Oh To Fly A Kite! {Jan's Digi Stamps}

Welcome, friends, to my little bloggie home! Thank you for all your kind words of comfort to Jack and me for our recent loss.

Today's kite-flying card is the kickoff at  February's Anything Goes Challenge at Jan's Digi Stamps!  If you use a JDS image in your card, please mention it. There is a 2nd draw specifically for those who use one of Jan's fun images.

Jan's newest sets and this month's Easter Sale are 25% off.

To create my card, two sets were used (just click on them to enlarge):

Let's Go Fly A Kite 4065J (15 images) on sale for $3.75

Basket of Hope 866J

New (for me) Technique - Double Twisted Ribbon 

My friend Connie is also showcasing this technique today with her lovely card here.

Terri Gaines has a great youtube video for the technique. I thought it complemented my little girl's kite tails (do they still call them tails? or are they now streamers? anyone know?)

Easel cards fold flat for mailing:

Copic Markers and Distress Inks were used to color this cute image using monochromatic coloring. 

Besides, one can be a tomboy and still wear girly colors!

Looking down:

Because this card was originally meant to be 5x7, an inch and a half was cut off the morphed square card. The 1.5 inches was placed on the bottom to give the illusion of a waterfall or sidewalk:;

You can probably see that the tremors in my hands and arms are returning, like the circles on the kite. I have another appointment at the end of February with a specialist to discuss a more permanent way of assisting my spinal issues:

Thanks for stopping by and please check out my teamies' pretty projects in the Anything Goes Challenge at Jan's Digi Stamps!

Products Used: Jan's Digi Images: Let's Go Fly A Kite 4065J, Basket of Hope 866J, Gelly Roll White Pens, Copic Markers, Stencils (for kite, grass and sky); Pumice stone, Walnut Stain, Kitsch Flamingo Distress Inks, Picked Raspberry Oxide (distressed "ribbon"), EK Success border punch, EK Success Rounder Punch, Cuttlebug 5x7 embossing folder, Spellbinders Classic Ovals Large S4-110 and Grand Ovals die sets, Light, Medium & Dark Kraft colored cardstock.

On A Personal Note:

Remember Florida on Christmas Eve just one month ago? Perhaps this will remind you:

The day before this freeze occurred, I pruned some coleus and angel wing begonias to root indoors for Spring, only to discover a hitchhiker Monarch Butterfly Caterpillar:

So I went back outside and cut some fresh milkweed for the little guy, thinking he would need food. As I cut the milkweed, I discovered another dozen of this little caterpillar's brothers and sisters. So I cut a lot of milkweed, brought the family indoors and covered with a home-made tulle netting. I placed the box in the garage, which stays about 60 even on cold nights.

In the meantime, the original caterpillar disappeared! The next morning we found this just beneath the crown molding:

So we made plans for it to "hatch" indoors by making a loose netting, giving it plenty of room to stretch its pretty wings on its eclosion:

Imagine what our exterminator thought when he came through! (giggle)

But alas, weeks went by. We saw wing development occurring inside, but a dreaded thing happened. A tiny white "filament" appeared out the bottom of the chrysalis. If you click on the photo below, you can see the semi-developed butterfly and the tiny filament:

That filament was an indication of a parasite (fly or wasp) chomping away on the dormant Monarch. The thread meant that the Monarch was dead. Sigh. How disappointing. The other caterpillars died as well. Next time, I'll leave them outside instead, and let them find a way of protecting themselves. No good deed.... right?

Back to our regularly scheduled program... 

I'd like to play in the following fine challenges please:

1. World Wide Open Design Team Challenge #1 AG DT 2/12
2. As You Like It Challenge (Jan 26) Favorite (mostly color) and (why) 2/9 I'm mostly a pink girly girl when it comes to colors because it is a sweet color (to my eye), comforting, and with so many shades it is kind of a neutral that goes with most other hues, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, is frequently found in nature. Thanks for the fun challenge!
3. Let's Create and Craft #192 AG + "say what?" - have a sentiment on your card. 3/1
4. Morgan's Artworld #2 AG 3/1 (1/3)
5. Crafts Galore Encore #108 AG 3/1 (1/3)
6. A Perfect Time to Craft Open Challenge #2 AG 3/1
7. Girlz Creative Crafts #33 More Than One Fold 2/14
8. Classic Design Challenge #2 AG 3/1
9. The Paper Funday Challenge #50 AG with lots of layers 3/1
10. CD Sunday + #103 AG from a download (I placed the sun behind the kite and then stenciled the background and the kite, with some hand drawn dots and circles on the kite and the little girl's shirt. The sentiment is from another digital set) 2/19
11. Colorful Options (Feb 2023) Celebrate Pink 2/28
12. Just Us Girls #665 Color Week 2/11 (shown below)

Stamping Hugs,

Turner Syndrome Awareness Card Auction for February 2023

 Hello, Blogging Friends!

Beginning February 1 at 9AM Eastern Time, the annual Turner Syndrome Awareness Card Auction begins on Lori's Instagram Page. It will end on February 28 at midnight.

Cards are handmade by Designers from the world over.  These cards, made with love, are donated to help raise funds for the Turner Syndrome Foundation in New Jersey, a very small non-profit organization that does big things! The TSA Foundation of NJ produces webinars for the medical field to learn more about TS, helps educate families dealing with TS, and educates others who have perhaps never heard of TS before.  The TS Foundation relies solely on donations, has two paid employees, and the balance of help comes from many dedicated volunteers. Please consider helping by buying a card or making a donation.

 If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to email Lori at

mulchlady6@gmail.com

What is Turner Syndrome? Please see below.

I am supporting this cause with two of my cards:

This fun, square birthday card can be bid on here.

More details for how this card was created here.

"Once Upon a Dream" card can be bid on here.

Details to see more about how this was was made here.

Turner Syndrome is a genetic disorder where a female is born missing part or all of her second X chromosome leaving her with life-long medical issues and learning disabilities.  This condition occurs one in every 2,000 female births worldwide, but is more common among pregnancies that do not survive to full term.  That is why Turner Syndrome Females are considered miracles!

Thanks for supporting women with this genetic condition.

Hugs,

A Farewell to one of our Dearest Friends

 Our dear German Shepherd was euthanized at 1:45pm this afternoon, after succumbing to a pygmy rattle snake bite on Tuesday. Anti-venom is in limited supply and is needed for service dogs and military dogs, and of course, humans. With all the storms that caused flooding, there has been an additional need in our state. Anti-venom is not a definite cure-all for animals.

Kilo, age 5 in early Spring wondering, 
"what's taking you so long, Mom?"

Pymgy rattlers are extremely aggressive. However, not "all bites" are the same. It depends where the bite was inflicted, and how long it has been since the snake last bit something. The longer the venom remains in the snake, the more concentrated the venom. 

          Kilo, age 4, and Jack showing off            
their Barn Hunt Trial Ribbons

We have not seen any pygmy rattlers on our property for 25 years or longer, but of course, that does not mean they are not here. Because of the extremely cold weather, most snakes "hibernate" beneath the soil at this time of year. Our vet said it is the first time in 30 years of working that she has seen a rattlesnake bite in January. Unfortunately, many people move into rural areas, not comprehending the importance of snakes. Many of our "black/indigo" snakes are endangered because people indiscriminately kill snakes. Black snakes and especially Indigo Snakes keep the rattlesnake population under control. It is important to learn the difference before just killing snakes.

Kilo, age 9 sporting his gray muzzle while guarding the tractor disc attachment LOL
He is thinking, "WHAT!? It's HARD work!"

    Kilo, age 4, slobbering on me after a romp
    at night in our wildlife watering hole.

Kilo would have been 13 next month, an "ancient age" for German Shepherds, especially his size. He and my husband were joined at the hip. Kilo was still healthy, but had slowed down and suffered from mild canine dementia. In his youth, he enjoyed obedience training, agility training, "competitive barn hunting" and "working" side-by-side with Jack every day, even though in later years, he did more "overseeing" than working. 

It is a huge loss for our family, and Kilo will be missed. 

       

Kilo, age 7, helping clean and fill one of our "wildlife waterholes".
It is especially dry in Florida during the winter months.

Kilo, age 6, watching Missy Kitty jump from tree to tree, taunting him with:
"See what I can do? You can't do this!"

Thanks for letting me share - it always helps to talk things over with friends.

It is a huge loss for our family, and Kilo will be missed forever. This is a sequence of
photos where he is saying, "Hey, Mom! Watcha lookin' at?"

love,

A Heart Full of Valentine Wishes - Jan's Digi Stamps

Hello, and thanks for stopping by today! Hoping this finds all our Pacific West Coast friends doing well despite the very turbulent weather in the past several weeks. It goes without saying that I'm always thinking fondly of my blogging friends.

Today's card is for January's mid-month reminder at the Anything Goes Challenge at Jan's Digi Stamps!  If you use a JDS image in your card, please mention it. There is a 2nd draw specifically for those who use one of Jan's fun images.

Jan's newest sets are 25% off, and the Sweetheart Sale includes three sets shown below plus her "romantic/friendship/anniversary/wedding/Valentine" cards!

To create my scene, three sets were used (just click on them to enlarge):

Friendship Flowers on sale for $3 (butterfly)

Valentine Wishes 3380 on sale for $3.75 (heart & sentiment)

Botanical Orchids 874 on sale for $3 (Love You sentiment)

To make this card, I cropped out 4 flowers from the heart wreath to create a "swag". This will become the stop for my easel card. The Heart Wreath was flipped horizontally, and slightly tilted for symmetry, using free Pages software that came with my iMac. The symmetry allows the heart die cut to be placed in a straight manner if you are not using a die cut for shaping:

The butterfly was added the the heart wreath via my word processor. Using the "out of the box" die cutting technique, the heart wreath was then "shaped".

This was a fun wreath to color because of the many pink and lavender hues. The easel "stop" is also covered with matching flowers. 

The three Copic colors in the background were used for depth around the images. Squeezed Lemonade DI was used around some of the edges.

I realize that Monarch Butterflies are not the same color as the butterfly in my project, but I couldn't color around the white dots very well, so I changed them to orange.

 (always a way to cover up our mistakes, right?)

In the middle of the wreath, one layer of heart is adhered. The little heart itself (in the glitter) is actually 4 layers. I glued one heart layer before the glittered layers so I'd know exactly where the tiny heart should go. Otherwise, even though the glitter is adhered well, some of the glitter might come loose in the adhering process:

After die cutting the background, I dry embossed it. The die then became a stencil. Using Squeezed Lemon & Kitsch Flamingo DI, and Twisted Citron DO and a dauber, the tiny diamond shapes were inked to bring out a Spring theme.

Then it was adhered to happy yellow card stock!

Don't forget to play in the Anything Goes Challenge at Jan's Digi Stamps!

Products Used: Stamps  Jan's Digi Images:  Valentine Wishes 3380, Friendship Flowers 702 (butterfly image), Botanical Orchids 874 (Lovely You in middle of heart) LifeStyle-Quickutz Nesting Heart Dies, Spellbinders "Lovin' Diamonds" Die Set, Spellbinders Mega Nestabilities Long Classic Scalloped Rectangles die set, Martha Stewart Garden Trellis Punch, Copic Markers, Copic Multiliner, Express-it white cardstock, Squeezed Lemon & Kitsch Flamingo DI, Twisted Citron DO, Yellow Glitter

I'd like to play in the following fine challenges please:

1. World Wide Open Design Team Challenge #1 AG DT 2/12
2. Crafts Galore Encore #107 AG 2/1
3. C.R.A.F.T. Challenge #663 Something New (2nd entry) The Valentine Wishes stamp set is new to me, the yellow card stock had been in my stash but had never been used before) 1/18
4. Crafters Cafe Challenge #293 AG with Colors of the Rainbow and more 2/11
5. A Perfect Time to Craft Open Challenge #1 AG 2/1
6. The Outlawz Challenges Twisted Thursday (Jan 12) The Valentine Wishes stamp set is new to me, the yellow card stock had been in my stash but had never been used before) Feb 1.
7. Classic Design Challenge #1 AG 2/1
8. Ally's Angels #66 AG 2/10
9. Sweet Stampin (Jan 7) theme "New" 1/20 (listed week after sep post) (The Valentine Wishes stamp set is new to me, the yellow card stock had been in my stash but had never been used before)
10. CD Sunday PLUS #101 AG Downloaded 1/22 (in this case, I cropped four flowers individually from the heart wreath, and then arranged them into a swag for the easel "stop". The butterfly was added from another set. The two sentiments are from different sets (three sets used to create this card)
11. Tic Tac Toe Challenge #192 see below middle row 1/19 Yellow glitter around small heart and flowers

Sending Early Valentine Hugs to you!