Things Going in My Etsy Store

Hi everyone.....I trust you are enjoying the wonderful weather. I have been watching the tulips push through the ground....will be fun to see them in bloom. Probably in the next week or so I will start cleaning up the yard of leaves and whatever. Looking forward to getting the pond cleaned out and ready to fill and listen to the sound of the water fountain. Planted some heirloom tomato seeds today, probably should have started them earlier, they should be okay to plant by June, there's a good 8-9 weeks for them to grow.

I decided to add a few vintage things to my Etsy store, so the following pictures are just a few things I've picked up the an Estate Sale Store. I want to expand a little and see where this all takes me. I seem to be getting lots of different people looking at my shop. Guess not everyone is into cards, so I thought adding a few extra things might draw a few more people to my store.

This is a cute little figurine "Tyrolean Dancers" which was made in Bedford, Ohio...not sure about the date, but it seems to be 1980-1990's there about.

Here's a cute little brown tea pot that holds one tea cup full, no cracks or chips that I could find. It's hard to read the imprint on the bottom, I picked it up for $1.00

Now this is a rare Princes House 24% Lead Crystal Tusked African Bull Elephant from the Wonders of the Wild Series....I looked on Etsy to compare prices and found one exactly like this elephant and it was selling for $38....I picked it up for $5.00~~~~well hopefully I can make some money on this vintage item.

Here's two more elephants I found at the Estate Sale Store.....It seems someone brought in a collection of over 300-500 elephants.....that's why I have so many elephants on hand. I rather like them.....I have 6 elephants now.....and just may look for more. I rather like these planters, I need to find a little flower to plant in them if they don't sell.

I am still planning on having a gift "give away" on April 26th in celebration of going on 7 years of blogging. I have been writing your names down and every time you comment or add your name to be a follower, I have entered your name on the list for the drawing.

There will be a 1st place prize, 2nd place prize and 3rd place prize, and I have some cards made up for each place winner. Friday I will post the picture of the gifts that you could win.

Well time to close for a bit...talk to you later and have a great day. Cheers ~ Louise

My Goodness, I've Learned A Lot!!!!

Hi everyone....hope you are having a good evening. Made a pizza tonight for dinner, it had homemade vegie marinara sauce, pepperoni, cheese and spinach...pretty healthy I think and very yummy too. Hope the calorie content was not too, too high.

Well, as you can see I finally figured out how to download my pictures from the camera into the computer AND post them on Etsy and on this Blog. Whew, now the true test will be if I can do it again and again and not mess up. So here are four cards I made, hope you like them.
                                     
"Lord I'm Coming Home" in greys enhance this lovely lady with stars and lace. She is one of four vintage cards.  The card is blank on the inside as are the other three cards. This card is not yet in my Etsy store, but will be within this week. Now that I'm learning how maneuver around this new computer.

"Down From His Glory" A gold and yellow vintage lady with stars and lace embellishing this card. for some reason, I forgot to stamp a flower or something old on this card......but that is okay, still looks pretty.

"What A Friend We Have In Jesus" with the vintage lady in red with flowers, lace and a stamped chandelier on the music sheet. I listed this card on Etsy and it has been a fan-favorite with a lot of artists from other Etsy stores favoring it. These cards will be selling for $3.50 each + 1.50 for postage.

"Sin Can Never Enter There" and a vintage lady, lace and tulip stamped on the music sheet. Different about this technique was that I inked the tulip then sprayed with water and stamped, so it looks like a water colored flower. This card is on Etsy also and can be picked up for $3.50 + $1.50 postage.

So there you have it, four new cards, two cards already on Etsy and the other two due in a couple of days. I am thinking of adding some old cook books and a few vintage things I have laying around the house. We'll see as time goes on. I did have a sale a couple of days ago, so I need to start working on that....500 punched hearts with 250 punched and 250 more to go.

You all have a great day and keep looking up. Talk to you later with an update to "Learning something new on the computer everyday" Cheers ~ Louise

Yellow and Red Tulips in the Garden

The Star of the Garden!!

Eight yellow Tulips in all their Glory!!!

Nine Red Tulips in all their Glory!!!



As you can see there is lots of work to do, lots of weeds and grass growing....peonies are coming up along with strawberries, mint and lots of blue bells....they mostly look like weeds when they start growing but when they start blooming they are pretty. Not even sure that is their name, but they sure do take over. I have 6 rose bushes growing, they are still covered with leaves. Guess this weekend I will rake the leaves away and see if the roses made it through the long winter. Also planted, Iris's, lavender and mums. There are a few other perenials growing, but again, not sure they made it through the winter.

Here is a front view of the my house....this summer for sure I am staining the porch floor and painting the railings and posts and lattice. I want to get it done before the Clementius starts growing and taking over the right side of the porch. In this picture, you can't see them, but there is orange lillies and hopefully black-eyed susans will make their appearance. I really like spring and looking forward to sitting on the porch enjoying a meal or two.
Well time to close, have to go make JP his dinner and clean up the mess of a leaking roof, this time down the cabinets, had to take the glasses and dishes out....water all over. Just no telling how long that was going on till I noticed all the water on the counters............to get it done right will cost us $3,500 which we don't have. So other than this inconvenience....life is good.
Have a great day tomorrow and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh.
Cheers ~ Louise

Be Yourself Everyone Else is Taken - A Few New Cards

Today I shall post some new cards that I plan on putting in my Etsy store. Guess I am in a blue mood for what ever reason. The card up above was made a couple of months ago after I had bought the bird background and later picked up the bird stamp, the two just seemed to go together. The bird is colored in with copic markers and then cut out.

I have been seeing some cards on the internet which use the fiskers cloud punches and thought they were really cute. There was even a card where the artist used the cloud for a tree, turning it upside-down and was in green......naturally! So this is my rendition of a card I saw on the internet. This card will make it to my Etsy store also in the next few days.

Just added this cute little card to my Etsy store today.......it is very popular already. Sold one card (it had 5 duckies in a row) and also have an order for another card to be sent as a Birthday card. The duckies are stamped, colored in with copic markers then cut out and glued on cardstock. This little card is selling for $3.50 + postage in my Etsy store: www.cards4ubylouise.etsy.com

Well, I shall close this blog for today.....tis getting late and I have to do some more work on the computer.......been looking for my ancestors via genealogy sites, has been very interesting to say the least. Soooooo, Cheers ~ Louise