THE WEDNESDAY EVENING POST FOR MAY 22, 2013

Hey All!

How the heck are ya?  I'm glad you are here and safe.  I have to say how heartbroken I am for those of you in Oklahoma.  I could not believe my eyes as I watched the coverage of that horrible tornado in Moore.  The complete devastation is more than I can imagine.  Thank God more were not killed.  I know this sounds kind of silly, but I kept thinking that if that happened to my house, I couldn't imagine trying to replace my craft room stuff!  I also thought, with all the paper I have, at least the wreckage would be prettier than most!

Update on my situation. . .I have been diagnosed with "Frozen Shoulder".  Not in one but in both shoulders.  The good news is that once I recover, I can never have it again.  The bad news is that it will take about a year for it to go away.  And because I have diabetes and a heart condition, I can not have the drugs usually used to ease it.  So that means I have to "man up" and just deal with it.  Not a pleasant perspective for me.  I have one pain medication that I can take, but it doesn't do that much and the side effect of nausea is almost worse than the pain.

Because of the above, I only made one card this week. . .

 This is a Mo Manning image called "The Big Guy Grilling".  I colored him with my colored pencils and oms.  This is such a perfect image for Summer.  I know it is still Spring, but Summer is just around the corner.  I can say for sure that I won't miss these Spring storms.

I do have 3 pics of the week to share:

PIC OF THE WEEK

This little guy was found making himself at home in my newly opened pool!  I happened to look out of the breakfast room window and saw a black thing floating on top and then suddenly shoot to the bottom.  So I got the skimmer pole and fished him out.  Isn't he beautiful?  His markings were so amazing and that fiery red color just stood out so brightly in the sun.  He had his head pulled back so far in that shell, I think he will have a stiff neck for a week!  LOL  I, of course, released him and sent him on his way after the photo shoot.

OK, that's it for this post.  Thanks once again for coming by to check on me.  I hope you are all OK and doing well.  Stay safe from this Spring storms.  I'll be by to check on you soon!

Hugs,

Curt

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

THE WEDNESDAY EVENING POST FOR MAY 15, 2013

Hey All!

 How the heck are ya?  Thanks so much for stopping by, I'm always so glad to see you here and you always look so good!  How do you do that?  You just look gorgeous!  Hope you all had a wonderful Mom's day!

Wish I could say the same for me. . .I haven't had more than 4 hours of sleep each night for the last 5 weeks.  I have done something to my left arm and at times it feels as if it is broken.  I've already been to my doctor and he thinks it is "frozen shoulder".  I don't think it is (even though I have almost all of the symptoms) but he has sent me to an orthopedic specialist (this coming Friday) to see what is going on.  All I know is that yesterday, when I opened the car door, a hard wind blew the door open and yanked my arm.  I had to sit in the van and count to 100 just to stay conscious.  The pain was that bad.  I tell you all this because it is hard to type so it is taking me some time to get around to see all of you.  So please be patient with me.

I do have a few cards and a great  pic of the week for you though. . .  Take a look:

This is the card I made for my Mom for Mother's Day.  I've been wanting to try a flip card and this is my result.  HOWEVER, I added a little variation to the card.  Take a look:

I turned it into a gift card holder.  Actually, I just used double sided tape to hold the card in place.  But the Spellbinder's die I chose concealed the gift card perfectly.  I also lined up another die cut of the same shape directly behind it to write on.  As you can see in the first photo, the  gift card and the handwriting are hidden perfectly.

I also gave Mom a stationery set with eight different cards, personalized envelopes, two girly pens and a book of forever stamps.  She is always asking me to make her some cards to send to people so I thought this would be useful.  You all have seen some of the cards that I put in the set, but here are a couple of new ones:

This owl is from a clear set by Lawn Fawn.  I added googly eyes because all the little critters in the set look like their eyes are closed.  Ran the "tree" and the background through the CB with a couple of efs and added a computer generated sentiment.

Sometimes you find a paper that is just extra pretty, and this is one.  Ironically, I cut it all up (same paper used for Mom's card) and I have no idea who made it.  I added a 3-D butterfly (EK punch-3 way punch) and stamped the simple sentiment.  Easy and fast.  I also added glitter to the flowers.

That's it for this post EXCEPT for the pic of the week below!

Pic of the Week

PEEPING FROG

I think this is one of the cutest frogs I've ever seen.  He was stuck to the side window of my front door when I took this.  He is obviously on the outside of the glass and I took the pic from inside my entry hall.  I didn't think that the pic would turn out because it was at night, and my flash had to be used.  I figured the flash would bounce off of the glass and bleed everything out, but it came out perfect!  I found another one of these on my patio glass doors two nights ago.

Thanks again for stopping by to see my stuff.  I still can't believe you take the time to do so, but I love that you do.  Again, I'll be around to see you slow as I may be.  Thanks for your patience.

Hugs,

Curt

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

THE WEDNESDAY EVENING POST FOR MAY 8, 2013

Hey All!


Well, it has been quite a week for news hasn't it???  The Jodi Arias verdict, the new Benghazi hearings, and the 3 found missing women.  What an interesting week of developments.  What a fascinating world we live in.

And speaking of news. . . how about the winner of my 5 Year Blogaversary Blog Candy!?!?!

Here is the prize package to refresh your memory:

There was actually a total of 56 comments, however one person asked not to be in the drawing, one person entered twice, one was my best friend and not eligible, and one was an anonymous comment who did not leave a name in the comment.  So, there was a total of 52 valid entries into the drawing.  I was going to use Random.Org to come up with a number, but that is too boring.  So I wrote all of the valid entry names on strips of paper, wadded each up and threw them on the floor.  I then gave Shotsy the command "Bring!" I use this command if I have dropped something on the floor for him to pick it up and give it to me (he would have made a great service dog!).  Shotsy looked at all the paper balls and looked back at me like "Daddy!  How am I going to bring all of those to you???"  LOL  Bless his sweet heart.  So I told him "Bring!" again, and he walked over to the pieces and picked one up and handed it to me.  How random was that, huh???  I wish I had thought to video it, that would have been a great video!

And ironically, he picked Shirley (Glittered Paws)!  LOL  How fun is that!?!  CONGRATULATIONS SHIRLEY!!!  Please email me with a verification of your address so I can mail you your prize!

I'm sorry you all couldn't have won a prize. . .I just wish I was really rich so I could shower you all with grand prizes. . .

Thanks for all of your congrats, well wishes, and sweet comments.  They mean so much to me!

'Til next week!

Hugs,

Curt

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

SPECIAL EDITION OF THE WEDNESDAY EVENING POST ON FRIDAY 4/26/2013

Hey All!

Welcome to a Special Edition of The Wednesday Evening Post (even though it is on Friday!).  Today, I'm celebrating my 5 year anniversary of starting this blog and my very first post.  If you'll look over to your right, you'll see the huge anniversary cake there on the table and to the left is a completely stocked open bar for your enjoyment while you are here.  Servers will be walking around with a variety of hors d'oeuvres, so please help yourself.  Don't forget the GREAT GIVE-AWAY!!!!  More info on that at the bottom of this post.

I'm so glad you came!  5 years. . .I can hardly believe it.  For a stroll down memory lane for those of you who would like to see. . .here is the link to my very first post and my very first cards HERE.  I had 3 comments and remember that I had no idea how they even found me! I was amazed and hooked from that moment on and the rest is history.  Here are my cards for tonight:

 I haven't used this stamp in ages!  I LOVE this little guy.  We had a break-in here in our neighborhood this week!!  It was a house about 3 doors down from us and it is the home of a very cute, young couple.  They found their door kicked in and their house ransacked and robbed.  I just felt sick for them and wanted them to know how sorry I was that this had happened.  So, I made this card for them and went to a local bakery and got them some yummy cupcakes to make them smile.  The image was colored with my colored pencils and odorless mineral spirits.  The sentiment was from "Gunther's Greetings" which was a stamp set designed after my own sweet Gunther!

Next card. . .

Are those bee faces the cutest or what???  LOL  I used baker's twine for the "bee trails" but all I had was black and white so I colored the white part with a yellow marker.  Their little wings are all Stickled up and I fussy cut them out and popped them up on dimensional tape.  The bee stamp is by Recolections and I colored them with marker.

OK, now for the promised give-away in honor of my 5 year anniversary. . .Here is the prize package:

1 Set of Spectrum Noir Markers in browns and greys
1 Stampabilities House Mouse/Happy Hopper wood mounted rubber stamp (Snuggle Bunny)
1 Spellbinders Nestabilities Big Scalloped Squares (7 dies)
1 All Occasion Mat Stack with Glitter (44 sheets of 4.5X6.5)
1 Memory Box die (Resting Birds)
3 packs of assorted bling

Nice huh?  As you know I don't make you jump through hoops to win any prizes here.  All you need do is leave me a comment on this post.  I'll use Random.Org to pick a winner from all the comments, and I will announce the winner on the May 8th Edition of My Wednesday Evening Post.  Good Luck!

Pic of the Week

My sweet Gunther celebrated his 9th birthday on the 24th!  He got a birthday cake, a trip to the "doggie store" to pick out his presents, and lots of treats.

Hope you are all well.  Thanks for stopping by and I'll be seeing all of you on your blogs!

Hugs,

Curt

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

THE WEDNESDAY EVENING POST FOR APRIL 17, 2013

Hey All!

Sorry I'm a day late (and $1 short too after tax day).  I've just been consumed with the coverage of all the horror that is going on in our world.  For my readers in Boston particularly, I'm so sorry that your beautiful city was touched by such darkness and evil.  Those of you in West, Texas I can't tell you how saddened I am over the loss of life there.  You are all in my thoughts and prayers. . .

I've only created a couple of cards this week and here they are. . .

I made this for Joan Fricker. . .Some of you might know Joan from Joan's Gardens.  She lives here in the northern part of the state of Indiana.  She has a fun blog and runs challenges too.  Joan just had a complete knee replacement (which went well I read on her blog) and I wanted to send her a card wishing her a speedy recovery.  I thought this House Mouse/Happy Hopper was perfect because of the leg cast (and they threw in an ear cast too! LOL).  Of course, it is colored with my pencils and oms.  I drew all the stuff on the cast because the cast is blank when stamped.  Hope Joan is back to normal in no time!

My next was created using a die which I've had for a few weeks.  I was sitting looking at all of my paper and saw a sheet that made me think of how I could use the die. . .take a look:

The paper had these wonderful tie die patterns on it and I thought sure they would fit inside the hot air balloon die and they did.  It made a fun design on the balloon.  I embossed the clouds for more texture and used distress ink to sponge the background sky.  The sun was created from a die as well.  I freehand cut the "hills" and finished it off with a computer generated sentiment.

Pic of the Week

The Perfect Symbol of Spring

That's it for another post. . .I have now officially gone over 100,000 views on my counter and my 5 year anniversary will be next week, so be sure that you tune in next week for my celebration give away!  Thanks for stopping by and I'll be getting to all of your blogs sometime this weekend!  Hope you are all well and safe.  Take good care. . .

Hugs,

Curt

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

THE WEDNESDAY EVENING POST FOR APRIL 10, 2013

Hey All!

Welcome to another edition of the Wednesday Evening Post.  What a crazy week this has been!  We got up to 80 degrees here in Indianapolis yesterday. . .Just imagine that we had 8 inches of snow 2 1/2 weeks ago.  Talk about weather extremes!  I did see my first butterfly today!!!  So I think Spring is here to stay.  We are supposedly in for some rough weather tonight and tomorrow with possible tornadoes.  Never a dull moment. . .Throw in my monitor dying, a huge, unexpected tax bill, and fighting with Jay's medical providers and insurance companies brought another wonderful week in paradise!  On with the cards I did manage to make this week!

Gina K Designs kind of inspired this one for me.  She had a video out where she did a resist technique that used dragonflies.  So I got my dragonfly stamps out to make this one.  The main dragonfly is embossed with copper embossing powder.  You can also see that part of the matting I did includes some metallic copper card stock.  The smaller dragonflies were stamped in random order using distress ink.  Simple card I created for a guy.  He is the mortgage loan officer at our credit union who is simply an angel among men.  He is one of the most helpful, friendly, pleasant people I have ever worked with.  Throw in some remarkable customer service skills and you have him (I honestly don't think he is human, he is too perfect).  I made this for him because he helped me with a homeowner insurance problem.

My next card was for a woman at the same credit union who was also instrumental in the above mentioned problem.  I stopped at a local high end bakery and got them each some cupcakes as a thank you for their help and the cards were delivered with the treats.

Sorry, I should have warned you to put on sun glasses to view this one.  Can we all say together "screaming banana"??  LOL  I don't know why it looks so bright in the photo. . .It really doesn't look this "neon" in real life.  But it has the same kind of layout as the first one and had a bug on it too. . .  You really can't see it in the photo, but the main butterfly is cut out and stands 3-D from the card.  I also used some Stickles on it for some sparkle.  

Pic of the Week

Robin Taking A Spring Bath

Well, that's it for this post.  Kind of boring. . .However, I noticed that my hit counter is now approaching 100,000 visits and I'm almost to my 275th post, and my blog will celebrate its 5 year anniversary on April 26th!  So I think that sounds like a reason to celebrate with a give away soon huh?  I can't believe I've been doing this for almost 5 years!  Anyway, give away details will be coming in subsequent posts. . .stay tuned!

Hope this post finds you all well and happy and safe.  I think I made it around to all of you who have left comments and then some!  You guys do some really amazing stuff and are such an inspiration to me!  I love visiting each of you!

Take good care!

Hugs,

Curt

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

THE WEDNESDAY EVENING POST FOR APRIL 3, 2013

Hey All!

Let me first start by apologizing for not getting to most of your blogs this week.  I don't know where the time went!  Well, I do know where it went, but that is neither here or there.  I hope this post finds you well and happy.  I'm in a much better mood thanks to the weather!  We have had sunshine for 3 days in a row!!!!  It has done so much for my spirits.  We are going to be in the mid 60s by this weekend and I can hardly wait.  What is going to be fun is to see what Spring flowers pop up here at the new house.  We moved in mid June, so we missed Spring here.  I have already spotted tulips coming through.

I did manage to get a card set done today.  Have a look:

 Here is the box I made for the set.  It is my "go to" from Gina K Designs.  Here are the four cards that you will find inside. . .

I really love these images.  I got them at Joann Fabrics for $1 each.  They are clear stamps by Studio 112 from their summer mini assortment.  I stamped each image with Walnut Stain Distress ink on cream colored card stock.  I decided to keep them uncolored but did add copper Stickles on the shells and glitter on the two birds (which of course you can't see in the photos).  The background paper reminded me of swirling ocean water and the color is exactly what I wanted for this color scheme.  I roughed up the edges around each image, matted each, then double wrapped twine around them.  Here is the set together. . .

I can't believe these stamps were only a buck.  They rival anything that other stamp companies have out, and they stamped beautifully.

Pic of the Week

Thanks again for stopping by even though I was neglectful of you this week!  I'll be around to each of your blogs starting tomorrow.  I miss seeing the beautiful, creative work you all do.  Again, forgive me for not seeing you sooner!

Hope you are all OK and experiencing great weather for a change.  Take good care!

Hugs,

Curt

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