Sunday, April 21, 2013

A Flap Happy, Loopy Leafed Happy Birthday...PS SPARKS Colour Challenge and Retro sketches #60


How did Friday evening become Sunday evening, in the blink of an eye?   Actually, our weekend was rather wonderful, beginning with the banquet we attended Friday evening.  I managed to pull together a suitable outfit -nothing fancy, though (sigh of relief!)  *Sports* banquet appropriate was the ‘key,’ so while I didn’t wear anything Lululemon-ish, the ‘little black dress’ also didn’t have an outing.  Perhaps my husband and I need an ‘us’ date, as I’m pretty sure I’ve not worn it. Ever.  Maybe next year J…  The banquet was fine – speeches, more speeches, and then a couple more, and in between the talking, we had food.  Everything was done by 10pm.  Sports banquets are tame.

Saturday morning, the sun was shining.  It truly was. Briefly.  My husband had a 9:00am meeting – short, but necessary – so I pulled on my running shoes and power-walked downtown (I live in a small town, where nearly everything is ‘walkable,’ should I want to make it so.  Sometimes I do, and often occasionally I don’t.) to meet him for a grocery-shopping expedition.  Grocery shopping and I do not get along, so this was quite the accomplishment.  Thank heavens my husband enjoys the task, and doing it alone often leads to far better results than with me in tow, pointing out how *crazy expensive* I think prices are.  Sometimes, he wanders into different aisles without me…

After that adventure, my husband decided it was prime weather for a good, long outdoor bike ride.  He’s training to compete at the Mt. Hood road cycling race towards the end of June, and given that our ‘warm winter’ (aka: spring) makes early training a challenge, he aims to hit the pavement (figuratively speaking!  I remember when he crashed once…must not think about that!) whenever he can.  By the time he was geared up, the clouds had rolled in, the wind gusted up, the dandruff flakes of snow were falling…and off he went, always the optimist, remarking that the ‘weather is just fine,’ and ‘besides, the wind will be at my back’ (which only makes sense riding one direction…).  He left…I started working on some cards…and at the two hour mark…the inevitable phone call came.  “It’s cold and windy; do you mind coming to pick me up?”  So I did, and we came home and had afternoon coffee, and homemade bread with peanut butter, and homemade cookies.   His ‘exercise’ always comes with great rewards!

Today, he rode in the basement.  On his trainer.  And we still had snack time!  Those really are weekend treats…love ‘em, and love who I share them with!

Tonight – in my usual ‘cutting it close’ style – I’m entering the Paper Smooches SPARKS Cool Shades challenge, and yes…I made two cards.  BUT, I’m posting them separately, having paired them with other challenges (do I hear a collective sigh of relief!).   My colours aren’t ‘fully’ teal, periwinkle, kiwi and kraft, but they are as close as I could get with what I had.  Because I had some doubts about my 'nearly, but not quites,' I wondered if I'd done the challenge justice. And so, the second card came about today, which is fine, but weirdly enough, I used the same paper pad.  Sighhh…In retrospect, truth is, I liked the cool shades selections and simply wanted to have a second ‘play date.’  Layout inspiration – and for once, I’m actually early with my submission – is the wonderful Retro sketches Challenge#60, featuring Deanna's sketch.   I tried something a bit different, and I hope you like it.
Inspiration:  


And here's mine:

On stage: Flap Happy, Loopy Leaf die and Sentiment Sampler.
Awesome PS products and a layout that's just
plain fun. (I'm bow challenged, so I went with the banner. Had to:-))

Thanks for dropping by, and please know that your comments are welcomed and appreciated, deeply!
Have a wonderful evening!










5 comments:

Shannon J said...

Yup, love this one too!! Right down to the little delicate embossing detail on the side. And I love how you used the "quilting" technique again, but gave it a whole different look. Brilliant and beautiful! Your weekend sounded lovely...it's always about those special little moments...!

Nina Yang said...

Wow! This is super beautiful! Love your pattern play on this card and the embossed edge is the perfect finish touch! Thank you so much for joining us at Paper Smooches Sparks Challenge this week! Have a wonderful week!

Savannah O'Gwynn said...

WOW! Your weekend sounds like a BUSY one! So glad you were able to spend it with your hubs:) Good luck to him on the bike training!

FUN card-- LOVE the butterflies!! And that embossed edge is AMAZING! Totally need to do that on one of my creations:) THANKS so much for joining in the fun and playing along with us over at the Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge-- be sure to stop by and play with us this week for the Picture Perfect challenge:)

Greta said...

Wonderful take on the sketch! Love the look of this card, Carol!

Geri said...

Your visitors are treated to beautiful eye candy and entertaining posts! I love your style - your tongue & cheek comments and your clean and simply fun cards! You have a natural ability to creat whimsy in your creations! This card for example...the colors, the perfectly balanced design, the sweet banner (I DO NOT DO BOWS EITHER!) and a gorgeous mix of design papers! Sheer creative genius my friend!

PS My dear hubby does 99.5% of the grocery shopping too! I'd rather be crafting :)