Happy B-day Sweet and Simple

This card uses the same colors and papers as the previous except I used Perfect Pearls for the icing and Glitz Stickles for the cherries, a color called Ruby Slippers. The image was colored with chalks and a blending pen. I used Baja Breeze ink smudged on the edge of the watercolor paper and Basic Grey to stamp the image and sentiment. I think that's it for today.

Just wanted to let you know that our saga of tragedy continues. My MIL has been placed in a nursing home as a hospice patient. My brother will be moved from the hospital to a nursing home in about a week they are telling us. And yesterday, the wife of one of my husband's brothers passed away in her sleep of advanced recurrent breast cancer. I haven't even been able to go and see my brother and MIL in over a week because I've had bronchitis which is finally getting better. I feel like I want to wake up from a bad dream.

Crazy for Cupcakes

I need birthday cards so I'm starting to roll ideas around in my head. I had gotten this SU Crazy for Cupcakes set awhile back and it hadn't seen ink yet. What a fun set this is! I used Baja Breeze, whisper white, and Night of Navy CS and a piece of Afternoon Tea, I think it was called all from SU. The ink was Basic Gray and Pacific Point. Stickles were used to decorate the icing and for the flames. I also used the Labels Two Nestabilities. I colored the icing with Cameo Coral chalk using a Fantastix coloring tool.

Valentine....Or Not!

I started out thinking about making a Valentine card. When I finished I realized that this could be for any occasion when you want to tell someone they are special to you. Used SU Real Red and Pink Pirouette card stock and SU One of a Kind stamps. Ink is SU Real Red. I also used the Nestabilities Labels One. The narrow red ribbon is from Ellen Hutson. The red check (yikes I only have less than a foot left!!) is from JoAnn's and is one of my favorite ribbons. The corner heart punch is EK Success. Have a great week everyone!

Blog Candy Winner!!!!

Congratulations to Jackie from North Carolina who won my blog candy package. Jackie if you will send me your information, I'll get this box of goodies right out to you. Thanks to everyone who entered especially those who left prayers and good wishes.

Valentine in a Tin Favor Box

Be sure to click on these pictures to see a larger view. It's snowing here today and the light isn't quite right for picture taking! This little project is just the cutest thing! I got it from Catherine Harwood who got her original idea from a halloween card in a tin box project from http://www.sohappytostamp.typepad.com/. I will find Catherine's blog for you if I can so you'll have the tutorial. I did not have a large SU alphabet set to I used a Martha Stewart one. You also need the SU scallop punch and the 1.25 and 1.375 circles punches, some red and pink and chocolate papers of your choice and some ribbon. It all folds accordian like into one of the small wedding favor tins available at Michael's or JoAnn's. Both stores have the same price on these but get this: at Mike's you get 30 in a can for $20 but at JoAnn's you get 25 Wilton brand for $20. I also saw them 3-$1 at the dollar store which works out to the same price. Use a 50% off coupon. You can really say anything you want on this as long as the finished product fits in the tin. You fold the ribbon in at the end and close the top. I think it's an adorable little project and I hope you enjoy it too.

Blog Candy Goes Off Tomorrow!!!

Just to remind everyone the blog candy in the post below goes off tomorrow. I have added some chipboard, several hand made cards and boxes, and some individual wood mounted rubber stamps. Be sure to sign up to win and I'll post the winner tomorrow. We're getting ready to move my MIL to a nursing home. That process will begin today. My brother is the same, not getting any worse but not well enough to move to rehab. So very sad. Thank you again to all those who have offered prayers for our situation. We are so appreciative and so grateful.

Dear Readers.............

Unfortunately I will not be posting much for awhile. My mother in law was admitted yesterday to the same hospital my brother is in with a very serious stroke. We were there all day and the next few days will be critical. The blog candy will go off next week as scheduled but I'm not sure at this point if I'll have time for any creative posting. I appreciate your loyalty and your patience.

WOO HOO---NEW CATALOGS ARE HERE!!!

Got home from the hospital this afternoon to find my box of pre-ordered catalogs waiting for me. They never sent me a tracking number or anything. They just showed up! FANTASTIC!!!

Follow Your Dreams Clipboard

For this project I have taken one of the SU On Board Clipboards and covered it with K&Co. paper. I added a striped coordinate piece at the bottom and then used the SU Top Note Die on the upper part. After sanding all the edges, I distressed and antiqued them with TH Vintage Photo ink. I used Scalloped Circle Nestabilities and the SU Starstruck stamp for the round medallion over the K&Co. ribbon and the Long Rectangle Nesties for the bottom sentiment about following your dreams. The stamps are SU Always and Live Your Dream. I also used the new Fired Brick DISTRESSED Stickles for glitz. I love the Distressed Stickles, even better than the regular ones. It's like glitter, but more toned down. The bird has a little stick on gem for an eye. OK I was finished but I wanted something for the clip itself and I dug around and couldn't find anything. Ribbon was too much, a flower wasn't appropriate and then I came across this little compass. I think it came from the Michael's dollar bin but I'm not sure but it fits the bill exactly with this piece and the sentiment. Enjoy everyone!

Blog Candy----Better Late Than Never!

I passed my 10,000 mark sometime in the last two months and because of my brother's illness and my constant visits to the hospital, I have not had the chance to post any candy for you. I have been spending this dreary Saturday doing some cleaning out and getting this bunch of goodies together. I may add a few more things before I'm finished but here's what you are getting for now: SU Merci stamp set (don't think it was ever used), two Dollar stamps, a tube of silver glitter and a bottle of pumpkin colored glitter, two jars of flowers in two sizes and several colors, a pack of foam coasters from Michaels in mauve, and a bunch of ribbons, probably about 12 yards.

Please leave a comment on my blog and if you have a blog I'd appreciate a link to my candy on your blog. I will draw the winner on January 20th and post the name on my blog. Please leave an email address where I can contact the winner. Otherwise, I would have to pick someone else. I want to thank my readers for all their prayers and good wishes for all of our family while we struggle with John's illness. I pray each day for a merciful solution from God and then TRY to let Him handle it as I go about my daily tasks. Hope you win!

Today I did this little spring-like card using SU Yo Yo Yellow, DCWV designer paper, EK Success Fancy Corner Punch, Nestabilities new Pinking Circles in two sizes and the SU stamp set Serene Spring. Pretty in Pink was used for the larger circle and the banner. The banner is an interesting thing. I stamped, trimmed it out and used the Photo Corner punch to do the tails on the one end. The image was colored with SU Stampin Pastels and a blender pen. Almost forgot to add that I used a few Stickles here and there for some subtle sparkle.

And speaking of SU, the news today is out of Orlando where the SU Leadership Conference is being held and the new spring summer catty unveiled. Are we in for a treat, yes mam! Lots of new dies for the Big Shot. If you don't have one now, you are sure gonna want one. I think this is going to be a great catalogue. The new stamp sets are really nice, lots of owls and birdies. A nice sentiment stamp set. New Decor Elements. New big brads and ribbons. Corduroy brads, can you stand it!!! And the new Designer Papers are beautiful. I need to win the lottery for sure! If you are in need of a new catalogue or are interested in any of this new (or old!) merchandise, email me and I'll be glad to help you out. Why not think about a catalogue workshop. I send you the catty and you get orders from friends, neighbors, office workers, etc. You reap all the hostess benefits and free stamps and hardly any work at all. Would love to introduce you to all this new fun!

I Found It!!!

The artist for the stamp below is Wendy Francisco and the stamp came from a company called Biblical Impressions. But don't get the wrong impression, not all their stamps are religious in nature. Wendy designs the most gorgeous wildlife stamps you will ever see. I won the deer and the squirrel in addition to the dove one in the card below. I'm so glad I found it to give credit where credit is due. Check them out!

Peacemakers

Last fall I believe it was I won some blog candy and this stamp was one of the three I won from this company....and I can't remember the name!!!! Maybe someone will fill me in. I've been looking for it but just can't recall it. Anyway, this is a very large stamp as you can see and it took the ink beautifully right from the pad. The detail on this stamp is gorgeous. I'll try and do something with the other two as well to show you how great they are. The background CS is SU Garden Green and so was the ink I used. The other shade is from the scrap box but it's close to Certainly Celery.

Enjoy!

Friend-ly Card

Seems like I'm having trouble finding the time to do the more involved layered cards like I enjoy doing these days because of hospital visits but I was in Mike's today and I am a sucker for these little Mary Engelbreit stickers so I bought a few packs (along with a few other things!). This is SU Pale Plum cardstock with some generic paper on top. I used two sizes of the Nestabilities Labels One is Perfect Plum and the Pale Plum topped with the ME sticker and below I used the Nestabilities Ribbon Tags Trio under the ribbon which was from Mike's dollar bin. There are so many folks who have been so kind to us through my brother's illness and I need to do a few of these types of cards as a thank you. Tomorrow marks seven weeks in ICU for John. Please continue to pray and thank you.

Valentine Blog Candy!

Go here to see some great Valentine blog candy. It's quite a bundle!
http://donkeysmiles.blogspot.com/

Happy New Year!

I was determined to start the year with a card on the very first day but my computer had other ideas! I finally got the pics downloaded but they're not the best. This template is the Sizzix Scallop Card template. It's one piece and I folded it in half on the given score line and then I folded each end into the middle to make four sections. The paper is a mix of Basic Grey, SU and a print from Mike's. The stamp sets I used are SU Puns From The Past, Crafty Secrets Sew Special and See D's Victorian Dressmaker, I used SU Inks Garden Green, Basic Black, Basic Grey, Bordering Blue and Always Artichoke. The frame on the second section is a Tim Holtz Grungeboard piece accented with Distress Stickles Peeling Paint. I used Nesties on the third section for the little sewing machine and the SU Scallop Punch on the last section. This will make a great card for a sewing friend. If you have any questions about it, please let me know. I hope 2009 will be a peaceful and blessed year for all of you and my wish for you is that you find some time each day to do the work you love. Happy New Year everyone!