Karen Lockhart Class

Before I show you what we did in the Karen Lockhart class I took at my LSS, Buffalo Stamps & Stuff, I have to show you the cutest picture of my little Lizzie. My husband has a pretty extensive garden in the summer and also grows pumpkins for the kids. He picked them today and had them in the wheelbarrow in the back yard. I'm always showing him cute pictures of animals, kids, and gardens that all of you post on your blogs, and he suggested we take a picture of Lizzie in front of the wheelbarrow of pumpkins and post it on my blog! I ran for the camera and we had Lizzie pose for this adorable picture. She wasn't bred as a show dog, but she sure thinks she is when she poses for the camera! Oh, and look at hubby's pumpkins...aren't they wonderful? After I took the picture, I thought we should have washed the dirt off of them! Oh well! On to the Karen Lockhart class.

You are probably wondering what the heck kind of card is that? Well it's not a card, it's my scratch sheet of coloring that Karen had us do. She uses Prismacolor pencils for all her images and is a pro at it! She showed us how we can see the range of color we can get with each pencil. We used the same pressure to get the color on the paper, but to get the darker colors we went over the same line more times and lightened it up as we created these "tornadoes" as she called them. We practiced this with the images she provided for us.

This is the first one we colored. I had a hard time getting the yellow to shade properly. I wanted more shading on the criss-cross design as well. She provided the patterned paper and cardstock and I put this together tonight. I had a really difficult time pulling this card together. It just needed something, and I'm not sure the snowflake is it, but it seemed to work. The sentiment is from SU's Home for Christmas, which can be found in the Holiday Mini Catalog.


This is the next image we colored. I really like this tree. It didn't take long to color, so it would be an easy image to mass produce. I used these prima poinsettia flowers I got at Michael's and a Martha Stewart fern punch using SU's garden green paper. The sentiment is from PTI's Believe and is stamped in real red. I used a glitter dot in the center of the flower. Funny story about this card...when I had it all put together, I realized I did it upside down on the card! How many of you have done THAT before? I had to cut it down and layered it on PTI's shimmer cardstock! Boy, does that stuff shine! So pretty!

This is the last one and the one that gave me the most trouble! I needed to have her card in front of me as a guide, and the other side of the table kept taking it! I guess they needed it more than me! I do like it more than I did that night, but I wish I would have colored the leaves more green. Karen's had some red and brown in them and mine just came out muddy-looking. I do like the way it looks all mounted and dressed up, though. I used PTI's First Fruits for the sentiment, primas, and dew drops.

Well, that's all folks! I enjoyed the class and wish I could have had Karen give me more one-on-one time, but I guess so did everyone else! Thanks for stopping by today!

Goodbye Sweet Friend

This is a post I've been dreading. We had to put our dear companion, Kali, down today. She has been sick for a while and we felt it was time. She would have been 14 years old in two weeks and was the best dog anyone could hope for. She was a friend to anyone who came in contact with her. Kali is resting at her favorite place, our cabin in Cherry Creek, NY. She loved to roam the land and swim in the pond. Kali will be missed terribly, but we are certain she is with her other friends now, frolicking in a better place. Rest in peace, Kali. We love you.

Two More Dog Pics (are you bored yet?)

This is Lizzie in our backyard looking for her toy after I threw it! She looks like an ostrich! See the snow? Not much for our area, but it is March 8 already!



This one is the last, I promise! Of all the pics I've taken of Lizzie, this is my all-time favorite! She was only a few months old and it was taken at our cabin in Cherry Creek, NY by our pond (does this land look familiar, Cheryl?). Look at that face and that dirty nose! She is the sweetest dog (next to Kali, of course)! Scroll down for my other *dog* posting!

Well, thanks for letting me go on about my dogs. We have no children, so this is the next best thing! Have a great weekend!

Snow, Snow, and Dogs!

Sorry I haven't been around all week. I've been busy, sick, and working on these shower invitations, so I haven't had time to work on fun stuff! I wanted to post this earlier, but blogger was down. I've wanted to post some pics of my dogs. Some of you have mentioned the pic of me with my puppy, Lizzie. That was when she was 3 or 4 weeks old when we went to pick her out of the litter. We got her when she was 6 weeks old. She is now 10 months and full of so much energy and fun! My other is almost 14 years old, and her name is Kali. They are both Springer Spaniels. Kali is a very special dog. Everyone has loved her since we first got her. She is much more mellow (always has been) and I think that is why everyone always loves her. She is very approachable and so, so well-behaved. Not that Lizzie isn't (well, most of the time), but she is still a puppy with A LOT of energy. She likes to chew my DH's socks, underwear (I know, ugh!), and t-shirts that he leaves on the basement floor! Anyway, the Buffalo and surrounding areas got some snow this weekend, so I thought I'd post pics of the dogs and the snow.

This is Kali after being outside snowblowing with my DH! She is a very loyal dog and will sit out in the snow for HOURS waiting for my DH. Everyday around 3:30 she goes out front and waits for him! It's kind of annoying cause she doesn't do that for me!

This next picture is Lizzie with her red toy (can you see it in the snow?). I just threw that thing for her and she was waiting (and posing-she loves to have her pic taken) until I threw it again!

I have two more to post, but it will have to wait. Blogger is being very testy today and won't let me upload anymore pics! Stop by later to see them!

I also got 6 more Copic markers in today's mail from my Copic club over at Gina K designs! These are in the beige/brown tones! Getting closer to that 36 number!

I also got my signature from this website. I saw it on Lauren's website. Check it out, it's pretty cool! See you later with those pics and hopefully some cards!