Graduation....

It's that time of year and we have three graduating...two from high school and one from college. When I spotted this card I just had to make it for Jake, our nephew...it is so him! I wanted to change it up a bit so I turned it into my first easel card...not bad for my first attempt.

He is not a fussy, frilly kind of guy so I did not put the usual sappy sentiment inside...all it says is, "What...expecting something profound?"

My two nieces are the other two...Angela from high school and Nicolle from college (she is going to be a lawyer).

I have been really busy trying to finish my first year of Copic classes with Suzanne Dean and I finished my last homework last night...I am impressed with myself. I have gone from wanting to scream and through these markers out of the window to complete frustration (it was the paper) to having an absolute blast! These are my final pictures for the class...thanks Suzanne, I learned a lot.

I hope your day is sunny and relaxing.

Cat

They did it again...

Thanks Glitterbabe's for the laugh..


today's words of wisdom.....

What is Celibacy?

Celibacy can be a choice in life, or a condition imposed by circumstances.
While attending a Marriage Weekend, Frank and his wife Nancy listened to the instructor declare, It is essential that husbands and wives know the things that are important to each other.�
He then addressed the men. Can you name and describe your wife's favorite flower?
Frank leaned over, touched Nancy 's arm gently, and whispered, Gold Medal-All-Purpose, isn't it?
And thus began Frank's life of celibacy...

I think this is hilarious!!!

I was "blurfing" my usual blogs and found this on Glitterbabe's website. I couldn't find a way of linking directly so...I copy/pasted it.

"today's words of wisdom... THE LAST CONFLICT....

The Israelis and Arabs realized that, if they continued fighting, they would someday end up destroying the whole world. So they
decided to settle their dispute with an ancient practice: a duel of two, like David and Goliath. This "duel" would be a dog fight.
The negotiators agreed each side would take 5 years to develop the best fighting dog they could. The dog that won the fight would earn its people the right to rule the disputed areas. The losing side would have to lay down its arms for good.
The Arabs found the biggest, meanest Dobermans and Rottweilers in the world. They bred them together and then crossed their offspring with the meanest Siberian wolves. They selected only the biggest, strongest puppy of each litter, fed it the best food and killed all the other puppies. They used steroids and trainers in their quest for the perfect killing machine. After the 5 years were up, they had a dog that needed steel prison bars on its cage. Only expert trainers could handle this incredibly nasty and ferocious beast.

When the day of the big dog-fight finally arrived, the Israelis showed up with a very strange-looking animal, a Dachshund that was 10 feet long! Everyone at the dogfight arena felt sorry for the Israelis. No one there seriously thought this weird, odd-looking animal stood any chance against the growling beast over in the Arab camp. All the bookies took one look and predicted that the Arab dog would win in less than a minute. As the cages were opened, the Dachshund slowly waddled toward the center of the ring. The Arab dog leaped from its cage and charged the giant wiener-dog. As he got to within an inch of the Israeli dog, the Dachshund opened its jaws and swallowed the Arab beast whole in one bite. There was nothing left but a small puff of fur from the Arab killer dog's tail floating to the ground. The stunned crowd of international observers, bookies and media personnel let out a collective gasp of disbelief and surprise. The Arabs approached the Israelis, muttering and shaking their heads in disbelief. "We do not understand," said their leader, "Our top scientists and breeders worked for 5 long years with the meanest, biggest Dobermans, Rottweilers and Siberian wolves, and they developed an incredible killing machine of a dog!"

The Israelis replied. "Well, for 5 years, we have had a team of Jewish plastic surgeons from

Boca Raton working to make an alligator look like a Dachshund."

hugs and smiles,"

Have a wonderful day!
Cat

Copic Swatch Book...

I have been working on this for some time. I am a visual person and I have accumulated lists and lists of Copic blending families from my favorite guru's but, never could visualize them.

One day I was in my LSS... Be Creative in Pitt Meadows, B.C. and Lisa Strahl had hers there. I thought what a wonderful idea! So...I began.

I started with 4-1/4 by 5-1/2 but the pages were going to be too small and the book would be too thick so I started over and went with half-sheets. I decided to use my stock of Gina K Pure Luxury as: 1) I was not a fan of the paper (I know people rave about it but, I have way too much trouble blending on it) and 2) It was nice and thick with no bleed-through to the other side....perfect for my book. I got all the paper cut to size, my binding coil at hand, my Cinch ready to bind and I picked up a sheet of heavy-duty acetate/mylar stuff...cut it in half and it was perfect for the front and back protective covers.

I started at the internet with digital clip art. I could have stamped it all but, I am such a newbie at stamping and there were so many images to do....I decided to go with digital instead. I searched until I found the images I wanted to represent my swatches....blank faces, hair, flowers, leaves, etc.

I created my templates and printed off all my pages.....sat down one night with my Copics and colored the pages in. I split each section by color and representation. I was not concerned with the actual representation of....say a leaf or a barrel but, with the laying down of my color blending families.

I am really, really happy with it. I can sit down now...open the book...look for a color family I want...see the main color, the highlight and the shadow....grab my markers and color. No more guessing!

Have a wonderful day!