Well I'm a little gun-shy typing this post today.  Typepad (the service I use for this blog) is going through some kind of "upgrade", and in the cyber world, that's not generally a happy thing.  And a whole bunch of bloggers are spitting nails these days trying to get their posts published the way they want them to appear.  So I'm sure that's why my post of earlier this past week vanished into thin air (according to comments on Typepad's own blog, it appears to be happening to others, too), and I'm sure the fact that it took me half a day to add just one sentence to my demonstrator benefits page the other day had something to do with their "new and improved" editor, too!  Geesh!

So here goes another attempt at posting….. and if things end up looking totally goofy, please understand why.  Sometimes what we type doesn't end up being what actually publishes….. and oftentimes we don't have control over where the pictures ultimately end up.

Today I want to share a card I made for some friends' house warming.  The front features our oh-so-popular "Two-step Owl" punch, along with the Scallop Edge Border, and Heart-to-Heart punches.  The colors are Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake (eyes), Pear Pizzaz, Early Espresso, and either Tangerine Tango or Pumpkin Pie (I confess I forgot).  Notice where the knot ended up?  It was a little tricky finding room to tie and place that knot over there and still be able to center the top vanilla layer, so I had an inspiration to take a bite out of the Very Vanilla layer with the end of the Modern Label punch!  (Oh yeah, I guess that means I used THAT punch, too.)

The Pear Pizzazz Designer paper comes from the current hostess gift set (Level 1), and the tangerine/pumpkin were scraps I had lying around from a while back.

Now, this two-step owl punch is adorable, but a lot of people are having trouble dealing with those itty-bitty, teeny-tiny circles that punch out for the eyes.  And I agree it is IMPOSSIBLE to handle them with your fingers.  But here's what I do:  I add a tiny little spot of Two-Way Glue Pen to the dot and then pick it up (glue side up) by touching the sharp pointy tip of the Paper Snips to it.  Then I roll the scissors over (so glue side is pointed down), and then I can just about hit the exact landing spot where I want to place that pesky dot!  And truth be told, I used the exact same technique to place those small hearts, too.  Probably didn't HAVE to, but it sure made it a lot easier!

Now, for the inside of this card I used "My Digital Studio" to create something totally custom….. and I had a lot of fun with this, too!  Check it out – although because it's on a white background you can't really tell where the edges would be.  So just imagine this printed on a 5-1/4" x 4" piece of Whisper White cardstock…… : 

 Remember you can usually click on a picture to see it larger, if you want.  (Well, operative word being "usually"; don't know WHAT might happen these days, lol!)

So whadaya think?!?  Leave me a comment if you feel inspired!  (And if Typepad will let you!)