What's Simple is True

We just finished a big roast dinner and ice cream cake for desert in honour of my Son's 5th birthday.  It's so hard to believe that he's 5!!  And soon my youngest baby boy will be 3, that means no more babies in the house :(  I'd like to say that means no more waking in the middle of the night but since my youngest suffers from night terrors quiet nights aren't always a reality...not yet anyway.

Anyhow, here is my entry for Everything But the Kitchen Sink.  Winter is putting on a valentine card drive for the kids at St. Jude Hospital so I would really encourage you to take a peak at her blog. You don't have to participate in the Card drive to participate in EBTKS and a chance to win a prize.

At first sight, I have to be honest and say I had no idea what I was going to do with it.  It was such a simple sketch which is nice because it leaves lots of possibilities but sometimes that's a problem for me.  In the end I stuck to stitched simplicity.  (Of course it was easy to stick to the basics with the new glittery dsp and pink cord brads that arrived at my door yesterday.)  Sometimes we complicate things when we try to add or show too much and the message gets lost.  It can be the same thing in our everyday lives too, can't it?

Thanks so much for taking a peak.  I wish you a simple but heartfelt week ahead.

Paper:  Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Real Red, Pretty in Pink, Sending Love dsp
Ink:  Real Red
Stamps: Whimsical Words
Accessories:  Heart Punch, Pretty in Pink Cord brads, sewing machine

Written in the Stars

As with all the Cinema Saturday Challenges it really gets me thinking about the movie and how I want to represent it in my creative work.  A Knight's Tale is meant to be about "changing your stars" but can stars really be changed?   Two men can be given the same opportunities but each of them may achieve different goals depending on the desires of their hearts.  William became a Knight because of the heart in which he played his stars. There is a point in the movie while the men are falling asleep in their tent and William is telling them that Jocelyn has stolen his heart.  His friend, Roland (the big guy), says "Without your heart you cannot win." It was this tiny sentence that inspired me to create my own sentiment.  "Luck may be written in the stars, but victory is realized with your heart."  I don't have  much of a talent for writing so it may not be as poetic as Shakespeare or Chaucer but it was exactly what I wanted to say.

The rest of the card was worked around my quote and Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch (It was exactly what I needed, Thanks Karen!)

 I decided on greens and neutrals that were present in many of the cosutmes. Remember Roland describing Williams outfit for the ball to Jocelyn's Maid?  Green, trimmed with lighter green, and embellished with wood toggles? That's why I had to add the wood button.  It represents William's more humble beginnings. I've got the hearts and stars working together along with the four leaf clover in the center for luck.  I also added gold stitching around the main panel and I added linen thread wrapped around the brown scallop circle for something a little different.

Anyhow thanks so much for stopping by and I hope I didn't bore you too much with my written ramblings.  Have a wonderful week (what's left of it).

PS. My favourite character in this movie was actually Geoffrey Chaucer well played by actor Paul Bettany.

Boys will be Boys

Here's a boy themed boxed card set that I was working on last week.  I made them for a girlfriend of mine who has kids around the same age as mine.  Her birthday is coming up so I wanted to make just a little something and thought kids birthday cards would be a great thing to have around the house.  With two kids in school the birthday parties sometimes become daunting so it's nice to have a set of cards on hand and one less thing to worry about.  I'm in the midst of making a girls set for her as well.  I'll show all of you that set on the weekend.

Anyhow for the majority of these cards I didn't use SU! It's paper I've been meaning to cut into for a while now and finally found some inspiration.  If you have this adorable dp collections, Bayou Blue, Baja Breeze, Ridinghood Red, More Mustard and Old Olive, are all SU! colours that go really well with it.

I hope your week is going wonderfully!  Right now I am enjoying my Terrific Tuesday with my 2 year old to keep me company.

Birthday Boy

Paper:  Old Olive, More Mustard

Ink:  Bayou Blue (on the BOY chipboard)

Accessories:  Billboard Decorative Strip (Letters), chipboard (Boy), scallop border punch

Happy Birthday Boats

Paper:  Old Olive, Blue Bayou, Baja Breeze

Ink:  Whisper White

Accessories:  White embossing powder, 3/4" circle punch (wave), 1 3/8" circle punch (boats)

Stamps: Favourite Teddy Bear (retired)

Happy Birthday Trains

Paper: Riding Hood Red, More Mustard, Baja Breeze

Ink:  Blue Bayou

Accessories:  Large colour rounder bunch, Sewing Machine

Stamps: Favourite Teddy Bear (retired)

Enjoy the Ride Shaker Card

Paper:  Blue Bayou, Whisper White, Acetate

Ink:  Black, Blue Bayou

Accessories: Micro Beads, Foam tape, dimensionals

Stamps:  Everyday Flexible Phrases, NSU (Enjoy the Ride)

Dino-Mite and Birthday Blast

Paper: Blue Bayou, Baja Breeze, and More Mustard