Let's Walk Down the Path

My Secret Garden includes hidden gnomes, tiny pebble rock circles, a weathered wooden chair plant stand, spindle bed head board wall for climbing plants, tiny percolating fountain, massive rocks that host froggies and their Lily pads, stepping stones leading in and leading out, waggons, wind chimes, American flags, hanging plants, bird baths, shady trees, quiet sounds and beautiful huge hostas.
And when the sun is shinning, it's at its best. Peaceful and serene, yet all a buzz. Squirrels climb tree, chipmunks scurry beneath the huge leaves, and frogs hop under the garden hose box.

I'm very proud of this place to be. It's a work in progress, but well worth the journey to get to the final point. Serenity!

Big Sky

I don't think I have ever stepped a single foot in the 267,339 square miles of the Lone Star State. I will have to put that on my to do list. Visit Texas.... but where? San Antonio? Dallas? Waco? Laredo? Euless? Grapevine??? Houston.... that was the first word spoken from the moon! More land is farmed in Texas than any other state, maybe I'll stop in at the King Ranch... it's bigger than the entire state of Rhode Island! I might see an armadillo or two since it's the state mammal, but probably a lot of sheep since more wool is produced there than any other state. And since everything is bigger in Texas, I will see lots of beautiful big sky!!!

My *'tejas' Cheryl took a beautiful picture of her surroundings in Texas and I decided to Zindorf ( a paper craft brayered ink technique that I learned from Michelle Zindorf) the photo. I am so inspired and love the fact that I know ( well, actually, have access to them through the internet) so many talented and creative people. I just wish I could be around them in person, my life would be so much richer!

* Hasinai Indian word meaning friend translates to TEXAS

I'm at Camp

Summer Card Camp - Online Card Camp

Oh, I'm so excited... I'm such a #4 personality... I had to make three cards in the color combination that were highlighted for the first few classes. Purple, pink, orange, blue and white...

More NEW cards coming to this blog.... soon!

Top off A Gift

TAGS

Can be a separate special tiny card and put on top of a gift... can be popped up on top of the cre8tive greeting card with all kinds of fun embellishments spilling off,.... can be put inside a special paper holder on a cre8tive greeting and slide out when pulled, holding a top secret message.

On the Happy Hellos card above, I really like making these adorkable flowers with the small petals and the big middle with doodles all around, there is something funky about them that makes me smile. And below on the monochromatic blue birthday card, I am inspired trying to make the library pockets a bit different or creating other slide holders that hold a tag with a weird shape, with fun fibers and embellishments bounding off!

But you also can: play tag when YOU'RE IT on the playground, you can tag someone in a photo on Facebook, you can wear a dog tag, you can put your graffiti signature on a brick wall and that's called tag, your car has tags with the vehicle registration, when you fake fight you can be on a tag team, you can have little skin tags on your body, Theatre Arts Guild (TAG) , The Andy Griffith Show (TAG) and at least 10 more ways to use tag in the English language, from sports to computers!

Gift tags can be personalized to make every present you give just a bit more special!

Vase it: a flowers friend

*A vase, made of crystal or molded clay,
in and of itself beautiful in it's own way
By itself it is a lovely piece of decor
A delight to the eyes,
that is it what it's there for.


Besides being a beautiful vessel to hold cut flowers, a vase can be an expression of who you are... tall, short, glass, plastic, ceramic... and the kind of flowers in the vase can expose where you are in life, roses from a lover, dandelions from a child, daisy's in the the spring, carnations for a dance, lillies at the end(?) And how many vases you have can help determine if you are a collector.

Cre8tive Greetings can be a matching partner along with all of it...

A card can hold the poem or the verse you wish to convey,
I can design a type of flower or vase you wish to display
It can be very bright and colorful or in shades of gray
A greeting can really SH!NE and make someones day!
To read the entire vase poem click here.

Peggisms: made up

Boom boom, ain't it great to be silly? boom boom, ain't it great to be silly like us, be silly and foolish the whole day long, boom boom, ain't it great to be.... silly!

I think a card, a silly card.... should put a smile on your face. This one seems to be part smiley face and part flower... and the tongue hanging out... is just silly!!! Just doodles!!

Wow... I think I like the definition in the Urban Dictionary better: to be funny in a cute way. If I look it up in the Wiktionary is states that silly is: weak-minded or lacking good sense.

Then I wondered why we have so many dictionaries... it's a form of freedom of speech for the slightly different vocabulary... Urban Dictionary is more hip and relates to those from the younger computer generation. A real dictionary.... a book with thousands of pages with millions of words with definitions for the older generation who doesn't know how to work a computer... in an instant, however, at our finger tips on the computer is the wiki series, which means you can edit it (to suit your definition of what is.... is!)

I like the fact, if you don't like the definition of a word, you can create your own, and call them 'isms'..... Peggisms.... adorkable..... a goofy silly kid,that is just too too cute, adorkable@@

Summer Day

Check out what Sissy and I did today. Happenstance.... the music is "Happy" check out my earlier blog post.... funny and serendipity!!!!
Click on this link:

Summer Day

Who can make the sunSH!NE?

No one wants to be SAD or (*seasonal affective disorder), especially in the summer time .... so I'm creating my own Happy SunSH!NE here on my blog. HAPPY cards!!!! You get tired day after day, same ole same ole, it gets boring and if you have chosen to be sad... You can certainly CHOOSE to be HAPPY! Right? I think? It's about day 4 or rain and clouds here in the midwest, rain gauge says about 2" of rain in the past 3 days.... it's SUMMER time.... come on get HAPPY!!!

Happy, smiley, SH!NE-y, fun cre8tive greetings. Bright yellow for the ball of fire, blue for the perfect summer time sky (clouds, go away) and fun activities that can be done on a beautiful day!!

Oh mister SUN, sun... Mr. Golden Sun, please shine down on me....

Definition of happy is: characterized by or indicative of pleasure, contentment, or joy, a happy mood, a happy frame of mind.

Happiness is different for everybody and is largely affected by the conditions that are around us. Having a positive attitude can help create happiness. The antonym of happy is sad * see above.

Keep smiling, it makes people wonder what you are up to!

There is always a Story

Two at a time... going back a bit in my stash and found these two similar ... yet different cards. Pink and orange are in colors... so it seems from the local paper when a florist was questioned. I've seen the color combo in clothes, advertisements, floral arrangements and room decor. It's so nice to be 'in' for once. Ovals, circles, squares and rectangles...brads, tags, homemade prima flowers, computer printed sentiments, punches, ribbons, double colored twine, embossed backgrounds and stickles ~ all make the cards complete!

Every one has a story, but do we have the time to listen. I mean 'real' stories... not that I don't have one..

I got stopped by our lawn fertilizer guy the other day. He's a pleasant enough hard working dude! He thinks his wife's ex-husband is a real jerk, ( and proceeds to tell me some custody issues) that he is working 60 hour weeks and he is ready for a vacation. Good to know.

A neighbor told me about her furnace/ac guy...he's getting ready to have a book published, he is some sort of exotic photographer (in his other job) he's been divorced twice, if his kids dis-obey they have to do physical things, like push up and sit ups.

Oh I know another 'story'... a friends' friend is from the Pacific Northwest and always talks about never venturing from her side of the world... she can't take the heat and humidity... they don't even have airconditioning because there is no real need.... but around July 4 they are taking their kids for a once in a life time opportunity to Disney World in Florida and she asks (out loud) is she crazy? YES... if it's 95 now on an average day... I've been there the last two years at this time for v-ball tourneys.... can't wait to hear the stories in a month after she has melted.

My story is much simpler, less complicated and at times a little boring... but please.... stay tuned.

You've got True Form

Because imitation is the highest form of flattery.... I thought that maybe I would add that to my title on the blog... but I did a little follow up and found this...the higher compliment is to emulate (match or surpass) them, not imitate them. As you can tell, I must have great guilt over copying or CASe-ing all these cards I showcase on my blog. For me, the challenge is re-creating with the materials I have on hand... which means doodling, not stamping... which means using the paper I have in my stash... not going out to purchase the exact brand and style.

Okay, so if I justify it this way... I surpass the original art by adding my cre8tive hand and because in most cases I doodle (or draw) the image, I am truly original to the actual art itself. Do you think that will make it better???

It's going to be a hot day, but it is a beautiful morning. I've been out watering and enjoying the birds chirping and the fresh clean air. I am so fortunate. Some of our bushes and trees seem to have gone wild overnight... branches are popping out all over.

Rainy Days and Mondays....

Getting the most bang for the buck.... making two is easier than one.... since you have all the supplies out, keep one....give one away.

Two different cards with similar designs. I love these soft subtle colors. Now I wouldn't want it for every card I make, but it sure is fun to have a variety of papers and textures to work from. I love the Martha Stuart butterfly punch. I made the sentiments on the computer since I needed them smaller than any stamp I have, to fit inside the oval punches. Used glue on pearls for the bauble on the butterfly, punched out a boarder with a SU! punch.

It's raining as I type this... rainy days and Mondays always get me down. Last weekend the weathermen predicted that it was going to clear up and get mostly sunny (the day of the grad party) It misted and rained all afternoon. This past weekend they said it was supposed to rain and have scattered thunderstorms... not a drop was seen. Their predictability really sucks! What a job to have and be wrong so much!

Speaking of jobs... I need one to just drop in my lap!!! Cross your fingers!

Update: Send FuN MaiL

Tried my hand at a Stair Step Card. It only took me three tries to get the cuts and the folds right. Can't say it enough, these designers who figure out how to manipulate the paper and get these configurations to create something "NEW".... what an inspiration!! And then someone takes the time to create a tutorial so we can all try our hand at it!!! Fun, with a capital F.

It's a standard 4-1/4" x 5-1/2" card, but with cuts in the sides and special fold lines, you can get this effect of the layers.... as the side view above shows.

Remember, all my cards are for sale.. $2.50 each, much cheaper than Hallmark and you will get special and grateful comments from those who receive these unique, whimsical and one of a kind cards.

Have you sent any FuN MaiL lately???? Check out creative greetings too

and click and view the wide variety of cards available. Email me at prdesigns1@sbcglobal.net if you have any questions!

Little Girls have a Magic All their Own

Three pictures, two cards, one close up.

I love being able to create different cards with the 'same' paper. The paper I used here is a Mini Deck (6x6) Cosmo Cricket called Material Girl. If you look really close you can see scissors and spools of thread mixed among the flowers on the background paper. The Gingham check is spiffy!

I don't buy paper packs very often, but when I do.... they make for some awesome cards, the colors you wouldn't think work, do... because obviously they create the paper to work together. It's not like picking random sheets of paper from M's paper shelves. That's why card making at times is so easy.... 'they' coordinate the paper, they make stamped images, they put up galleries... all I have to do is whip it all together... and get it ready for some FuN MaiL!!

Two versions of the card with the same paper.... one has a whimsical little girl and the other with a basic greeting with a glittery flower. And then embellish away with ribbons, brads, buttons, scallop punches, and add black matting for a bit of pop!

Zindorf Seagull

I stop at my favorite blogs every day, sometimes more than once (the luxury of being un-employed outside the home) ... to get cleaver ideas, receive inspiration, to laugh and to smile... I don't always leave comments. I now realize how important it is to receive validation... if not every day... every once in awhile. I thank those who stop and take time to leave a comment! I also realize this blog is my journal and journey of our daily lives. I am my own personal stamp and validation... but it's so nice to hear those comments.

Today's card is a Michelle Zindorf. I am shocked how simple it was to do. Michelle's tutorials are wonderful and excellent in presentation and description. I feel like a 'real' artist any time I complete one of her cards. Simply amazing!!

June 15, another dark and dreary morning... the trees are sad again, branches hang almost touching the grass. I find it interesting how a great morning starts your day,(duh) just by checking out the windows to see if there is anything SH!N-ing out there. I guess on these days, you have to make your own SH!NE, inside, where it really counts! It's going to be a GOLDEN day, with a few clouds and sprinkles ... on the side!

The Days of Whine & Roses

Bubba & Sissy
So 'they' say (who are they again?) that a parents' job is never done .. but when is it time to push (shove) the little birdies out of the nest and either they sink or swim? Or, they soar with their wings spread far and wide, or they crash and burn?

You never knew what unconditional love was until you brought that little bundle of 'joy' home and that miracle of life and birth is just amazing popping out of that tight blanket. Will instinct take over and guide you how to raise that tiny human being?

Then you can't wait for your child to hit each milestone... lifting their head, the first smile, lifting up off the ground, rolling over, starting to crawl, the first words, walking etc.... You can't wait for them to learn to speak and as they get older and debate you about everything, you can't wait for them to shut up! You can't wait for them to walk and run, and then you can't get them to sit down for dinner.The card above is appropriately named sisters. I love the colors! I love making cards with sunshine and butterflies and shorts and smiles and whimsical fun!

And then one day, as a mom, you want to go on strike... to make a protest, to make a point... that you are no longer 'their personal' chef and chauffeur, maid, appointment setter, personal shopper.... That they need to either treat you with the respect and manners they were raised with, or that you are going to distance yourself from them for a bit... so that maybe they can see the life they have isn't really that bad.

No one wins in that situation. But sometimes, to learn and grow, some need to feel what it's like to do things for themselves and realize how truly lucky and blessed they are, and maybe this is as good as it gets. I know that my job isn't completely over, some days I was a better mom than on other days ... but now it's time to move on to the next stage.

A rant: from a mom of two teenagers, one getting ready to go off to college and one trying to be an individual with the 'do it myself' attitude.

Party's Over

Our neighborhood was rockin' this weekend!!!

Two grad parties across the street from each other and two other parties down the road.... both sides of the street were lined the entire way up and down with cars and people and kids and misting rain!! Sheet cake? schmeet cake!!! Who wants to spend tons of money on a store bought cake... that most the time: A. Someone forgets to bring it out, or B. it never gets cut into. In our house... I brought out the big Kitchen Aide mixer and made what Bubba wanted.... Reeses Peanut Butter Cup Cup Cakes.. can we all say YUM together!!! from My Baking Addiction .

On the kitchen table and counter I set out all the food at once, snacks, sandwiches, side dishes and cupcakes. Eat how and when you want. Ideas for the cupcake display/banners came from Heidi Swapp's blog.... I've been seeing more banners and flags coming out of things... a little time consuming... but adorable... who can resist a cupcake or two?

School colors are maroon, silver and white (that's right!!) so it was easy to incorporate colors in the decor, balloons, streamers, invitations, and Bubba's card... oh, plus all of his thank yous! Imagine the possibilities... take the time, read a few blogs, CASe a few great ideas and voila` a great grad party!

Here's the Robinson side of the clan. You've seen pictures before of my family.

We check the weather for a week... well actually for a year. All last year, every Saturday in June it rained... we remembered because we knew that other people were holding grad parties, and in 2011 we would too! We had temps in the 90's the beginning of week, then it dipped down into the 50s and rained more than 2" in 2 days. This past Saturday it was predicted for the rain to stop early, with a clearing by noon and then mostly cloudy. ha ha ha ha ha!!!! More mist and rain picked up by 2pm... wet and soggy.... but we are lucky, we have big trees in the back, and big umbrellas, for the most part we stayed dry.... but wearing turtle necks and long sleeves and jackets, long pants and socks on June 11? You gotta be kiding me....it's supposed to be summer time!!! nope....FREEZE?

The outside view.

So, if my calculations are correct, every two years for the next 6 years we will be having another sort of graduation party!!! Stay tuned!