Hi Everyone!

Just thought I would come and say goodbye, as I leave for France tomorrow!  I’m headed up to NYC to JFK and will be leaving around dinner time tomorrow night.  Prayers are welcome!  We (Antioch) fly into Paris and then take a flight to Lyon.  From there we will take a bus to Autun to sing that night.  Yes…that night.  A couple of songs, but I am sure we will be troopers even through all of the jet lag.  From there you can follow our tour HERE.

What have I been doing lately?  Well, I built Antioch’s new website and blog which is HERE, so that has been keeping me really busy among other concerts I had earlier.   Fell free to subscribe to Antioch’s blog to receive e-mail updates and thoughts regarding our tour when we are there.  Should be pretty fun and give you a different kind of reading for a bit!

I also went down to DC last week and gave a concert at the AGO (American Guild of Organists) Convention which was a huge success.  Things at home have been nice.  John has his first whole summer off from work and he has been putting together his postage stamp albums.  He collects stamps…like me!  Ha ha!  The girls have been on a strict chore chart along with having a good time, of course.

So I am sure you are wondering how my studio is shaping up.  Well…it is in a shambles.  Really and truly.  I took some shots of it today for you!

Yeah!  So that is pretty much what my creative space looks like!  I HOPE AND PRAY that this is all taken care of when I get home.  Did I mention I have more stamps coming out soon?

Here is the view from my studio into the new guest space.  This is going to be a really nice space for our guests.  I can’t wait til it is finished.

They started on this side first so I could put some of my furniture from my studio over here while they worked on the other side.  There is still so much left to do.  SO MUCH.  They haven’t even started to the half bath yet.  I hope I come home to a place where I can work.  It is kind of important, n’est pas?

This is a quick test to check my app using my iPad. I want to make sure that everything is running smoothly when I leave for France on the 15th. How is everyone? Things are great here. My studio is ripped down to the studs, so needless to say, we are still under major construction around here. I really am beginning to miss all of my supplies. I have had a couple of days with major crafting urges.
I am gearing up for a concert tomorrow with The Crossing. We have strings in this concert, which proved to be a bit challenging, actually. The space we perform in is very live, so balance, which is always going to be an issue, has proven to be even more so in this particular space. I got some beautiful pictures of the rehearsal process, which if you are friends with me on Facebook, you can see. If you aren’t friends with me, I welcome you to friend me. It is where I spend a lot of time recently, so it would be nice to see you
Next project I’m doing is going down to Washington to sing at the AGO or American Guild of Organists convention. So, I will let you all know how that goes. Hugs everyone! Hope this works!

Thanks for all of the e-mails concerning my blog and where I am right now.  I seem to have gotten this whole blog thing straightened out, but have lost several months of work (as you can tell by the February posts) in the process.  Everything from now to February has been permanently lost.  A big blow, but at least it is all worked out.

Now on to all of those questions!  I am in the middle of a WHOLE studio redo.  When I say redo, I mean demolition of old plaster and the whole nine yards.  Half of my attic has new drywall, but my studio hasn’t been touched, but as you know I have had to pack up my things for a while.  We figured that this was the perfect time to do a renovation like this as I will be touring in France for three weeks come July 14th.

Things have been going well.  I have really been enjoying this break from blogging for a bit and embracing the extra time it has afforded me.  I just recently got back from Charleston, SC where I was performing at the Piccolo Spoleto festival.  I will also be headed down to Washington DC to sing at the AGO (American Guild of Organists) convention on July 8th.  I begin rehearsals tomorrow with The Crossing, which will start their full summer season of what we call The Month of Moderns.  Three concerts all within the span of a couple weeks.  This will truly be the largest summer season I have ever had musically.

I am so sorry if you have been worried about me.  I am taking a healthy break, which honestly, I needed.  I am also excited to report that I will be getting an iPad and hope to be blogging from the road when I go to France.  I am quite excited about this, and want to keep your eyes filled with pictures!

So to share what I have been up to, please visit my facebook photo albums!  Yes…you all can see them, even if you aren’t friends with me!

HERE

HERE

and HERE

So I will be blogging more when I get closer to leaving for France.  I love you all, and thanks for letting me take a nice break!  I’ll share pics of the renovation as well!

So the first time I saw “Through the Trees” I really wanted to do a red and blue tree.  OK…I know that may seem weird, but really, I just love the look of a soft red and blue together!  So I decided to stamp the trunk inked in  Pure Poppy (stamped off once) and did the leaves of the tree in Aqua Mist ink. 

 I thought these two colors were the closest match to the sweet bee found in these great Cosmo Cricket papers.  I also switched out my thread on my machine to a nice turquoise.  Fun times.  I used the Chamomile Vintage Touch ink for the ground underneath my stitched hill.

 For my sentiment from Honey Bee Sentiments, I kept in line with the same distressed red and stamped it off once as well!  Just a sweet little card for any occasion.  This lovely Cosmo Cricket paper is certainly growing legs and running all over my cards as of late.  I think it’s charming!

Thanks for all of you who checked out and commented on the singing yesterday!  Sometimes, it is nice to share those things   So what are you all up to today?  I mean, it is the weekend, right?  How about those opening ceremonies for the Olympics last night!  O CANADA!  I know their national anthem by heart!   I went to a private school which was also a boarding school for high school.  We had a large amount of Canadian students, so we sung  BOTH anthems at the start of each day!  It was quite nice actually!  I lived at home, but we had two dorms on our campus for the “away” students.  One boys dorm and one girls dorm.  I should tell you all more about it sometime.

Anyhow…today Sophie has a basketball game in the morning, and both girls have Youth Theater  rehearsal in the morning as well. 

Emma got a nice role in the production, so she is happy.  She gets to sing a lot.  She just turned twelve and is really coming out of her shell.  Here is a bit of Emma singing something from “Oliver” if you can stomach it this early in the morning! 

have a great day everyone!

Stamps: Through The Trees, Honey Bee Sentiments

Paper: Cosmo Cricket (Girl Friday Collection) , Pure Poppy, Stamper’s Select

Ink: Pure Poppy (stamped off once) Aqua Mist, Vintage Touch Inking System

Other: Stiching

Remember when I was up in Troy NY over Christmastime singing?  I thought I would share some sweet music with you this morning from the concert.  I am the one making weird smiling faces right up front next to the harpist’s stand.  Don’t ask me what I was thinking, but I was sure happy for some reason!  I was cracking up the whole time watching it!  So…happy music time!  Enjoy!

PS.  I think I remember what I was thinking!  I was thinking “My bangs are right in my eyes, where I need to see Stephen!”  That was annoying me the whole night!

This sweet shaker box is something that is quite at home in my house.  I usually keep many boxes of this style around my house to hold off-season decorations.  This helps me keep more precious tiny things safe, and I always remember which box has what in it.  Sometimes it is better if these things don’t end up in the basement after the decorating is over.  So I took some of my favorite little Christmas balls and put them in this little box.  Something you would never think of doing from the outside of the box, but I know where they are, and that they are safe!

NOW…onto something a little different!  YOU HAVE ASKED, and I HAVE LISTENED!  A lot of you have been loving the card recipes in the Compose a Card Challenges, but you wanted the pictures of my projects along with them.  Now I have given you everything BUT the song and video in the downloads!  I now have the recipe cards, projects, and inspiration picture all on one sheet for you!  You will have one 8.5 x 11 sheet per challenge, but I think it is worth it to have all of the extra pictures, no?  So here is what they will look like (I used this week’s challenge for my example)- PDF’s for all challenges at the bottom of this post:

So here are the PDF’’s from each week’s challenge so far:  Compose a Card Library Vol1 number 1, Compose a Card Library Vol1 number 2, Compose a Card Library Vol1 number 3

I was in the mood to do something playful for today’s post, so I made up these really fun all-occasion cards for anything that comes up!

I used the flowers stems from Melissa Bickford’s set “Wishing You” and punched out some 1/2 inch and 1/4 inch circles to make it a little fun!

Then I used Cosmo Cricket’s  “Girl Friday”  papers for the bottom half of the card and topped it off with some Pure poppy stitched grosgrain and a big white button with some red hemp.

Adding the grass was my favorite part!  I took a strip of New Leaf cardstock, ran my “Scor-Bug” along to give it an embossed effect, and cut the blades of grass out with my scissors.   Good times!

All in all I needed this bright, fun post, because currently we are being blanketed by 18-24 inches of snow today, along with the 27.5 inches we already got earlier in the week, it is hard to find a place to put all of this white stuff!  Poor John has been shoveling like a crazy man outside!  When will it end??! I will be back at midnight tonight with my “Click Simple” template sneak peek for ya, so stay tuned!

Stamps: Wishing You

Paper: Stamper’s Select, New Leaf, Pure Poppy, Hibiscus Burst, Ocean Tides, Summer Sunrise, Cosmo Cricket Girl FridayPapers

Ink: New Leaf

Other: Pure Poppy Saddle-Stitch Grosgrain, White Vintage  Button

Are you ready for another challenge???  I KNOW YOU ARE!  You are all AMAZING!  Can I tell you (and I mean this honestly, because I don’t lie and I never mince words,) it took me over an HOUR to decide this week’s top 3 from last weeks challenge!  AN HOUR.  At one point, I was thinking I may have to toss a coin between some people.  It was killing me!  What does that mean?  You are amazing stampers, and show amazing work, and I LOVE that I only feature three, because you all deserve stiff competition (because you are that good!)  Don’t think I didn’t notice the embroidery, the ric rac, the whimsical crunchy flowers, the homemade flowers!!!  This challenge is going to take over the world,  BECAUSE OF YOU!  Every single one of these cards from last week MUST be looked at, I tell you!  Thank you all for playing and making my life full of joy and hard decisions!  Now on to the top 3:

Shirlann:  Shirlann made our top spot, because I simply ADORED the way she did the scoring on the angle!!  I LOVE a girl who can think out of the box!  Not only did she wow me with the angle of the scoring, but the impressed dot detail between the scoring was so beautiful it just jumped right off the page at me!  Super!  Check out the little dots between the score lines HERE

Michelle:  Wow, Michelle!  The movement and joy in this card is so exciting!  I just had to look at it for a while and revel in the little details, like the fact that they are all paper flowers, except for three little button ones!  A little game of “Find the Button”  that I LOVED playing!  Play the button game by looking at her card HERE

Julie:  Julie made this wonderful card with so much color, but the stamp is not filled in, so it gives a real lightness about the card, without forsaking color!  I really like that because the whole point of doing a white on white card was to keep things airy and fresh, and this did it!  I was especially impresses with how she did her scoring around her sentiment though.  Take a look at her card HERE

OK…on to another week!  So…if you are new to the challenge, or want a refresher on how we like to throw it down around here , check out these simple rules:

 There are NO rules when it comes to how you sketch out your card or what inks you use, and you can use ANY elements or ANY stamp sets to create the style you want.  All you have to do is stay within the cutting recipe and colors.  This is a wonderful way to build up a library of card recipes for you!  Even though I use Papertrey Ink colors and terms, you may use any supplies you wish, just stay within the color and cutting parameters!

****** UPLOAD YOUR CREATIONS VIA THE COMMENTS SECTION.  MR. LINKY HATES WORDPRESS   AlSO, PLEASE UPLOAD YOUR URL TO THE ACTUAL POST,  NOT YOUR BLOG OR GALLERY HOMEPAGE **********  I will feature my faves from the week previous every Tuesday!

Stamps: Fancy Flourishes, In Bloom, Everyday Classics (anniversary set)

Paper: Terracotta Tile, Spring Rain, Raspberry Fizz, Ripe Avocado, Stamper’s Select White

Ink: Versamark

Other: Detail White Embossing Powder, Rhinestones (Rasp. Fizz), Scallop Border Punch (Fiskers)

for my Mom coming up!  So I thought I would show you this card I made for her today.  It is actually my Mother-in-law’s birthday TODAY!  So that makes two birthday girls today!  The funny thing is that they both have BIG birthdays this year, but ten years apart!  My Mother-in-law will be getting a card I made that I showed you earlier this week, so now I will show you my Mom’s today!  Happy birthday Moms!  Sorry Mom…I guess you will see this a bit early!

So armed with Top Ten and Top Ten Additions, I went to work seeking the character traits for my Mom!  I shared with you before that this woman is one of the most creative people I know.  She is a chef, and can make a successful business out of anything she wants.  She is really an impressive person.

She is also so generous.  Not having a ton of money growing up, she and my Dad would selflessly give their money to make sure I had the best musical training and opportunities.  I will never forget this, and this is one of the reasons I am proud to say I make a living  doing music, because I will never let their commitment in me go to waste.

My Mom is loyal.  Tried and true like any good Mom is.   She is also honest and supportive.  Thanks, Mom!

Now a bit about this card.  Debbie Olson is to blame for me buying these amazing Cosmo Cricket “Girl Friday” papers.  She is such an enabler, and I love her for it!  Beautiful papers!

The patterned paper goes so nicely with the Ocean Tides PTI cardstock.  The ocean tides buttons were a must in this project!  Along with the finishing touch of stitching, I think I am channeling Debbie right now!  

Stamps: Heart Prints, Top Ten, Top Ten Additions

Paper: Ocean Tides, Girl Friday patterned paper

Ink: Ocean Tides, Hibiscus Burst

Other: Ocean Tides Grosgrain ribbon, Vintage Buttons-Ocean Tides, Scalloped Border Punch (fiskars)

You definitely ARE my sunshine!  In light of all of the encouragement, WONDERFUL posts of cards made with my image yesterday and today, and for the MAJOR love I felt in launching the new and fabu line, I HAD to get you all flowers and a card today!  All wrapped up in a sweet Papertrey large heart tin and topped off with a happy card!!! 

Since my focus for the week was flower punches in the “Compose a Card” challenge (if you want to play, click HERE) I thought I would have some more fun with the punches and some mini fences I found at Wal-Mart.

I took Fresh Snow ink and distressed the fence, giving it a shabby white-washed look!

I thought I would add some flowers and some of the Simple Valentine Patterned Paper from Papertrey to load the side of my tin with goodness!  Raspberry Fizz stitched grosgrain finishes up the fun look!

Thanks to my friend Michael Bruce…(really…his store is at the end of my street) for putting together the fun and fabulous flowers in my tin today!  Love ya, Michael!

Thanks so much for all of your love yesterday, not only here, but in the Papertrey forum!  It meant a lot to me, and I had trouble sleeping last night because I was so excited!  BIG HUGS TO YOU ALL!

Stamps: Handwritten Notes

Paper:  Simple Valentine, New Leaf, Spring Rain, Bitty Dot Basics,

Ink: Fresh Snow, Raspberry Fizz

Other: Raspberry Fizz stitched grosgrain, Marvy Flower Punches, Vintage Buttons, Large Heart Tin, fence post