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Tuesday, June 30, 2020

2020 Travel the World - Week 26


I started a Travel the World Series last year. (It should be noted that I did a similar thing in 2018, only it was the 50 states.) For 50 weeks in 2019, I visited a different country (virtually) and shared facts about that country. I then selected one tidbit of information about that week's country as inspiration for a card. Fifty weeks; fifty countries... BUT there are 195 countries in the world so that was just a little over 25% of them. Of course I couldn't stop, so this year I'm continuing with fifty more countries, one per week.


This week's country is...



Guyana



Guyana is located on the northern mainland of South America and is considered part of the Caribbean region, as culturally it is more Caribbean

Seventy percent of the country is uninhabited.

About three-quarter of Guyana is forested. Some parts of the rainforests in Guyana are almost inaccessible by humans.

Guyana is the only country in South America to have English as its official language.

An impressive 80% of Guyana is made up of tropical rain forest.

Guyana has approximately 8000 species of plants, some of which cannot be found anywhere else in the world.

Guyana’s Kaieteur Falls, which at 741ft is the largest single-drop water fall in the world! To put that into perspective, Kaieteur is roughly 5 times taller than the famous Niagara Falls, which has a 167ft drop. 

Guyana is home to one of the largest gold mines in the world. The Omai Gold Mine is in the north-west of the country and is estimated to contain about 3.7 million ounces of gold.

Agriculturally, Guyana produces rice, wheat, vegetable oils and beef (and of course sugar).

The majority of the food is produced locally including vegetables, fruits, cooking oils, sugar, fish, meat, rum, and rice.

The national flower is the Victoria Water Lilly, which was named after Queen Victoria.

The national animal is the jaguar. 

The giant otter and the harpy eagle are the two rarest species found in Guyana.

Guyana's national sport is cricket.

For those living on the coast, farming and fishing is the main source of income.

The cost of living is very high in Guyana.

Minibusses are the cheapest mode of transportation throughout Guyana.

There are no railways in Guyana – neither international nor domestic services. Moreover, there are no roads links between Guyana and Venezuela.

According to the WHO, Guyana is ranked second in suicides per capita worldwide after Sri Lanka.

Arranged marriages are common among the Hindu and Muslim population of the country. Women are responsible for the upbringing of the children as the children are generally abandoned by their fathers.

Guyana only has one university in the country, which was founded in 1963 and is very expensive to attend.

In the recent years, more women than men in Guyana are attending university. Women are now playing a vital role in doing various jobs such as vendors, nurses, teachers, civil servants, market vendors, farmers, and clerks as well.

Guyana is famous for locally made beautiful craft which includes paintings, wallets, sun hats, costume jewelry and many other items. The country also boasts some exceptional gold jewelry.

I decided to let this Guyana fact be the inspiration for this week's card... Guyana has 285 miles of coastline.



Thanks for stopping by my blog today!


Image: from my Bin of Leftovers

Papers: Recollections Black and White and SU Real Red and Summer Sun CS and DP from my scrap file

Embellishments: Michael's Enamel Dots and a Beach Ball Brad from an unknown vendor

Monday, June 29, 2020

Eyelet Outlet Notecard Set



This is definitely not the normal kind of post you'll see on my blog. I have four cards (I never have four cards on the same post). They are VERY SIMPLE cards... but kind of fun, too.

The idea came to me as I was purging/sorting my way through stuff in my Play Room. I ran across a set of polkadot notecards - I'm not sure, but I think they may be from AMuse Studio. I started to toss them in the donate pile and then I decided to doctor them up a bit instead.

What better way to do that than with some Eyelet Outlet Brads and Washi Tape.






These cards were so fun and easy to put together.


Thanks for stopping by my blog today!


Other Products Used

Stamp Sets (stamped on Accent Opaque 120# White CS with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink): Gerda Steiner Chicken Scratch, Sparkle N Sprinkle Cool Chicks, Unity Fan Mail, and Your Next Stamp Whatnot Sentiment Set Three

MFT Dies: Stitched Mod Rectangle, Stitched Rounded Rectangle, and Wonky Stitch Rectangle

Sunday, June 28, 2020

Life's a Beach with the CYS Gals


The Challenge Your Stash group uses what we have to make a theme-appropriate card and share what we've made on the 28th of each month. Barb is the leader of the group and keeps us very organized. We take turns choosing the theme - this month it was Kari's turn.

Kari invited us to make cards with the theme...
Life's a Beach.

I love lighthouses (they are so regal looking) so I used one of my favorite lighthouse stamps for this card. 



I hope Kari, Barb, and the other CYS gals like my card.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Stamp: Stampabilites Beacon of Light stamped with Versafine Onyx Black Ink

Papers: Accent Opaque 120# White and Recollections Black and Kraft CS and DP from the MFT Black/White Stripe Paper Pad

Die: MFT Stitched Rounded Rectangle 

Embellishments: Eyelet Outlet Seagulls Brads

Stay @ Home Update #12


Each Sunday (at 5:00 AM) I'm sharing how the week's 10-minute stay@home organizational challenge went. If you don't have an idea what that means and you're curious, you can learn more in my original Stay @ Home Update blog post
 - found HERE.

Now here's the disclaimer: Some of these daily stay@home challenges are taking more than 10 minutes, but who's counting, right? 

Here's what I've accomplished this week...


Day 1 - SUN, June 21
I sorted through these two bins of cards I made, organizing them to donate to Cards for Kindness. My donation box is getting quite full now. I might need to look for an additional place to donate some of my excess cards.


Day 2 - MON, June 22
I have a few of these bins (some are baskets) of cards. They are a mismatch of cards people have sent me, cards I've received when I participated in swaps, and even some cards I've made. They are the result of times when I've been too lazy to put items away and instead have just stashed them in a bin. Shame on me, I know. Today I sorted through this one, reading sweet notes from friends and storing those cards in a way where I can admire them more readily. The ones I received as swap cards as well as the ones I'd made myself I added to my donation box.


Day 3 - TUES, June 23
I hadn't opened this hanging file box in a very long time. It was filled with scraps of papers and other "leftovers" from previous card-making adventures. Truthfully, I didn't find a single thing in it that I felt was worthy of keeping. It had totally been wasting space on my shelf.

it. is. now. gone. 


Day 4 - WED, June 24
WOW! I haven't participated in card swaps for a few years now, but this bin had some cards I'd received when I hosted swaps in it. It also had an assortment of handmade cards I've received over the years - from friends. Many included sweet handwritten notes. Of course I read each one, even shed a tear or two. I sorted the cards and organized them so I can revisit them again more easily. And the swap cards were added to my donation box.


Day 5 - THUR, June 25
It seems I've been going through bins of cards all week. I have. But I'm determined to get them finished - organized so i can enjoy looking at them. I started with this bin today but just couldn't stop. I ended up going through the remaining 5 bins - yes, 5! Yikes! I apparently have a bad habit of stashing cards in a bin until the bin is full and then starting on another bin. Hopefully moving forward I'll not do that, but rather will put them in the appropriate storage system.


Day 6 - FRI, June 26
This may be my best organization task that I've done since I started these Stay At Home Ten-Minute Challenges (way back on April 5th). This is an old VCR Tape Rack. I purchased it at a yard sale many years ago - to store my Stampin' UP! Whale Punches on. It set on top of a 3' Shelf in the corner of my Play Room.  

Not long ago I purchased a drawer until - a beautiful tin piece - that I wanted to place on top of that shelf instead so I moved my whale punches to three drawers in my drawer unit, thus emptying this rack.

I planned to donate it but then I got to thinking.


I had these three bins of rolled ribbon - lovely ribbons that seldom got used because it was not easy to see what I had. I literally had to open the bins to see what was inside.

Could my VCR Tape Rack be a solution???


Sure enough!

The rack now sits on top of a 3' shelf inside the walk-in storage closet in my Play Room... and because it's in the window-less closet, there is no need to worry about any fading of the ribbon.

I'm loving it! And this piece only cost me 50 cents many many years ago.

Day 7 - SAT, June 27
I needed some way to store my Chameleon colored pencils. Because they are double-ended, it didn't feel right to stand them up in a cup, like I store some of my other colored pencils. I first had them in one of those little plastic pencil boxes like the children used at school when my children were youngsters. That didn't suit me, though, since the lid seemed to get in the way when I wanted to use them. 

My solution - I purchased a 5-drawer makeup organizer (inexpensive on Amazon) and I'm loving it! I labeled the pencil type at the back of the drawer so I can quickly see which pencils they are. I first put the label in the front of the drawer but then decided I'd rather see pencils instead. The drawers are removable so I can carry an individual drawer to my stamping desk.

As you can see in the picture, I have a clear ribbon storage piece sitting on top of the drawers - it fits perfectly.

Okay, that's it for this week. Stay tuned to see what I accomplish in the coming week.

Saturday, June 27, 2020

Ready for some VSN Fun?


Did you know it's VSN time at Splitcoast Stampers? It is always a lot of fun... two days of theme after theme, a new one introduced each hour by a different hostess. Stampers make cards quickly and beautifully. There's lots of camaraderie and just a good spirit of creativity.

The theme of this VSN is Summer Playlist, so all of the challenges will have something to do with that.

If you've not participated before, I'd highly recommend it!

And what better time to start than right now.... because it's my time slot for hosting!

Of course you don't have to participate in live/real time... so if you don't see this until later, you can still join the fun!

My challenge theme is...

Summer of 1968

Here are the instructions for my challenge - I used a Random Number Generator to choose a number between 1920 and 2020. The number generated was 1968 so for this challenge you will need to do some research (Google is your friend) and find out what songs were popular in the summer of 1968. Choose one of those songs as inspiration for your card.

I chose the song It's a Beautiful Morning by the Rascals for my card's inspiration.



The inside of my card:


Participants are allowed one hour to make each card. It took me 52 minutes to make this card... of course, it would not have taken that long if it weren't for the time consuming task of getting all of those little dots removed after die-cutting the pieces. Sheesh! Note to self: do not use that die when doing a timed card.



Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Stamp Set:  Unity One Sip at a Time stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored with Copic Markers

Papers: Accent Opaque 120# White, Recollections Black, and SU Groovy Guava CS and AMuse Studio Polka Dot DP

Die: Gina Marie Pleated Lace Square

Embellishments: Cloud 9 Rain Drop and Ribbon from an unknown vendor

Watercolored Sunflower Birthday Greetings


I've said it before, but it bears repeating. I love sunflowers.

i. love. sunflowers.

This beauty is from the SumMore Fun store - it's The Victorine Originals Large Sunflower rubber stamp. I've used it many times. This time I watercolored it with my Karin Brush Pro Markers.



The birthday greeting is from the SumMore Fun Crocus Craving stamp set - another one of my favorites!

And just so you know - if you purchased both the Sunflower stamp and the Crocus Cravings set, you would be halfway to getting a FREE item.

And who doesn't like FREE???





Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Stamps: SumMore Fun Crocus Cravings and Victorine Originals Large Sunflower stamped with Versafine Onyx Black and watercolored with Karin ProBrush Markers

Papers: Canson Cold Press Watercolor Paper, Recollections Black and White and SU Old Olive CS

Die/Punch: MFT Stitched Mod Rectangle Die and SU Label Punch

Embellishments: Ribbon from an unknown vendor

Friday, June 26, 2020

Learn to Dance In the Rain


This is my sixth card in my Could Ya? Should Ya? Would Ya? Yea! series. 

In this monthly series, I plan to try something out of the norm... i.e. a size of card I rarely use, a technique I've wanted to try (or try again), an unusual fold, a card for a bizarre holiday, etc. I also plan to try a new recipe on these days - not a card recipe, a kitchen recipe.

This week I feel like I've done this challenge over and over again - thanks to the Stamping Sisters Mindi Card Camp. WOW! Wasn't that fun???

But times a'wastin' and I need to get to this challenge as the month will soon be over so today is the day.
This month I made a mostly white card. I see these and always admire the individuals who make them. They are usually quite stunning. Mine is a cutesy card (because that's what I do) rather than elegant, but that's okay.


I've also owned the conversation-bubble type of border die for a long time and had never used it because I never could quite figure out what to do with it. I like the way it looks up in the corner.

Could Ya?
Should Ya? 
Would Ya?
Yea!



And don't forget... there's the added feature of this series - try a new recipe. What's for supper? Easy Cream Cheese Chicken. I hope we like it.

Last month I made Instant Pot Crack Chicken. It was pretty good - but truthfully, I probably would have preferred making it in the crockpot! 

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Stamp Set: Unity Dance in the Rain stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored with Copic Markers

Paper: Accent Opaque 120# White CS

Dies: MFT Stitched Mod Rectangle and Taylored Expressions Let's Talk Edger 2 (with SU Marina Mist Ink for blending on the cloud)

Embellishments: Recollections Rhinestones

Thursday, June 25, 2020

Stamping Sisters Mini Card Camp - #4


This is a bittersweet post. I'm kinda bummed... it's the last day of the first ever Stamping Sisters Mini Card Camp (which was Kelly's BRILLIANT idea!) but it's also a great day because Camp Counselor Barb's tutorial is fabulous. Check out all the details on her blog - HERE.

I thought her technique was so much fun! 

I used my Pixie Spray (first time ever) and got my MFT Sun Rays stencil nice and snug on the watercolor paper. I added two colors of Karin markers (around the edge of the sun's center and from each end of the sun rays)... then I spread the color around with an Aqua Brush. 

Once it had dried, I removed the stencil. I did notice there was a wee bit of seepage in a place or two (Barb warned us there might be) and I also wished I'd blended the edges of the sun's center a bit more, but overall I was pretty happy with the look.


Barb also gave directions to use word or image dies on our cards (instead of stamped ones, if I understood correctly). No problem.


shine BRIGHT



We would love for you to join us in the fun of Card Camp - it's free AND bug-free, too.

Here's the schedule of camp counselors so you can check out the right blog early each morning to see what the lesson of the day is just click on the name and it will take you right to her blog...


Kelly - Monday
Darlene - Tuesday
Me - Wednesday
Barb - Thursday


Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Stencil: MFT Sun Ray

Karin Markers: Canary and Gold

Dies: Momenta Shine Bright and MFT Blueprint 21

Papers: Canson Cold Press Watercolor and Recollections Black and White CS

Embellishment: Recollections Black Gemstone

Kindness


Kindness is a beautiful thing. 

It comes in a variety of ways, too. 

Sometimes it's a kind word. Sometimes someone does something helpful. Sometimes it's a smile or a pat on the back. Sometimes it's a word of praise for a job well-done.

Sometimes it comes in the form of flowers, especially when the giver says they are given for no particular reason.

just. because.


Thank you, Catherine!


Somehow my flowers (on my card) seem dull, in comparison. Hopefully the recipient will find joy in them, much like I found joy in the flowers that I received.



Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Stamp: SU Love Is Kindness stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored with Copic Markers

Papers: Recollections 110# White and SU Wild Wasabi CS and DP from  my scrap file

Dies: MFT Blueprint 15 and MFT Stitched Rounded Rectangle

Embellishments: Brads from an unknown vendor