Vintage Valentine Greetings

Good Morning & Happy Thursday Friends!
Brandon is much better & back to school this morning and I am recovering from whatever bug he had....no matter how much I wash my hands & wipe things down---I always catch his bug!  Bianca is my healthy child!  She may catch a sniffle & stay in bed but she bounces back so quickly.....kind of urks me LOL!!!

Anywhoo, my post for today is featuring my SU! Diva Swap card.  I've told you before that I'm a member of a group of SU! Demos from all over the US & we swap cards each month.  January's theme was to make a Valentine's card & I decided to go with non-traditional colors to make my creation.  I finally broke into my packages of Beau Chateau & First Edition Specialty DSP while making this card & I'm quite pleased with how it all came together.  I can't wait to get return mail & oogle at everyone else's creations!!!

Well, I'm off to take some medicine & make sure I'm not forgetting anything for my class in Bourbonnais tomorrow evening.  I haven't seen my friends since we moved & I'm very excited to be with them and have a great time!  Thanks so much for stopping by & have a great rest of the day!!!
Until Next Time,
Hugs & Love,

Supplies:  Grateful Greetings Stampset; Soft Suede, Pink Pirouette & Very Vanilla Cardstock; Soft Suede Ink; Beau Chateau & First Edition Specialty DSP; Antique Brads; Blushing Bride Pleated Satin Ribbon; Big Shot; Labels Framelits Collection; Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder; Decorative Label & Large Scallop Oval Punches; Dimensionals & Sponge

Crafters of Faith Color Challenge Card

Good Afternoon Friends!
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  Mine was busy as usual getting sick children back healthy, spending time with my hubby & doing my best to not get sick in the meantime.  I'm not going to jump too far ahead of myself but so far; so good with me not catching the sickies!!!!!

Anywhooo; my post for today is for a blog group that I belong to called Crafters of Faith.  Kelly, our fearless leader has challenged us to come up with different color combos for each member to make a card with....as you can see my colors were light blue, light green & light yellow.  When I first saw them; I immediately pictured a baby card but since I send my son cards just about every other day, I figured I'd make this one  for him.  He won't care about the soft colors....he'll just be happy to get mail from home!  I kept my design very simple & since I couldn't add any bling; I paper pierced the upper corners.  Don't forget to check out the rest of the ladies' work....the links are on my sidebar!

Well, it's time for me to get back to work so I'm signing off for now.  Thanks so much for stopping by & have a great rest of the day!
Until Next Time,
Hugs & Love,

Hello Blossoms Stampset; Certainly Celery, So Saffron, Whisper White & Bashful Blue Cardstock; Certainly Celery Ink; Labels Framelits; Whisper White Satin Ribbon; Dimensionals; Mat Pack & Paper Piercer

Spring Fever Scrappin' Kit Creations

Good Morning & Happy Friday Everyone!

My post for today is showing some of the cards I've made from the new Spring Fever Simply Scrappin' Kit.  As I've told you before, I'm a bit *sticker* challenged so I set a personal goal to use these kits for cardmaking as well as scrapbooking.  For some it may be easy to do that type of transition; but I've found it extremely hard to come up with creative ideas using those kits.  I also set a goal to keep my creations more simple since I've met some brand new stampers & I don't want to overwhelm them with a *complicated* card.  I will still make those from time to time; but my immediate pursuits will be to work on the goals that I've set for myself.

I'm using half of the new Spring Fever Simply Scrappin' Kit to make these beauties & with the weather we're having; it brings much needed sunshine into my heart!!  My plan is to take these with me next Friday evening to Bourbonnais where I'm teaching a class that night....weather permitting!  They're always excited about any of the classes we do but I received an excellent response when I told them about this one so I'm looking forward to seeing their reaction when I show these off!  I'll also be sharing these with some new stamping friends locally & I can't begin to tell you how anxious I am to stamp with some newbies!!  Let me know if you have any questions or if you want to join us for a fun evening of stamping because we're always looking for new friends to join us!

Well, I need to finish the last few cards for this class & start to work on my next one.  I will be extremely busy these next few days so excuse my absence in advance.  I hope to be able to post on Monday but I may not make it until Tuesday.  Thanks so much for stopping by & have a great rest of the weekend!
Until Next Time,
Hugs & Love,

January Challenge for Crafty Gals

Good Monday Morning Friends!
My post for today is for my January Crafty Gals Challenge to make something with *New* as our theme.  Well, the stamps & accessories may not be new but I did make this birthday package for a new friend!  I do believe that qualifies for this month's challenge & I really needed to make Tayla something cute!!!  She goes to school with my daughter Bianca & she's also new here from South Africa.  Her fave colors are anything bright & neon so that is why I went out of my comfort zone just a bit to make part of her gift.  BTW, in case you're wondering; she absolutely LOVED this which made me really happy & I now have some new stamping buddies!!!!!

Please check out the rest of the group to see what beauties they came up with:
Lela
Melina
Athina
Carolina
Patty
Barb
RoRo Lee
Heather
Tracie
Diane

I am off to work on the rest of my class cards now.  Thanks so much for stopping by & have a great rest of the day!
Until Next Time,
Hugs & Love,

Supplies:  Happiest Birthday Wishes Stampset, Whisper White, Melon Mambo & Lucky Limeade Cardstock; Cheerful Treat DSP; Concord Crush Ink; Big Shot; Scallop Circle, Circle & Butterfly Dies; Scallop Circle, 1 3/8" Circle, 1 1/2" Circle, Decorative Label & Large Oval Punches;  Whisper White Satin & Melon Mambo Dotted Ribbon; SU! Rhinestones; Champagne Shimmer Mist; Dimensionals

Silence is Golden......

Happy New Year My Friends!
I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday & I'm wishing that your New Year's will be filled with lots of love and blessings!!!

We had a very nice Christmas ourselves.  We spent the day with new friends from South Africa & the children had so much fun!  It's wonderful getting to know new people & learning about different cultures.  I almost thought I would spend Christmas in bed because I was so sick but I came through it & actually had time to get my kiddos better....a Mom's work is never done!  Our New Year's was very peaceful & quiet just the way we always like it.  We're not into partying so we spent our time watching movies & just having a good time!

The last few days I've spent with my oldest son Reginald.  He's now in the Navy & he left yesterday so I wanted to spend some real quality time with him.  It didn't make it any easier to say So Long to my baby but we truly enjoyed each other's company these past weeks.  I knew the day would come when he would leave home & venture out on his own and we've talked about this day for quite some time.....I guess I was hoping it would NEVER come however; we parted on very good terms & I'm looking forward to hearing from him in a couple of weeks.  I've been trying very hard to not get depressed.....trying to put my focus somewhere else but I know that if I don't deal with how I'm feeling; I will slip into another depression.

I do have some classes that I need to be working on so I will be starting/finishing those projects to share with you very shortly.  I'm going to ask that you keep my son in your prayers & myself as well.  I'm not so worried about him being in danger; it's just a Mother's love for her child being out in the world for the first time.  I'm hoping that every lesson we've ever taught him will stick in his mind & that he'll be smart about life in general.  I'm going to work now after I dry my eyes.......thanks so much for stopping by today & reading my message.  Take Care!
Until Next Time,
Hugs & Love,

Letters To Santa Countdown....

Good Morning & Happy Tuesday Friends!
Flying by with another creation made with the Letters to Santa Quick Accents.  I am truly enjoying using these *stickers* to make my Christmas cards this year & I'm really glad I challenged myself to keep things simple.  It hasn't been easy but it sure is fun!

I have a lot of work to do so I'm off to get started.  Thanks so much for stopping by & have a great rest of the day!!
Until Next Time,
Hugs & Love,

Supplies:  Many Merry Messages & Sweet Season Stampsets; Letters to Santa Quick Accents; Letters to Santa DSP; Riding Hood Red, Early Espresso & Whisper White Cardstock; Early Espresso & Riding Hood Red Ink; Modern Label, Large Oval & Corner Rounder Punches; SU! Pearl Accents; Dimensionals

Kathy's Christmas Card.....

Good Morning & Happy Friday!!!!!

Flying by with another quickie post for you.....I made this card for my friend Kathy.  There was just something about this particular *sticker* that made me think of her & I hope she gets a kick out of it like I did.  Now I really have to get more cards done so I'm off to work!  I'll be back on  Monday with another post!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by & I hope you have a great rest of the day and a wonderful weekend!!!!

Until Next Time,

Hugs & Love,

Supplies:  Sweet Season, Tree Trimmings & Many Merry Messages Stampsets; Letters to Santa DSP; Letters to Santa Quick Accents;  Riding Hood Red & Early Espresso Ink; Riding Hood Red, Early Espresso & Whisper White Cardstock; Modern Label & Extra Large Oval Punches; SU! Pearl Accents; White Gel Pen; Dimensionals