Hopping through Wisteria aka Feeling Inadequate

Welcome blog hoppers to the Club Scrap July Wisteria Blog Hop (what a mouthful!)

So it's not a secret to many folks that I'm just not a flowery person.  I'm just not real into girly kinds of things.  So a floral themed kit was going to be a stretch for my creative side.  Give me a monster truck themed kit or maybe a hot dog themed kit and I'd be good to go.  But flowers?

I was feeling slightly inspired by a card I found on Pinterest that had a cut out side-of course now I can't find the card or the link so I can't show you what it's SUPPOSED to look like.  But here is how mine turned out...

It's not exactly a work of art but the process was easy so here we go...

Pick out three pieces of paper, 3 ea. 8 1/2 by 11 sheets are perfect. (Or one 8 1/2 x 11 and two smaller pieces of scraps is fine.)

This is DIY Light Brown and kind of a creamy white and that is the backside of a purple print from Tiny Treasures (oldies but goodies as usual.)

Fold the paper you want as your card base in half and then trim and layer the other two pieces something like this (where they all butt up against the right hand side where the card opens.)

Don't stick the front panel on yet, just make sure it is the size you would like.  Then start stamping.  This is some Wisteria UM stamps along with Colorbox Chalk Wisteria ink (and a brown marker for the stem/branch.)

It is at this stage that you might go through several drafts.  You might be a cruddy stamper and you are lucky you have about 10 sheets of the TT light purple cause you just can't get the stamping done right...but when you are slightly happy with the results then start kicking it up a bit.

I added some CS Mahogany ink with the stencil, what is that anyways, like a fence thing?  Whatever it is, add it on there with the branches sort of going into it?  Then some vines from the UM stamps with the CS Moss ink.  I still wasn't really happy with it so I got out the Vivid Lavender ink and did this...

Ah, getting better.  So next get your card base and stamp the inside right hand side of the card like this...

Then you stick everything down and you cut out along the right hand side through all three sheets of paper with some scissors so the vines show through to the front.

Ta-da!!

You know how sometimes when you make something it just still doesn't quite end up like the picture you saw?  That's how I felt when I was done.  We have some fantastic bloggers and crafters with us today and sometimes my work feels very inadequate.  But then I thought about how happy my grandmother (who is in the process of moving to an independent living apartment from her nice house) would be to get this card-then I felt better.

Sorry no cat helpers today ;)  Thanks again for stopping by.  The next stop on our Hop is with Tiare over at iclassygirl As always if you have started in the middle and want to start from the top feel free to stop by Club Scrap Creates for a list of all the Blog Hoppers today!  http://clubscrapcreates.blogspot.com

A Much Overdue Update

Sorry about the long time between posts.  I don't even really have a very good excuse.  Not too much has changed on the medical front.  I had a little adrenal crisis scare over the 4th and ended up in the ER.  I guess this isn't uncommon for patients like me but it still was very very UNFUN.  BP was about 63/42 when I first arrived down there.  The good news is that at that time I was temporarily taken off all my Blood Pressure medications (3) and then after a visit with the cardiologist about a week and a half ago I was able to come off all of them for good (we hope!)

I've been dropping some weight, both from having no appetite (normal) and the nausea (also normal but not fun.)  I'm pretty stable right now and hope to stay that way for the next few weeks as I am not going to make any adjustments to my medication until after I get back from the Club Scrap Retreat in mid-August.  I don't think I can handle a 15 hours driving trip (each way) if I was feeling cruddy like I was a few weeks ago.

In the meantime...Barry Manilow has been helping me price some jobs for work.

He's not really super helpful.  I think he may need glasses, he has to get right up to the drawings to see them.

I've been doing a little cooking but it's tough.  I cook nice things like this...

and this...

 

But then I don't feel much like eating them.

We had a great time at the annual Pirkle Christmas in July party hosted by Leslie's brother and wonderful sister-in-law.

It's been way too long since Leslie spent quality time with his brothers.

I guess that about wraps it up.  I'm missing my garden but as wet as it has been I think it would have been a complete disaster and I also know deep down that I could not have physically handled it.  I hope everyone is having a great summer and maybe we can get some dry weather down here for a few weeks!!