The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge #4 Leap Into The Odd...Great Expectations!

    March is here and it's time to Spring Ahead in most of Indiana. I'm not much of a fan when it comes to changing the clocks...unless it's Fall Back (and gain an extra hour of sleep). Losing that extra hour just drives me nuts- especially when Indiana has more than one time zone. And there's always the inevitable questions, like; "If we set our clock back one hour, then what time is Church going to start?". Better yet, the shenanigans: like the year my ChiefHubby decided to NOT remind me of the time change, but woke me up WITHOUT changing the clocks. I wondered why I was finally EARLY for Church that day! Ha. Ha. Very funny, Dear. This year, he'll have time off during the time change. He's having surgery on March 3rd and March 10th to clear out 2 cataracts in his eyes. They came up so fast, he was not even sure what was happening to him. And luckily for him; he'll get to correct his vision so that he will no longer need glasses. The lucky turkey! 
       The surgeries are the reason I am still here at home and not up in Minnesota visiting our new Grandson. I had hoped to spend one week each month up there, being a live-in maid for the younger set of kids, and just enjoying some giggles and hugs from Baby James Elliot! The Chief's overtime got in the way of those plans, and then it all changed once again. So hopefully, I'll be headed up to the land of deep snow...yay. ;)
           Baby Jamie is my inspiration for this FJBChallenge "Leap Into The Odd" and I actually started and finished these Tags on February 29th! The challenge is to add in something that is "different from what is usual, or 'strange'". While my Grandson is perfectly normal, he IS unusually HAPPY; and that's all good! His Daddy, younger Son Brett, was born with 6 full months of colic. It was a very rough time for us to get through, and I wouldn't wish that on any parent. But one day after 6 months of screaming-no-matter-what, Brett blossomed into a big, happy baby. And I mean BIG. He was born at 9 lbs 2 &1/2 ounces, which was just 1/2 an ounce less than his own Dad/the ChiefHubby. Baby Jamie was born just shy of that- 8 lbs  10 ounces- but weighed in at a whopping 16 pounds already at 3 months! Since his Daddy is just shy of 6 ft 4 inches....Wittle Jamie not gonna be vewy wittle as him gets older! Let's just say I think he'll scare off the Bullies. :) But that SMILE....and those GIGGLES when we get to see him on Facetime....absolutely PRECIOUS!!! 
         I've explained before how important education has been to our family, and I've unabashedly bragged how smart our one-day-grandkids would be; coming from having such smart parents our 2

sets of kids are. And it's proving to be true! I notice right away that Baby James is watching us with interest on the camera- following along the same path as the first 2 Grandbabies with long attention spans. And I'm proud to say that our kids are passing down the 'art' of playing with their babies the way we did with them as babies: because that's how kids LEARN. Baby Jamie's room is decorated in an "education" theme- with carefully collected vintage toys and new books of old titles. With an English Teacher Mommy and a Nuclear Engineering Daddy...I suppose it's not very usual for most kids to be able to claim their parents have those careers. So thinking on that is what my Muse centered on...

I started with 2 manila Tags and inking them up. 

The TH Silver Spray Stain allowed the blues to shine. 

I wasn't sure of using a full set ...but definitely at least ONE stamp out of each of these sets.

And I knew I'd use these three TH Dies.

The Professor HAD to be in here! He give me that same type of 'vision' for Baby Jamie

that I had of both my own boys when they were babies.

For our two- it turned out to be true...both times!

Each die needed a different thickness of cardstock/mat board.

At least one stamp on each side was going to be embossed.

Here's where I got the idea to make a 'full' gear out of this half TH gear stamp:

by making a mark onto the top of the TH Stamping Platform (with a permanent black Sharpie

marker, no less) where the middle of the circle is...

...then line that same middle up with the Sharpie mark- only upside down.

I ended up NOT using the TH Alterations Steampunk Parts Die for the Tags' LOOKS,

but it really came in handy as a paper 'mask' over the TH clock stamp!

That Sharpie marker held up through all the rubbing and pushing of my hands;

but cleaned off very easily with regular stamp cleaner!

U gotta LOVE that TH Stamping Platform!!

Lol- Jamie's parents drink coffee (very UN-odd) so I added in a bit of Ground Espresso!

Here's the finished Backgrounds.

Playing around for some Nuclear doodads.

It's a sure bet: that one color you need & you're saying

"Oh, come on! All I need is just ONE TEENY, TINY BIT of it!"

So I no longer toss away tiny scraps of the last of a color. 

I managed to get the 2 pieces I needed from this last bit of 'yellow' out of TH paperie.

LOL, Tim!!!

Ok...yeah; I'm a TREKKIE!!

(Star Trek; TNG! Captain Picard is THE Captain!!)

Looking for those 2 TH Paper Dolls that I knew were the perfect ones for Baby Jamie...

the very last of both particular dolls. *gasp!*

Inking/not inking die cuts...

...and finishing touches for the "Cuteness Meter" !!!

And the results...

It's a little ODD; or is it- mixing dinosaurs with the Space Age??

They're both important parts of our History!

It's a little ODD; being able to say "My Daddy runs a Nuclear Plant", 

but you don't look very much like Bart Simpson.

(You're waaaaay cuter and smarter than that!)

It looks ODD; but, having wings is what it feels like to be able to learn!

The "Cuteness Meter" is ready to blow!!

Yep- him is DAT CUTE!! :)

The left Tag will go into Jamie's box- into the TH Large Folio (not yet entirely finished)

& keepsake box. (I have a set of these for each Grandbaby to have - probably for HS Graduation.)

The flatter Tag on the right will be Jamie's first Bookmark.

(I'll probably cover it with laminate later on.)

THANKS! for taking time to check back in and see what's new.

Don't forget to take a peek at all the other entries at

The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog

as well as check out their latest inspiration for crafting!

SHOUT OUT of another THANKS! to

The Funkie Junkie Boutique

for Sponsoring these Challenges with a $25 random Drawing!

Be sure not to miss the next Challenge coming up this week;

I'll be GUEST DESIGNER!

Until then...

Be Safe &

HAPPY BLOGGING!