Simple Ink Blended Valentine

I'm trying to jump back into taking the time to be creative. I just haven't had a ton of creative mojo since Christmas break, so I decided to spend some time on Saturday rearranging and reorganizing my craft space. My goal was to clean up and pull out a few supplies to use and then walk away so that I could come back on Sunday and create. My plan worked well, yesterday, I was able to finish a card and complete the tags for my 1st grader's Valentines.

I used The Color Throwdown color scheme to make a simple ink blended Valentine card for my husband.

Here is what I came up with:

I first created an ink blended strip using Chipped Sapphire, Tumbled Glass, and Tattered Rose Distress Inks, which I then covered with Perfect Pearl drops that I flicked on haphazardly with a small paintbrush. I then die cut the blended strip using an older Simon Says Stamp heart confetti die. I used the negative die cut space to help me place my pieces back together correctly on the front of the card base (I plan to create another card using the leftover negative space). On scrap watercolor paper I ink blended Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink and flicked Perfect Pearls on top. I cut out the word love three times (twice using scrap white cardstock and once out of the sapphire piece) using the SSS Love Shadow Wafer Die,  then I layered them together and placed them over the hearts. I finished my card with sentiments from a SSS love stamp set that matches the die. Both are from an earlier SSS collection called: Hey Love. I also added a few sequins from my stash.

The completed card base was popped up on shimmery navy blue cardstock and then glued onto a white card base. A coordinating envelope was stamped as well. 

I am pleased with the results and that even though this is a card intended as a Valentine for my husband, it does not scream Valentine reds and pinks. It's more masculine look will definitely appeal to my husband, 

December Daily- Day 17: 2019 Christmas Card

It has been a few years since I have had/made the time to make Christmas cards. This year I had the perfect picture and sentiment in my mind and was determined to get cards made. I also planned to get them done without purchasing new stamps or supplies. I did buy cream card bases and envelopes and more gold embossing powder at Hobby Lobby.  But otherwise, all my supplies were already in my stash.

So many hours and days later, 30 handmade Christmas cards were completed. I intend to keep one for my December Daily album and send the 29 others. I am happy with how they turned out, and the picture of the boys is one of my absolute favorites from this year.

Y'all, this picture just makes my heart smile. There is definitely some tickling going on in this picture. Love how much these three love each other. 

December Daily- Day 16- Cozy Time of Year

We are a cozy, blanket kind of family. If we are curled up watching tv or reading books, we are covered with a blanket. There are heavier blankets for Fall/Winter and lighter ones for Spring/Summer, there are always blankets.

One of the things I wanted to capture this year was our love of curling up and being cozy. I have taken a few pictures throughout the month of people in various states of coziness. Jude loves to get out of bed and immediately go into the living room and get under a blanket to finish waking up. Carter prefers to stretch out under blankets, which makes it challenging to find blankets to fit his length. Ethan usually just wears his all day, all over the house (We call him Linus because of his Charlie Brown-Esq blue blanket). He also has quite a few that he claims as his and uses on his bed nightly. It's like a weird, teenage boy nest of blankets. Strangely enough, I haven't taken any pictures of him wrapped up in blankets yet, this month. Jess uses a blanket sometimes, but only if he is sitting for a long time or if it is colder than usual outside. I, too, like to get cozy up under a blanket and read, especially in the evenings before bed.  But I have a problem; once I get warm and comfortable, I fall asleep. It's become a running joke around the house, and I believe bets are being made on how quickly I will fall asleep. Good grief! :)


Here are a few cozy pictures so far this month. I will be taking more and adding them to Day 16  in my album.

Can't wait to put all this coziness in an album. The only thing missing is a fire in the fireplace. Surely we will find time for that next week during Christmas break.

December Daily- Day 9- Quick & Quiet Moments of the Season

Jude and I were able to work in a bit of tree decorating between Little Rockers Marathon practice after school and basketball practice this evening. Carter and Ethan don't love decorating the tree as much as Jude does. They will help, but being big, goofy teenagers in weird, gangly bodies does not always bode well for the ornaments or the tree. That being said, I will always take any help I can get as long as the tree and decorations remain mostly unscathed.

Monday's are pretty tough on Jude, with running after school and then basketball practice at 6:30. Once we got home, he was definitely ready for a bath, a book, and bedtime.

We are reading through Christmas books each night, and tonight he wanted Snowmen at Night so that he could look for the hidden objects as I read.

After I tucked him in, picked up the house a bit, and did the dishes, I was ready to turn in as well. I found Smokey curled up on our bed, as he does every night, waiting to snuggle up against me until Ethan comes in to get him as he goes to bed. 

Such a quiet reminder of how much we all get into a daily/nightly routine that grounds and comforts us. I am so looking forward to the two week Christmas break to reset and restore my home, myself, and my people. So very thankful for quiet, beautiful moments. 

December Daily- Days 6, 7, & 8- Christmas Moments

Friday was "Caps for MES" day. Kids can pay a dollar to wear a hat to school every first Friday of the month. The money raised goes to support their kid's closet for any child who needs clothes, shoes, or a jacket throughout the year. Since it is December, kids were able to wear Santa or holiday hats if they wanted to, and Jude did. We dug around in the Christmas stuff  Thursday night and found a Santa hat. He quickly put it on and wore it around the house. This is a pretty significant change for him. Jude does not like to draw attention to himself in any way, so I was worried he would wear it to school, kids would make fun of him, and he'd take it off immediately. So I was quite surprised to see him come down my hallway after school, still wearing his Santa hat. I asked him if he wore it all day and he said yes. I asked if anyone else wore one and he said they did, but not a lot of kids and that some kids looked at him and laughed, but he didn't care. Super proud of his willingness to be himself and to ignore others who would dampen his sweet Christmas spirit.

Friday night, we took the boys to the Arlington to eat dinner, then to walk around downtown and look at the lights. Cracking and eating crab legs does not make for a quick meal, and I love that we always take so long to eat when we are at the Arlington. It's enjoyable to sit, eat, and visit without being in a hurry to get done and off to somewhere else. 

The Arlington also had it's huge gingerbread house up and decorated. We were in a while back, and they had the basic structure in place but hadn't started decorating it yet. I made a mental note to try to go by next year between seeing the structure in place and seeing the completed house in hopes of seeing it actually being put together.

 

 

I love spending quality time with this crew. 

I spent Saturday catching up with house cleaning and a little bit of decorating. I planned to finish the big tree, but after all the cleaning and the fact that I read way past my bedtime on Friday,  I was exhausted and sat down to watch the Polar Express with the boys and Carter's girlfriend. 

 

 

To cut back on toxins and harmful chemicals, I have gotten rid of most of my candles and potpourri. I still have a couple of bags of potpourri, which I still put out because they are pretty, but I no longer add additional scents to them. I now use essential oil in my Young Living diffusers. I am currently diffusing Christmas Spirit essential oil, and I love the way it smells. The smells of orange, cinnamon bark, and spruce are perfect for the Christmas season without being overpowering and nauseating. 

After the movie, Carter took Jennifer home and dropped Ethan at a friend's house to spend the night, Jude and I switched the tv over to Food Network and watched some of the Holiday Baking challenges, till he fell asleep on the ottoman. 

 

Sunday, we went to church for the yearly Lessons and Carol's performance by our church choir. It is a Sunday we always enjoy. The Christmon tree was up, and it looks beautiful sitting in the sanctuary. I can't wait till the Poinsettia tree is put up as well. I love the Christmas season in our church. 

After church, we ate lunch at home and then headed to Hot Springs to do a little shopping. It started out a bit rough because the big boys were indecisive, and Jude was under everyone's feet as we were shopping. We finally got it under control (we aren't used to shopping altogether) and got a few things bought to go under the tree. 

Once we got home, the boys all found some sort of technology to play on, while Jess and I worked in the kitchen. Jess worked on deer jerky for a friend, and I made cookies for the boys' lunches this week. 

 

I love the weekends, especially when they are filled with all my people.

December Daily- Day 5- Slowing it Down

Today was an off day for me because I didn't feel well. After school, Jude and I went home, and I got in a hot bath to warm up & get rid of the chills I was experiencing. Jess and Carter went to watch Ethan's basketball game, while Jude and I stayed home. I hated missing his game, but I definitely did not feel up to going. Somedays, your body has to remind you to slow down and not overdo it.

Jude played with Dax and watched Food Network and Christmas movies while I napped and read on the couch.

December Daily- Day 4- It's the Best Time of the Year

Wednesday's are usually our night to relax and recharge in the middle of the week. Everyone's schedule is different (because of youth activities at church and after school practices), and we are not usually all home together until after 8:00. We often eat leftovers, or the boys eat at church, so the majority of the evening is spent doing simple chores and visiting with one another.

After I picked Jude up from the church, we ran through Sonic for drinks (grape slush for him and cherry Dr.Pepper for me) and $.50 corn dogs. I had stopped by Wal-Mart after school and bought the animated Grinch movie from last year. Once Jude spotted it in the sack, he immediately wanted to watch it when we got home.

He insisted that I watch it with him, so I worked on Christmas cards and watched the movie with him.

Once the big boys and Jess got home, we were done watching the movie, and I wanted to share the Santa Tracker on Google with Jude. Ethan immediately sat down and started showing him how to play one of his favorite games on Santa Tracker. 

After Jude was in bed, the big boys wanted to watch Christmas Vacation, so we put that in to watch until we all got sleepy and decided to go to bed. We'll probably restart and watch that one this weekend.