Thinking of You

Good morning!  Love the theme for the Wee Memories Challenge this week - Spring is Near!  The power of positive thinking...it will stay warm...it will stay warm...no more snow...no more snow!  Think it will work?  We typically get one small snow in early April!  I'm hoping this year that we don't!  Now...onto my card.  Love the Little Yellow Bicycle cardboard elements on this card.  Hope your week gets off to a great start!

Ingredients:  Stamps:  Hero Arts;  Paper, Stickers and Cardboard elements:  Little Yellow Bicycle; Stampin' Up Baja Breeze

Looking Forward to A New Season

My blog has been all about Collin this week (yes I do have three other children...life just ebbs and flows across their activities).  He is so excited for baseball to start.  He is now officially a "big boy" like his older brothers Ryan and Jonathon.  He had a meet the team meeting as it is too cold and wet to get out on the fields.  When he got home, he wanted to show off his uniform. 

 He had his uniform on from noon...until bed time.  Trying out what style he liked best...socks up...socks down!  So adorable...can't wait to see him on the field!

Now onto a card for today!  Wee Memories is sponsoring a challenge to include Woodland Animals.  I've had this Hero Arts stamp for a long time and it hasn't seen much ink. I won it at a Jennifer McGuire class.  I'm decided to put my paper piecing to a test.  Had fun creating this!  

I'm signing off..time to get start writing down all the baseball games on the calendar...it's going to be a busy spring around here!

Great Friends

You know how you have those friends who you can laugh your head off with and at the same time they are the ones that can tell it like it is.  Friends you can call when you need a truly honest opinion even if you may not like what they have to say?  Friends you can count on for being there for the great times and the not so great times. I treasure my friends that fall into this category.  Yesterday, I got to spend time with them.  Around lunch time, I headed out with Sandy for lunch, a manicure and pedicure.  A great time to catch up. 

Then for dinner, Pat and I headed over to our friends, Wes and Katie's, for an awesome dinner, lots of laughs, talks about how are children are growing up and then to see Just Go With It.  We had such a wonderful evening.  A perfect day...and a reminder...call and see my dear friends more often!

For Katie, rather than bring a bottle of wine, I decided to make a set of cards.  She is one of my crafting friends too...so I wanted to make her something she doesn't have.  I made two each of these cards.  The layouts are inspired by Lucy. I love how she always does a vertical panel down the middle of the card with a little stitching on the edges.  She makes so many gorgeous, clean, stunning cards.  These are also for the Wee Memories Challenge...tell us your inspiration.  I get tons of inspiration from blog land and especially Lucy.

Ingredients:  Verve Stamps; Ribbon: Stampin' Up: PTI Kraft Paper; Restoration Collection Crate Paper and Border Stickers

Dust Off Those Scraps

Hi there...the Wee Memories Challenge this week is to use your scraps.  My card club girlfriends always give me a hard time about not saving my scraps, so they'll be proud of me on this card!  This is all scraps.  I've had this sentiment stuck to the cabinet in my craft room for several weeks waiting to be used.  The card base with the leaves was already stamped and embossed.  Finally, the patterned paper was in my scrap pile too.  Truly a "scrappy" card.  I added twine and gems and was ready to go.  Hope you like it.  I love Verve's verses.  I've been using them a ton lately! 

Happy Friday...

Hi there...popping in this evening with a quick share and a peak at my first ever published card!  I mentioned a few days ago that I was published for the first time in CARDS magazine this month.  So...how fun, when I got a marketing email today from CARDS/NorthRidge Publishing and it had my card as their marketing image.  Did a little happy dance and then of course, wanted to share it with you!

I also wanted to pop in and share my card for the current Wee Memories Challenge.  The sketch challenge this week was a lot of fun.  I love the scallop at the top.  And of course, pulled out one of my favorite sets...PTI Fancy Flourishes. 

I hope your weekend gets off to a great start.  I popped out of work a few hours early today after a meeting and surprised Jonathon by picking him up from school.  We came home, changed and went to Barnes & Noble.  Jonathon picked out some "non-fiction" books on Walt Disney, Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. He's already started Abraham Lincoln and is filling me in on all kinds of facts.  We then stopped in the B&N cafe for some hot chocolate and a gooey Oreo stack cake filled with Oreos and cream...yum!  We then headed over to karate.  So nice to have one on one time with one of my guys.

Hope you have a fabulous relaxing weekend!

Anything Goes...

This week, Wee Memories, has an anything goes challenge.  I thought I would share this card that I made a while back but I haven't shared yet on the old blog.  I don't have anyone to send this card too right now and I really hope it stays in my stash for a really long time.

Ingredients:  Bazzill Basics Cardstock; Basic Grey Olivia Paper; Stampin' Up Pretty in Pink Ribbon; Kitchen Sink Ribbon Stamps; PTI Signature Sentiments and Mat Stack Die; Ranger Distress Ink

What We Do When It Is Too Cold Outside for Baseball...

...we set up a batting cage in our garage:  complete with a paint drop cloth for catching balls, a tee and a bucket of balls.  First up...my lefty Collin...who is wearing Ryan's batting gloves which are about ten sizes too big. 

In between each at bat, he was stopping to pull up his jeans and asking me to go get him a belt.  He is so skinny and has absolutely no waist.  Gave me a good giggle...

Then up came my right hander, Jonathon.  I'm a little worried about the windows being so close to the "batting cage."  Check out the ball in mid air...would have been a nice hit!

Ryan is not pictured...but is our most frequent batting cage user...asking often for me to move my van out of the garage.  When he's out there, he has his iPod on full volume.  The life of a teenager.

Now...onto some cards to share for the current Wee Memories challenge.  Of course, I love this challenge...use ribbon.  Yum!  I love ribbon!  On both of these cards, I'm letting the ribbon speak for itself.  Keeping the cards rather simple with some patterned paper, a simple thank you sentiment and the ribbon.

 Ingredients:  Basic Grey Hopskotch paper; Stampin' Up So Saffron and Marina Mist; American Crafts Ribbon; Kaiser Kraft Pearls; PTI Damask Designs Stamps

Ingredients:  Bazzill Basics Paper; Basic Grey Olivia Paper; American Crafts Ribbon; Kaiser Kraft Pearls; Verve Stamps; Vintage Buttons

Hello

Hello Friend!  This card is a tribute to Aimes fun with glossy accents!  Aimes...I globbed those glossy accents on and then left for work so that I wouldn't touch them!  I thought it would be fun to make a little rainbow with the tags and gems on the card.

Again...another bright cheery card as I try to ignore the snow and cold out my window!  I'm also entering this in this week's Wee Memories Challenge to use twine!  Hope you have a fabulous Friday...my boys have a four day weekend...wishing I had one too! (Yes...for those of who are reading this at work...I know we all want one!)

Ingredients:  Stampin' Up Tangarine Tango, YoYo Yellow, Green Gable, Whisper White Paper; Stamps Hero Arts and PaperTrey Ink Fillable Frames; Gems Kaiser Krafts and Hero Arts; Glossy Accents; Jillibean Soup Twine

Just Another Manic Monday...

...wish it were Sunday...how many of you are singing that song?  Or, are too young and have no idea what song this is?  Anyways....it's Monday...time to attack the week!  Less than two weeks to go until Christmas!

My card today is for two challenges:  Card Creations Challenge:  Thank You Cards and Jenny's Wee Memories Challenge. Jenny's challenge was to choose something that inspired you.  I had two things that inspired me:  Collin's sweet picture below and Jennifer McGuire.  I loved the picture that Collin brought home and wanted to create a card similar to it.  I thought of Jennifer's technique where you put distress ink on your craft pad and then spray it will Perfect Pearls. You then take a stamp block and rub it in the ink/pearls mixture.  Once the block is covered you "stamp" the block on your cardstock.  The blue background on this card has the pearlized ink on it.  I think dried it a bit and stamped the tree images on it.  I was pleased with how it turned out and made a few wintery thank you notes.

Here's Collin inspiration photo:

 And my card!

Ingredients:  PTI Kraft Paper; Stampin' Up Whisper White and Baja Breeze Paper; Ranger Distress Ink; Stampin' Up Chocolate Chip and Real Red Ink; PTI Through the Trees and Damask Design Stamps

Live Laugh Love

Good morning...another quick post this morning!  It's been busy at work this week and I am dragging a bit!  Taking tomorrow off to go shopping with my college roommates.  Can't wait to see the three of them...and have a day off too!

This week's Wee Memories Challenge was up to us on what we wanted to do!  I decided to make a monochromatic card.  Hope you have a fabulous Wednesday!

Reminder too:  few more days for my giveaway here.

Ingredients:  Bazill White Paper; Stampin' Up Crumb Cake Paper/Ink; PTI Twine and Embellishment Stamps

Happy 7th Birthday Collin!

Happy Birthday to my now seven year old, Collin!  Yesterday was a very exciting day!  His favorite presents were his craft supplies...you should have seen the smile when he opened the present with glue and glitter glue pens!  He was also thrilled to receive a camera so that he could take pictures of his crafts (hmmm..wonder where he sees people taking pictures of their crafts?!)

We celebrated with his cousins and friends at Chuck E. Cheese's!  Selfishly, so nice to not clean my house for his party!!

Here's his birthday card from us! Entering this in Jenny's Wee Memories Challenge!

And his thank you notes...Entering this in Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch! 

Birthday Wishes - Challenge Time

Jenny's Challenge for us this week was to make a card that reminded us of summer fun.  In our backyard, we have some Black-Eyed Suzanne's.  This card reminds me of summer...sitting outside watching the boys run back and forth between the yards...playing home run derby, ghost in the graveyard...and many, many other games.

Ingredients: WPlus9 The Birds and the Bees Stamps; SU Certainly Celery and Bashful Blue Paper, Bazzill Basics Paper, SU Certainly Celery, Regal Rose, Sunflower, Regal Rose and Bashful Inks and Pens

Celebrate!

We had lots of reasons to celebrate on Sunday night.  Ryan's team won their league and tournament championship. They had to win a double header on Sunday to become tournament champions.  Four plus hours of baseball after a rain delay and it was hot!!!  Some very sweaty and happy boys at the end of a long day of baseball and a great season! 

And one very proud and if I do say so myself, good looking head coach!  I can't tell you how thankful I am for that man...teaching the boys to play through hard work, positive attitude and integrity! 

My card today is for the Just Us Girls fun template apron template challenge.  Thanks to the ladies last week at Just Us Girls for picking me as Chic of the Week!  I thought a July Fourth Celeberation card would be very fun on the apron.  I'm also playing along with Wee Memories and Cards!

Ingredients:  SU Real Red, DSP, Night of Navy, Whisper White, PTI Mega Mixed Messages and White Grosgrain Ribbon

Happy Father's Day PopPop!

This card is for my father-in-law, Dad, Henry, PopPop!  All one to us.  He is a wonderful father...for many reasons:

• His special connections with his grandchildren.  He loves the little, little babies and can comfort just about any little one...and his favorite spot is feeding a baby or getting a little one to fall asleep in his arms.  His 14 grandchildren are very blessed.
• His five children give him quite the hard time about anything and he always handles it with a big laugh...and jabbing right back at them.
• He's never far from a special event or a sporting event for our boys.  Making them extra special by treating them with Nana to lunch or dinner after a big accomplishment.
• Makes the boys feel extra special...knowing how excited Ryan was for his new cell phone..he's been calling and texting him on that phone instead of ours and calling when he knows they've done well.
• Making one on one time for each of the kids....Karate Kid with Jonathon this weekend, sleepovers with the six year old crew...so many more we could name...
• But most importantly, loving each and every one of us and being there in good and bad times.

Happy Father's Day Dad, PopPop, Henry...we love you!

This card is playing along with Jenny's Wee Memories Stitching Challenge and Cards Father's Day Challenge.  Inspiration for the layout on this card came from Maile's card here.  Love how the paper goes over the edge just a little bit!

Ingredients:  PTI Buttons and Twine; PTI Daily Designs and Daily Design Sentiment Stamps; Basic Grey White Paper Pad; SU Sand and Whisper White Paper; SU Bordering Blue Ink

Olivia, You Rock!

This little sweetie is my eight year old niece, Olivia.  When my brother and sister-in-law were out for their anniversary, I snapped some photos of her.  Isn't she just beautiful?  Her hair is pulled back as she had her dance theater photos taken a little bit earlier in the day.

In a couple of weeks, Olivia is trying out for a local production of Music Man. She sang her audition song, Zippidity Do Da, to me. Wow!  Her voice is amazing.  I wanted to send her a card for encouragement for her audition!  I am amazed at her self confidence and willingness to try out at such a young age!

Thanks to Wee Memories for the inspiration for this card!

Ingredients:  SU Blush Blossom and Regal Rose Paper and Ink; Hero Arts Flowers; KaiserKraft Pearls; PTI Stamps

Clean & Simple

I love when you have an idea for a card in your head, you go to create it and it works out the way you think it will...it very rarely actually works out...and last night it did.

So...a very clean & simple quick card for two challenges...Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch and the Wee Memories Challenge.

I hope you like the card.  I'm going to send it to a co-worker who is having hip replacement surgery today.

Ingredients:  PTI Kraft Paper; SU Chocolate Chip Ribbon; PTI Twine and Twill; Hero Arts Earth Flowers Stamps; PTI Background Basics Text Style; SU Very Vanilla Paper; Ranger Distress Inks Corduroy, Barn Door, Peeled Paint