Remembering Summer...

Hello! My summer vacation from work is just about over! I am lucky enough to work at a school, so I have eleven weeks off during the summer. But I guess everything good must come to an end for a while, anyway. (We do get 16 days off for Christmas this year - Woo Hoo!) I have the district breakfast tomorrow, then two days of new technology training, a four day weekend and back to work. I wanted to use my Elzybell stamps for quite a long time, so here is one of them. It is just simple and I haven't stamped this image before but it reminds me of the swing in my yard, and how much I love to swing out there. I used my Stampin' Up markers, and the coloring leaves a lot to be desired, but I like it anyway. Have a great day, and thanks for visiting my blog today!

Breast Cancer Card

This is a card I made to send to my Aunt Mary Louise. She is currently undergoing treatments for breast cancer. Having gone through it twice myself, I know how much receiving cards can lift your spirits. I hope she likes this one. The stamp set is from My Favorite Things and I used my Cuttlebug Swiss Dots to emboss the background. Thanks for stopping by today. I am currently cataloging my Stampin' Up stamp sets. Who knew I could collect so many in four years? I can't believe it has taken me this long to create a database. See ya!

Peggy's BD

Hello and Happy Wednesday! I made this card for my sister Peggy's birthday. This is the first card I made with an awning and I Love it! I ended up changing it a little before I gave it to her though. After I realized that it looked like the 4th flower wasn't right, I removed it and centered the other three flowers. I liked it better that way - it seemed more balanced. I didn't have time to retake the picture of it because I was on my way out the door to meet my sisters for lunch. I made another card like this one for my sister-in-law Chris. The only thing I changed was the sentiment. I used the same center on her card that I used in my previous post, with the flower in the middle. It also came out very nice. Thank you for stopping by today!

Happy Birthday

Here is the last one I am including in the set of cards for my sisters. I brought them on Thursday, when we met for my sister Peggy's birthday lunch. This one is the same card as an earlier post, but with yellow cardstock instead of blue, and one background patterned paper instead of two. I like it because it is a 'happy' card - to me, bright colors are happy. I hope you are having a great day, and thanks for stopping by.

Another Masculine Card

This is the second masculine card I made for my sisters' sets. I like this one very much. The plaid paper is so rich and the embossed center works well with the rest of the card. The sentiment is popped up and I added the twine and the faux brads to complete the look. I hope my sisters like it as well. I am working on my Christmas cards this week, so pretty soon I will more to post. Have a great day!

Masculine card

Hello! I thought this card would be great for men - not too frilly or cutsie. This is part of the set I am making for my sisters. I found the paper about a year ago and liked it very much. This card had to be a little wider than the average card to get the whole song on the front, but it was just a 'minor' adjustment. (LOL) I finished another card for the set, but I have to take the pictures again because the embossed part is covered with a glare. I hope you have a great day!

My Brother's Birthday

This is the card I sent to my brother Craig for his birthday. He loves to fish so I thought this card would be great for him. I made two of them because my brother Allan also loves to fish, so he will get his on his birthday in September. It was fun to make and I couldn't wait to use the great fishing lure ribbon I found a while ago. The inside sentiment is 'best fishes!' from a Stampin' Up set. Thanks for stopping by today. Have a great day!

Sympathy Card

Hello! This is going to be a part of a set of cards for two of my sisters. They want an assortment of greeting cards to have on hand. I am making six of each of the cards in the set. Each sister will have two and I'll keep two for me. I love the patterned paper on this card. First I had ribbon on it, with the sentiment on the bottom right. I didn't like the ribbon I used, so I tried something different and used the pearls. I like how it turned out. Now, I'm working on a birthday card for my brother Craig. He loves to fish, so we'll see what I come up with. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great day!

Hey Chicky...

I loved this stamp set since I first saw it. It's one of the cool sets from C.C. Designs, where my buddy Crystal is on the design team. The chick is so cute and I love the flower. I made this one a couple of days ago, but had to wait until the recipient got it in the mail to post it here. I colored it with my Prismacolor pencils, used some scraps of patterned paper and a little ribbon to match the cardstock. I love how bright it is, too.

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

Retirement

Hello! Well, it is official! Yesterday was my husband's last day of work!!! He is retired after working at GM for 39 years as a toolmaker. This is the card I made for him. It's very simple, because I wanted show off the cool printed paper. I just added the faux brads on the top left and stamped 'Celebrate' on the inside. Just click on the picture to see it up close.) Now, to get that list of his chores started...

Another Sister Card

Hello! I made this card yesterday for another of my sisters. I couldn't wait to use this stamp set from My Favorite Things. I adore all of their 'headless' sets. As far as the colors, I love the pink and brown theme, and this set fit perfectly. I am so happy I have time to stamp. It is so cool to be off work for the summer! I did lots of cleaning and laundry yesterday, so I could 'create' in my studio today. We will see what happens. Have a great day and thanks for stopping by.

Class card

Hello! This is the card I made to teach to our Stampin' Up group last night. It was a big hit! I love using the color combination of River Rock and Always Artichoke. They compliment each other very well. I used the 'Posy' background stamp and the image on the card matched it well. It's a thank you card, but it could be used as a sympathy or a friendship card, too. Thanks for viewing my blog today.

Sisters...

Sisters...I have four! This card is for one of them, but I'm not sure which one gets it yet. I loved this stamp since I first saw it and knew I had to add it to my collection. I also couldn't wait to use this pretty ribbon, so I matched the cardstock with the ribbon. I usually forget about my buttons, but I think they added just the right touch on this card. I have another card finished but have to wait until after our card group meets tomorrow, because I'm teaching the group how to make it. Have a great day! Thanks for visiting my blog today.

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.'

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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!