Happy Spring!

We have had some pretty nice spring weather this week - FINALLY!  Easter was fun at my sister Joann's house. Five of my siblings were able to make it and it was great seeing some of my nieces and nephews too.  Joann made a delicious dinner that included baked ham, pirogi, pineapple salad, sausage, sauerkraut, tuna macaroni salad, baked beans and many appetizers and desserts.  Needless to say, it was a feast!   (I came home with two new recipes that are awesome, too.) I hope everyone had as nice a day as we did on Easter. 

The card I am posting today is one that I sent to my friend Claire from Paper Digital Arts in February.  I used my brick wall embossing folder that has become a new favorite of mine and I got a lot of compliments on it from my friends.  Here is the card:

It is just a simple design but the brick wall makes it just elegant enough. 

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you have a great day!

I'm back!

Well, it has been more than a year since I last posted on here.  SORRY!  It has been a heck of a year for me and I am determined to start posting regularly.  I made a card for Monique because we were partnered in the March Holiday Swap on Paper Digital Arts.  Here is the card:

I'll be back with more cards in a day or two.  I hope you have a GREAT day and thanks for visiting my blog!

A Bright Winter Day

Hi Everyone! 

It is a beautiful, bright and sunny winter day here in mid-Michigan. The temp is 17 degrees F and there are some occasional flurries. That is my kind of day! I took my car in for an oil change today, stopped at the super market and still have to go to a Dr. appointment this afternoon. (Just routine) And now, on to the business at hand. 

 I made this card for my daughter Monique last week. It is perfect for the things going on in her life right now. It is from Unity Stamp Co (as was the one I posted last week for Dawn.) Again, I used colored pencils to make the card and I really like the outcome. I also used one of my favorite embossing folders, Swiss Dots.  Speaking of EFs, I recently ordered some new ones and can't wait to use them.

Thanks for stopping by today and please leave a comment - I read and enjoy all of them.  I hope you have a great day!

Finally found some Mojo

Hi Everyone! I finally made some cards - WOO HOO! The one I'm posting is for my daughter Dawn. It has already arrived at her house, so I can post it now. I've had the stamp for a few months and I'm glad I finally used it. I colored it with colored pencils and like the way it turned out. Dawn loved the card and in my next post I will show you the one I made for Her sister, Monique. Have a great day and thanks for stopping by today!

Almost Christmas

Hello Everyone - I'm back! Hopefully I'll keep posting regularly now. This is a card I made at our last Stamp Camp with Angie Jarmon. I love the design and all of the sparkles. I sent it to a special friend so now I can post it here. Thanks for stopping by today! See you soon!

My latest creation

Hello Everyone! I finally went upstairs to my Studio and got creative the other day! The only cards I've been making lately were at our monthly stamp camp with the great Angie Jarman. So, it felt great to finally make some on my own. I made four of these to have on hand in my stash. I really liked the way it turned out. I plan to work on cards more often and hopefully post at least once a week. Thank you for stopping by today. I hope you have a creative day!

Katy's Valentine

Hello - Here is the card I made for Katy for Valentines Day. I used some stickers and eyelets, ribbon, twine and a button. I gave it to her today at our weekly Friday lunch and I think she really liked it.
Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you have a GREAT day!

Gift Card Holder

Hello!
Yesterday at our December Stamp Camp with the great Angie Jarman, we made some pretty cool projects. My favorite one is this gift card holder. It is very simple to make and you just slide the ribbon off, flip it open and put the gift card in the pocket.Pretty neat, huh? I love the colors in this one and you can make to fit any occasion.
Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you have a great day and a very Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas

Hello! This is the card I made for Christmas this year - 40 of them! I first made one like it at a stamp camp last year and fell in love with it! It has edge-punching, embossing, braying and cool ribbon and I love how they turned out! At the stamp camp for November, we made some other cool cards. I will post them soon! Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you have a GREAT day!

Stamp Camp CASE

Hello! This is my take on a card we made at our October Stamp Camp. There was a fall leaf on the original and I like it better this way - clean and simple!
Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you have a great day!

World Card Making Day

Hello! My daughter Dawn was here visiting from Tacoma, WA on October 1st, which also happened to be World Card Making Day. We made two of these cards each that morning and are very pleased with them. I made one a few years ago at a stamp camp and thought it was worth making again.
We had a GREAT visit and I am going to Washington in November for a week. Thanks for stopping by today. Have a great day!

Very Sad News

I've been away from my blog for a long time now. On April 17, 2011, my dear husband lost his battle with brain cancer. I have had a rough time dealing with his death and I am trying to get back into a somewhat normal routine. Please be patient with me - I hope to be posting again soon.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Valentine's Day

Hello! This is one of the cards I made for my daughters for Valentine's Day. I just love this little stamp set from Stampin' Up. The little bunny is so CUTE! I also used my new Martha Stewart heart border punch - I love it! I colored the bubbles with markers and added a touch of glassy looking stuff from Close To My Heart.
I know I haven't blogged much lately, but we have had quite a few appointments due to my husband's cancer treatments and tests. I try to escape to my Studio upstairs whenever I can because it really relaxes me to get creative, but I don't always find the time. I will try to post more often in the future.
Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you have a GREAT day!

Another Recipe Page

Hello! Today I am posting another 6"x6" recipe page I made for the cookbook from The Inky Fingers group of friends. The theme was Christmas recipes and I thought this one was perfect because the red raspberries remind me of a Christmas dessert. My daughter made the recipe and took it to the party and everyone liked it.
I picked out the paper I wanted to use and added some red rhinestones to some of the holly berries. I hope you try the recipe and enjoy it as much as we do!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Fall Shadow Box

Hello Everyone! Happy New Year! I've been pretty busy this month, but I didn't want to forget to post the wonderful shadow box I made in a class with the wonderful SU demonstrator, Angie Jarman. We had lots of fun making it and I think it turned out very well. I will post again in a few days!

I hope you have a GREAT day and a happy, healthy, new year! Thanks for stopping by today!

Hello and Merry Christmas!

Hi Everyone - It's been a long time since I last posted and now it's already a week before Christmas! This is the card I made for Christmas this year. Since I already mailed them, I can now post the photo here. Katy, (my BFF) and I celebrated a 'Christmas in July' session and I made 36 of these cards. It is always nice to have my cards done in July and we plan to continue our tradition for years to come.

Thanks for stopping by today, and I hope you have a GREAT holiday season and a very Merry Christmas!

A Recipe Book

Hello Everyone!

Today I'm posting a recipe page I made for a cookbook. My two daughters are in a card making group called The Inky Fingers, and they made 6"x6" cookbooks last month. Each member made nine of the same recipe pages to share with the group, to form a cookbook. Only eight of the members participated, but they still each made nine pages. Therefore, they had an extra book. The group, very generously, decided to give me a copy of the book, so I decided to add a page to their books as well. This is what I made. The recipe is a family favorite and very simple to make. If you try it, let me know what you think! I'm sure it will be a favorite of yours too.

Thanks for stopping by today, and I hope you have a GREAT day!

One for the girls in Washington

Hello Everyone!

The past few weeks have flown by faster than ever. We received some bad news from my husband's oncologist. It seems that his bone cancer has progressed into some of his ribs and spine. The brain and lung cancers are still stable, which is good news. We have many appointments scheduled for the next couple of weeks and will know more after we get the results of the next batch of tests.

In the meantime, I have not had much time to create cards. I did make a couple of cards I have pictured here, for my daughters in Washington. I used the cards as Thank You cards for them, but they could also be used as Thinking of You, Get Well, or almost any kind of occasion. I like using bright colors and this card is one of my favorites.

Take care, and thanks for stopping by today!

Another Stamp-a-Stack

Hello! This card is a part of my latest Stamp-a-Stack creation. My friend Katy and I got together to visit and work on our cards a couple of weeks ago, and I finished them up last week. I made six of these and seven of the card I posted last week. I like having extra cards on hand that I can use for several different occasions. I also love the patterned paper I used on this card. The sentiment is by Art Impressions and the little rhinestones are from Joann ETC.

I've been back to work at the school for the past two weeks and already miss the free time I had all summer. I plan to manage my time well enough to be creative with my card making and still get my cleaning done!

Thanks for stopping by today - I hope you have a great day!

My latest...

I love this card! I saw one like it on a blog and made my own version. I especially like the textured Rich Razzleberry card stock. The darker colors seem to really bring out the pattern. The butterfly is from Stampin' Up and the ribbon is from Michael's. (It really matched my Old Olive card stock well.)

Unfortunately, summer break is over and I go back to work at the high school library tomorrow. I have to work a little over a year before I can retire. You can bet I'm counting the days! I'm very lucky to have such wonderful people to work with though, so I'm sure the time will fly by!

Take care and thanks for stopping by today!