THE WEDNESDAY EVENING POST FOR OCTOBER 5, 2011

Hey All!

There you are!!!  I was just sitting around waiting for you to come by.  Boy am I glad to see you!  I'm really excited about this post because I have posted TWO NEW VIDEOS OF SHOTSY AND GUNTHER DOING A COUPLE OF AMAZING THINGS!  Would you mind taking a minute or two and watching the videos right over there on the right sidebar?  I'd love to know what you think of what they are doing.  I so appreciate you indulging me with my boys and their brand new videos.  I'm so anxious for you to see them.

Tonight's post actually is a themed post.  Yes Bonnie, it is all about Halloween!  However, the actual theme is that I made three very distinctively different cards but used the same color combo on each one of them.  I consider Orange, Black, and White the traditional colors of Halloween, so that is what I used on my cards.  I also wanted to keep them simple and pretty clean.  Here is the first:

This card is a play off of Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven".  I never found that story scary at all, but I always love to hear it and watch it performed by the late Vincent Price.  You can watch him perform it HERE.   I stamped multiple bird cages to create the background but I don't know who the stamps are by. . .they are from different sets.  The "Never More" I created using an old Martha Stewart letter stamp set I bought a couple of years ago.  The raven is also by Martha Stewart.  Very simple and clean and based on a classic.

My second uses the same color scheme:

Again, simple and clean.  This spider stamp was part of some stamps that were gifted to me by the ever popular and multi-talented Mark from Deadbeat Designs.  What a fun spider he created.  The webbing was created using a Martha Stewart punch, then I went over it with a silver glitter pen for some sparkle.  The eyes of the spider are done in orange Stickles.

My last card using the same color scheme:

Again, this one was created with gifted stamps from Mark.  They are so appreciated Mark!  You are so talented.  I really love your stamps!  I didn't even do matting on this card!  That is a rarity for me.  I LOVE these skeleton hands.  I stamped both the left and the right hands randomly, then the little skulls, then the bones.  I added googly eyes on the skull (Mark did the same thing on his HERE where I got my inspiration).  I also added orange Stickles to the little skull eyes for some sparkle.  Inside I'm going to add the sentiment "No Bones About It. . .Have A Happy Halloween!"  Corny, but goes with the card front.

So there are the cards for this week.  Believe it or not, BONNIE (who does not "do" Halloween) sent me the most awesome Halloween card that she made along with a Halloween stamp set!  I will be featuring a card next week using the set she sent me.  It was wonderful of you to do that Bonnie!  It meant even more because of how you feel about Halloween!

Pic of the Week

SPOOKY MOON

OK, that's it for this post.  I hope you enjoyed it and I sure hope you watched the videos of "my boys".  I think the two videos shows you some of the many reasons they have stolen my heart and why I love them so much.  Thanks for taking the time to see them.

I hope you are all well and doing fine.  I think I got to all of you that left comments last week, and I will do the same this week as usual to all who leave me a comment.  I love reading what you have to say, and you are so valued.

Hugs to all of you!


Best,


Curt O'Brien


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

THE WEDNESDAY EVENING POST FOR SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

Hey All!

WOW!  What have you done to your hair????  You look amazing!  It makes you look so young!  I'm so glad to see you here!  I want to welcome those new followers too!  You pushed me to 300 followers and I couldn't be happier that you are here!  Thanks to Patti (Cherish Each Precious Day) and Mark (Deadbeat Designs) for mentioning me on their blogs.  It was great of you to do, and I appreciate it so much.

On with the post. . .Nothing too special tonight, but I can tell you that some fun new stuff is coming in the next couple of posts (videos!).  So keep tuning in.  My first card is a card that I really don't like AT ALL!  But I wanted to post it because it was one of those types of cards that we all fight with.  Take a look:

This card started with the sunflower head from Bo Bunny.  I then added a stamped stem with leaves which is actually from a poppy stamp.  That's all I had that even came close to add to the sunflower.  Totally not happy with the look, I added some Autumn colored FlowerSoft to the center.  Still not happy. . .Added the CuttleBugged frame and had the flower head stick out from it.  Ehhh. . . .Added the bee and used Stickles on t he wings. . .errrrrr.  Added the rust colored mat. . .ekkkkk. . .stamped the sentiment. . .ho hum. . . .big empty space needs something on the lower left so added orange dew drops, OK, I'm frickin sick of trying to save this damn card!  So, there you have the process, and after reliving it again, I HATE this card!  LOL

This next card uses punch art:

I made this card for some neighbors who recently lost their sweet dog Jake, but have gotten a new one since (rescue dog named Miley).  I wanted to welcome the new member of their family.  She's predominantly brown and white so I stayed with a monochromatic look.  I learned to make this punch puppy here with this great video tutorial.  It's little ears curl forward.  I created the background card stock and popped up the puppy with dimensionals.  The treat can is a recycled cashew can (I have several of these because cashews and pistachios are my favorite nuts).  I filled the can with "Pup Corn" which is a favorite treat of my boys.  The sentiment says "There is nothing better that to end a bad day covered in dog slobber."  Such a wonderful sentiment to welcome their sweet dog.

My final card (get ready Bonnie!!!) is a Halloween card:

I used one of those $1 stamps again but this time by itself.  I intend to do that with the other 3.  I wanted to get a "mummy" feel for the card, so I used masking tape all over the mat panel then used distress ink to "dirty" it and make it look like old bandages.  The "ribbon" is a used dryer sheet that I again "dirtied up" with distress ink.  Stamped the sentiment and done.

Now, I have to share a remarkable gift that one of my crafting neighbors (NINA!!!) gave me.  I was awe struck when I walked into her kitchen and it was sitting on her kitchen island lit up.  Take a look at this!

Bonnie has probably fainted right about now. . .LOL  Isn't this fabulous!?!  The eyes of both the man and the dog have lights in them so that they glow!  She said when she saw this, that with the combination of it being Halloween oriented and mentioning a dog, it had my name written all over it.  For the picture, I sat it on my mantel, but it has a permanent spot on the built-in bookcase next to the fireplace.  It looks so awesome!  Thanks again Nina!  You know me so well. . .LOL

Pic of the Week

BUG DRESSED FOR HALLOWEEN!

OK, that's it for this edition.  I'm still working my way around your blogs, so if I haven't gotten to yours yet, I'm on my way.  As you know, I use my comment section from the week before to visit all those who have left me a comment.  So I've been hitting an average of 45-50 blogs a week.  And I read EVERY word of your posts.  So it takes me some time, but I love every minute of it!

I do hope you are all well and happy and that you are having a great week.  You all are important to me and I think about you all a lot.  I don't have a big family (there are only really 4 of us) so you all have become my extended family, and I'm honored that you visit me each week.

Love you guys!


Best,


Curt O'Brien


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

THE WEDNESDAY EVENING POST FOR SEPTEMBER 21, 2011

Hey All!!!

You made it safe and sound!  Gosh it is good to see you. . .what have you been up to this past week?  As I visited your blogs this week, I saw some wonderful stuff, read some happy news, and some sad news, and just lots of stuff going on.  We are one amazing little group aren't we?  I'm certainly proud and very happy to call you my blogging family, cause that's what you feel like to me!

Have you noticed that blogger has added a great new feature when viewing blogs????  As you read through my blog, try clicking on one of my photos here in the blog.  It puts them all in a really nice photo viewing mode.  I love it!

On with the post!  Again, I've created some more Halloween cards to share with you this week.  BONNIE!!!  Stop that groaning back there!  LOL  I think you will like these.  Take a look at the first one:

Now see Bonnie, this one is kind of sweet isn't it?  LOL  I created this scene using several different stamps.  I first masked off the moon and sponged the background sky as well as the grassy area.  The cat is by Artful Inkables, the tree is by Deadbeat Designs, the pumpkins are peg stamps by Tapistry, and the bats are a Hero Arts mini stamp.  I used a dark grey colored pencil to  create the shadows behind the images and a white gel pen to give the effect of the moon reflection. I love creating scenes with a variety of different stamps.  The possibilities are endless.

I think the next card is going to end up being my most favorite of the Halloween cards I've made so far:

Again, I've combined two images to create one scene.  The witch and the cauldron are both separate images from CowTown Stamps.  I love their images and they are reasonably priced and well made.  When I saw the two images I knew immediately that they were going to be used together.  I colored them with my colored pencils and oms.  Then added glitter to the flames, stuff she is sprinkling in, and the liquid content of the cauldron.  Sponged the whole background afterwards.  The sentiment is by (I believe) Inkadinkado, and thought it perfect for the scene.  The background paper is DCWV.

My last card is a birthday card which I made for a sweet neighbor lady.  As I told you in my last post, I like to make occasion cards in the theme of the season in which they occur.  Take a look:

You gotta click on this one to see the glittery leaves. . .I stickled every dang one of them!!  LOL  It really was worth it because the whole card just sparkles.  I created the background paper using the Trendy Trees stamp set by Stampin UP.  I've had this set for quite awhile now, and have never used it.  I'm glad I did for this card.  I used a Stampamajig to position the trees as I went along so they would create the pattern.  They are stamped with several colors of distress inks.  I don't know how I lived without my distress inks!  Added the sentiment strip and the cute Fall brad and done.

OK now time for the pic of the week!  As stated in the last post, the pics I post from now through Halloween will have something to do with the holiday.  Take a look at this gorgeous guy!

This, I'm sure, is a common crow, but for all intents and purposes, this is a raven!!  LOL  Did you know these guys are super intelligent?  There is a video on YouTube of one that they used in an experiment.  They put just enough water in the bottom of a long glass tube where the Raven couldn't get to it to get a drink.  As you watch the video, the Raven goes and picks up small rocks and drops them in the tube raising the water level to the point where it can drink.  That is just amazing to me!  I love these birds!

OK, that's it for now. . .Thanks so much for stopping by to say hello!  Love that you did, and you know my blog is always open for you.  Thanks too for leaving such sweet comments!  Have a great week!  Love you guys!

Hugs,

Curt O'Brien

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

THE WEDNESDAY EVENING POST FOR SEPTEMBER 14TH, 2011

Hey All!

I've been waiting for you!  So glad you could come by and see me!  And may I say, you are looking absolutely fabulous!  Honestly, I've not seen you look better!


OK, I've got 4 cards to post tonight.  This is a good balance of regular cards and Halloween cards.  Yes Bonnie, you have a couple of non-Halloween cards you can look at!  LOL  So, let's take a look, shall we???

One of the things I love most about Halloween (and there is a ton I love) are "haunted houses".  The creepier the better.  When I was younger, I used to love to go visit the local haunted houses for a fun scare.  So, I wanted to create a card that had a haunted house.  I sponged the background first then stamped the image with Staz-On jet black.  This image is by Martha Stewart.  I then added the background papers and separated them with a MS border punch (which reminds me of an old iron fence that would be in front of a haunted mansion.  I then took a black and white striped ribbon and used distress inks on it to give it a dirty, moldy look.  The skeleton key is an actual key (plastic) that I attached with dimensionals.  Stamped, matted, and attached the greeting and done.

I wanted to use that silhouette cat stamp for a Halloween card too.  When I first saw the cat stamp, I thought that the pose of the cat reminded me of it balancing something on its nose.  So, I came up with this:

I created the background paper using a There She Goes bat stamp.  I sponged the background with distress inks then stamped the cat, pumpkin, and raven.  Stamped a few extra bats, matted the image, tied a small black bow, and done.  I really do like how this turned out.  I can imagine using this cat stamp again for a Fall card where a leaf is landing on his nose.  

OK, the next one is a thank you card I made for a sweet neighbor lady who took me out to dinner for my birthday. . .I know, it was in June, but we just got around to it last week.  LOL  Here is the card I made her:

The focal image is embossed in gold ep.  I always forget about my metallic eps.  The background paper is from (I believe) DCWV.  I don't know who the stamp is by.  It is actually a single fern stem that I stamped twice.  This was such a quick and easy card to do.  I need to make a few more of these to have on hand.

The last card for tonight is also a thank you card:

I don't know about you, but I like to do my note cards, thank you cards, and other cards in the spirit of the season.  Since it is now Fall (in my mind anyway!) all occasion cards will carry that theme.  Again, a very simple and quick card.  Don't know who the stamp is by (it's from a set I got when I first started).  I stamped the same image on 3 panels in 3 different colors of distress inks.  Matted them and tied some twine to the end panels and then stamped the simple thanks sentiment on the middle panel.  Popped up the panels on foam squares and done.  This is also for a very sweet neighbor who fixed Jay and me a wonderful dinner.  She made us Italian Beef in the crock pot and it was to die for.  One of the best meals I've had in a long time.  Thanks Nina!  It was so nice of you to do.  You'll probably see this card here before you get it! LOL

OK, now for the pic of the week.  Because Halloween is coming, the picture of the week will reflect a Halloween theme from this post forward through Halloween.  The picture will show scary looking things, or things that remind me of Halloween, or things that have Halloween colors, etc.  So here is the first of the series.

PIC OF THE WEEK

This is kinda creepy eh? This photo was not altered at all.  It was a cloudy day and the faint light was just enough to highlight the strands of this wonderful web against the blackish grey of the tree line in the distance.  Great Halloween pic huh?

Thanks for coming by.  You know how much I love having you here.  I'm off to take a look at what you have all been up to.  Can't wait to see.  And welcome to my new followers!  Thanks so much for thinking my blog is worthy to follow.  That means a lot to me!  Glad to have you here.

Love you guys!


Hugs,


Curt


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

THE WEDNESDAY EVENING POST FOR SEPTEMBER 7TH, 2011

Hey All!

Welcome to another Wednesday Post and also to my most favorite time of year!  As you can see, my blog is all decked out for Fall, got my Halloween counter up and running there to the right, and the boys are all dressed for the season.  Yeah, I know I'm a couple of weeks early, but who's counting?  LOL  The weather here is "Fallish" and has been for the last couple of days and I'm more than ready!

A couple of fun things happened this week that I want to share with you.  My blogging buddy Jocelyn informed me that my "cat card" from last week's post was highlighted on the "wall" of Splitcoast Stamper's Facebook page!  I didn't even know they had one!  LOL  Thanks Jocelyn for letting me know!  Also, my blog counter turned over 50,000 hits!  Can you believe it?  I am still amazed that so many people come to see my silly stuff!  Speaking of. . .

I know Bonnie, turn your head away for the rest of the post!  LOL  I'm having a blast making my Halloween cards this year.  Every year it gets to be more fun because I've learned new techniques and feel more confident in trying new stuff.  This stamp set is a Martha Stewart set.  I wanted something that represented a haunted house motif so I thought these were all things you would find in a scary haunted house.  I created the background paper by stamping on my work surface with some distress inks then wiping my cardstock over it.  Once dry, I stamped the images, distress inked and distressed the edges of each panel, then matted them.  The circular one is a new set of Nesties that I got a couple of weeks ago on CLEARANCE from JoAnne Fabrics for - are you ready?  $2.97!!!!!  Whole set of 5!  Can you believe it????

I love how this turned out.  This is a total case of a card I saw on SCS but with my own touches.  You can see the inspiration card here.  I wanted to add a pop of color so I used this cool orange and black ribbon I got in the dollar bin at Michaels.   The spiders are from There She Goes and I'm not sure who the sentiment is by.  But I think the spiders dropping down from the ribbon was such a cute idea, I had to make one.  Actually, I'm going to make a lot of these because I made this card in about 15 minutes. 


OK, we've gone from spooky, to whimsical, to how about just plain cute?

My very sweet neighbor Pat left this for me with a note that said "I was at Archiver's and this stamp said to take me to Curt."  She is so sweet!  She is also a card maker too and does beautiful work.  This is a Penny Black stamp and it is colored with my colored pencils and oms.  I added the shadowing at the bottom of each character for some depth.  This is a large stamp, so it doesn't leave much room for embellishing, so I let the image do all the work.  Thanks again Pat!  It was so nice of  you.


Pic of the Week

Scary huh?  LOL  I looked up while sitting on a chair swing at the park with the boys and saw this shell of a cicada clinging above me.  I thought the almost silhouette look was cool as well as the angle it was on.   I know, I take pictures of weird things sometimes, but this kind of struck me as "artsy".  LOL 


OK, that's it for this week's post.  Hope you enjoyed your stay as much as I enjoy your visiting me.  Thanks for all the wonderful comments last week.  I love reading what you have to say about my "stuff".  Thank you for that.  It means the world to me.


Hope you are all well and happy.  I think about you guys a lot, especially when I come see your blogs.  I'm still hopping, so if I haven't seen you yet this week, I'm on my way!


Hugs to all of you!


Best,


Curt O'Brien


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

THE WEDNESDAY EVENING POST FOR AUGUST 3, 2011

Hey All!


How the heck are ya?  Hotter 'n Hell I bet!  LOL  However, in my humble opinion, "dewy" looks wonderful on you!  Can you believe it is August!?!  Dear Lord where is the time going?


OK I've got something a little STRANGE to tell you at THE END OF THE POST, so be sure you read it because I want to know what you think. . . now, on with the post!

I told my good blogging friend Myrna that I was heading up to my "man cave" with a glass and a bottle of my favorite wine to "create".  Well, that's exactly what I did. . .and I can't believe I drank the whole bottle!!!  My cards may be a little off, but I sure was happy with them at the time! LOL  Here is what I created "UNDER THE INFLUENCE":

I don't usually play along with sketch challenges, but I like this sketch a lot!  It was a Splitcoast Stamper's challenge (SC343) so I played along.  I wanted to do a monochrome look on this because let's face it, coffee and coffee beans are brown.  All images and the sentiment on this are by The Paper Studio.  If you look really close, I used a silver glitter pen on the steam coming from the coffee cup.

I wanted to do another monochrome card (think it was the wine?) and I also wanted a simple note card.  I really love this image by Stampers Anonymous.  I stamped it in distress ink (peeled paint) and then embossed it with clear ep.  Stamped the french writing on the mat panel (Inkadinkado) and then added a simple strip of sparkly ribbon.  You can see evidence of the wine taking effect because the image part is matted a little crooked on the green mat. . . LOL  I made all of these in one night!  And I'm presenting them in order. . . 

This is a variation of the sketch challenge for the first one.  Instead of using 4 strips in the background, I used only 3 (probably was getting confused by this point!  LOL)  I have no idea who this stamp set is by.  It is one of the very first ones I bought (3 years ago) and before I realized that people would want to know the stamp maker. . .Anyhooo I was looking for a sentiment and came across this one and started giggling. . .It's cute, but not that funny now, so I was obviously on the last of the wine by this point.  I stamped the spider webs and embossed them in white for the background piece.

So, there you have it.  Nothing too exciting except that they were made under the influence.  Now on to the strange thing.


STRANGE


Take a look at this photo:

I happened to look up while I was walking the boys and saw this beautiful hawk flying above.  So I snapped this photo.   Nothing really special right?  Take a closer look (if you click on it you will get a bigger image).  Look just to the right and above the hawk. . .see that little "spot".  OK here is your challenge.  For those of you with a photo editing program or something that can magnify the image, copy this photo and take a look at it magnified. . . . . .

I honestly think I have inadvertently captured a UFO.  I'm not joking.  I have the photo editing software called "Picasa" (fabulous and FREE from Google).  I noticed the "spot" and zoomed in thinking I had caught a jet.  But it looks nothing like a jet.  Under 800 magnification, you can clearly see a domed object with sun glittering off of the top of the dome and the respective shadow of its belly.  I have shown it to several people and their mouths drop open when they see it.  It is fuzzy to say the least, but there is no mistaking its shape or the fact that there is nothing (chemtrail) coming from the back.  As I said, I didn't even see it when I took the photo, it was only later that I discovered that it was in the photo.  WHAT DO YOU THINK?  It has me a little spooked.  I've always thought that we couldn't possibly be "alone" in this huge universe, but I've never had a personal experience until this photo.  Just thought I would share. . .And NO, I was not drinking when I was looking at the photo!  LOL

PIC OF THE WEEK:

This little beauty played coy with me and it took me for ever to get this shot.  He/She kept opening and closing her/his wings so I shot about 15 times before I got them.  I'm always amazed at how their wings are exact mirror images of each other.  God does some great work. . .


OK, that wraps up another Wednesday Evening Post.  Hope you were entertained by my intoxicated creations and story.  Trust me, I normally don't drink like that, but I was having such a great time (obviously) listening to the radio (all 80's weekend) just jammin' and making cards. 

Thanks for stopping by!  Loved everything you all did this past week!  I think I hit all of your blogs.  If I missed anyone, I'm sorry.  BY THE WAY. . .I've been meaning to tell you all HOW I keep track and visit all of you. . .from my last post, I click on the comments and start at the top and visit everyone who left a comment that week.  I just click on the name and it takes me to your profile page and I click on your blog title there and then I visit.  That's how I've always done it.  I don't use the Google reader.  I feel it is a little more confusing to keep track of where I've been.  Especially if I am interrupted and have to come back to it later.  So, that's how I visit you.  When you leave a comment, that is my ticket to your blog. . .Anyone have a better way?

OK, Curt, Stop already. . . .I see a couple of you nodding off. . . LOL  Thanks for coming!  I'll see you on your blogs in the coming week!


Hugs,


Curt


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

THE WEDNESDAY EVENING POST FOR JULY 20, 2011

Hey All!

How the heck are ya?  I hope this post finds you well and happy.  I have to start by apologizing for my little rant in my last post.  But all of you came to my rescue to try to help me.  Alas, I had already tried most of everything you all suggested to no avail.  I have not revisited the machine, but plan to this coming week.  If I can't resolve the problem, it is going back.  I have 60 days with receipt.  Nuff said. . .

To make up for the lack of projects last week, I worked really hard this week to provide you with stuff to look at, so here we go. . .I hope you like!


See this little tiny stamp?:

And yes, that is ink on my finger. . .Anyway when I saw this tiny little stamp a card set popped into my mind.  So I brought this little fella home and it created all of this:

This is the box I created to hold the "note" card set created by that little stamp.  The box is one of my favorite projects from Gina K. Designs and you can find the tutorial for it HERE.  Now, let's open it up:

Let's see what's inside. . .

See what one little, tiny, single stamp can do???  LOL  This is my "Just a Note" set.  And this was pretty much what was in my head when I picked up that little guy.  Here are a couple of pics of them:

These were quick and easy to do and incorporate the clean and simple style.  The single stamp is by Stampendous, the music page stamp is by Hero Arts, the sentiment is by Stampabilities, and the piano keys stamp is by Stampabilities, (yes, the little guy needed a little help).   Hope you like my set and that it gives you some ideas for that little stamp that is sitting around in your collection waiting to help you with your cards!

Next on the agenda. . .get ready. . .it's coming before you know it. . .prepare yourselves . . .

EEEEEEEKKKKKKKKK!  Hey!  If people can post Christmas cards already, I certainly can start my Halloween cards. . . .right?  LOL  Now I know that this looks really simple and doesn't look like much. . . ahhhh but that is the intent.  For when you slip off the belly band, this is what you will find:

What do you think???  This is a "pop-up stage" card which was the highlighted technique on SCS last week.  You can find the tutorial HERE.  I so love how this turned out!  I used a combination of stamps/sets here.  I made the floor from scratch by using a piece of mottled paper then scoring the "planks", and then drawing the lines and "nail holes".  The wall paper is DP, the chair (stamped on DP and cut out), the picture on the wall, the fireplace, the witch's hat on the bear's head, and jack-o-lantern are all by There She Goes Stamps.  The bears are all from one stamp from the Gruffies line.  Everything was colored with my cheap colored pencils and oms.  You can count on more of these to come in future posts.  I have a ton of ideas for this card style!

Now to a couple of cards that have sad stories. . .

This is a Mo Manning digital image that I just love.  It is really the only "cat" image that I have to use for "cat" cards.  I was at my local Archivers store this past week and found out that one of the young ladies that works there had to put her cat to sleep.  So I made this one for her.  If you are reading this Kacy, this card is on its way to you.  (Myrna, I wish you would get yours soon!) My very sweet blogging buddy Myrna also lost their sweet cat as well, and I sent her a card weeks ago and it still has not arrived (she is in Canada).

And on the dog side. . .

Our very sweet neighbors across the street from us lost their beloved "Jake".  He was the sweetest dog, and became ill very suddenly.  I wanted the card to be simple and only highlight the sentiment.  The sentiment is a Northwoods stamp that a friend of mine got for me awhile back.  I took the card over to them and talked about Jake and cried.  Jake will be so missed by many. . .

OK, that's it for this week's post.  Hope I made up for the "bitch fest" I laid on you all last week.  LOL  I still sneer at that damn machine each time I walk by it!  But I thank you all for your wonderful attempts to help.  With or without the machine, next week's items will incorporate fabric!

Until next week, take good care of yourselves and be happy!  Thanks so much for stopping by.  Wish I could serve you some "cyber beverages" while you are here!  Thanks for always leaving such awesome comments.  I cherish them, I really do.

Pic of the Week:

Such a sweet little beauty stopped to pose for me this week.  Love that it casts a shadow on the leaf.


Hugs to all of you!


Curt O'Brien


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

HIGH HOPES CHALLENGE - HALLOWEEN

Hey All!


Don't you look amazing today!  Glad to see you here!  So glad that you took time out of your busy life to come see me.  I love having your here!


Today is Tuesday, and it is once again time for a High Hopes Stamps challenge.  Today's challenge is simply "Halloween".  Gee, is that right up my alley or what!?!  LOL  We were to use some of the new release stamps from Laurie Furnell.  Here is my card for this week's challenge:

I built all of this from scratch.  I knew I wanted to use the frog in the cauldron and that cool broom, but I wasn't sure how to use them together.  Then I thought of a fireplace theme.  I could put the cauldron in the fireplace and lean the broom against then mantel.  However, I didn't have a fireplace stamp large enough, so I had to make one from scratch.

I used a rectangle cut piece of beige card stock and then "colored" it with distress inks.  I then drew in the stones and colored them with colored pencils.  I made the hearth out of dark grey card stock, colored the black stripe across the front to give it dimension and drew lines around to look like blocks.  The blocks are mounted on foam squares as is the broom for dimension.  The floor is just a piece of paper that had a wood look to it.  And the "wall paper" is from a DCWV stack.  I stamped spiders to give it a spookier look.  I colored the frog, cauldron, and broom with colored pencils and oms and used Stickles on the fire.  I also accented the green bubbles in the cauldron with some MS purple glitter.  The inside says "Brew'in Up Some Treats" which is also from this series of stamps.

I love building scenes, and I did have fun with this.  I hope you get a chance to play with us, or at least take a look at the great work of my fellow "Divas" at the High Hopes Stamps blog.  


Thanks so much for taking a look.  I so appreciate you coming by and your support.  I'll see you tomorrow for the Wednesday Evening Post!  Got lots to share!


Hugs to all of you!


Best,


Curt O'Brien


"God, please help me to be the person that my dogs think I am."

WEDNESDAY EVENING POST FOR SEPTEMBER 29, 2010

Hey All!

Happy Hump Day!  I wanted to say thanks to all of you who left me such wonderful comments regarding my father's death and my brother's birthday.  You all are so wonderful and I honestly don't know what I'd do with out you!

I also wanted to let you know that I've resigned from my House Mouse Design Team position.  I am just trying to lessen some of the complication in my life.  I also just want to concentrate on my own creativity and crafting for me.  You'll still see HM cards on my blog because I love them so much.  I'm just jot on the DT any longer.  It was a fun stint and I am honored that I was a part of such a wonderful group of women.

OK, it's time for another Wednesday Evening Post, and as has become almost traditional, I have 3 cards to share with you tonight.  So, here they are. . .

My first is a birthday card for a great neighbor.  She turned 70 last week, and I'm taking her to lunch on Friday to celebrate.  Here is the card I made for her:

I love this Penny Black stamp and I've had it for quite a while.  This is its debut card.  Since it was her 70th birthday, I thought this card was so appropriately funny.  Look at that one chicken getting ready to blow out the candles and the one's look of worry on his face with the fire extinguisher LOL.  This is a technique combo where I "painted" the ground, table, cake and extinguisher with Distress Inks.  The beaks and red thingies are colored with colored pencils/oms.  I used a Sizzix EF for the background because it looks like chicken wire to me.  OMG!!!!  I just looked at the picture and noticed I didn't color one of the beaks!!!!  LOL  I can't believe that!  Good thing I haven't given it to her yet!!!!

My next card is an Thanksgiving card. . .

Another one that I "painted" with my Aqua Brush and Ranger Distress Inks.  It seems that I'm slowly but surely moving away from my beloved colored pencils and moving more towards those wonderful distress inks.  I chose this sentiment (by Stampendous) on purpose because it is usually used for Christmas cards.  However, I think it is a great sentiment for Thanksgiving too.  The image is by Penny Black and the papers are by Recollections.  

My last card to share tonight is a Halloween card. . .You know I rarely do Halloween cards (eyes looking up at the ceiling looking very innocent) LOL  This one is pretty generic but I like how it turned out. . .

I don't even like candy corn!!!  And I don't like it even more after stamping and coloring all of these!  I did several to fill the jar by masking several of them.  This is my first attempt at faux stitching.  How did I do???  I can't determine if I did it well or not.  The jar stamp is by Inkadinkadoo and the single candy corn stamp is by Recollections.  I punched the two corners with a MS punch and added bling.  Candy corn was colored with colored pencils/oms.  The lid was colored with a silver gel  pen.  I tied a little bow using some orange jewelry cord.  Sentiment is by Studio G.

OK, that is it!  Another Wednesday Evening Post is at a close.  Don't forget to look at the "Pic of the Week"!

Thanks again for stopping by.  I'm so pleased that you do!

Hugs to all of you!

Best,

Curt O'Brien

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

WEDNESDAY EVENING POST FOR SEPTEMBER 22, 2010

Hey All!

I need to get a couple of things off of my chest before this post gets started.  Because I feel you are all friends, I wanted to share a couple of things.  Today would have been my brother's 52nd birthday.  He died 13 years ago from complications of AIDS.  Happy Birthday little brother.  I also found out this past weekend that my father passed away.  He and I had been estranged for over 13 years.  I always had the thought in the back of my head that he and I would speak again, but it is obviously too late for that now.  I share this with you because if you have a similar situation, you really need to think about this and decide if it would be OK if the family member you are on the outs with would suddenly die.  I'm OK with what has happened, because it was his doing, but none the less, it is a very weird feeling to have to deal with.  I'm sorry to start out on a down note since this is usually an uplifting post, but I just felt I needed to share.  Thanks for allowing me to do so.  Anyway, out of the downer stuff and onto the fun stuff: . .

I have 3 more cards to share with you.  I've been up in that creative cave quite a bit over the past week and I have more than 3 to show, but I'm saving some in reserve!  LOL  Here is my first card:

I was browsing the web a few weeks ago, and found where someone had used a stamp of a spider holding candy corn.  So, I made my own.  The spider is an Inkadinkadoo stamp and the candy corn stamp is from Recollections.  You can't really see it in the photo, but the design on their backs is colored in with a silver glitter gel pen.  I colored the candy corn with my colored pencils, and drew in the spider web strand on each spider.  The sentiment is from Studio G.  Before I mounted the panel on the main card mat, I attached a fun fur yarn strand to give it a "webby" look and feel.  I used my Stampamajig to align the candy corn up so it looked like the spider was holding it.

Here's the next card. . .

This is in honor of Michelle Zindorf.  I LOVE here style and her cards are simply works of art.  If you've never seen her work, check out her gallery HERE.  I've looked at nearly 100 of her tutorials and just sit in awe of her techniques and talents.  I read on her blog a few days ago that she just lost her Mother. (Seems September is a month for losing people).  So I thought I would try something "Zindorfian" in nature.  The main limb was created by using a Stampscapes stamp that is actually 3 trees.  I just turned it sideways and stamped only one of the trees.  The branches are also from Stampscapes.  The owl is a Martha Stewart Stamp.  I sponged the background masking the moon off with a circle cut with Nesties.  Highlighted the top of the "limb" with a white gel marker for depth.

Here's my last card for the post:

This is an image that my sweet blogging friend Lee sent to me from St. Agnes.   The stamp is by Elzybells I believe. and it sure is a cut1e.  I colored it with my colored pencils and oms.  For some reason my camera always used the flash when I took the pictures of this card, so the colors are a little bled out.

OK, that's it for this edition.  I really do appreciate you coming to see what I've done.  I'll be doing my weekly round of your blogs in the next couple of days.  Can't wait to see what you've been up to!  Thanks to for letting me share my personal stuff with you.  I appreciate it.

Don't forget the "Pic of the Week" below!  I've not quite seen a turtle lay like this!  LOL  Check out his back legs!!!!


Hugs to all of you!


Best,


Curt O'Brien


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

WEDNESDAY EVENING POST FOR SEPTEMBER 8, 2010

Hey All!

Happy Hump Day and welcome to another edition of the Wednesday Evening Post!  I've got lots to show, so off we go. . .

I have a question for you. . .when you create cards, do you come up with your own design most of the time, or do you use other cards you see on blogs or sites like SCS for inspiration?  I tend to do the latter.  I see a card and I think  "Wow! that is such a great idea. . ."  Then I go and make a similar card based on the idea, but making my own personal creative changes to make it my own.  Well this card is one of those.  Here is my card:

You can see the inspiration card HERE.  There are so many techniques used on this card.  There is paper piecing (shell and poppy flowers) colored pencils and oms, sponging (sky and ground/grass), Flower Soft, and paper punching (grass MS and dragonfly).  When I saw the inspiration card, I thought it was cute, but a little plain for my style.  I used several stamp sets to pick the background flora.  I made this card for a neighbor who made us dinner for the day of Jay's surgery so I wouldn't have to cook that night.  Such thoughtfulness. . .

The next card is for Halloween (what a surprise huh? LOL).  Again, I saw a card that I used as my inspiration.  Here is my card. . .

The link to the inspiration card is HERE.  Once again, I've used the house image from the PTI set called Boards and Beams.  It is so versatile.  I combined several stamp sets for this one.  The tree is from Memory Box, the grave stones are from Hampton Arts, the bats are from a $ stamp, and the sentiment is from Hampton Arts.  I sponged the night sky using various Ranger distress inks and colored the house with colored pencils and oms.  The tree and house shadowing were done with a grey colored pencil.  I made the stars with a silver gel pen.

My last "show and tell" is a set of Halloween cards that I made from a newly purchased cheap stamp set. Take a look:

This is a stamp set from Recollections.  Their stamp sets sell for $6.99 at Michael's, but I used a 40% off on it so, what a deal.  The "boo" is by High Hopes.  I colored them with colored pencils and oms.  All the paper is from my scrap bin.  These were quick to make and I really like how they turned out.  The inside says "Have a Monstrous Halloween" which is computer generated.


OK, that's it for this edition.  I hope it was worth your time taking a look.  I'm off to look at your blogs for the next couple of days, and as always, can't wait to see what you've created in the last week.  Thanks for stopping by!


Hugs to all of you!  Don't forget the "Pic of the Week" below!


Best,


Curt O'Brien


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