Life

Well today I sit here with a cup of coffee at my hubbies laptop in the kitchen reflecting on my life and the people I love. Mike, my husband, is home for two weeks from Iraq, and goes back this Friday. It's amazing how 2 weeks can fly by so fast.
For the past 7 years I have taken care of my Grandmother (aka Gram). She has been slowing declining with Alzheimer's and celebrated her 94th birthday this past March. Yesterday Mike and I took her to this wonderful assisted living place that is only 10 minutes from our home. It was such a bittersweet day. Having realized that I could no longer server her needs now that she is so progressed in memory loss (I think its been a few years since she recognized me as her granddaughter), I set out to find a place where she can live out the last years of her life in an encouraging and loving environment that was near enough for me to visit regularly. Diane, from her Daybreak program, helped me find this place and it was so perfect! My heart sang for her when we visited there... it was perfect!
So yesterday, with her not really knowing what was going on, we moved her in. She has a roommate, Violet, who is just a doll. Immediately Violet took her under her wing. Within an hour the two of them went down to the activity area to do "exercises". While putting away her things it was so bittersweet. I will miss seeing her smiling face everyday, but I know she is in a place that will be able to motivate her and where she will make many friends (she was always so sociable).
Gram has taught me many things in my lifetime. Always have a smile for everyone, you can do anything you set your mind to (she is the one person that always believed in me), give people the benefit of the doubt, and a sense of humor about yourself and life is essential. Gram has definitely had a huge impact on my life. I cherish her and all she stood for. I love you Gram!
Happy stamping everyone,
Hugs from Lisa :)

Hannah's in Antioch... so much to love!

I am so excited and honored that Hannah's in Antioch chose me to be part of their Design Team as well as a stamping instructor! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Our first meeting was so much fun. I had a great time meeting the incredibly talented ladies that make up the team and can't wait to get to know them better. I am just so honored :)

Over the years Hannah's has become my favorite local store for indulging my passion for paper, stamps and ink. Check them out at: Hannah's Design Team Blog

Speaking of the DT, one of my new friends from Hannah's team, Laura, awarded me the...

How exciting is that!! Thank you Laura! To accept the award, I need to pass it on...

Rule #1: I link back to the person who gave me this awesome award
(as I did above!)

Rule #2: I share 7 random things about myself:
1. I can never have too much ink, too many stamps... or too much designer paper ;)
2. I love to read mystery or science fiction novels
3. I love ice cream (yum!)
4. I am a people person and cherish my friends
5. I am a hair stylist
6. I drove a Ford conversion van for the majority of my son's childhood (forget parallel parking! yikes!!)
7. I take care of my 94 year old grandmother with Alzheimer's (she has lived with us the past 7 years).

Rule #3: I award 7 newly discovered bloggers with this award
so go check out.....

1. http://shestamps.blogspot.com/ 
2. http://emeraldpensieve.typepad.com/scrap_allie/
3. http://donnasdaze.blogspot.com/
4. http://heathersheavinlystampations.blogspot.com/
5. http://inktegrity.blogspot.com/
6. http://gotjoycreations.blogspot.com/
7. http://lisahjulberg.blogspot.com/

Starting in May, I will be offering stamping classes at Hannah's, so check the site regularly for class calendar updates.

In March I dropped off my first submission to be displayed at Hannah's. I will be posting the cards along with their recipes withinin the next few days, so check back soon!

Thanks for stopping by!
Hugs,
Lisa :)

Spot, our Toy Fox Terrier

 

 One of the last photos I took of Spot

In May 2010, Spot started collapsing for no apparent reason. I took her to her vet and found it was congestive heart failure. We tried medication, but within a few days I had to make the difficult decision to put her to sleep. She turned 14 that previous January, and had followed me all over the house since she was a pup. Because I worked from home, she was my little shadow always at my side. Spot weighed in at a hefty 4 pounds and was my sweet baby. The week following her passing I barely slept, as I kept having nightmares that I made a mistake.  Who would have thought this tiny dog could have made such an impact in my life. She was an angel! We miss and love you Spot!

Happy 2011!

Hi everyone! 2010 proved to be, most likely, the roughest I have experienced during my adult life. However, I have it back together and am finally feeling the creative juices flowing! Can't wait to start posting creations (I have already been checking out all the fab stuff my fellow paper artists are creating... so inspiring!) Here's to 2011 and inky fingers!

All my best! Lisa :)

DDSC6 - Plus Inktegrity Drawing!

I have been MIA the past few weeks, but finally getting my groove back on. About time.. sheesh!

Joni's company, Inktegrity, is releasing this adorable penguin image today, so I held off posting for the release. She is giving the image away to a lucky winner that comments on my post here! So make sure to comment and you will be put into a drawing to receive this adorable little guy and his fishy friend.

Isn't this just the greatest sketch! I decided instead of going with a round card, to give that illusion by hand-cutting rounded corners and inking them to give them dimension. I used a mat board heart, covered it with paper and sanded the edges to give it a worn with love look. The fish pail was cut out and filled in with a thick glossy medium to give the illusion of water. I colored the fish then went over it with a metalic pen, and finally replaced the handle with twine. I decided to give the cute little penguin a heart to hold, so I punched out the heart put a dimensional behind it, cut out the hands then inserted it.

Don't forget to stop by the rest of the Daredevil's blogs (see links on right side bar) to check out there incredible takes on this sketch! They are amazingly talented ladies.

Hugs,

Lisa :)

Big Shot Texturz Plates

Working on some cards for my Big Shot class that is coming up in October. Each project we do for this class will feature a different accessory of the Big Shot machine. This card uses the Texturz Plates.  The cardstock in the featured card is retired, so we will be using something a bit different. We will, however, still use the sketch I created for the above card.

Have a wonderful day!

Hugs,

Lisa :)

DDSC3 Color Challenge

 

I apologize for my lack of posts. Just a lot of "life" going on right now and things are a bit rough (taking a toll on my creative spirit lately). Our son started college 3 weeks ago, and he absolutely loves it! It is just so exciting, but has me reflecting on days gone by and wondering where the time went. I was always told your kids grow up too fast, and now I am a believer ;)

This week we have this wonderful color challenge. I decided to apply it to another Halloween card. Last night and today I was camera challenged in photographing this card. I took over 30 pictures in several different lighting situations and just could not capture the colors. It looks washed out compared to the real thing, especially the blue, but I had to finally just say oh well and accept this image for posting.

I want to extend a warm welcome to our newest Daredevil, Lisa Hjulberg (just lover her name ;)... so exciting to have you on our team. Check out her blog. Her work is AMAZING!!

You won't want to miss the other Daredevil's fabulous challenge creations:

• Darla Wilson
• Debbie Lee
• Heather Schlatter
• Jacquie Peifer
• Jessica Diedrich
• Kim Ross
• Lisa Hjulberg
• Rebecca Ednie
• Sandra Maclean
• Taylor Usry

Have a great week!
Hugs,
Lisa :)