Hope is...

This card is for my dear Aunt Mary Lou, who recently found out that she has breast cancer. Her daughter, my cousin Anna, just finished her breast cancer treatments about a month ago. Being a two time survivor myself, I know what she will be going through. Our thoughts and prayers are with her and her family.
The inside sentiment is 'Hope is...believing in a brighter tomorrow.'

Blog Candy!

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A Bright Birthday Card

Hello out there in Blogland! I made this card yesterday, along with another version of it. I'm not usually into mixing patterns, but in this case I think it worked well. The other version of this card has only the flowered paper as a background. I like both versions very much. I have a few things to do first, but I hope to get back in my studio today and create more! Have a great day! Thanks for stopping by today.

I Love Cats!

Hello! What a beautiful day! We had rain all week, but today it is in the upper 70's and sunny! My card today is another cat card. I have many cat-loving friends so I have to decide who gets this one. (I made two of them.) The paper is from my stash and I used a sticker in the middle, with some rhinestones to accent it. The cat sticker is outlined in gold, so it works well with the accents. Have a great day!

I Love Purple

Hello out there! Here is my latest - a gate card. My friend and Stampin' Up dealer, Crystal made a gate card and posted it the other day. After seeing it, I remembered how much I like that style of a card, and decided to create one in my favorite color. I am pleased with the results. I made two of these birthday cards to add to my box of finished cards. The paper is from my personal stash and the stamp is by Stampin' Up. I used my gel pen to add some sparkle and some pop dots to add dimension. I am finishing a second set of cards I started today and will post again tomorrow. Have a great day!

Cupcake Challenge

Well, I made a card for Taylor's Cupcake Challenge, but I just realized I missed the 8:00am deadline. (I thought I had until 8:00pm - oh well!) I guess that's what I get for reading so fast. Here is the card I made. I used the A Muse cardstock I won last month, and one of my new clear cupcake sets, and I like how it turned out! It fits in a #10 envelope and will be used for a birthday soon!

A Warm Hello

It is a nice warm spring day here in Michigan. We have had a great season so far this year, and today it is about 74 degrees and windy. I finally found some time to create and I really like this card. I have been waiting to use these stickers since I bought them about a month ago. I love flowers and the colors are great. I used Light Racy Raspberry cardstock from ColorMates and the stickers are Stickeroos (Flower Field) from Penny Black. I used mini-deckle scissors on the edges, and the sentiment is from Northwoods Rubber Stamps.

I have one more week of work until summer vacation begins and I will be off until late August when school re-opens in the fall. I should have lots more time to make cards soon! I hope all of you are having a great day. Thanks for stopping by to view my blog!

Anniversary

Here is my latest creation - an anniversary card for my sister and brother-in-law. It was very simply made with a rub-on for the sentiment and some dollar store stickers. The ribbon is one I had for quite some time, and I used my scalloped square punch.I think it turned out very well and it is one of my new favorites!

The third card...

This one is my favorite, because of the cupcake and mostly, because I used my Cuttlebug! (Have I told you how much I love my Cuttlebug?) I used markers to color the image, and added a little sparkle with my gel pens. Overall, the class went very well and my friends said they loved the cards they made. Three of my sisters and a niece were supposed to come and create with me tomorrow, but had to cancel. :( I hope we can reschedule soon. I have "kits" to make these three cards all ready for them.

The second card...

Here is the second card I made for the class. As many of you know, I love my Elzybell stamps, so I had to use at least one in the class. The sentiment on this one is from A Muse, which is another favorite of mine. I used Lemon Ice Stickles to dot the center of the flowers on the background paper, and a strip of mini rick-rack to add some flair!

My First Card Class

Yesterday I held my first card class. We had fun - but what pressure getting ready! I don't know how Stampin' Up demonstrators or anyone else who teaches a class can stand it! Maybe it gets easier as you hold more classes. At first, I felt pretty confident that I could come up with a few really cool ideas for cards. Then, I drew a blank - for two days. Finally, the night before the class, I was able to create three pretty cool cards to teach my friends. This is the first one they made.

An Oldie but a Goodie

Hello! This card is one I made a couple of years ago at a stamp class at 'Remember When' in Chesterfield, MI. (It's on the corner of my sister Joann's street - how could I resist going there each time I visit my sis?) Back to the card. I liked it a lot, but knew it needed something - but what? I finally decided to use little rhinestones for the center of the flowers and volia - I love it! I just sent it to a dear friend and hope she likes it too. FYI - My sister Susan moved to a new house in Eastpoint, MI and she too, has a shop on the corner of her street! (Paper Tales) I think they are trying to feed my addiction! It's a conspiracy!

I Love My Cuttlebug!

This card is the first one on which I used my Cuttlebug embossing folders, and I love my Cuttlebug! It is so easy to use. I just ordered a few more of the new folders and can't wait to get them in the mail.

The person who is getting this card is really 'Truly Amazing', as she has just adopted a teenage son. I've always known her to be a kind and generous person, and she has proven it again!

Happy Easter

Hello! This is my first Easter card. I've been thinking about using my crimpers lately and the idea for this card just came to me out of the blue! (See card for proof of the blue.) I love the Zoofari set - in particular, this stamp, and hadn't used it until now. I colored it with Prismacolor pencils and crimped the background paper. The fake brads are from Joann's $1 rack, and the sentiment is from Michael's $1 basket. Happy Easter!

Cards without stamps

Hello! This week a challenge was posted by a fellow blogger (Taylor Vanbruggen) to make a card without using any stamps. Well, since I had made up my mind to finish the insides of my previously made cards, (and I have many to finish and get ready to use,) I thought I would share this one. It has flower brads and a rub on. I also used a corner rounder punch. This was made at a class I took at a really cool scrapbook store called 'Remember When' in Chesterfield Township, Michigan. I finished forty-one cards this week and now I have quite a supply ready to give away.

Think Spring!

OK - I have another sinus infection! Enough! Now I will concentrate on feeling better and getting back to normal. I made this card yesterday and I think I really am starting to like it. At first I wasn't sure, but it is growing on me. I used flower stamps from two different Stampin' Up sets, and I sparkled them up with my clear gel pen. The sentiment is from A Muse Artstamps. The ribbon is a scrap that I recycled. I think the brads added just the right touch to complete the card. What do you think?

Dawn's Card

For this card I used one of my new "American Art" stamps by Karen Stolper. The girls in this stamp line are adorable! My friend Sue sent a link to their site and I immediately ordered three of them. The card says "winter wishes" because Dawn and Monique live in Washington, where, in the winter, it rains a lot. I used a clear envelope to mail it and my mail carrier said she loved it!

Skating

Hello and Happy Saturday! I made this card for my daughter Monique. I love how the ice pond ended up. This is another of my Elzybells stamps and I used colored pencils and my clear Gelly marker to decorate it. I had to wait to post it until Monique received it in the mail. She called yesterday and said she loved it!

Winter Greetings

Hello and Happy Winter! I made this card for my sister Sandy. She lives next to a nature preserve and has many deer visit her yard every day. She feeds them and cares for them as if they were her children. When I saw this stamp set (Dear to My Heart, by Memory Box), I knew I had to have it. I love the many different deer and choices of antlers in the set. I plan to make more cards with this set very soon.

More Rosie's Roadshow

This card is one of my favorites! I had to wait until my daughter Monique received it in the mail, to post it. The stamp is called "bookies" and the ladies are librarians. Since Monique is a librarian, and I work in the local high school library, I knew she would love it! I used some of the little sticky dots from Joann's $1.00 rack to make the fake brads, and I colored the design with colored pencils.

Rosie's Roadshow

Here is my latest creation using my new Rosie's Roadshow stamps. I love the little tree (he is called Douglas) and the snowmen ornaments. Over the years, I collected many snowman ornaments like the ones on this card. My kids called them my "decapitated snowmen." I love all snowmen ornaments, with or without bodies!

More thank-you cards...

I made a few of these because I love the color combinations. The patterned paper I used is one of my favorites. I made a New Year's resolution to spend more time working on my cards. I purchased some awesome new stamps in December and received a few more for Christmas, along with some great Stampin' Up gift certificates from my kids. Also, my friend Crystal is hosting our Stampin' Up new catalog open house on Saturday and I can't wait to see the new sets being offered.

I'm finally back...

Well, I'm finally back and ready to post! I have been busy throughout December and now, I'm ready to post some new cards. I have been working on my Christmas thank-you cards and here is the first one. Of course I had to use my Elzybells! I just love these stamps and can't wait to see what they come out with next.

A new technique...

This is one of the beautiful cards Crystal showed us how to make at my Stampin' Up card club meeting last Thursday. It's called Stained Glass and it's made using vellum for the main stamped image. We had a lot of fun at the party and I reached the third level of hostess gifts, which means I got a LOT of hostess gifts and products! I almost exhausted my wish list, which is OK, because the new SU catalog will be out in January. I can't wait to create a new list. This weekend Katy and Cindy are coming over to make Christmas cards and I'm sure we will have a great time and make some beautiful cards.

I didn't make this one...

I didn't make this one...but my friend Katy made it for my birthday! I love this card! The colors are perfect together, and it's so cute. Katy keeps saying she is not creative enough to come up with good card ideas, but this card proves her wrong! Keep up the wonderful work, Katy. And, thanks again for such a lovely birthday card.

Another Elzybell

Here is another card I made with my new Elzybell stamps. I thought this pink-spotted background paper was perfect for this card. The sentiment is a sticker, and I used a white Souffle marker to emboss the snow and the trim on her outfit. I think these stamps are the cutest I've seen in a long time!

Elzybells

Woo Hoo! I finally found time to play with my Elzybell stamps! My dear friend Katy came over today to stamp with me in my studio. We had a great day and I made a couple of cards with my new Elzybell stamps. Here is the first one. I used Stampin' Up watercolor crayons to color the image. I also used my Gelly Roll shiny gel pen to color some of the snowflakes in the background.

Marine Corps Birthday

Did you know that November 10th is the Marine Corps Birthday? This year the Marines will be 232 years old. Being married to a Marine who is a Vietnam War veteran has taught me a lot about the history of the Marines. The Corps first started celebrating the birthday 84 years ago. In 1923 the Marine Barracks at Ft. Mifflin, Pennsylvania, staged a formal dance. The Marines at the Washington Navy Yard arranged a mock battle on the parade ground. At Quantanamo Bay, Cuba, the Marine baseball team played a Cuban team and won, 9 to 8.
The first "formal" Birthday Ball took place on Philadelphia in 1925. First class Marine Corps style, all the way! Guests included the Commandant, the Secretary of War (in 1925 the term "politically correct" didn't exist; it was Secretary of War, not Secretary of Defense), and a host of statesmen and elected officials. Prior to the Ball, Gen. Lejeune unveiled a memorial plaque at Tun Tavern. Then the entourage headed for the Benjamin Franklin Hotel and an evening of festivities and frolicking.
Over the years the annual Birthday Ball grew and grew, taking on a life of its own. In 1952 the Commandant, Gen. Lemuel C. Shepherd Jr., formalized the cake-cutting ceremony and other traditional observances. For example, Marine Corps policy now mandates that the first piece of cake must be presented to the oldest U.S. Marine present. The second piece goes to the youngest Marine. Among the many such mandates is a solemn reading of the Commandant's birthday message to the Corps.
Like the U.S. Marine Corps itself, the annual Birthday Ball has evolved from simple origins to the polished and professional functions of today. Nonetheless, one thing remains constant, the tenth day of November! This unique holiday for warriors is a day of camaraderie, a day to honor Corps and Country. Throughout the world on 10 November, U.S. Marines celebrate the birth of their Corps -- the most loyal, most feared, most revered, and most professional fighting force the world has ever known.

Veteran's Day

This is a card I made for one of the veterans in my life. It's always nice to remember the sacrifices they made to keep us safe. Veteran's Day is the perfect time to say "Thank You!" to our fighting men and women.

Stamp Club

This is one of the cards we made at our October Stamp Club meeting at Bonnie's house. I decided to "sparkle it up" a bit, so I used my Gelly Roll gel pen to trace the snowflakes. I really like the effect the gel pen adds.

I have been really sick with a horrible sinus infection, and can't wait to feel better again. I need to start making my Thanksgiving and Christmas cards real soon. Can you believe it is already November?

The other Halloween card

This is the other card I made for Halloween. I love this pumpkin paper. The cool ribbon I used on both cards is from Michael's. I'm pretty pleased with this card, too! I kind of cheated on the brads - they are not really brads at all. Since I had already punched the corners of the patterened paper and didn't want the brads to show on the inside of the card, I punched circles out of scrap cardstock and attached them with glue dots. Then, I used a little Liquid Glass (Close To My Heart) to add dimension to the 1/4" circles, and make them look like brads.

Halloween Card

For this card, I used Glitter Candy Corn from the Heidi Grace Jeepers Creepers Collection. I just love this paper. I don't usually make Halloween cards, but since I get a few cute homemade cards from my daughters every year, I decided to give it a shot. I really like the way this one turned out!

Punch Card class

Yesterday was our Punch Card class with Crystal. We made five different cards (two of each) and I really liked all of them. My favorite has to be this beautiful pumpkin card. We made the pumpkin with the Stampin' Up large oval punch and the stem with the small oval punch. The middle three sections of the pumpkin are popped up for effect. It is so cute and it was very easy to make. Keep up the great designs and wonderful classes Crystal!

Sympathy card

Hello! Here is my latest creation. It is a sympathy card for my friend Katy. I just love the patterned paper on this one. Green is one of my two favorite colors, so I think this is one of my favorite cards. I have more to post later from our latest card class.

Christmas card class

Hello out there! It's been a while since I've posted! My daughter Dawn and her significant other, Liev, have been visiting for the past week (from Tacoma, WA), and we have been very busy catching up and having fun. Sadly, they are leaving today.

Also, I was finally called back to work last week! Yeah! They found the funds to pay me for the year, so I am back! I love my job and the paychecks are nice to get, too.

I did manage to find time to attend Crystal's Christmas card class last week and we made some beautiful cards. My favorite is pictured here.

Make-n-Take

Today Katie and I went to a great shop in Waterford called Jane's Craft Studio. I had ordered some adorable AMuse stamps, and they came in, so we had to go pick them up! As it happened, the store had a cute make-n-take using AMuse stamps for us to do while we were there. Here is a photo of the card we made this morning.

They also had all of their Hero Arts stamps on sale for 40% off, and a lot of new Fall and Christmas stamps had recently arrived. We spent a lot of time browsing and saw many cool card samples. Now that I have my new stamps, I can't wait to get creative once again!

My second favorite...

This is another card we made at the Stamp-Camp last week. It is a close second to my favorite card pictured below. I really love Crystal's ideas for the classes she teaches. Our next class isn't until the end of September, but I can hardly wait.

My Stamp-Camp favorite

Hello! I attended Crystal's latest Stamp-Camp last Friday and I decided that this card is my favorite of the five we made that night. The colors are great together and in "Sooo pretty" as my friend Sue would say!

More alcohol ink

This one has beautiful colors in it and is a close second in my favorite catagory. I tried this technique at a Shop-Hop make & take a couple of years ago and bought some of the inks after that event. I haven't used them yet, and needed a refresher on how to get this beautiful effect. The class was just what I needed; plus we learned several more tips from Karen during the class.

Alcohol Inks

I took a class with my good friend Katy last night, and I love the technique we learned. We used alcohol inks and krylon markers to create three beautiful cards. The class was at Karen's Creative Stamping in Burton, and we had a lot of fun. This is my favorite card from the class.

Littls Boy's Tee Shirt

I picture my little grandson, Nicholas in this shirt! I love the colors and the little brown buttons at the top. Straight edges and sleeves make this one for the little boys! I think this pattern is very versatile, in that it could be used for shirts for any age, with only a few minor changes.

Little Girl's Tee Shirt

I made this pattern after seeing a tee shirt card in a magazine. I just love it! I have many patterned papers that will work well with this. The sleeves and bottom are cut with scalloped scissors, which is why I call it a girl's tee shirt.

My Latest Creation

I love this card! I saw a purse shaped card at my friend Crystal's house and wanted to make one! I made a pattern for the card and this is what came to be! The smaller photo shows what is inside the card. I used a marbled, shiny paper that I found at Capture-a-Memory in Flint. The flower inside is colored in with Glaze markers. The purse handle is Offray ribbon. I picture making many more of these cards using some of the double-sided cardstock I have in my stash. (This card fits in a regular card envelope, too!) Now, I'm off to my studio - many other patterns are lurking in my brain!

Monique's card

This one was very hard for me to do! My daughter Monique has moved to Tacoma, WA to be closer to her twin sister, Dawn. Monique has a new job and is starting a new life there. I already miss her so much. From here in Michigan, it seems like Washington is half-way across the world! We wish her the best and send our love.

Peggy's new house

My sister and brother-in-law bought a new home, and I made this card for them. (I think it arrived in the mail today, so I can post it here now.) I love the nest! I cut some brown fibers to make it and I'm pleased with how it turned out.

QuicKutz class

Today I went to a QuicKutz class and this is the card I made. I love it! The recipe is great, and I will use it again. My good buddies Sue, Pat and Katy also attended the class and we had a great time. Later this week I am taking an Alcohol Ink class with Pat, and we will make three cards. If all goes well, I will post them here.

Krystal's card

It's been a while since I made a card or posted to this site - I have been busy! Here is the latest card I made for my niece Krystal's birthday. I plan to make lots more cards in the next few weeks before I return to work, after Labor Day.

Swimming Lessons

This past week I have been quite busy taking two munchkins to swimming lessons. My granddaughter Madison, and my daughter-in-law's niece, Kennedy have been learning the basics of swimming. The girls are best friends, and we even managed a sleep-over this week. We had lots of fun and even had some visitors at class. Both Madison's mom, Sherrie and Aunt Monique came to watch the girls swim. Next week some more of the aunts will visit the girls' class.

Another Birthday Card

My brother Craig loves fishing, so I thought a "Fish" theme would be great for his birthday card. Here it is! The inside has a small fish and says "Best Fishes!"

Birthday Cards

This is the latest birthday card. I made four of them to have on hand. I love this stamp set! It's called "Eat Cake" and it's by Stampin' Up.