I'm Still Here!!

I have been meaning to write a post all week! I will be oh-so-glad when I am off of this crazy roller-coaster-ride of hospitals and such!! Sheesh!

Here is a card I did quite some time ago and never got around to posting ... and it is reflective of where I have been many times in the past few weeks. Sooo grateful for the power of prayer and its influence on my life. And I am continually grateful for so many of you who have sent well wishes and offers of prayers. You all are the BEST!!

Stamps: Lift Up Our Hands, Best Friends Forever
Paper: Island Indigo, Pool Party, Whisper White
Ink: Island Indigo
Accessories: Perfect Pennants Bigz Die, Lacy Pearl Trim, Silver Flower Charm

Mom is FINALLY moving out of the hospital TODAY!! Soooo very happy about that. She will be moving into a rehab facility for a short time in order to get the help she needs to rebuild her strength. She is soooo wiped out. Poor sweet Mom ... I am so glad she has enough stubborn/fiesty left in her to keep on keepin' on. I was blessed to be able to get her into the same rehab facility where my mother in law is, so that is going to make things very nice ... and it is literally just down the street from my house, which will make visits all that much easier. I am so grateful that we are at this point and look forward to getting her home!

Today is my 27th wedding anniversary ... I am married to the most wonderful person and my very best friend. He has been an absolute ROCK for me through this entire ordeal ... he has been an absolute ROCK for me through our whole lives together. Love you, Ron!! Looking forward to the next 27 years ... and beyond!! (that kinda sounded like Buzz Lightyear ... so much for being sweet and heartfelt, right??)

And I did NOT forget about the basket tutorial I promised ... I will get to that this weekend ... thanks for being patient with me!

A Lighthouse for a Birthday ...

I haven't done a sketch challenge over on SCS in, like, forEVER!! And I cheated on this one ... a little ... I just was not feeling it totally, so I just kinda fudged the red panel ... hmmm....

I have also decided that my stamp collection is significantly lacking in the "dude" stamp area ... I just don't have that many guy stamps! Sixty zillions stamps and only a handful of them are suitable for "dude" cards ... sigh ... which means I'm gonna hafta start investing in some ... which means I may hafta revamp my space some more to make 'em fit!!!

Stamps: Light of the World by Our Daily Bread, Perfect Punches, Print Pattern
Paper: Early Espresso, Not Quite Navy, Crumb Cake, Riding Hood Red
Ink: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Riding Hood Red, Very Vanilla
Accessories: Square Lattice Textured Impressions Folder, Wide Oval Punch, Hemp, Corduroy Button, Pop-Up Glue Dots

I WIN!!!

OHMYGOSH!! What a DAY yesterday!! Not only was it filled with fabulous friends, fun, food and GREAT crafty things, but ....

I WON A CRICUT!!! Amelia and I spent a BUNCH of time in the Provo Craft booth doing make-and-takes and listening to demos on new stuff (for each thing we completed, we had a ticket entered in the drawing for free stuff!). The drawing was scheduled for 3:00. AND ... they were running about 20 minutes behind. Soooo.... we stood and waited and waited and waited with the crowd (actually, by this point Amelia was sitting on the floor!)! When they were FINALLY announcing winners, I was right smack-dab in the middle of replying to a text someone had sent me and almost thought I had DREAMED hearing my name!! Shut UP!!! I am SOOO stoked!

Actually, I won a Cricut Expression. We had to choose between an "instant win" (the new "Birthday Bash" cartridge), or we could spin a wheel with prizes on it ... some were GREAT (like what I won!), and some were kinda dorky (like a hug from the "Cricut"). Anyway .... long story less long, I won!! And since I mentioned to them that I already HAD an Expression, they let me exchange it for this ....


A Cricut Cake Mini!!! Holy COWSERS!! I am SOOOOOOO excited! Amelia said, "I can't WAIT to get home and make a cake!!" We'll post some pictures as soon as that happens!


One of my mostest FAVOR-ITE things about coming to CHA is hooking up with friends, so here are some pix of just a FEW of my crafting buddies ..

Me and Robyn Cardon (The Pink Stamper) and Karlee Wilson. Sooo much fun hooking up with them. I knew Robyn way-back-in-the-day before she become a crazy-famous Cricut Crafting Woman! It was fun finally hooking up with both of these gals in person ...





Me and my BFF, Stacey Caron (love you, girl!!!!)! REALLY miss working with the whole Spellbinders team. It was great to get to see 'em and hug 'em!











Heidi Blankenship and Cathy Chlebana ... can't EVEN tell you how much I love these girls, too!! They are the BESTEST!!








And who DOESN'T {{heart}} the Cat in the Hat??? Connie (McCotter) and Deb (Felts) and I couldn't resist this photo op ... (they are my coolest roomies!)





Our Daily Bread ... these gals are the BESTBESTBEST!! We had the most YUMMY dinner (thanks, Kelley!)!! Good friends, good conversation (which, I hate to admit, I often contribute to WAY more than I should!!) and a happy place to be ... what could be better? That's Kelley Holland, Connie, Me, Lorelie Kim, Dawn Lusk and Deb ...

And HOW could I just NOT mention my totally amazingly wonderful roomies again??? These women are sooo fantastically special. I feel so blessed to have them in my life. Love you, friends!! (Deb, Me and Connie)


Last, but certainly NOT least ... my adorably fun and patient daughter ... she has let us drag her from one end of the Convention Center to the other ... yak-yak-yakking and doing lame make-and-takes (okay, not ALL of them were LAME!). We are all up and chatting already, and she is lying next to me doing one of the things teenagers do best in ANY situation ... SLEEPING!! Love you, honey!!

We're up and ready to get back in the game (well, ALMOST ready ... but DEFINITELY willing!!)!

Hugs to all!!

More From Our Daily Bread . . .

What an honor and privilege it has been for me to join the girls in the Bread Basket as a Guest Designer for ODBD this month!! I have enjoyed the camaraderie, challenges and friendships I have gained while “playing” with such lovely stamps and such wonderful people (these ladies truly have hearts as big as their talent)!!

Being the self-proclaimed “Butterfly Queen,” I couldn’t pass on creating this card using the beautiful little butterfly image from the newly-released “Happy Birthday” set. Using this lattice cutout as a backdrop, I had fun creating this “butterfly garden.” I really love doing “hybrid” cards – cards where I can combine stamped images with diecut images. I love the dimensions we can create when using these elements together.

Stamps: Happy Birthday by ODBD
Paper: Kraft (PTI), Kiwi Kiss, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Soft Suede, Pretty in Pink, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White (SU)
Ink: Basic Black and Soft Suede (SU), White Gel Pen
Accessories: Wild Card Cricut Cartridge, brown/white polka dot organza ribbon by May Arts, Scribbles & Swirls diecut (Sizzix)

In creating this second card (using another newly-released set – “Jesus”), I was trying to invoke the image of Jesus as a carpenter (hence, the “faux woodgrain” board that I used as a banner). The flowers remind me of dogwood, and I love how they offset the focal image.

Stamps: Jesus by ODBD
Paper: Kraft (PTI and Provo Craft), Night of Navy, Bordering Blue, Chocolate Chip, Shimmery White (SU)
Ink: Bordering Blue, Chocolate Chip, Whisiper White, Going Gray (SU)
Accessories: Spellbinders Labels One (S4-161), 5-petal flower punch (SU), Textile and Distressed Stripes embossing folders (Cuttlebug), rhinestone stickers (Doodlebug), ½” circle punch (SU), small brown brads (American Crafts), raffia

Have a wonderful day, and thanks for stopping by!

AND DON'T FORGET . . . the CONTROL FREAKS are at it again!! Join me here on Thursday (that would be the 20th!) for links to another terrific Freaky Blog Hop!!

A Couple of Cards . . . and a Promise!

It has been soooo much fun having Jan here this week. It has also given me an excuse to STAMP every free moment, because, OF COURSE, I don't want her to be bored here since Convention is OVER and she doesn't have to leave until this afternoon!! (Insert BIG smiley face here!!)

I got up early yesterday morning (couldn't sleep, even though I was DOG tired!). When I saw that Joanne (aka SleepyinSeattle) was the Featured Stamper over on SCS I was THRILLED! Her stuff is AMAZING, and she has a freakin' HUGE galery, so I actually made TWO cards, not just one!!

This first one I had SOOO much fun making (and learned a thing or two in the process!). First, I love how Joanne used a zigzag border punch to create the top edge of a fence, so that was the first thing I learned to do. Here is the card box she made that was my inspiration. I just turned it into an actual card:

Joanne's Kraft Picket Fence Box

AND I learned the "faux woodgrain" technique from Joanne as well. How cool is THAT??? And here I thought I already knew everything! Sheesh! I guess that pops THAT bubble in my mind!! HELP! I need CHOCOLATE!! (I have been hanging around that JanTink a little too much this week!)

Stamps: Happy Birthday by Our Daily Bread
Paper: Kraft, Old Olive, Certainly Celery, Pumpkin Pie, Summer Sun, Whisper White
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Going Gray, Old Olive, Basic Black
Accessories: Leaf punch (unknown), small daisy punch (unknown), 1/4" circle punch, horizontal slot punch, EK Success zigzag border punch, brown polka dot organza (May Arts), white gel pen, sponge, glue dots

And here is my second sample. There were two inspirations for this card. First, here is Joanne's:

Joanne's Circles All Around

Which brings me to my second inspiration and my PROMISE . . . I got the idea for the very cool heart cutout from my fellow Control Freak, Cindee Wilkinson. She made the cutest card for our CF swap at Convention. I haven't had a chance to photograph those darn CF Swaps, so you will have to wait . . . 'til TOMORROW . . . to see it (and the rest of the CF Swaps). That is my PROMISE!! Too darn much fun happening here!

Stamps: Jesus by Our Daily Bread
Paper: Whisper White, Soft Suede
Ink: Whisper White
Accessories: Spellbinders Classic Heart (S4-138), trio flower punch, Scor-Pal, gold shimmery organza ribbon, glue dots

I really gotta get some sleep . . . and eat less chocolate (WAIT!! Did I REALLY say that???)!! My backside is gonna get too big if Jan stays here much longer!! I though that I was bad about chocolate, baby!! She has a ready supply on hand which is good . . . or is it bad???

Our Daily Bread August Release!

I am a day late and a dollar short on this post, as the new release actually started YESTERDAY (YIKES!!) Nonetheless, y'all are gonna LOVE the two new sets released for August by Our Daily Bread!

Jesus

Happy Birthday

I used one of the wonderful sentiments from the "Happy Birthday" set to create this sample for you (and you all GOTTA know that I LOVE this set in particular because it has BUTTERFLIES in it!! )

I found inspiration to create this from today's Featured Stamper over on SCS - Teresa Kline (aka VA.sunshine!). Here is a link to HER card (before you say, "What??" I loved the fact that she used "No Pictures," as she titled the card, and the blues in this got me to thinking about the Bella Bleu dsp!)

No Pictures by Teresa

Check out what some of the other girls in the "Bread Basket" have created for you (and I'm warning you, look at your own risk . . . it's gonna make you NEED these sets!!):

Angella Crockett
Betty Wright
Connie McCotter
Chris Olsen
Deb Saaranen
Jane Wetzel
Judy Rozema
Loretta Lock
Sandee Shanabrough
Silke Ledlow

Stamps: Happy Birthday by Our Daily Bread
Paper: Kraft, Very Vanilla, Not Quite Navy, Bella Bleu dsp
Ink: Not Quite Navy
Accessories: Spellbinders In Spades pendant die (S4-208) and Large Mega Deckled Rectangles (S5-015), Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder, kraft taffeta ribbon, pearl sticker

Another One from "Our Daily Bread" . . .

Here is sneak peek #2 of new sets being released by Our Daily Bread . . . and it has BUTTERFLIES!!

Oh my gosh! I was soooo excited when I saw the images for these stamps after I had found out that I had been picked to be a Guest Designer for August! You guys KNOW that butterflies are my thing, right??? I couldn't have been more excited when I saw this . . .

Which means . . . that THIS baby is card #102 in my "Follow the Butterflies" challenge (and I am still a week ahead, but I only have TWO MORE TO GO!!)!! WAHOO, baby!

I also incorporated the little paper clip on this so that it would fit into WT229 - to use some sort of office supply thing in your creation . . . excellent!

Have a happy, butterfly-filled day!!

Stamps: Happy Birthday by Our Daily Bread
Paper: Old Olive, Kiwi Kiss, Cameo Coral, Summer Sun, Watercolor
Ink: Black Stazon, Reinkers - Pretty in Pink, Rose Red, Summer Sun, Bordering Blue, Bashful Blue, Perfect Plum, Pumpkin Pie, Certainly Celery, Old Olive, Close to Cocoa
Accessories: Spellbinders Butterflies Impressabilities, Labels One Nestabilities (S4-161), small paper clip, green gingham ribbon, scallop border plastic template, blender pen, white gel pen, pop-up glue dots

My First ODBD Creation!

I have long been admiring the lovely images and sentiments created for Our Daily Bread Designs (so you can imagine how totally THRILLED I am to be a Guest Designer for them for the month of August!).

Here is a little "sneak peek" of their new release - "Jesus" - it has put in a very thoughtful and reflective mood. I am truly grateful for all that I have and for the sacrifices made for me - for all of us - by our older brother and Savior. What more can I say?

The layout for this was for SC239 on SCS - I thought it worked so perfectly with this image and sentiment. (And I am still loving this gorgeous felted/flocked paper by DCWV!)

Have a glorious day!!

Stamps: Jesus by Our Daily Bread
Paper: Basic Black, Very Vanilla, La Creme dsp by DCWV
Ink: Going Gray, Basic Black
Accessories: Emaginations Daisy Flower punch, 1/4" circle punch, black/white gingham ribbon, linen thread, Elegant Bouquet embossing folder by SU