Pretty Cards, Easy Flowers, and a personal note.

Hello stampers!

The weather here in Eastern Washington has been warmer and dryer than usual, but without any sunshine. So please forgive the dreary photos! :)

I worked on these last week, and thought they were worthy to share. Hope you like them! The sentiment is from Verve Stamps, the half pearls are Martha Stewart, and everything else is Stampin' Up! products, tools, and stamps. {Sorry.....Cuttlebug folder too!}
I keep seeing these really pretty, vintage looking flowers popping up all over stamping land, and wondered how I could make some too, with stuff I already own. So, after rifling through my entire stamping station, I came up with this. I used the Flower Fusion Sizzlet die available through SU, and for each flower cut out 2 of the largest flower, and 1 of the medium. I stacked them together and stitched the corduroy button on. Then I rolled all the petals over the button and between my fingers to curl them up. Ba-da-boom! Awesome right? You can also use the corduroy brads for this, by simply piercing the stacked flowers and inserting the prongs through. Curl as desired. Cute huh? You could even sponge some color onto the petals before assembling them for added contrast and dimension. Also, textured cardstock looks fantastic! I attached the flowers to the cards with multiple glue dots for security.

If you make cute flowers similar to these, please tell me about them and leave a link in the comments. I'd love to see and try them too.
~

Now, on a personal note, my husband and I have decided to sell our home and property, and move closer into town. Into the 'burbs'. We have been rolling the idea around for about a year, and have decided it will be best for our family. We live up on a hill on 20 forested acres, about 40 miles from Spokane, WA. Basically in the boonies, which is how I have referred to it since we moved here in 2003. It is beautiful here, and we have the most fantastic view of the surrounding mountains, including the north side of Mt. Spokane. My husband thought he would love it here for the rest of our lives, but has now realized how hard it is physically, financially, and emotionally to be so isolated. I moved here because I love my husband, and truly have tried to love it too. I accepted that we would live here forever. I have been a stay at home mom for almost 6 years, and it has taken a toll on us financially, and me emotionally. I do not like being alone, I need people. And there are no jobs out here for me. I have been selling my handmade cards on etsy and ebay for about 5 years, but it only enables me to buy new stamping supplies and goodies, and Christmas gifts. All of my family lives inside Spokane, and I have hardly seen them for the last 7 years. I am so happy that I will be able to get back into their lives and be a part of 'family' again. My husband is getting excited about a smaller yard to maintain, and having free time with the family! My kids are SO happy it is unbelievable. My 5 year old only knows this place, but even he wants to live in a neighborhood with other kids to play with. And we all want to ride our bikes on concrete!!
We are meeting with a realtor on Friday, and are getting the ball rolling. We have a huge 'to-do' list of things to paint, clean, clear and burn before we will be ready to go. This means that I will not be *heavy sigh* stamping *gulp* very much, and actually have to pack up my stamping station *sigh* very soon so we can finish painting the interior of the house. {lots of tears and heart palpitations} Just the thought of NOT stamping is freaking me out! I get really crabby when I think about it, or think about boxing up all of my stuff. It really weighs heavy in my heart because I love it so much, and have come to depend on it for my sanity here in the wild. I am going to go through some serious withdrawals!! What's more, is that I have to get a 'real' job once we get settled, and probably will not be able to stamp much or even sell cards on etsy anymore. {Major tears} I will miss it so much! And I will miss everyone here in blogging/stamping land too!
I really hope that once things settle down, and we get into a new life routine, I will be able to have time for my passion. My fingers are crossed! And I will keep you posted!
~
Thanks for putting up with me!
~
Sherrie