Another Happy Valentine

Here's a happy cat all decked out for Valentine's day:

This completes all the Valentines I'm sending out. Now I can concentrate on Spring birthdays and anniversaries.

Don't forget to check out the blog candy and challenge in the post below!

NEW YEAR BLOG CANDY CHALLENGE!

HERE'S HOW IT WORKS:

Just scroll down through the cards I posted in 2008 and choose your favorite. Then leave a comment on this post telling me which one you selected. At 10 pm on January 15th, I will pick a random winner to send a special Valentine with the clear stamps shown here. Have fun!

Eyelet Lace Valentines

Thanks to a 50% off coupon for AC Moore, I shopped on New Year's Day and finally purchased a new Fiskar's edger punch. Although it doesn't show up in the photo, the punch also embosses between the cutouts and the edge. It was just right for these Valentines in combination with some two-sided designer paper from Stampin' Up on the tall one, and the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots on the horizontal card.

Enjoy!

NO RESOLUTIONS HERE!

I've never been one to make New Year's Resolutions--they only get broken the first week anyway...right??? Instead, here's what I've done every year:

For the month of January, I hibernate. Isn't that a great idea? This is when I catch up on all those indoor projects at home, take time to reflect on the things that are really important, keep warm by the fire, do some reading, prepare Bible Study lessons for the Spring semester, write letters, etc. Oh yes, and purge my stamping tower of unwanted/unused items to make room for more creativity in the coming year. To make the time for these things, I pull back on all my usual activities: Mothers Classes are delayed restarting until Feb., we use a 6-week Winterim at Bible Study (usually a tape series) to allow time to prepare for our more in-depth studies starting late Feb. to May; and, except for church, Bible Study and grocery shopping, I stay home most of the week all month. It really works for me as a way to recover from the busy-ness of the holidays and recharge my inner batteries.

Besides, I just HATE the cold...unless we get a few inches of powdery snow that allows me to go cross-country skiing. (After the first 10 minutes of that aerobic activity, I really warm up!)

Leave a comment and tell what you do in January to beat the cold!

Inking In the New Year!

Best wishes to all for a Happy and Healthy New Year!

I hope to share many new card designs with all of you in 2009! Please be sure to leave a comment whenever you visit--thanks!

Christmas Is Here!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

Tree Trimming Time

I finally remembered to take a picture of our Christmas "Bird" Tree! After Christmas, instead of storing it in the attic or basement, we remove the icicles, unplug the lights and carry the whole tree into the living room where it resides for the rest of the year. Since it has no ornaments, the "natural" look fits right in with our country decor.

Notice the box Rick made for the base--it has an opening in the back so the cats can go in for a nap.

(Click to enlarge for a closer view of the birds and pine cones.)

Get Your Sun Glasses!

Winter has just begun in earnest with our latest snowfall, but I'm ready for some sun! This birthday card was very simple to make: just some plaid dp, a strip of coordinating yellow Bazill cardstock, a darker yellow ink and some gold brads. Orange crystals add a little extra bling to an already bright card...

January Birthday

This stamp from Verses Rubber Stamps (purchased at Michael's??) is the perfect saying for a January Birthday card! The dp is from the "Old World" mat stack by Die Cuts With a View. The round stamp is by SU and was from the special offer with a subscription to Country Living magazine. I like the versatility of the stamp since it could be used as a snowflake (in blue or white) or as a flower. Here I just picked up on the round shapes in the paper and buttons, matching the green, which is a little different shade from the Christmas greens I've been using. I like using just the tone on tone with white, and no ribbon.

Enjoy!

Snowstorm Stamping Again

A huge snowstorm has been predicted for tomorrow and Sunday, so I plan to spend hours in my stamping tower "playing" with all my stamping toys in the afternoon. First, I'm going to finish cleaning, gift wrapping and baking some Christmas treats.

Diet? What diet???

Cat-lover to Cat-lover

Here's a Christmas card I made for a friend who loves cats. First I taped the green cardstock to a white card, then added the double-sided designer paper below it. (dp by K&Co.) I then stamped the cat (Repeat Impressions stamp) on white and punched it out with the giga-punch, using the same punch for the striped side of the dp. The striped paper at the bottom is actually a strip on the inside of the card after using scalloped scissors to trim a half inch off the top layer.

The cat image is painted with watercolor crayons and mounted over the striped oval, then attached to the card. Buttons and bows complete the red and green theme, with a red gem (Hero Arts) for a little bling in the center of the pillow.

Another easy card!

Tip: When folding a card the long way, be sure to use a scoring tool. Because the grain goes the other way, it will leave wrinkles or a rough edge along the fold, if done by hand.

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...

HAD A WONDERFUL TIME!

Disney World was great--we just got back yesterday! Unfortunately, one of my souvenirs is a full blown head cold (miserable) so it will be a few days before I get back to stamping. Check back again soon...

ON VACATION...

We'll soon be off to a much-needed vacation at Disney World. Meanwhile, I'm playing catch-up here and will post when I get the chance to stamp again!