SLICE IS HERE!

My new Slice die cutter arrived, and I finally had some time to play with it today during the snow/sleet that kept us from getting to church. My first project was this Christmas card using the alphabet and a tag design that came with the machine.

After attaching the embroidery floss to what is now an "ornament," I turned it under the background paper, secured it on the back and taped the bg paper to the card. Next I popped out the letters and added a snowflake to the top of the "J" with dimensionals. For a little "bling" I placed a large pearl in the snowflake center and three tiny ones in the lower right corner. (...difficult to see on the scanner, but more noticeable if you click on the image...)

The Slice took a little getting used to, but it's fun!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Blessings to all my stamping friends. We have a lot to be thankful for!

Christmas Plaid

Here's a card made with a stamp set and some scraps left over from last year. First, I stamped the holly image on a piece of white cardstock, colored it and splattered it with a green "blow pen." Then I sponged the edges with dark green ink, glued on a bow of red metallic cord, placed dimensionals on the back and put it aside.

Next, I taped a piece of red and green plaid to the cardstock on the left side. After placing the image over the card, I added 3 red gems to the bottom right corner. The word "blessings" is stamped in black to the right of the image; but next time, I would use white or silver so it shows up more.

Finally, the sentiment inside is stamped in dark green on a piece of white paper.

Easy Cuttlebug Card

This couldn't have been easier! Just taped the cuttlebug Holly image to the card, added red "berries" and attached the tag with a piece of ribbon. I saved on ribbon by punching a hole through the card on the right side only. After stamping a sentiment inside, I was done!

Over 100 Christmas Cards...

...ready to go! With a wide variety of designs, I'm finally finished with my creations and all I have to do now is address the envelopes.

This one was done using a Stampin' Up stamp set, red and green markers, a black "gem" for the eye and a red button with green embroidery floss. The bottom leaves were stamped twice without reinking, then mounted on a green Hero Arts card. After coloring the cardinal and leaves, the image was cut out and mounted with foam mounting tape.

Now all I have to do is clean my house!

SAD NEWS

No time for stamping:

On Wed., November 5, my mom passed away after a stroke that left her unconscious for a week. She was 88. This Saturday will be her memorial service, so I will be at my sister's to help with the preparations.

Although it is a sad time, we are all grateful for her long life. She was always cheerful and ready to have fun, even through all her health problems over the past two or three years. It's a real blessing that my children and grandchildren got to know and love her, too.

She will be missed...

The Ups and Downs of Life

After an extended visit and having such a wonderful time at Disney World with our whole family, Laura and family returned to Prague. The very next morning, I got a call from my sister that my mom was in the hospital and would have to go to a nursing home from there. So without even having a chance to clean up or do the laundry, I had to repack warmer clothes and head out to Long Island to help. She had been hospitalized with uncontrollable coughing due to some fluid in her left lung. While we waited for her to recover, my sister and I started the Medicaid application process with a voluminous amount of xeroxing records to attach. We spent 3 1/2 hrs. using 2 copy machines at my sister's office to get it all done--what a job! Mom was recovering nicely and all set to enter the nursing home the next morning. Then things changed literally overnight. She had a stroke (as far as the drs. can tell) and as of today is still unconcious with a respirator and all sorts of tubes and wires attached. The drs. are optimistic that she will recover enough to go to the nursing home, but at 88 yrs. old nothing is certain.

Needless to say, I have done no stamping in the last month and a half. I just wanted to let my blogging friends know why I haven't posted for such a long time. It may still be awhile...