Wednesday, March 7, 2012

England swings like a pendulum do

As far back as I can remember I've had a love/hate relationship with Sunday evenings. I have wonderful childhood memories of sitting in front of the TV with my sisters and dining on crunchy peanut butter & grape jelly sandwiches. The hate part came from knowing that in the morning I would have to go back to school. After all these years I still have that love/hate relationship going on, but with a few minor changes. Our Sunday night fare is usually Trader Joe's organic pizza and instead of school, it's work that I hate facing on Monday morning.

My TV viewing has also changed with the times. Instead of GE Theater we watch Masterpiece Theatre. Now that the second season of Downton Abbey is over, we take our British television with less melodrama and more laughs. A favorite of ours is Doc Martin. A series about a curmudgeon Doctor who suffers from a phobic fear of blood, which results in frequent and debilitating bouts of nausea and vomiting. I know a bit odd, but we’re great fans of the series.

Which leads me to my sister – who also loves Doc Martin. It’s her birthday next week and I wanted to make her a special card. Since my present to her will be High Tea at a local Tea Cottage, I decided to make her a card that reflected all things British.

Isn't he adorable? The card was so easy to make.
Just strips of cardstock, a little embossing and a couple of stamps!

 I used pop -ups to give him a bit of distinction.

How smashing is that?

This stamp was made by Inkadoo and I found it at Big Lots for $2.00. Happy Birthday Little Sister!

Speaking of birthdays...I just made a mistake at work and sent some folks an
early birthday card - like 5 months early. Ever make a mistake at work? 

13 comments:

  1. Boy do I remember that sunday night feeling and now I see it in my kids lol!
    Great card, love the cute image of the British Bulldog! As I already told you I too am a Doc Martin fan!
    Have a great day!
    Hugs Alyson x

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  2. I freakin love this card!

    I have the same stamp- but he isn't wearing the flag- is that a separate stamp?! Or do they have two versions of the stamp? I want this one!!!

    -kory

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  3. 5 months late = tacky. 5 months early = delightfully quirky! You win!

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  4. 1. I also have that Sunday night dread. Every. Single. Week. LOL We look forward to watching Dexter on Sunday nights, or catching up on DVR we've missed.
    2. I **LOVE** this card!!! It's just perfect!!! I saw that English Bulldog stamp a few weeks ago, but didn't get it. You've used it just wonderfully!
    3. My in-laws have two English Bulldogs (one of the reasons I thought about getting the stamp) and they are hysterical. A friend of the family, who is from England, called them "British Bulldogs," which we thought was awesome. :) Now, when they've misbehaved (which is OFTEN), they are spoken to with an accent, scolded in the Queen's English, LMAO! :)
    4. I think everyone makes mistakes ... natural part of life. At least your co-worker GOT a birthday card! :)

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  5. The stamp set (which I just got last week) was from 2009 and there are actually 3 stamps to the set - the doggie, the paw print and Good Day. I thought of using Good Day inside but thought it too Aussie so substituted the Smashing from another British stamp set I found in the $1 bin at Joanne's. If I could have a dog it would be a British Bulldog - the cutest!
    BTW - if anyone would like a few stamped images on white cardstock just let me know and send them off :-)

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  6. The card is wonderful!!! Love the 'smashing' on the inside. I recently bought a scrappy friend a bunch of Smash products for her birthday. On the inside of the card I wrote, "Hope you have a smashing birthday!" I thought I was being so clever.

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  7. Love the card - the layering for the flag is FaB-U-lous. Birthday card 5 months early .... priceless! I have a friend that celebrates her entire month of her birthday - and the week of her day is birthday week! and involves daily fun - You are encouraging birthdays all year long!!!!
    xx Michelle

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  8. Great story I love Benny Hill no need to understand english its universal....But what great idea the British card for your sister....tfs

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  9. I'm about to start Downton Abbey from the beginning (on Amazon). I like to have something playing on the computer or iPad while I'm working in my scraproom. Can't stand to do one thing at a time! And yes, I get the Sunday night thing, too. We always watched Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom and The Wonderful World of Disney on Sunday nights when I was a kid. Now I don't care what I'm doing as long as I'm at home.
    Love the card! My brother-in-law is British and he and my sister-in-law have SIX dogs in their house in Thousand Oaks. So I might just have to scrap lift that one if you don't mind. (And if I can't find a good stamp, I'll take you up on the offer for a few stamped images.) Thanks for the idea!
    Michele

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    Replies
    1. The puppies (and other goodies) came in Monday's mail. Thank you--they're so adorable! I don't think I can wait until BIL's bday--he's going to get a 'just because' card. Or maybe I can find an appropriate British celebration!
      If you ever see anything of mine that you like just give me a shout and I'll be happy to return the favor. Thanks again!
      Michele

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  10. Love the SMASHING stamp, perfect, and your sister will love her card! Smashing idea!

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  11. Oh, how cute! Love your card. That dog is adorable and love the stamp inside. I'm not fond of Sunday evenings either..you try to enjoy the evening but it's alway there, in the back of your mind.. love your blog. I'll be following you in a few. Have a great weekend! ~hl

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  12. Hi there,
    Stumbled over here after seeing your teacup album in the Scrapbeach photos. I think that I have a similar album & wanted to see what you'd done with it. Love it & then found myself reading all about you & your birdiness & then read about the San Diego station & now I'd love to take you up on the offer of a few stamped images of this great dog/flag. I'll send you an email with contact info & will return the favor by sending along some things that I think you'll like. Thanks for sharing pieces of you with all of us ...

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