Tina's Dad

Wishing him a very speedy recovery. Sent him this card. Hope that he and Tina's Mom are all better for Christmas.

Merry Christmas.

Annie

A couple of projects I have finished

I am not the best photographer or even scanner person, so I am not really happy with how these are showing, but I wanted to share with you a couple of things I have done recently using Eat Cake Graphic stamps.

This first piece, the windows, stairs, word bubble and the little girl are all ECG stamps. I drew in the house, the door and the sidewalk. Colored with Copics.

Everything is an ECG stamp except for the moon. Again I colored using Copic Markers. I added a little glitter around the wand to make it look magical.

I got the card design her from my friend Julie at our hostess club. She comes up with the best ideas. I love the ECG flowers stamps. I use these alot. I colored with Copics matching the ink to the colors in the paper choices.

This shows what the pull out looks like.

Tried to make a gift card holder with this one. I am thinking the paper is overpowering but I do like the design. Used Copics.

Inside showing where the gift card goes.

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs

Annie

Rubber Stamp Madness

This is the lastest edition of Rubber Stamp Madness with a piece of my work as the cover. I had sent this in some time ago and they asked me if they could hang on to it for use at a later date. I was so excited when they called and asked me if they could use it for the cover of the holiday issue. The editor of this publication, along with the staff, are the nicest group to work with. Thankyou so much for publishing my work.

I also have a couple of cards in this issue under the Alice in Rubberland section.

This first piece is all stamping using colored pencils.

These two pieces use stamps for the main subject but I drew in the cake and the packages. I used watercolor pencils on these. The Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum was not selected but I wanted you to see it cause I like it.

Thanks for stopping by.

Annie

I'm So Excited, I Just Can't Hide It....

Ok so I am stuck in the 80's but I do have some new news. Are you ready?

I am going to be a member of my most favorite stamp company's design team - EAT CAKE GRAPHICS. You know how I love these stamps. I have been using them for years and have tons of them. So I am pretty dang excited and very honored to have been chosen.

I just hope that I can do some worthy putzing. So please stop by //http://www.eatcakegraphics.com/ and take a look at all the wonderful stamps. There is also a technique site with some additional eye candy.

And don't forget to stop by here to see if I am up to the challenge. I have my thinking cap on and I am ready to go.

Hugs,
Annie

Here's Maggie

Here is the great white huntress. She loves to hop on toads and run down mice. Before she goes to bed, we have to go outside and remove all the toads from her yard. She finds them and I scoop them up and toss them into the neighbors yard. Hard to believe she is almost a year old. She was born in Oct. Works perfectly, because both Mike and I have October birthdays. I think a party is in order this year for sure.
Thanks for stopping by.
Annie

A Little Lift

I saw a card that used the background that you see here and really liked it. Want to try it and put my own spin on it. The colors don't really show up as nice as they look in real life. These cards went to two very wonderful friends for their birthdays.

The squares are made using a template and sponging colors in. I stamped the flowers and the sentiments over the colors. The rest were stamped, colored with copics and then cut out and attached.

Stamps - Sentiment Stampers Anonymous, Flower - Penny Black, Butterfly - Savvy, Presents - Paper Artsy, Little Girl - Unknown. Hat - Lost Coast Stamps.
Thanks for stopping by.
Annie

A couple more

Here are a few more.
Whippersnapper Stamp. Colored with Copics.

Stamping Up Sentiment, Tree is Memory Box.

Car is Art Impression. Colored with Copics. Sentiment is River City Rubber Works. Person inside the car is the person that the card will go to.

Thanks for stopping by.

Annie

Oh to be creatin' agian

This was done for one of the guys at work. Him and his wife just had their first baby. I borrowed the template from my friend Julie. Very easy and quick baby card.

This card was done for my friend Suzie for a belated birthday wish. The dog stamp is Whipper Snapper and the sentiment is Stampers Anonymous. Colored with Copics.

I love this centipede from Whipper Snapper. I stamped him and cut him out so he is mounted on the card with foam thingies. The Live it Up and Happy Birthday are Hero Arts Stamps that my adorable friend Tina sent to me. I drew the cake. Used copics to color. I like copics. Decided to take a class to really learn how to use them.

My funny centipede again. Made this card for a gal at work who had knee surgery. ISH.

The only stamping here is the heart and the For Me which are both from Purple Onion Designs. I free handed the rest. Colored with copics. The card went to one of the gals on my team at work. We both love pie and basset hounds.

This card went to our elderly lady friend for her 86 birthday. I forgot who makes the butterfly stamp and I am being rather lazy cause I am not going to get up and walk over to where I have it on a shelf and look. Birthday sentiment is Purple Onion Designs. I also used on of the embossing templates for the flowers on the brown cardstock. I kinda like that look.

This card was one I did for card club. I bought the CRS stamp ages ago and this is the first time I have ever used it. Tina sent me the cute chickie. I liked the design of the butterfly card above so I used up the paper to make 12 of these.

I was experimenting with the technique that the gal at Split Coast Stampers does with the brayer and post it notes. I was pleased with this card until I tried to draw in that road. Hmmmm. The sentiment is Purple Onion Designs and one of my favorites.

This last card went to a gal I work with. I love the simple clean look of this one. I am actually thinking I might adapt for one of my Christmas card designs. The sentiments are Hero Arts.

Thanks for stopping by and taking a gander at my stuff.

Annie

Mike's New Toy

After the accident last year that totalled Mike's bike, he decided to go in another direction. This is a Yamaha touring bike. Looks more like a crotch rocket on steroids to me. He is happy. That makes me happy. Go ride.

Thanks for stopping by.
Annie

Oh The Cutest Puppy in the World...

Belongs to me. I know you are probably sick to death of seeing cute puppy pictures and hearing about how much I love my puppy but dang, she is just so stinkin cute. She makes me laugh.

I promise the next post will be about something other than Maggie Mae.

Thanks for stopping by.
Annie

Part Two of the Story

My faith in people has been renewed. The Mother in the story that I posted below sent a note to our local paper to thank Mike and his co-workers and to let them know how much they were appreciated. I think that was a very nice thing for her to do.

Thanks for stopping by.

Annie

Just a Story

Most of the time, my husband who works for a city here in Minnesota, gets to be the brunt of alot of lazy city worker jokes. In the city where he works, they don't have enough guys to be lazy. I know they work really hard. The sad part is that they get very little recognition for the great stuff that they do. So I am going to recognize my husband here.

The other day at work, Mike and one of his co-workers were doing some work on one the roads in town. They happen to notice a large black dog under a tree in one of the yards. During the day, family members would come out to the dog bringing it water. They would sit with the dog and pet him.

Later that day, Mike noticed that the Grandma was covering the dog up. It was apparent that the dog had passed on. Then the father brings out a large box and put the dog in the box and then proceeds to dig a hole in the yard. The family gathered around the grave site and held a little service. During the service, Mike and his co-worker stopped the noisy work that they were doing and gave the family a moment of silence.

The next day when Mike returned to finish up the work that they were doing on the road. He felt a touch on his arm. It was the Mom of the family that had lost their dog. She wanted to thank Mike and John for their respect while the family buried a much loved pet. It had meant a great deal to them. Their sweet lab had been diagnosed with cancer a week ago and it was quite devastating to the entire family.

I get so mad at my husband sometimes that I wonder what was I thinking when I married him 33 years ago. And then I remember why when he tells me about this family and his response to their grief.

The city workers in this town are really unsung heroes. They are there when things need to be done, they keep the city up and working. My husband has been shot at while snowplowing, cursed at while doing his job, barked at by the many dogs in the city and made fun by alot of people. But when it comes down to it, him and the other guys at the city shop deserve a heartfelt thanks from the citizens they serve.

Thanks for stopping by.
Annie

A Maggie Card

Wish I could tell you that I drew this image out of my own imagination but I didn't. I found the image by Kim Niles and just loved it so I copied it the best I could. It is watercolored. The alpha is Purple Onion Design. Thank you Kim for your imagination.

Thanks for stopping by

Annie

More Maggie

Can you tell that I just love my puppy? She is really growing. Maggie is now 5 months old. Time is just flying. She loves to be outside now that the snow is all gone. When it started melting, she wasn't sure what the deal was and would only walk where the snow remained. Silly pup.

Thanks for stopping by.

A Note From Minnesota

My friend Barb send me this great sentiment stamp. I needed to make a couple of thank you cards right about the same time I got some darling new stamps from Eat Cake Graphics. I put two and two together and these are the end results. These are done with watercolors on watercolor paper. Thanks for stopping by.

Annie

Oh my Maggie Mae

A couple of new pictures of my Maggie Mae. She is really growing. Her personality is really coming out. I just love my puppy. The second picture was snapped right after the frist one. For some reason she decided that she needed to give Mike the what for. What he did to deserve the what for? Who knows.

Thanks for stopping by!

Annie

Spring Mingle Tag

This is not the greatest picture. I was in a hurry. The flowers are handmade. I took pages from an old book and covered with ink. Then I stamped images all over them. I punched out circles and then trimmed the circles. The paper was then crumpled and then stacked to produce the layers. The middles are just old book pages that have been crumpled. The quote stamp is one by Tim Holtz. I also used floss for the vines. The final touch was to add some bling with beads. Thanks for looking.
Annie

Good bye Dear Friend

Yesterday I had to say goodbye to my dear sweet Scoutie. After we brought little Maggie Mae home, she started getting sick. I thought it was an upset stomach because she was not happy about the puppy, but it kept getting worse. Called the vet and they gave her some medicine for the stomach. It settled her stomach but she still wasn't eating or drinking much and she was getting weaker and weaker to the point where she was no longer able to walk by herself. We took her to the vet on Monday and they did blood work. The results confirmed that my sweet girl was dying. Scout came to us 10 years ago as a rescue and we loved her from the first moment we met her. Scout would of been 14 years old in June. Wheaten Terriers normal life span is 12 to 13 years. So I know she had a good long life. Doesn't make losing her any easier but I do know that we made the best decision. There was nothing that could be done for her and I just couldn't let her suffer. I take comfort that it was a peaceful passing and she was in my arms when she went to sleep.

Goodbye My Scoutie Girl. You were my bestest friend and I loved you muchly.

Annie

Oh Maggie

She is growing so fast. Now 12 weeks old, she is filling out and her personality is coming thru. Maggie is a smart little cookie. She knows her name, she will fetch a ball and then return it to me and drop in my hand. She sits. She comes when you call her and she is such a treat ho. She will fall all over you for a treat. I think she is a piglet disguised as a puppy.

Thanks for stopping by.

MarthaAnneKnits

The Etsy shop is finally open. I still have alot of work to do on it and a ton more items to photograph and get loaded.

The shop was created so that my Mom could sell all the little baby items she has made. I will put some of my hats there eventually.

Please check us out at MarthaAnneKnits.etsy.com and tell me what I need to improve on.

Thanks
Annie

A very cute puppy

Isn't this a cute puppy? Finally got a decent picture of her. She was getting ready for a nap with her Daddy.

Thanks for stopping by.

Meet Maggie Mae Frazer

This little cutie became part of the our family on Dec 30. Her name is Maggie Mae. Maggie is a West Highland Terrier. She is almost 9 weeks old and weights 4.5 pounds. She has only been part of our family less than a week and we absolutely adore her. Well most of us do.

Even tho it looks like Maggie and Scout, our 13 year old Wheaton Terrier are great friends, Maggie loves Scout much more than Scout loves Maggie. Scout has been extremely patient with the new puppy. I am very proud of her.

Thanks for stopping by.
Annie