THE WEDNESDAY EVENING POST FOR NOVEMBER 14, 2012

Hey All!

How is everyone????  Can you believe we are just about a week away from Thanksgiving???  OMGosh. . .it's like I was just swimming with the boys and now it is time for Thanksgiving!  Where does the time go???

Well, I know where some of my time has gone. . .into making more cards.  I decided to play along with the House Mouse Monday Challenge this week.  I did it for two reasons: 1) I thought I would get a start on my Christmas cards, and 2) It has been a while since I played with my House Mouse/Happy Hopper stamps.  The challenge this week is to create a card that depicts one of the many things you do to get ready for Christmas.  Here is my entry:

I know lots of people who bake Christmas cookies so I thought this image would depict that.  However, I didn't think that bunnies would make gingerbread "men" so I made a gingerbread bunny!  LOL  The image is colored with my cheap colored pencils and oms.

I also got stuck this week on making side step cards.  I love dimensional cards and this style lends itself to so many ideas I just couldn't stop.  Here they are:

While I was looking for an image for the challenge above, I saw this image in my collection and this card popped into my head.  I made the little bath mat by stamping the word "bath" on a cloth ribbon, then fraying it on both ends to create "fringe".  I made the side panel into a chest of drawers with a little lacy towel hanging out of a drawer and added the wine glass and bottle.  Again colored with pencils/oms.

I created this winter scene and made it even more dimensional by cutting out the tree and having the limb extend out into open space to allow the birdhouse to hang from a piece of twine.  I also added liquid applique for a "snowy" effect.  It is glittery too, but it doesn't show in the pic.   The stamp set used is by Crafty Lounge.  There is no name on the wood tree stamp I used for the background.

 I used this stamp set again from Technique Tuesdays to create this stair step card.

The pumpkins on this one were made with an oval punch and two different colors of card stock that had textured dots.  I used the single wheat stamp in multiple distress ink colors to create the background panel.

I've been wanting to use this giant pumpkin stamp for the longest time and finally did.  I'm not used to having such a large image dominate a card like this one does, but I LOVE pumpkins and I love the vintage look of this one.

OK, that's it for another Wednesday Evening Post.  I'm off to see what you have all been up to, so you'll be seeing a comment from me in the very near future.  Can't wait to see what you've been up to.  Until then, thanks so much for stopping by and looking at my crap stuff.  LOL

Pic of the Week

Hope you all are having a great week!

Hugs,

Curt O'Brien

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

THE WEDNESDAY EVENING POST FOR NOVEMBER 7, 2012

Hey All!

I hope this post finds you well, happy and safe.  I've been thinking so much of my blogging friends on the East coast and hear that more nasty weather is still in store.  My thoughts are with you.

I promise this post has nothing to do with pictures of my house but of cards!  I've been feverishly making thank you cards to send to those who came to my open house and brought gifts.  So here they are:

Ever since I've seen the "triple stamping" technique on SCS, I wanted to try so this was my first attempt.  I wanted to keep it warm and simple.  The flower images have copper Stickles centers to give it just a little bling.  I think the next time I do this, I'll do a little more background stamping.

This is one made with the SU French Foliage stamp set.  The background piece was ran through  the CB in a woodgrain embossing folder.

This card was done with a wonderful stamp by Deadbeat Designs.  I stamped them with Distress Inks.

I used a single leaf stamp from the "French Foliage" set again on this one but kept stamping it in different Distress Inks on top of the image to fill the panel.

I love this new stamp set from Technique Tuesdays.  

This was a super fast and easy card since my friend Sue in Washington sent all the components to me (thank you Sue!!!).  I just had to put it all together, stamp the thank you, glue on a couple of leaves and attach the copper brads.

I tried to go for a European postcard look on this one.  The dot on the "i" is done in red Stickles.

I shamelessly used this hilarious sentiment on the front and inside.  The inside says "It's pasture birthday."  LOL  It just makes me laugh.  I stamped and colored the barn scene and punch/pieced my little sheep.  This was for my Aunt's birthday which I missed because of my heart attack.

And finally, this is a note card set I made for a friend that I used to work with who has faithfully followed my blog since I left work.  This is a Mo Manning image (whom I adore)  I colored them with my colored pencils and oms.  My friend Brent and his wife have Chihuahuas and I thought they would get a big kick out of these.  The card box is my standard go to box from Gina K. Designs.  You can find the instructions to make it HERE.   Instead of keeping the box closed with a ribbon tied, I simply used velcro dots to keep it closed.

Well, there you have it.  I'm working on Thanksgiving cards now and hopefully will have the design figured out and some cards to show for next post.

Thanks so much for coming to see me!  Thanks to for all the wonderful comments you leave me.  Every one of them mean so much to me, not just because of what they say, but because you took the time to leave it.  And I appreciate that so much.

Hugs to all of you!

Curt O'Brien

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

IT'S HALLOWEEN!!!!!!

Gruesome Greets All!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN to you all (yes Bonnie that means to you too!)  I hope you are all having a creepy good day in your neck of the haunted woods.  It is cold and grey here with the wind blowing the leaves around.  I didn't get many Halloween cards done this year since my "heart event" so no pics of cards.  However, I did decorate the house and front courtyard for the holiday, so I thought I would share those photos with you.  Take a look:

This is my courtyard as you come to the front door

These are the inside decorations:

HAUNTED BEDROOM MANTEL

Printed creepy photos off of the internet, framed them and set them around.

Spider web lace draped on lamps

Disgusting Dining Room (Plates say "Poison")

Jars I made - brains, tarantula, skeleton fingers 

Bloody Hand Print on Glass at Front Door

Gunther Sleeping with Rat on Pumpkin (real pumpkin)

I Made This Miniature Graveyard Topiary

Real Pumpkin (Isn't it beautiful???)

Witch's Broom I made (painted handle black, added various ribbons and added weird markings on the handle with Stickles)

Something Creepy in the Fireplace!

Pumpkin "Throwing Up Dip"  LOL

Baked Werewolf Hand!

I got a lot of my ideas from Pinterest (the meatloaf hand, graveyard terrarium, bones in fireplace).  I am so hooked on Pinterest now.  Such a great idea for a website.  If you've not been there, go join - it's free and what a great place to go for ideas!

Picture of the Week:

Thanks for visiting.  And thanks too for the great comments you left on my last post.  I can't tell you how much they are appreciated.  I love reading what you have to say and thank you for the time you spend to do it.

Again, HAPPY HALLOWEEN!  Love you guys!

Best,

Curt O'Brien

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

WEDNESDAY EVENING POST FOR OCTOBER 24, 2012

Hey All!

Hope this post finds you all well and happy.  I'm happy to report that I am feeling great.  I've got my blood sugars back under control, I've lost almost 28 pounds, and I start cardiac rehab next week.  After I received the hospital bill in the mail yesterday, I almost had another heart attack. . .$76,000.00!!!  I can't fathom that.  I really paid attention to this wake up call and I intend to take care of myself from now on.  There are too many people depending on me (including my boys), and I can't let them down!

Thanks so much to all of you who have sent me cards and get well packages.  You can't imagine how you made me smile and made my days when I got the happy mail.  I just can't get over how lucky I am to have you guys "in my life".  You have made my recovery that much quicker and I sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Lots of you have been asking for updated pics of the new house and here they are.  I had my open house for all the people in our old neighborhood so I took some pictures before everyone got there since everything was "tidy".  LOL  Here is the invitation I sent for the open house:

You can't see it in the picture, but the back of the chair was done in silver glitter as well as the flames on the candles and the stripes on the lamp.  Nice and sparkly in real life.  Here are pics of the inside of the house:

Dining Room

Breakfast Room

Laundry Room and Guest Bath

Food!  Part of Kitchen

Kitchen looking into the breakfast room and pool beyond

Master Bedroom Fireplace

My craft room facing west

My craft room facing east

Great room

Great room as seen from entry hall (pool beyond)

Entry Hall

Great room fireplace

The open house went really well, and it was so nice to see so many of the old neighbors again.  It felt somewhat like a reunion.  I still have lots of painting to do and other things to be done, but it is getting there and it is certainly starting to feel like home.

Well, that's it for this post.  I'm slowly but surely getting around to all of your blogs.  If I haven't been to yours yet, I'm coming!  Thanks so much for your wonderful comments, thoughts, well wishes and prayers.  They have certainly meant the world to me.

Next week, pics of my Halloween decorations and "graveyard" in my front courtyard!

PIC OF THE WEEK

What do you see???

Hugs,

Curt O'Brien

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

HEART ATTACK

Hey All. . .

I'm just going to come out and say it without any sugar coating. . .Wednesday, October 4th I had a major heart attack.  One major artery was 99% blocked and another major artery was 80% blocked.  I was told that I was very lucky to have survived it.  I had been having chest pains for two weeks prior but they would only last 2 - 3 minutes so I attributed them to stress and anxiety.  But they continued and I was having more "episodes" every day.  I went to see my doctor on Tuesday October 3rd and he set up a stress test  for Friday.  Obviously I didn't make that appointment.  The chest pain woke me on the morning of the 4th, and never went away.  After two hours I decided I better go to the emergency room.

I drove myself to the hospital (a heart hospital is 5 minutes from our house thankfully) walked in and told them I was having chest pain and felt as if  I was going to pass out.  Within 7 minutes, I was in the operating room.  My blocked arteries were angioplastied and stints were put in place.  They estimate that because of the severity of the heart attack, my heart has about 15 - 20% damage.

But, believe it or not, I'm now sitting here at home updating my blog 3 days after suffering a serious heart attack.  I just can't believe the technology of today's medicine and the level of care I received at the Indiana Heart Hospital.  Now I face a whole new lifestyle change that must be permanent.

My sister and mom did an amazing job of stepping up and doing what needed to be done when it came to the care of Jay and my boys.  I was worried sick about Jay getting his medicines and the boys getting fed and let out.  My sister and mom took care of everything so that I could just focus on getting better and getting home.  I honestly don't know what I would have done without them.  I will never be able to repay them for all they did to make sure Jay and the boys were well cared for.  On a side note, this was the first time I had ever been away from the boys, not even one night.  I was so worried how they would do in my absence.  Jay said that Gunther propped himself up on a chair in the TV room and for hours watched out the window for me.  I love them so much. . .

OK, that's it.  I just wanted you to know what was happening and why their was no post last Wednesday.

And for those of you out there that are letting your health slide for whatever reason, let this be a lesson to take better care of yourself.  I never thought this would happen to me. . . 

Love you guys,

Curt

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