Happy Anniversary!

My in-laws are celebrating their 52nd wedding anniversary this month.  Before I ran out to catch my flight yesterday (I'm traveling all week this week), I snuck in the craft room for an hour to make sure I had a card for them.  Pat's in charge of getting it to them!  My mother-in-law absolutely loves blue so I used blue Zig pens to make the stripes as well as the flowers before die cutting them. The leaves were already die cut so that made the card a bit faster to finish!

Entering this over at CAS(e) this Sketch.

Always & Forever {happy anniversary to us}

Happy Saturday my friends.  Popping in with a card for my gorgeous hubby. We're celebrating our 23rd anniversary today.  We started dating when I was 15 and yes...Pat was 19 (but to his defense, he really wasn't a cradle robber!).  We were only two years apart in school!  So...we're actually pretty darn close to our 30th dating anniversary. And boy oh boy do I love him with all my heart. I truly am a lucky girl to be married to by best friend. He is an amazing father and husband.  We'll be going out for a nice dinner to celebrate tonight. Happy, happy anniversary Pat.

Happy Anniversary

Popping in with a fun card for Virginia's View Challenge...I love embossing and distress inks and simply don't use them enough so this was the perfect challenge for me to get them both out! This card is going to a co-worker of mine who is celebrating her anniversary.  She loves vibrant colors so I'm looking forward to giving this to her!

Hope your week gets off to a great start my friends!  We are back from a fantastic weekend with Ryan's show choir in NYC.  Not sure when I'll get to it just yet, but I'll be sure to post pictures soon!

Happy Anniversary

My sister-in-law's parents are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary this month so I was in need of a golden wedding anniversary card.  I decided to keep it fairly CAS (no surprise there) and add a touch of bling. This card reminds me of my cousin, Sandie.  Love the jewel tones. Gail's parents are celebrating by taking their children and grandchildren on vacation to Cancun. Sounds absolutely fabulous to me. An all inclusive resort when it is very cold outside...perfection!  Her parents are a wonderful, loving example of a strong marriage. They live in Wyoming so we don't get to see them very often, but love when we do!  Here's hoping they have many, many more anniversary celebrations.

I also have a card to share for this week's CAS(e) this Sketch challenge. Love this sketch design...you've seen it a lot on my blog!

CAS Cards for Co-Workers

Happy Sunday my friends. I hope you all are having a relaxing weekend.  I'm trying to tell myself I'm not getting the head cold that Pat and Jonathon have had this week but the chills and aches may be telling me something different.  Earlier today I crashed on the couch for a while and now I'm wide awake despite having taken Nyquil.  Think it might have the opposite effect on me. So...why not type up a few blog posts!

These two cards were given to co-workers this past week.  The top one was for a 10 year anniversary and the bottom one was for a manager who I adores birthday. The first one was inspired by the layout of this card.  The second one is a traditional layout I like to use on quite a few cards.  All cards use all Verve stamps.

Happy creating everyone and I hope you have a fabulous Sunday!  

Happy Anniversary

Hello there, popping in to share a card I created using the sketch challenge over at Addicted to CAS.  I love the sweet little notebook paper on the sketch and decided to use some patterned paper I had for this card.  The sketch was super easy to follow...don't you love when an idea comes quickly?  This card is going to a co-worker who is celebrating her 10th anniversary with our company at the end of the month.

I've updated my stamps for sale page, please pop on over and take a look if you're interested in purchasing some stamps!

Happy Anniversary

It's the middle of the week!  I'll be off tomorrow for Pat to have knee surgery. Thankfully it is minor out patient surgery.  Today, I have that is loosely inspired by the CAS(E) this Sketch inspiration where there is a break in the background panel. I used some left over die cuts from this card. This card will go to a co-worker who is celebrating his tenth anniversary this week.

I hope all is well in your neck of the woods!

For the Happy Couple

My in-laws celebrated their 51st wedding anniversary last week. My mother-in-law loves everything blue so I decided to make blue the primary color on the card.  When I was making the card, I had 30 minutes before I had to leave for dinner with our family and to give my in-laws the card.  I've never made a shaker card before but decided to use some of the sequins that never seem to fit on the front of my card!  So...it was a bit of a crazy time making the card.  At first I was going to make the shaker card with a heart. Let's just say I have about five messed up hearts where I tried to do this on my Cricut.  I then moved onto this scalloped frame from Verve.  At first I adhered the foam tape before I adhered the acetate...try again!  So...about the tenth time was the charm...and we were a little late for dinner :)

Hope you like it and that you're week is zooming by!

Ardyth Inspired Anniversary Cards

Pat's boss messaged me on Facebook over the weekend and asked me if I'd make a card for his wife. It's their 25th wedding anniversary this weekend.  He's an architect so I thought he'd like something a bit more graphic for Ann versus flowery.  I made two cards...here's hoping he likes one of them. They both have a sentiment in the inside.  Normally the inside of my cards are blank, but I added sentiments inside since that's what he'd get if he went to the store :)

Also thinking graphically, I went to Ardyth's blog and pinterest board to be inspired. This card and this card were the two that inspired me most.   Have a favorite of the two cards?

Now and Forever (and Collin's Drum Recital)

I've updated my stamps for sale page.  If you are interested, please click here.

Happy Tuesday friends.  Popping in with a quick card for this week's CAS(E) this Sketch.  When I was working on some other cards this weekend and had my die cuts out I was inspired to use these WPlus9 die cuts for the current sketch challenge. I love the touch of patterned paper and the funky vibe it gives to the card.

On Sunday, Collin had his drum recital. He is super shy so before he went up he told me he was going to look out the window instead of at the people in the audience. The rehearsal was held at Graeter's (a fabulous Cincinnati based ice cream shop).  Each of the kids in the recital got free ice cream after they played. He did an awesome job.  His teacher videotaped him in class so if you're interested you can check out what he played on You Tube.  I love his sweet little smiles when he plays one of the parts that is a bit harder!  As always, we're so lucky to have family close by to come cheer him on.

Happy Anniversary

Hello there friends.  When I first looked at the current CASE this Sketch...I was a bit stumped, but I have been loving the double tags I've been seeing around blog land.  I am so bad about using my tag dies so this was the perfect chance to get them out. I let the patterned paper do the talking and added a pop of color with the sentiment and ribbon. This card is for a co-worker celebrating her 15th anniversary in a few weeks.

I hope you had a wonderful weekend.  I spent most of mine inside at show choir competitions and at work yesterday, but I am so thankful for the sunshine. It was mid 50s all weekend which meant the little boys spent most of their time outside playing with friends. Despite the day light savings time, they both crashed early last night.  I thought you'd get a kick out of this picture...sleds from Monday on the right...a drive way full of bikes on Saturday.  

Happy Anniversary

I love when you find goodies on your craft desk that allow you to quickly create a card. This card started with the text on the bottom of the card.  I had stamped this for my sneak peeks for CAS-ual Fridays. The text is from the Out Loud said that was released yesterday. I made a different card and also had the PTI tree die cut.  I popped the tree on the card base, added the birds, sentiment and twine to finish it off.  A perfect CAS card to be submitted for the current Addicted to CAS challenge. 

I hope you have a great start to your weekend!  I'm off for my annual scrapbooking weekend away, but before I go...I need to announce the winner to my birthday give away!  Barb Dengler (who is an absolute gem!) is my winner...the random number was 20.  Barb your goodies will be in the mail shortly!

 

Happy Anniversary

 

 Hello there.  Remember my card from Sunday?  Well, I wasn't quite ready to put away the  WPlus9 dies after making the card.  I decided to cut through out of some black card stock for an anniversary card. The solid paper behind the die cuts is gold.  I stamped the Verve Plain Jane sentiment and embossed it with gold embossing powder. I wasn't sure what color to mount the black panel on so I went ahead and mounted it on some subtle pattern paper.  I'm entering this in the Moxie Fab All That Glitters is Gold Challenge.  I'm going to try and play along with the other challenges going on over there now too. There's tons of fun ones!

Hope your weekend gets off to a great start!

Happy 50th Wedding Anniversary Mary & Henry!

Good morning friends!  This is my second post of the day...for my CAS-ual Fridays post, please click here.

Today we're celebrating my in-laws 50th wedding anniversary. Unfortunately, we are not celebrating it the way we thought we would as my father-in-law had quadruple bypass surgery yesterday.  That said, we are so thankful that he is okay.  He had been experiencing chest pain and went in for a stress test on Thursday. The stress test led to test results showing blockage; the doctors tried angioplasty but the blockage was too much so bypass surgery happened yesterday. The surgery went well and Henry will have several weeks of recovery but we're on the right path.  Over the last few days, we have had many wonderful doctors and prayers leading us in his care.

Yesterday, we all spent the day in the waiting room together and I have to say that it was a huge testament to how my in-laws have raised their children.  Despite the tremendous worry of the day, everyone was there for each other and the love and laughter was flowing.  

So today I wish my in-laws who have demonstrated day in and day out how to build a strong marriage on a foundation of faith, love and laughter a very happy 50th.  Wishing them all the love in the world and many more anniversaries in the future.

On a side note: The card features blues as blue is my mother-in-law's favorite color and is based on this week's CASE this Sketch.  I woke up early this morning as I think my brain is on a bit of over drive...realized I didn't have a card.  Anyone else use card creating as relaxation therapy too? :)

 

Stamp-a-Faire Projects

 

Last night, I had time to sneak in some crafting while Pat was giving the boys haircuts.  Time for those back to school haircuts as school is starting today! I thought this would be the perfect time to share another photo from our trip to England.  One of the best parts of blogging is meeting dear blogging friends in real life.  I was so lucky to meet one of my all time besties, Moe, at the first Stamp-a-Faire, two years ago!  We had such a fabulous time together and I hope it's not too long before we get to see each other again!  Well...while I was in England, I met up with my dear cousin, Sandie, who started blogging about two years ago and Aimes...a long time blogging friend.  It was so fabulous to see Sandie and meet Aimes for the first time.  We had a wonderful time catching up over lunch and for a touch of shopping.  Here's hoping we're all together again soon too!

Now...onto the two cards I'm sneak in for the challenges!  The first one is for the gallon/quart/pint challenge.  I'm not sure that I did it exactly right, but I'm going for it anyways.  I used the in-laid die technique that Jennifer McGuire showed on this video and that I used on this snowflake card here.

And here's a card using the sketch and color combo from the Breakfast Bake & Take.  This card will be used to celebrate my sister-in-law's 50th this Friday!

  

Happy 21st Anniversary Pat!

Today, Pat and I are celebrating our 21st anniversary.  This past weekend, we were talking about what was going on this coming week:  me traveling for work, schedule pick up for school, show choir rehearsals, Pat's uncle visiting this weekend, etc.  I said and it's our anniversary...we're not doing anything :)!  He laughed and thanked me for the reminder.  We will do something in a couple of weeks when we have a bit more time. Life is great and I love him completely.   Happy anniversary to the most amazing husband I could ever imagine.  

A few more pictures from our visit with nana. We took her out to lunch at her favorite Thai restaurant.  She hasn't been there in over a year so she was thrilled to go.  I love this picture with my mum, nana and Marcel.

And here's Pat misbehaving :).  I think he had just stolen Elizabeth's mint from her!  She had unwrapped it (even licked it) and Pat snatched it out of her hands.

Here we all are (except Pat who took the picture)...four generations!

After lunch, Nana went home to sleep for a bit and we caught a game of polo!

And a last picture before we left for my cousin's house.

Happy Anniversary

Happy happy Friday eve my friends.  One week from today we'll be off on vacation.  I'm starting to get into panic mode just a bit, but it will all get done...it always does!  So before I'm off to get ready for work (as I type this on Wednesday morning), I am popping in to share a card with you for the current MUSE challenge.  I don't have any owl stamps so when I saw this week's inspiration card from Marion (so adorable by the way!) I went with the colors and a touch of pattern.  I inked up my stamps and then stamped my CAS-ual Friday houndstooth stamp on them with Versamark ink to create a touch of pattern/texture.  I love how it adds just a touch of dimension.

How about you?  Playing along with the MUSE challenge this week?  Any vacations coming up soon?

 

A Quiet Saturday Morning

Yesterday morning started off quietly.  I woke Ryan and Jonathon up at 6:20 to head out to the umpire meeting/scheduling at about 6:40.  Dropped them off, picked up McDonald's for them and went home for a bit until they needed to be picked up at 8:15.  As we were driving there, I was thinking in a few short weeks, Ryan will drive them to the umpire meeting on his own.  His 16th birthday is fast approaching.  Some of the best one on one conversations with him are in the car when I'm running him or his friends to an activity.  It will be so strange to have fewer of those moments.  I recognize they aren't big moments, but a lot of little moments that form our relationship.  Then my mind goes to spring time and graduations happening. My niece will head off to college in the fall, soon it with be Ryan, followed quickly by Jonathon and my little guys.  Time is passing, but life is so good.  In the busyness of it all, I'm trying to cherish it too.  Some days I succeed; others I could be better.  Rushing along to get to the next to do.  But yesterday morning, I stopped.  I stopped as I pulled into the driveway before I went pack to pick up Ryan and Jonathon. I love all the spring time blooms, but what I loved was all the the things around my yard amid the blooms of spring.  A basketball sitting in the gorgeous freshly cut grass (a sign of Collin and Jonathon's basketball games next to each other), footballs right by the gorgeous flowers (a sign of Pat/Jonathon practicing throwing), a golf ball in the mulch, an oversize bat from a "battle".  It all made me smile.  Little reminders of our life and our house filled with boys.

 

After snapping a few pictures, I came inside to this sweet sleepy little boy.  I asked him why was downstairs so early (he's normally my sleepy head).  I gave him a kiss, he smiled, and kept on sleeping.  

So...this is my little break...my little reminder to cherish the little everyday things...rather than the hurry up to the next thing!  I'd love to hear what little but oh so important thing in your life that you cherish today.

And if you've made it this far, I have a fun anniversary card to play along with the current Verve Diva Dare.  Happy Sunday my friends.

Happy Anniversary!

Hello there...I'm going to keep this short and sweet today.  I met my mum for dinner and Christmas shopping after work on Tuesday...and I'm tired, but I do have a couple of cards to share with you.  My mum asked me to make an anniversary card for my aunt and uncle.  So...I played along with A Passion for PaperTrey. It has been way too long since I played along with the fabulous team over there and I loved the inspiration photo shown below.

But before I made that card, I made this card using the current CASE This Sketch.  I wasn't thrilled with the card or the colors I choose...so I made the card above and that is the one that was sent to them!  You can let me know which one you like better.