Sunday, September 9, 2012

CASology: I Love My Family (most of the time!)

This week's challenge at CASology is "family".  There are some darling entries - little die cut families, the Holy family, children playing...but I went for a basic "love you" with a story behind it.

I was a guest at yesterday's Stampin' Up's Denver regionals...yeah!!  But I had left putting together all of my swap cards until the last minute.  I warned my family that I was going to be busy Friday night and then gone all day Saturday and they knew how excited I was.

So Friday night comes along and I am busily die-cutting but my family is convinced that I should be on the other side of the family room with them watching a TV show.  Grrrrr.  I got tired of hearing "but this is a family show" so I gathered up stamped paper, my Cuttlebug and my dies.  As I picked it all up, the dies proceeded to fly into my drawers of stamps.  Most were big and I could find them, but the little tiny leaf die from the $25 set of Cannery dies is gone.  Strike 1.

Then my oldest son, who is partially home-schooled, could only complete his week's goals if I worked with him on Grammar.  I warn him constantly to consider all of our schedules when he works out his goals.  Strike 2.

Then I got to bed by 9:30 because I had to be up early and wanted a great night's sleep for the big day.  My youngest ran in at 10:15 and totally woke me up.  Worst case scenario - I had managed to get a power nap before he came banging in  - so I did not make it back to sleep until 1:30.  Strike 3.

(I don't even need to go into the cats who always wake me up at 6 a.m. - but decided to bother me at 4 a.m. Saturday morning.)

So...here's the card...

CASology: Family


And here's the reality of a loving family...

1. My husband spent an hour going through all of my stamps sets, then on his hands and knees looking for that darn leaf die because he knew it was important to me.  He didn't find it, but he sure tried!

2. My oldest very quickly realized that I was not going to be able to deal with grammar so he switched his schedule and took a Chemistry test that he had scheduled for Monday so that we would have time on Monday to do Grammar.  (Luckily, he aced it or I would have felt really guilty.)

3. My youngest only wanted to tell me that the first ever Big Bang Theory was on.  We have only recently discovered the show and we love it because we are total nerds ourselves.  We have so wanted to see how it all started so he was beyond excited and sincerely thought I would be thrilled also.  (And I probably should have been...but we do have a DVR!!)

And to top everything off, they listened with sincere(?) interest to all of my stories when I got home from Regionals yesterday!  My oldest even sat down with my door prize... (Out of 500 ladies and a few gentlemen, I won one of the door prizes - but it was the Spanish version of Teeny Tiny Wishes - I don't speak Spanish and I don't know any Spanish-speakers!)... but he still translated each phrase for me!

I love 'em - - - most of the time!

I tried this card in browns and it just wasn't working, so I looked at current challenges and found that Stampin' Royalty used two browns and added in Pool Party - I LOVE that touch of color!

  • Stamps: Stampin' Up Seasonal Sayings (a door prize for EVERYONE at the convention!)
  • Paper: Stampin' Up Soft Suede and Pool Party CS, Crumb Cake dsp
  • Ink: Stampin' Up Soft Suede, Crumb Cake and Pool Party
  • Accessories: Stampin' Up Apothecary Accents Framelis, Linen Thread, misc brads

16 comments:

  1. Great colours and first prize for honesty! lol! So glad I'm not the only one! And I'm equally sure that we never drive them crazy in the way they do to us! lol! Thanks for playing along this week. You'll find the die. It may be years, but I'm sure you'll find it! Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kim, thank you for your story I just love hearing about real life. Your card is fantastic and I sincerely hope you find that die--I am sure you will. Thank you so much for joining us this week at CASology!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Fabby card Kim, love the pop of blue.
    I can relate to your story as I`m sure any other Mum can. We don`t always like `em but we always love `em.
    As for your die, I`m sure I have a die/ die cut fairy in my craft room. They disappear then turn up where I`ve already looked half a dozen times
    Lynne xxx

    ReplyDelete
  4. Holy Cow Kim!!! I think your family should all pitch in and buy you that new die *wink, wink*! Life does happen huh. And I'm with you and this pretty card, love the addition of the pool party. Enjoy your day and let us know if that die turns up!

    ReplyDelete
  5. what a beautiful card, kim... love the color combo! and your story about your family... thanks so much for joining us each week at CASology!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love the color on your card and the DP also perfect for this card...great CAS card....

    I am joining too the CASology challenge and my card is Nr. 36 would you mind to see it on my blog? I would be so glad if you could leave me some love :) Many thanks before :) hugs, Monika

    ReplyDelete
  7. Love your family story...so real life! :) Thanks for sharing as now I feel more normal!!!
    Despite all that, your card turned out wonderfully designed! If this is how you operate under pressure, you are one talented card maker! LOL! I'd probably have creases in my cardstock, smudges where they didn't belong and some sort of crazy design going on!
    Good luck finding that die...hate it when that happens! Those little items can end up in the craziest of places sometimes!!!
    Thanks for joining us at CASology again!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Kim this is such a sweet post. The frustrations and joys of family life perfectly described. Happy for you to have had a fun weekend of crafty time. This card is beautiful :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Your card is gorgeous especially with the pops of Pool Party. And I love your post as it shows the beauty of family life warts and all! :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Yep, that is the reality of family...never perfect, rarely things go as planned, but we stick together through it all and at the end of the day we all love each other! That's why your card is perfect for this cue...nothing says family like LOVE!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Very well done, Kim, and very well related "reality" writing about your awesome (most of the time) family! TFS!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Sometimes it takes things to go wrong to make you realise how special your family is. Hope you managed to have a great day in the end. Your card is - as always - gorgeous! I love the addition of the twine and the judicious use of the darker brown.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Yep! That Pool Party does the trick! Aren't families great! Like a roller coaster ride.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Oh Kim! I visit regularly because I love your cards ... But truly ... I look forward to your stories so much! I always leave your blog with a smile on my face! Love the pop of the pool party! So glad yu enjoyed regionals, too! Hugs xxx

    ReplyDelete
  15. Oh Kim, your card is adorable but your story even more so! x

    ReplyDelete
  16. Kim, just wanted to let you know that I'm selecting this BEAUTIFUL card of yours as one of my favorites for the current CASology challenge.

    I love the design and the color combination. Beautifully done!

    AND...may I say, I enjoyed your lovely family story.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to comment on my card! I do get spam comments so your comment will be held until I read it and release it!