Making Beautiful Cards #7

This card was made using two stamps and one color--eggplant. First, I stamped the lace background, then sponged more eggplant color around the edges. Next, I stamped the goddess, then carefully cut out the image and glued her to the lace background. Then I glued it to lavender cardstock. I like the simplicity of the card.

Making Beautiful Cards #6

This is one of my more unusual cards. The "bubbles" were made by combining equal parts water and liquid dish soap, and then adding tempura paint. Then you take a straw and blow bubbles in the mixture until the bubbles foam up and form a large mound above the rim of the bowl.

Next, you place a piece of paper on top of the bubbles and press gently down. The result is what you see on the left. When the bubbles pop, they leave a lovely impression on the paper.

I love these bubble images! They are fun. They have depth and look almost three-dimensional. And they make interesting images for cards.

Loretta Chase Does the Bluestockings

The Bluestockings discussion board over at Candice Hern's site, that is.

Loretta will be the Guest Author at the Bluestockings the week of July 14. She'll be blogging about her latest release, Your Scandalous Ways, and any other topic that pops up. Visitors are welcome. Please drop in and leave a comment, discuss Loretta's books, chat with Loretta, and meet other Loretta Chase fans.

At the end of the week one lucky commenter's name will be drawn to win an autographed Loretta Chase book. See you there!

The Life of Riley

Today I glanced out my slider and saw both my dog and my cat snoozing on the deck. The weather was beautiful, and both animals were dead to the world.

I absolutely had to take a picture of my cat. His name is Lord Byron, and he was lying on his back, hind legs spread, one paw flung out, the other curled on his chest. He was snoring. That's him in the picture. You can see my dog's hind legs in the left side of the picture.

I once had a very large orange cat who curled up inside a very small cardboard box for a nap and got stuck. He had wedged himself in so tightly that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get out.

Animals are so entertaining. Nova, my Doberman, has a whole box full of expensive toys, but does she play with them? No. Her favorite toys are a plastic 1 gallon planter from the nursery, and half of a tennis ball that split open. What about your pets? Do they shun their store-bought toys in favor of something more rustic or unusual?

Moment of Grace

The other day I was driving to the grocery store and saw a DOT tractor in the highway median. The driver was mowing down the tall grass and scotchbroom. On the way back home, I saw that he had missed little spots here and there. I thought, Well, that man is just careless or lazy. And then I realized that he'd missed those spots on purpose. Because each "spot" was a foxglove flower, tall and pretty.

You could tell he had carefully mowed around the flowers, leaving them standing while mowing down the rest of the weeds. It brought a smile to my lips and happiness to my heart. I have carried that image in my heart ever since. It was a moment of grace for me that has had a lasting effect.

Have you ever had a moment of grace? Something like a beautiful sunset, a hug from a child, or unexpected kindness from a stranger?