Birthday and Thanks

Hey All! Sorry it has been several days between posts. Don't know why, but I've been in a funk that has lasted about a week, and I finally think I'm coming out of it. I don't know if it is pre-holiday stress, or just plain feeling blue, but I just didn't feel like going up those stairs to create. But then as surely as it came, it left, and I climbed those stairs and got to it! Now I'm working on 4 different projects which will show up in subsequent posts, so I'm showing you the cards I made yesterday.

The first one is a birthday card I made for a very good friend of mine named Jan. As I do every year, I totally spaced her birthday. I get so mad at myself for doing that, and I swear I do it to her every year! I can be such a moron some times! Anyway, she and I have been friends for many years, and she is the reason I have gotten my last two jobs. She has really been a great friend. Here is the card I made for her:




When she bought her condo several years ago, she painted her bedroom this gorgeous shade of eggplant. So, I made the card with that color in mind. I used standard Bazzill card stock, ran the green piece behind the image through my CB, used a corner punch to achieve the edges around the image, and added some bling. The flower (stamped in Versamark and then embossed in purple ep) is an Inkadinkado image (I believe), as well as the sentiment. I mounted the image to the card with dimensionals, tied the ribbon, and done. I love these two colors together. They are actually darker than they appear in the photo. Here's a close up of the flower:






As I said, she is such a good friend. I went to my mailbox the other day to get the mail, and there was a gift bag in the box. It was from Jan, and when I opened it, I couldn't believe my eyes. Here is what she got me:






Is that not amazing!?! I can't believe she found this ornament with a silhouette of a Giant Schnauzer it it! These are so hard to find, but she found it! And here I forgot her birthday again. I feel like such a schmuck! So, I wanted to make her a thank you card, so here it is:






I showed two angles so you could see the shimmer in the top one. I LOVE this stamp! It is called "Frosty" and it is by Penny Black. This snowman shows such happiness, and that is exactly how I felt when I saw my gift. So, I thought this would be a perfect image to use. I stamped it in Staz-On jet black, and colored the shadowing with colored pencil and OMS. I also used that around the frame of the image as well. I'm not to good at distressing the edges with ink pads. I always get it all over me and not evenly around the edges. So, I use a colored pencil and scribble the color all around the edge, then use OMS to soften it. I think it works well, at least for me! LOL I then added sparkle around the frame, in the snow, and on his shadowing with my Gelly Roll sparkle pen. Then sentiment is a $1 stamp I got at Michael's. I punched out the tiny snowflakes with a punch and added bling to each. The image was matted on navy blue Bazzill cs and then attached to the card with dimensionals. Added the ribbon and attached the sentiment with a silver eyelet and some silver cord which finished it.


So, there you have it. Now I have a couple of pics to share with you of my Gunther. The first one shows what he does when I'm talking on the phone:



He lays his head right on the phone and stares at me like "Daddy! Get off the phone and play with me! I'm bored!) He has actually laid his head on the phone when I am not on it, and hits the speaker and redail button which called my Mom! He is such a brat!


The next two pics is of him wearing my hat. He actually laid down and went to sleep with it on, so I took this first pic.





Then he heard me take that picture and kinda sat up and I took the second picture:



He looks like he is saying "What's the big deal? Don't all dogs wear hats?" LOL He is such a little clown. My Shotsy is nursing his back leg. He has had surgery on both back legs to replace his ACLs. He had the surgeries last year and the year before to the tune of $6,000.00! But he is worth every cent! But ever since the surgeries, when he overdoes it with running in the park, sometimes he has to nurse his right back leg. It always worries me.


OK, enough of my babbling! I'll have another post is a couple of days. Working on some Christmas cards and projects that I want to share with you all!

Don't forget the pic of the week below! This was a pic of a hawk feather that was caught on a very tall piece of grass in the field next to the path. It just seemed so odd flapping in the breeze, but it looked so beautiful with the way the sun was hitting it. It makes a bizarre picture, but cool too I think.


Thanks so much for visiting! I feel better now that I shared this stuff with you! I'll be seeing you on your blogs!


Best,

Curt O'Brien

"God help me be the person my dogs think I am."