Happy Day!

I love this image from Stamping Bella's "Ketto" line; isn't it cheery? I decided to use it as the main image on my card for Tracy's Sketch Challenge this week. The bright patterned paper by Little Yellow Bicycle is a great match, too!

How was your weekend? Yesterday I ended up getting some glasses to use for reading and for when I'm working on the computer. The frames are a lot like the ones on my sunglasses so it's not too much of a change :) Today I stayed home and stamped a few cards to post throughout the week. Back to school tomorrow! Have a super week!

Bookworm...

here's another card made with the "I {Heart} Books" set from My Favorite Things. This is a pretty simple one; it probably took me longer to color the image than it did for me to assemble the card :)

This morning I'm heading out to pick up a few bits and pieces for my classroom. Throughout the week I met up with all the teachers I'll be working with (2nd, 4th and 5th grade) and we got ourselves organized with materials for this coming week. I figured out I'll be seeing over 150 kids each day! I wonder how long it will take me to remember all their names...

And this afternoon I'm going to get my eyes tested. We'll see how that goes; my vision hasn't been the same since I had that allergic reaction to some eye drops earlier this year. Have a great Saturday, whatever you're up to :)

Featured Blogger Friday!

Hi all! This week's Featured Blogger is a great blogging friend of mine - her name is Janet Petersma and her blog is called "Of Cats and Cardstock". I found Janet's blog not long after I began blogging. It's a favorite stop of mine because of Janet's entertaining writing style and variety of posts (cats, cardstock and everything in between). Janet writes a weekly "Feline Friday" post about the antics of Lily and Tinsel, and I know she has a loyal following of bloggers. Be sure to stop by and say hello after reading more about Janet:

Tell us a little about you: I was born and raised in central Iowa and have lived here most of my adult life. My husband and I have one wonderful daughter (now a senior in high school), and my daughter and I have two wonderful kitties (notice I didn't include my husband in that last part - he's not a cat person!). In college, I majored in French and International Business and following graduation, I worked for a French bank in Chicago. After my husband and I moved back to Iowa, I continued my career in Human Resources and Learning & Development. A few years back, I left my work to do something completely different that offered more flexibility and the opportunity to use the creative side of my brain again - developing and teaching scrapbooking/cardmaking classes for a local scrapbook store. I love creating and teaching, so this line of work is perfect for me right now. I also do some freelance design and writing on the side.

How long have you been blogging? I have been blogging for over 3 years now.

Why do you blog? Before I started blogging, I thought about my goals and listed them on one of my first posts. And they're still true today! Here are a few:

* To discuss various attributes of cats and cardstock. If you know me personally or have been reading my blog for a while, you know that cats and cardstock are two of my very favorite things. Most of my posts have to do with cats or cardstock in one form or another!

* To write more, especially stuff that could be used for my scrapbooks. I frequently use blog posts as the basis for layouts.

* To learn how to add cool features to my blog, thus improving my technical skills. Through blogging, I've learned just enough technical skills to be dangerous, but enough to be conversant with teenagers :) It was a pretty exciting day when I figured out how to import my blog on to my Facebook page!

What's your favorite topic to blog about? I love posting about our kitties, Tinsel and Lily. Most weeks, they provide ample material for multiple posts. I carry my camera around with me so that I can catch cute cat moments as they happen. I also enjoy sharing completed layouts and craft projects. At any given moment, I have multiple projects in the works, so posting them when finished gives me a sense of accomplishment and a record of what I've completed! As opportunities arise, I also like to post about do-it-myself projects. I particularly enjoy posting "before" and "after" photos of decorating or gardening adventures. In fact, we're having our house painted right now, and I can't wait to share the story!

Have you learned anything special from blogging? This may sound a little cheesy, but I've learned that the world really is getting smaller. Blogging weaves us together as a community, no matter where we live. Through blogging, I've deepened friendships with local friends and connected with many wonderful people in places far and wide. Although I may never meet some of my online friends in person, I can feel their warmth and know that we're kindred souls. For this reason (and many others) blogging has enriched my life.

What do you hope that people get out of reading your blog? I hope my blog is a warm and happy place, like your neighborhood Starbucks, where people leave feeling a bit better than when they came.

Can you give us links to 3 of your favorite blogs? This is a tough question, because I spend a lot of time reading different kinds of blogs which are inspirational to me in many ways. Here are three I visit every day:

Cathy Zielske (Bits & Pieces) - Cathy Zielske is my all-time favorite scrapbooker. I love her simple, graphic style and her quirky sense of humor. Cathy's blog never fails to make me smile.

Heather B. Armstrong (Dooce) - This is the blog of Heather B. Armstrong, a former web designer with a great conversational writing style. Heather has an incredible way with words, as evidenced by her recent story of labor and delivery which will leave you laughing and crying.

Daisy (Daisy the Curly Cat) - Daisy is a very special kitty who has her very own blog. I love Daisy's movies and her Fashion Fridays, especially when she dresses up in her denim outfits. Through Daisy's blog, I've found many other blogs written by cats! :)

I hope you've enjoyed reading all about Janet (and Lily and Tinsel!). If you'd like to nominate a blog for Featured Blogger Friday, drop me a line at toners@wispertel.net - I'd love to hear from you!

Halfway there...

It's already Wednesday and the week is going well for the 3 of us back at school. Nattie is excited to be doing some creative writing in her Language Arts class, and Jamie is happy to be back with all his school buddies again :) My classroom looks really good, and today I met with the 4th grade teachers to start on our schedule for next week. Everyone is being extremely supportive - I love working there!

Today's card is made with another stamp that reminded me of Nattie when I spotted it - so I think I'll put this card away for her birthday in October :)

TCP Tuesday - Color Challenge

So, it's that time of the week again - TCP Tuesday :) This week Leigh is hosting a color challenge featuring these super colors! I hope you can play along - if so, be sure to link your creation to Leigh's blog post right here - and then your work will be included on Alma's "Holey Moley Monday" slideshow! For my card I used TCP's "You Say It's Your Birthday" clear set and a layout from The Sweet Stop.

Thank you for all the good wishes for heading back to school! All 3 of us had a super day. My colleague and I spent a few hours getting our room organized before we start the literacy blocks next week - we were given a nice big room to work in, and we managed to get some posters and artwork for the walls from teachers who had extras to share :) I read stories to several groups of 2nd graders throughout the day; it was tons of fun! Have a happy Tuesday!

Back to School

It's back to school for the kids today; they each went in for a half day at the end of last week, but today is the first official day when all students are attending. Nattie is starting 7th grade and Jamie is starting 2nd grade. Yikes!

I'm also returning to work, but this year I'll have a different role in the school. I'll be working 9am - 3pm in the classrooms every day with the 2nd, 4th and 5th grade kiddos. Our main focus will be reading :) It has always been one of my favorite things to do with Nattie and Jamie, and now I get to spend my day helping other kids to improve their reading too. I'm very lucky :)

Keeping with the "Back to School" theme, here's a card I made with a sketch from Unscripted Sketches and a stamp set from My Favorite Things called "I {Heart} Books". The little girl on this image reminds me of Nattie with her dark hair, her glasses, and with lots of concentration on that book...have a great Monday!

Christmas in August

I made this card for the last challenge over at Our Creative Corner - to come up with any holiday card. It was pretty easy since I had just received this sweet set of stamps by Whipper Snapper Designs - it's called "Cozy Critters" :) The layout is from Card Positioning Systems' sketch, and the patterned paper is by Die Cuts With A View.

Meet Sandy

With everything going on at home right now, I haven't yet posted about our latest addition :) This is Sandy!

An email came from one of the parents at school about 10 days ago; this family had been looking after her brother's cat, but what was supposed to be a short-term arrangement was turning into a long-term one and she didn't feel that she had the room in her house for another cat to stay permanently, so the family decided to look for a new home for Sandy. Once Nattie saw the photos of her, she really wanted us to help her - how could I say no? So we went over to visit her, and as you can see, she's a beautiful cat. I agreed that we'd bring her here and try things out for a few days - it's unpredictable when we already have 4 cats and Tasha, so everyone would need to be somewhat flexible.

Sandy has done really well, though! She's very, very shy and prefers to stay wherever Nattie is. Nattie is very protective over her and was determined to make the situation work by making Sandy feel welcome and helping the other pets adjust. So far, so good...

Featured Blogger Friday

Thanks for stopping by for another installment of Featured Blogger Friday :) This week I wanted to introduce you to my good friend Lisa Itatani and her blog "Flatfish Paper Arts". I met Lisa several years ago through a cirle journal group that we were both involved in, and that group of women has become a very special part of my life. We were even able to get together and meet in California last summer! Lisa is a creative, strong woman whose blog is filled with variety (family, cardmaking, bees, cats) and talent! Please stop by and say hello! In the meantime, here's the scoop on Lisa...

Tell us a little about you? I was born and raised in San Jose (better known as Silicon Valley) in California, which is a great place to live. I've been married to a Michigan transplant for 28 years and we have 2 grown children and 2 very spoiled furbabies. I got to see the valley change from orchards and farmland to become one of the high-tech capitals of the world. I've been teaching scrapbooking and rubber stamping classes for over 15 years. Although I love the altered art look but can't live with a lot of it, I teach the clean and simple style. I believe that once someone has the basics down, they can develop their own style or at least CASE things they like.

How long have you been blogging? Since August 2007, so I'm a newbie in the blogging world.

Why do you blog? My customers kept asking me if I had a website so that they could find out about my upcoming classes. I didn't want to go through the whole process to find out how to set myself up with a website, but when blogging became commonplace, I jumped on it. It's so easy and fast to learn. Having a blog is also a great way for my friends and family to keep track of what I'm up to.

What are your favorite topics to blog about? Cardmaking, rubber stamping, my furbabies (Honey Bunny and Purrcy), bee keeping, gardening, reviews of craft products, and travel.

Have you learned anything special from blogging? I'm a little more techy - or, as my IT guy says - just techy enough to get into trouble. I also love all the craft tutorials you can find. I learned how to knit and make a star book, two things I've been trying to learn how to do for years. I've also learned how to better stage my cards and what photos will work well on my blog. I've been known to take thousands of photos only to use one or two images.

What do you hope that people get out of reading your blog? That being creative can be learned, or at least copied well :) I hope I provide creative inspiration, that I am a bright spot in the reader's day (that's one reason why I don't rant on my blog), that my information is helpful, and that I can encourage readers to follow their creative path.

Can you give us links to some of your favorite blogs?

Understand Blue - Lydia has a wickedly funny sense of humor, great tutorials, and two great cats.

Hooked on Houses - I'm an architectural junkie.

Small Studio - I love Ginny's blog roll.

Martha Stewart - Have to love the big Martha.

I hope you've enjoyed this peek into Lisa's blog - now hop over there and check it out (including pics of her new kitten!).

Boo Cat :)

Hi all, I'm back posting cards for you :) There's lots going on at home, but I think creating will help right now, as long as my mojo is still hanging around...

Today's card is one I made with a cat stamp from ScrapbookingSuppliesRUs.com - they're selling 3 different cat stamps to benefit a fundraising project for cats and dogs called "A Place To Bark". The "boo" stamp is by Odd Bird Planet, and I think it's a great match for the cat image. The patterned paper is a new stack from Die Cuts With A View - I can't remember the name, but I'll find it out and add it later :)