A '90s Kind of Father's Day for Hubby

I remember the moment like it was yesterday...  (cue the flashback music)

Mr. Z strolled into the livingroom.  His eyes brimmed with mirth and his lips barely contained a chuckle as he caught my attention. 

"Honey?" 

"Yes?" 

"I'm a '90s kind of guy." 

I blinked.  So many thoughts tumbled through my brain as I tried to reconcile his statement with the man standing before me.  Oh, he could be sentimental and tender when he wanted, but no one who knew him would place him anywhere near the category of '90's male.  It didn't make sense.  I was bewildered and he knew it. 

His smile grew wider. 

"You?  Really?" 

He patted his puffed-up chest.  His smiled turned sly and then he delivered his punchline.    

"An 1890's kind of guy."

We both laughed for a good five minutes.  Life was good and everything made sense once more.

I had almost forgotten that little memory until this weekend.

You see, the digital stamp I ordered to make a card for Mr. Z did not download!  Panicked since Father's Day was a mere few hours away, I went through the files I had already saved.

Sentiment courtesy of Desert Diva - Hannelie
Digi Stamp image courtesy of Free Vintage Digi Stamps

When I saw those handlebar moustaches, I just knew I had to find the perfect vintage image to make a card fit for my 1890s hubby!

The solid cardstock layers are Bazzill and the patterned cardstock is some I had on hand (will try to find out who makes it because it was nice and thick).

The sentiment comes from Desert Diva - Hannelie.  You can visit her blog by clicking HERE.  The words bitmapped a bit when I shrank it down.  I could have played with it a bit more, so it could have been "operator error" that caused the issue.  I also should have made it a pennant cut to match the brown, but as I said, was in panic mode!  This sentiment was a freebie with other fun versions of "happy father's day" in the set!

The vintage image comes from Free Vintage Digi Stamps and you can visit that site by clicking HERE.   Since the image was so detailed and busy I did not want to color the whole scene.  Instead I focused on the people, the chairs and just a bit of the walls behind the table (to tie it into the brown on the card).

Mr. Z loved it!  Especially when I reminded him why I made this particular card and we laughed again over this precious memory.

Happy Creating!

Let Me Repeat ~ I love my mom! (OHW BOOT CAMP)

During the summer months Operation Write Home holds a card-making Boot Camp.  I missed out on the first challenge due to schedule and, honestly, hadn't planned on participating in this one quite yet.  Alas, the blog post must have been simmering in the back of my brain though, because the card below just seems to fit.

The theme for the June is Using Repetition in Design.  If you want to hop straight to the blog post with the information on how to use this or see some great cards using repetition, be sure to click HERE.

Anyway, my mother sent a card and it made me smile so much I wanted to make one for her to return the favor.  (Psst! There's another friend or two who need to keep an eye on their mailbox in the upcoming week or two.)  Here's a peek at the card I made for mom --

Digi stamp courtesy of Dearie Dolls Digis

I don't know if you can see it, but the pink paper is an embossed Bazzill paper.  It has sweet dots all over it.  (I'm a sucker for the dot!)  The black paper with white dots is some scrap paper I had on hand.  Looking at the card now, I probably should have added a narrow black layer beneath the image to make it pop more, but it still works.  :)

For this particular boot camp challenge, my theme was obviously circles/dots.  The rosettes on her dress and bow carry through the circle/dot theme, just a little larger than the embossed dots.  Even her hair/face fall into a "circle" category, rounded as the style is.  I considered making the image smaller and putting it in a circle, but it was just a little too much, so left it in an oval with scallops.  It still has the "rounded/circular" feel to it.  The ribbon ties in with the little banner she's holding.

OH!  The dots around the edge of the pink layer were actually black marker but I couldn't find my plain organza ribbon, only the sparkly edged one.  So, out came the Stickles to bling the image up and make it match!  The color Stickles used is "crystal".  I also added just a dab of Stickles to the center of each rosette on her little dress and bow.

And I want to give a HUGE SHOUT OUT to Dearie Dolls Digi Stamps!  Mary Ellen's blog is one of my favorite for digi stamps (now that I've discovered them) and the best part is how generous she is!   This image is one of the many, many, many, free digi stamps Mary Ellen offers on her blog.    She has a new blog featuring her latest work and I'm not sure if she'll transfer older images or not, so am also sharing the link to her older blog so you can check out all of her so-sweet dearie dolls.

To get to the new blog, Free Dearie Doll Digi Stamps, click HERE!

To get to her older blog which has this image, Dearie Dolls Digis, click HERE!

Make sure you leave a comment and let her know I sent you and be sure to check out her super sweet summer digis (ouch, my tongue is twisted).

Happy Creating!

Freebie Friday ~ Patriotic Digi Stamp Alert!

My fellow stampers...

If you haven't tried digital stamps before now, this is a great opportunity to do so.  :)  I was hesitant at first too, but am glad I did.  I absolutely love that I can adjust the stamp size to suit what I need.

Don't get me wrong, I'm still a die-hard rubber stamper, and love the inks and all that stuff, but these are loads of fun too.

Dearie Dolls has some really cute digi stamps and the two I'm sharing with you today were put on the blog over Memorial Day weekend (I believe).  These would make darling additions to your digital stamp collection to have on hand for those Operation Write Home AnyHero cards!

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First up is a sweet little girl carrying a flag. 

 You can find her HERE.

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Second is a handsome little saluting guy in flag shirt and wearing a camo hat.  

You can find him HERE.

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Both images have a colored version and a b/w version available to download.  Both images are free, just make sure you follow her directions and read her terms of use!

While you are there, be sure to check out her other freebies on the blog and see what she's up to.  Be sure to tell her I sent you!

You can get to the main page of Dearie Doll's Free Digi Stamp Blog by clicking HERE.

Enjoy!