It’s Sunday and time to play with The Paper Players!  This week, the lovely Nance is hosting a theme challenge:  In Celebration of Mothers.  My mother passed away many, many years ago, but I think she would have liked the card I created for her.  She loved Victoriana, so I tried to incorporate that theme into my design aspects, using the fabulous Layered Labels stamp set, which will be available June 1st. I hope you enjoy “Memories of  Mom”.

This finished card measures 5-1/4″ square.

•  Texture! What better way to impart a Victorian flair to a card than by using a vintage patterned embossing folder! The retiring Finial Press Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, with its appropriately sized motif, is a perfect choice.  A little Crumb Cake ink, brayered over the surface, allows the pattern to pop!

• Pattern! The new “Heartfelt” Layered Label, with its intricate detailing,  is not only feminine and vintage, it perfectly fits the largest Apothecary Accents Framelit.  It was lightly tinted with Baja Breeze ink using a Blender Pen. 

• Sentiment! The  “Memories” sentiment, from the Loving Thoughts stamp set, was substituted for the word “Heartfelt”, which is located in the center of the image.  The Bitty Banners Framelit fits the word and the space perfectly!

•  Jewels! What could be better for finishing off the focal image than Pearls!

I often find myself wondering what my mother would think of the woman I have become.  Would she be proud of me and my accomplishments?  I like to think she would.  I also find myself wondering what she would think of my wonderful husband and the grandson she never knew.  Would she appreciate Kim’s sense of humor?  I know she would.  And I know she would have cherished Brady, just as she cherished all of her other grandchildren.

I hope you enjoyed today’s card and the peek at the new products! I would love to know what you think, so won’t you please let me know in today’s comment?  Your comments are important to me, and I do read each and every one! Of course, if you ever have a question about the cards that I create or the techniques I use, I am only an email away! Until next time…

Stamp Sets:  Layered Labels (Available June 1st), Loving Thoughts (W  125843, C 125845); Inks:  Crumb Cake (121030), Baja Breeze (111833), Soft Suede (115657);  Card Stock:  Very Vanilla (101650), Baja Breeze (111352);  Tools:  Big Shot (113439), Bitty Banner Framelits (Available June 1st), Apothecary Accents Framelits (Available June 1st), Labels Collection Framelits (125598), Finial Press Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (115963), Square Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (119976), Blender Pens (102845), Brayer (102395);  Glitz and Glam:  Basic Pearls (119247)

Freshly Made Sketches is having a Design Team Call.  Some of you may be familiar with this challenge and their talented group of designers.  They  are looking for clean-lined creations.  Unlike clean and simple challenges, they encourage lots of detail and embellishments, as long as a clean look is maintained. They avoid distressing and torn edges, and create with lots of white space and clean edges. I decided to try out, using one of my new catalog preorder sets, Betsy’s Blossoms.  I hope you enjoy the new products which I used in creating today’s card.  And please wish me luck as I try out for the Freshly Made Sketches team!

• Butterflies and Blossoms!  The large Blossom image from Betsy’s Blossoms was inked with Midnight Muse and stamped three times.  It was then fussy-cut and layered, using Stampin’ Dimensionals. Summer Starfruit butterflies, created with the Beautiful Wings Embosslit, draw attention to the different levels.

• Bitty Banners! The “Congratulations” sentiment from Itty Bitty Banners was inked with Cajun Craze and stamped onto Very Vanilla card stock.  It was then cut out using the new, fabulous Bitty Banner Framelits.

• Comfort Cafe Coordination!  The Comfort Cafe is serving up delicious helpings of yummy Designer Series patterns! Look how fabulous these two patterns, (one in Summer Starfruit and the other with Cajum Craze, Midnight Muse, Pool Party, Soft Suede, and Summer Starfruit hues), coordinate with each other! 

Stamp Sets: Betsy’s Blossoms (Available June 1), Itty Bitty Banners (Available June 1);  Inks:  Midnight Muse (Available June 1), Cajun Craze (126965); Card Stock:  Very Vanilla (100650), Midnight Muse (Available June 1);  Designer Series Paper:  Comfort Cafe (Available June 1);  Tools:  Big Shot (113439), Beautiful Wings Embosslits (118138), Bitty Banners Framelits (Available June 1);  Glitz and Glam:  Basic Pearls (119247)

(Yikes!  Imagine my surprise this morning when the “Muffy’s Puppy” blurb was missing from my post.  I had written two drafts of my post, and published the wrong one.  So…here is the scoop on “Muffy’s Puppy”!)

Muffy gave birth to a “puppy” Saturday.  She did not eat her breakfast, so I knew something was up.  Muffy always eats her breakfast…and then tries to eat Brody’s, too!  I really knew something was up when she started panting and attempting to build a nest in her crate.  Poor Muffy suffered from a false pregnancy,  giving birth to a Pear Pizzazz colored, squeaky football.

Muffy takes very good care of her “puppy”.  She cleans it, and makes certain it is in position to nurse.  She carries it with her everywhere…inside and out.  The “puppy” even sleeps with her, which means it sleeps with us.  Imagine rolling over onto a squeaky toy at 2:00 AM!

 I called her vet, Dr. Brooke, who said that this is a very emotional time for Muffy, and we should not take her “puppy” away from her. She should be fine in a few weeks as her hormones return to normal.  False pregnancies occur in 60% of all unspayed females.  I have always preached spaying and neutering your pets, and I still wholeheartedly believe in this.  However, to show dogs in American Kennel Cub conformation shows, they cannnot be spayed or neutered.  But trust me…once she receives her AKC Champion title (she already has her United Kennel Club title), there will never be the possibility for any Muffy Puppies…real or imaginary!

And oh…the only trouble with her baby is that this was Brody’s favorite toy!  Leave it to Muffy!


Until next time…