Five for Friday

Happy Friday!

 I can't believe it's been almost three months since I posted here on my blog!

I knew that when I stepped down from the CAS(E) This Sketch DT,

that it would cut down on my card-making, but I really didn't imagine that I would hardly

craft this fall.

While I have missed sitting at my table and being creative, 

I have also found life to be full lately.

So, I thought I'd post a "Five for Friday" to share what I've been up to....

1. Well I think I have, after two years, adjusted to working full time. :)

It is still my dream job & I love it! 

I feel more and more confident in what I'm doing and 

am blessed to be working with several fabulous contractors. 

I'm hoping to have some kitchen photos to share soon, so stay tuned.

2. Time with my family has always been and continues to be my priority.

With Austin away at Bible College, Jonah in Grade 11 & Sage in Grade 9, 

I am all too aware that my days as an empty nester are just around the corner, 

so I want to soak up all of the time with them as I can!

And yes, I am now the shortest member of my family. ;)

When I started working full time in 2016, I started putting money away in savings to save

for a trip to Florida. 

Well, this fall, I had enough money saved to take Austin, Jonah & Sage.

We had such a fabulous time!

We spent three days at Disney World.

Day 1 was spent at Epcot and Hollywood Studios.

On day 2, we went to Animal Kingdom:

On Day 3, we returned to Epcot to visit all of the pavilions and then

spent the rest of the day at Magic Kingdom.

Then, we spent two days at Universal Studios.

 

We especially loved all of the Harry Potter stuff!

It was such a great time that we spent together -- I really loved it!

3. We have also been busy with taekwondo, trying to attend class whenever we can.

Last Saturday, I was bursting with pride as Jonah & Sage tested for their 3rd degree black (Jonah) & junior black (Sage) belts.

They tested with our instructor, who was testing for his 4th degree black belt.

At their promotion, Master Lea let me tie Jonah's new black belt around his waist. :)

4. I have also been focusing on taking care of myself.

I joined a weight loss program in July which has had me eating healthier (whole foods, lots of veggies, no dairy, no carbs), exercising more often (this month's focus is yoga, which I'm enjoying) and seeing a loss of 18.5 lbs. :)

Part of the accountability of the program is encouraging the participants to take sweaty selfies after we work out, like this:

I've been loving this transformation in my habits and in my body!

5. And lastly, I have a card to share!

Sunday, we had supper with Cameron's aunt for her birthday, so I sat down in my craft

space on Sunday afternoon and to make her a card.

I used some patterned paper from my stash, some Papertrey Ink button twine 

and some stamps & dies from Wplus9 (Modern Peonies, I think),

which I heat embossed in clear, after stamping them with Versamark Black Onyx

and then watercoloured with my Zig Clean Colour Real Brush Markers and a water brush.

Thanks for looking!

CAS(E) This Sketch #287

Today, I have a card to share that I made for
my twin brother's birthday earlier this month using

 CAS(E) This Sketch #287 designed by Brian King:

Here's my card:

I started by diecutting this cute polaroid die from my collection (can't remember who makes it, sorry!) from watercolour paper.

On the inside part, I stamped the cat from Mama Elephant's Three Amigos stamp set

in versafine ink and heat embossed in in clear.

I coloured it in using my Zig Clean Colour Real Brush Markers and a water brush.

I stamped the "46" using Papertrey Ink's Antique Alphabet and the 

sentiment using Papertrey Ink's Songbirds.

I heat embossed both of these in clear, too.

I added a strip of patterned paper from my stash along the back to finish it off.

Visit CAS(E) this Sketch to see the rest of the DT's takes on the sketch 

and to play along, if you'd like.

You have until Thursday, September 6th to link up your card.

Thanks for looking!

CAS(E) This Sketch #286

Today, I have a card to share that I made for

 CAS(E) This Sketch #286 designed by N@ Ali:

As I shared earlier this month in this post,

I used to scrapbook regularly and several years ago, started a monthly moments album.

Well, I stopped keeping up with that about two years ago -- 

the same time as when I started working full time at Two0Nine.

I made a goal to catch up this summer.

To do so, I'm using some of the sketches from CAS(E) This Sketch as inspiration for the 

cards I add to my album.

Here's the one I created using this sketch:

I stamped the stamps (from a Studio Calico set) onto light grey cardstock from Reverse Confetti.

Here's where it went in my album:

And the full spread for November 2016:

Visit CAS(E) this Sketch to see the rest of the DT's takes on the sketch 

and to play along, if you'd like.

You have until Thursday, August 30th to link up your card.

Thanks for looking!

CAS(E) This Sketch #285

Today, I have a card to share that I made for

 CAS(E) This Sketch #285 designed by Chrissy Larson:

Here's my card, which I made for Jonah, who turned 16 earlier this month:

I kept this very clean and simple.

I cut out some navy cardstock and Pink Paislee patterned paper.

From the cream patterned paper, I diecut the "16" using my PTI letter dies.

I stamped the sentiment using PTI's KIS: birthday stamp set. 

I adhered the patterned paper to my card using dimensional adhesive.

Visit CAS(E) this Sketch to see the rest of the DT's takes on the sketch 

and to play along, if you'd like.

You have until Thursday, August 23rd to link up your card.

Thanks for looking!

CAS(E) This Sketch #284

Today, I have a card to share that I made for

 CAS(E) This Sketch #284, which is a retro sketch #76 designed by Sam Simpson:

Here's my card:

I stamped the cats from Neat & Tangled's Purrfect onto their coordinating diecut

and heat embossed them in clear. 

I coloured them in using my Zig Clean Colour Real Brush Markers.

I layered them over a PTI Keep It Simple frame die.

I stamped the sentiment using Simon Says Stamps's Big Scripty Sentiments stamp set.

And here's the original card I made for this sketch back in May 2014:

Visit CAS(E) this Sketch to see the rest of the DT's takes on the sketch 

and to play along, if you'd like.

You have until Thursday, August 16th to link up your card.

Thanks for looking!

CAS(E) This Sketch #282

Today, I have a card to share that I made for

 CAS(E) This Sketch #282 designed by Brian King:

Here's my card:

I used some Pink Paislee patterned paper from my stash to create my background.
I stamped my sentiment (from Papertrey Ink's Phrases and Praises) in Altenew
Sea Glass & PTI's Indigo inks on a Reverse Confetti diecut circle.

A little bit of twine finishes it off.

Visit CAS(E) this Sketch to see the rest of the DT's takes on the sketch 

and to play along, if you'd like.

You have until Thursday, August 2nd to link up your card.

Thanks for looking!

SaveSave

CAS(E) This Sketch #281

Today, I have a card to share that I made for

 CAS(E) This Sketch #281 designed by N@ Ali:

Here's my card:

I started by stamping my sentiment (from PTI's Tropics) in Altenew Jet Black ink.

I then stamped the flowers from Altenew's Painted Roses in Altenew Jet Black,

Frosted Pink and Coral Berries ink.

A few PTI rainstones finish it off.

Visit CAS(E) this Sketch to see the rest of the DT's takes on the sketch 

and to play along, if you'd like.

You have until Thursday, July 26th to link up your card.

Thanks for looking!

Make It Monday #328

I'm popping in this afternoon to share a card I just made 

for this week's Make It Monday #328: Creating Shadow Backgrounds:

I decided to use my PTI Feather Finery to make my card.

I was inspired by one of Laurie's cards for the colour combo.

I started stamping the feathers on my background in Altenew Jet Black ink.

I then flicked white paint mixed with water onto my panel.

I stamped the feathers onto their coordinating diecuts in Altenew Frosted Pink,

Cotton Candy & Coral Berries.

I stamped the sentiment (from Beautiful Berries: Autumn) in versamark

and heat embossed it in white on a strip of black cardstock.

I adhered it to my card using dimensional adhesive.

Thanks for looking!

CAS(E) This Sketch #280

Today, I have a card to share that I made for

 CAS(E) This Sketch #280 designed by Chrissy Larson:

Here's my card:

I stamped my image using Concord & 9th's Lovely stamp, in versafine onyx black

and then heat embossed it in clear.

I coloured it in using my Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolours and a water brush.

I stamped my sentiment (from PTI's Tropics) in Altenew Jet Black

onto its coordinating diecut and adhered it to my card with dimensional adhesive.

Visit CAS(E) this Sketch to see the rest of the DT's takes on the sketch 

and to play along, if you'd like.

You have until Thursday, July 19th to link up your card.

I'm also linking this card up to this month's 
Where Creativity Meets C9 Challenge: Mixed Media, 
because I used watercolour and heat embossing on my card.

Thanks for looking!