Catching up

Hi Everyone.  Happy Friday.  I hope you have all had a good week.  Colleen, I hope everything is OK after the Tornadoes and bad storms.

Just wanted to pop in and say I'm sorry for having been MIA the last couple of days.  It's been chaos at work, then I had to get everything ready for tax time.  Yep… way behind the 8-ball on that task!  Plus several other things got in the way of posting this week.    Oh…. including 9 inches of snow overnight!  Just when we thought we were safe and could put away the snow-blower and snow shovels! 🙂  

I do have a card for you tonight, and a couple of photographs to try to make up for my absence 🙂

This is a card I made for Mojo Monday.  I never get the chance to play with them as I hardly ever get the chance to stamp during the week.  However, my vacation week gave me that chance!

This was the sketch:

It's a fairly complex sketch and, I must admit, was a challenge for me, but I decided to create a monochromatic card where the focus was the sentiment.  It also gave me an opportunity to use my new banner punch – free with SAB rewards 🙂

I used my new woodgrain background stamp from SU for the background.  Here's my card:

I like the monochromatic color scheme and the touch of pattern DSP on the side.  To make the sentiment pop a little, I used a gel roller on the "birthday" to give it just a little bit of shimmer.

Now, let me share some photos.  I'll start with another view of my stamping room – just because I wanted to share a photo of Charlie 🙂

Isn't he a cutie:-)   He really loves this climber and it's the reason I didn't move my stamping space upstairs to the top floor.   There wasn't room for it in the other room!!!!  Now, this photo doesn't show you, but this room is actually 16 feet long and 13 feet wide, so it's a really nice room.  I also have my "Big Shot room"… which is really the walk in closet – but it works wonderfully for cupboard with my Big Shot, accoutrement and a table with my sewing machine and light box.  It is a wonderful space and I get to see this outside my window – taken as I was writing my blog tonight.

Standing at my craft table gives me an entirely different view – and I took these photos for you.  Close-ups, of course!

then… a longer shot

Then, here's a photograph I took just before I came downstairs.  This photo is taken from our great room window.  It was wonderful to see the turkey and deer in the setting sun:

On my way downstairs, I stopped in the dining area of the basement and took this photo over the woodland and across to the wetland

I think you can understand why I get totally distracted when I'm trying to craft.  Lou and I find ourselves standing at the windows for ages just looking out.  We really are so lucky, and so blessed and… so thankful!

Ruth Ann…. so jealous – your first hummer!  That's amazing.  Ours are a little way out 🙂

Rach, I am going to watch spring vicariously through your blog photos.

Kelly – congrats on the new kitchen – and I want to see photos!

Colleen… as I said at the beginning of my post – hope everything is well with you!

I'm off to cook dinner – and stare out of the window 🙂  I'll be back tomorrow with m Paper Payers card.

As always, thank you for your support, your comments and your visits.  They really are much appreciated.  Warm hugs and prayers for those of you who need a little lift tonight.

Hugs

Jaydee