bloom where you are planted

i would like to plant myself right smack dab in the middle of an art supply store so i could play with any product in there and find the one that makes me bloom.


today that product would be my new caran d'ache neocolor II water soluble wax pastels. they are a fav of donna downey and although i was not at stamping bella for her classes i got the coles notes version when paula and i visited emily this past weekend. (more on that later) lacking fine motor skills i was able to get some scribbles down on paper and loosly watercolor it to create this beautiful bloom...i think it is beautiful and that is what really matters. this is my art journal. it is what it is and well, it is making me happy. i can't say i'll ever really 'journal' in it....but the process of just playing and creating and letting go is totally liberating. now emily told me i HAD to write something in it so i practiced a zillion times and finally just took ink to paper and went for it. clearly the fine motor skills need some improvement!

as i said paula whisked me up friday night for a whirlwind toronto weekend with emily. no classes, no particular agenda, just a chick weekend to play and create. did you know that emily is more than just a pretty face...she is also one talented artistic babe! and we also learned that she does not eat lunch....gotta work on that one! LOL!

we spent saturday at the booo-tique and i played with my new crayons then more fun with the new viva decor products. again...NO FINE MOTOR SKILLS required! the paper soft is kind of like distress inks in lush colors and very blendable and the paper and pearl pens are simply AMAZING! they are hands down the BEST dimensional paints that i have ever used. i'm a tactile chic and love adding texture to my cards and these will surely be put to good use in the near future.


and to save me typing a novel...i'll give you my coles notes version of the weekend

• playing with kidlets while ryan bbq'd delish steaks, and let me tell ya....those kidlets are ADORABLE!
• making 1pt WW soup with tyler and jayden....to balance off the 5million calories i consumed in challah bread
• paula and I sitting on the porch trying to decide which house we want to move into
• downtown to boost the economy some more where i got some BE-UTIFUL paper to cover my art journal.
• dinner with dena at a korean bbq on sunday....poor paula, i don't think she knew what she was in for there! i just wanna say....the calamari was AMAZING!
• by sunday evening my hand had about all the excitement it could take! i wanted to teach them some yoga stretches and cuddle with paula but they would have nothing to do with it
• maybe next time!

that's it! it was an amazing weekend and ryan and emily were AMAZING hosts!!!!
now to go get weighed in at WW....hmph...just stepped on the scale and i'm up a couple pounds! darn challah bread!

so you found another treasure did ya?

i did!

when i opened the scanner the other day to scan that pic from the rock and roll hall of fame i found this little baby, Patience, a Mo Manning image available in rubber at Stamping Bella. i remember now that after i coloured it i wasn't to excited about it because i thought it ended up too dark so i threw it on the desk and it somehow got slipped into the scanner to be forgotten about until now. As always, it was stamped on Bella's bestest paper and coloured with copic markers.



since i have not coloured anything since early may i'll take what i can get! i managed to glue it up on a card and made it square so i could put it into today's bellarific challenge! i also discovered that sewing is not all that bad even with a broken wing!

this card will even serve two purposes because monday paulabella is gonna be a new mamma to a rescue kitty so it is gonna find a good home. and BONUS...i can give it to her in person today because she is gonna whisk me up and transport me to toronto this weekend to spend the weekend with emily. i'm sure paula will color and make me envious, and emily will create some masterpiece in her art journal and me, i'll drink a lot of coffee i guess...and shop...hey i can still spend money! we do plan on hanging out at the store all day saturday so if you are in the vicinity come by and say hello! i'm missing everyone.

and since i am still in the 'loop' with the babes i just happen to know that next weeks challenge is anything huggabugs....and if you don't have a bug....how 'bout we stretch this to anything with a 'hug'...or even easier...if you don't have anything with a hug theme, how bout using any image that you love so much you could just HUG it! bwaaahahaha!

on the cover of the Rolling Stone...

Remember that song? Okay…maybe I’m showing my age! For you youngin’s, google it…I’ll give you a tip….Dr. Hook and you’ll likely find it on you tube.


so have you ever wanted to be on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine? Well you can…with a trip to Cleveland, a $22 per person admission, getting your picture taken in front of a green backdrop, touring the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, spending too much money in the gift shop and on the way out spending another $20 on a customized picture, YOU TOO can be on the cover of the Rolling Stone! After shelling out the twently bucks for the cheezy pic Mark and I chuckled that we will put this one in the archives with our cheezy Graceland picture! did ya all get a glimpse of the UGLY black and blue brace on my arm? Nothing new to report there. I’m doing my physio exercises 2-3 times daily and am seeing improvement in my range of motion but still have a LONG way to go….and swelling is STILL an issue so I continue to ice after my exercises.


And check out my mug! Pretty darn cool eh! I was gonna bring it to work, but I’m having second thoughts cause I reallllly realllly like it and think it should stay home to make me smile while I have my morning cup of coffee before I hit the day job. I FREAKING LOVE IT! (we also bought a matching VW bug fridge magnet bottle opener that has found a home on the basement fridge…fyi…there are NO fridge magnets on the kitchen fridge…I have my limits!)

You may have realized by now that we are home from the Cleveland area after our third Dave Matthews Band concert of the summer tour…typing continues to be tiring, I can’t color, but I can certainly still get my groove on (albeit, I often rest my hand on top of my head to elevate it when I feel it starting to swell…much to the dismay of the peeps behind me I’m sure!). This is a pic I took at Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls! WAY COOL place for a concert! I’d say it hits the top of my list along with Alpine Valley in East Troy, Wisconsin. (BUT I have not been to Red Rocks or the Gorge YET!)


Do you know the band will NOT be touring next year? After 20 years of summers on the road they have decided to take a year off. OMG! SADNESS! But kudos to Dave for giving us lots of notice so we can plan an alternate vacation. I’m thinking 5-6 DMB concerts across the united states each summer has GOT TO be equivalent to 2-3 weeks in Europe? What do ya think??????

Ciao Bella’s…

good news, bad news, other news (no cards!)

good news: i got the pink fiberglass cast off on thursday and i washed my arm for the first time in 5 weeks! LOTS of dead skin under there! GA-ROSSE! I'm in a removable brace for at least three more weeks until I see the orthopedic surgeon again.

bad news: i had my first physio appt yesterday and although the bone has not healed yet (which is normal since it was only just over 4 weeks post surgery) she said I also have nerve and tendon injuries! i was worried about that and it really did not come as any surprise.

good news: the injured nerves causing numbness in my thumb will regenerate over time and I have good range of motion so I should regain full motion with the physio (i'm like REALLY?....i can't even MOVE my freaking thumb!) there is also still significant swelling which had me worried, but she assured me this was all quite normal. whew!

bad news: (well maybe this isn't so bad) i have 6-8 weeks of physio before I get full range of motion back in the thumb. the bad part is that it FREAKING hurts!

good news: she said I've been doing all the right things with keeping the hand elevated, napping {smiles}, icing daily and stretching my fingers to the best of my ability while I was in the cast.

other news: I've gotten a few more cards and a care package (thx pinky!) over the past couple weeks and just haven't had the energy and/or strength to send individual thank you's! typing makes me think of work! I don't want to think of work, and I avoid typing like it is a life threatening virus because a) it is painful, and b) it makes me think of work!

more other news: this is really like good news cause we are off to see my guy Dave Matthews tomorrow at DTE in Clarkston, Michigan and I am sooooooo excited! then we have only two more sleeps until we are off to Cleveland to see him again. In Cleveland we will be APPARANTLY be staying at the same hotel that the band stayed at last summer (a tip from one of Paula's co-workers). Could you die! OMG...what if I come face to face! I might faint! Oh gosh! let's hope not, my wrist would not be able to sustain the fall!

that is all my news for today! if i'm up to it, later this week I plan on posting some of the cards i've received while modelling my pinky-do attire!

stay tuned! pinky's little package had me howling....i modelled it for the boys but they somehow did not see the humor! what's wrong with them? time to go back to school I say if they cannot amuse their mother in her time of need!

lookie what i found!

a card that I made BTHA (before the horrible accident) that I had not posted yet!

This is Tilly the teacup girl! As always she was stamped on Bella's bestest paper and coloured with copic markers. Prismacolor pencils and gamsol were used for the ground shading and yellow highlights and likely some browns or maybe greys to add some extra shading to the cup. Get a load of that updo! Her head must weigh 20 lbs!

And what do you think of my blog today! I gave it a quick overhaul with the help of blogger templates. I just happened to go on there this morning to update some links on my sidebar and noticed it. Needless to say I got sidetracked and the links never got updated but I love my new look.

ETA: sorry for any of you who missed my cute summery look but it seems the template I chose did like me and messed up all of my links! DARN...so I have reverted to something simple and see where we go from there.

It has gone from a simple green/blue background with lovely white flowers, to just plain ole' yellowy/green and now a soft blue. I think I'm gonna keep this one and call it a day!

Wrist update: The pink cast is gone and I am now in a REALLY ugly black and blue brace. The good thing is that I am able to remove it and washed my arm (very gently!) for the first time in 5 weeks. New xrays were taken and the bone has not healed yet, but still looks good. He wants me to start physio on Monday and OMG...I'm scared! I can't even MOVE my thumb and it is still quite numb. So if you hear any screaming coming from the Chatham area Monday afternoon it likely will be me!

Today I'll be spending the day doing what I do best...nothing. Well actually I'll be sitting on the deck and gazing out at my yard and the pool wishing I could go for a float in my chair with a pina colada! Maybe I can't float, but the pina colada just may make the list. I took a few pics of the yard this morning. It is a constant work in progress and I am forever pulling something out and planting something new.

This is the back corner of the yard where we just planted a flowering almond tree. Next spring I should see it full of pink blooms. I see lots of empty places there to plant more stuff!

My girl, sitting in the shade of the tall grasses by the pool.



and finally, the little westie stone figure on the deck, isn't she cute!



That's about it for today, peace out!

1001+1 uses for happy tape!

Like I said, Friday we took a jaunt over to the Novi area and met Paula and Mary with their DH's for dinner. We had a wonderful time and sat in that restaurant and chatted about movies and sports (okay..ONLY the guys chatted sports) for what seemed like forever! Sports talk aside, we had a wonderful visit for three gals who are already chummy and three DH's who have only known each other by name! Seriously, give a guy a sports topic and let them talk amongst themselves and that will melt any ice-breaker! Who would've thought that sports stats had ANY value what so ever!

Since I strategically located our hotel a short 5mins from Paula's house we left Mark at the hotel (to get his beauty sleep before the trail run) and i jumped into Jim's car and headed to Paula's! NO colourin'....SAD I know! I checked out her room with all her freshly coloured cards and got a peek at the newly organized ribbon drawer. GOSH....I LOVE her room! While sitting in her creative space I presented my freshly pink cast and said EMBELLISH IT! I WANT FLOWERS! something 70's...like funky flowers around the edge...and you know what...SHE FROZE!!!!!!! OUR BELOVED PAULABELLA SAID DID NOT WANT TO RUIN MY CAST!!!!!! LIKE WHAT'S WITH THAT??? as if she could ever ruin it! the best I could get her to do is run a strip of happy tape on it!

Hence...1001 PLUS ONE uses for happy tape!

For a wrist update, the swelling has gone down a LOT in the past couple days which makes me happy! but the thumb is still an issue! still a bit numb and tingly but seems a bit better than it was. My biggest problem now is trying to move my arm and the cast pressing on bones that weren't even damaged and making them uncomfortable...even painful at times. Yes, another reason to do nothing but watch HGTV!

All in all, life is good as long as cable is not interrupted!

From the Archives

I'm starting to miss blogging! I miss your comments and I miss being crafty. But I'll tell ya, typing is a challenge and I'm avoiding it as much as possible. So if you have emailed me and are waiting for a reply, that could be why.

This is Felix Ketto with a flower by Stamping Bella and I created it MOONS ago for a submission call and it never got picked up. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE? LOL! I know for some, getting published is their goal, for me, not so much, although I was published in two issues of Take Ten several years ago when I first started stamping. It was the first and only time (until this one) that I submitted cards to a magazine. I sent in six cards and two or three cards were published in two different issues. It was kind of exciting at the time I guess but that was the end of it. For the Toronto locals, I think this card is in the store so you may have seen it.

Tomorrow we are heading state side because Mark entered himself into a trail run in Walled Lake near Novi on Saturday morning. AND GUESS WHAT? it just happens to be dangerousely close to Paulabella's home town so we are gonna meet up with her and Jim for dinner and I got word that Mary and her DH will also be joining us! soooo excited!!!!!!! i strategically picked a hotel near paula's and after dinner i'll drop mark off at the hotel, cause he will need his rest before running 10k in the woods, and i'll slide on over to paula's for the evening....what do ya think folks, should I let her decorate my cast??????

Finally for those wanting a wrist update, sadly not much change...by end of day it gets pretty sore and I don't know why because I'm not doing a stinking thing! I don't have another appt until next week so I may have more news then.

One more sleep Paula!

Happy Birthday to ME!

Hi everyone...sorry no cards yet, just a little update.

Today is my birthday and it is gonna be pretty low key compared to last years big 5-0 festivities...but that is good! I like low key! We are heading to Windsor this afternoon so that I can go to Michaels and pick up a few things to start an art journal. I can blame it all on this post by Dena but then when I was at Bella central a few days ago I got to see her journal up close and personal and thought to myself I NEED to explore this. She directed me to a couple websites and I can't wait to get started...Although I can't really JOURNAL anything yet, I might be able to glue paper.

You might remember last year I made myself this b'day card and obviously I can't do that again this year but I can show you the card that Paula gave me! She posted it on her blog here but it can't hurt to showcase it again. I'm not kidding when I say this reminds me soooooooooooo much of Paula...it perfectly captures her spirit except she would be singing at her desk instead of at a piano and that would be Nicky and Pebbles beside her...Daisy is likely off getting into trouble somewhere!

Now for a little wrist update. I have a new fiberglass cast! What do ya think of that hot pink color? It is pretty close to RV34! LOL!

There were about 6 colors to choose from and I soooooooooo wanted to ask to see samples but there were a lot of people there and I didn't want to be a pain. They took xrays again and was told the bone is in a good position to heal so that is good. My thumb is still tingly but has feeling and seems to be a bit better. I got a glimpse of the xray and the screw looks HUGE...he did say that it will likely have to come out but i'll worry about that later. This cast is much lighter and much more comfortable. My thumb is still imobilized but I have a bit more movement in my fingers since this cast is below the nuckles. however, typing is still very ackward and uncomfortable because I have to hold my arm in a weird position with my elbow up to get my fingers to the keyboard. It is not something I could do for any great length of time...hence the hiatus from my day job as a programmer!

Over the past couple weeks I have also gotten some beautiful (and some just plain funny and cute!...BEV and MAXINE!) cards and emails and I want to thank you all for that!!!! They make me smile and I'll be using them all for inspiration when I get back to colouring and making cards again.

Till next time, have a great day!