Something Very Special

Hi Everyone!!
I received two very special cards in the mail, one a few weeks ago and the other a few days ago, and I want to share them with you!

This first card was a complete shock and happy surprise!!  I fondly and affectionately call Kathy my Southern Sunshine!  We have such a special and very treasured friendship that I can’t tell you how blessed I feel to have her in my life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She made me this card, completely out of the blue!  Isn’t it SWEET!!!!!  We have a little joke about secret pockets, and she incorporated that into the card.  TOO CUTE!! 
This card was a “pay it forward” card that had something special hidden inside a secret pocket – which is “MY” secret!  hehehe!!  Let’s just say that Kathy is an extremely generous woman!! 

This card is a ‘thank you’ card that she made me!  Look how PRETTY!!! I love it!!!!

 

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Birthday Sweets

Hi Everyone!  Yesterday was my 45th birthday and I just wanted to share with you a picture of my flowers, cards, and cake! The cake was soooo yummy.  Lemon and 2 layers of lemon cream, AND lemon chocolate shavings on top! YUMMO!
I had a nice day!
 
Also, this evening I worked on putting together a card for EGF.  I found a comforting phrase and this is what it says on the inside.
“As a butterfly graces our lives with one moment's fragile beauty, so too has your baby's presence blessed you, and those that surround you with their short life, and unique spirit. May you find peace, and joy with each butterfly that passes, knowing that your baby lives on in the hearts of all they touched.”
 



Hmmmmm…… I need to tweak the ribbon.
Thanks for visiting and hope you have a GREAT FRIDAY!!
P.S.   I bet you it’s going to snow here tonight.  It was only 46 degrees today and tonight I’m sure it will dip down into the 30’s.  I’ve had a bet with a friend that it was going to snow in April (since it has snowed in April for the last 2 years,) and I think I’ve won!!

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Happy Momma’s Day!

Happy Mother’s Day everyone!  I get to celebrate today too….. thanks to my Sweet Frankie!
 And, let’s not forget MY MOM! She didn’t want any gifts for Mother’s Day, but I wanted to get her something to show her how much she is appreciated.  My mom (and grandma) is Catholic, so I stopped at Our Lady’s Gifts.  Her gifts theme was “Angels”….. what else!  I love angels and wanted her to know that she is protected by angels all the time.  I got grandma a few things too, but on a smaller scale.
    Two Angels giving water to a bird, two Angel prayer cards for her purse, and a little “serenity” Angel to put on her nightstand, a card, and flowers.
My handcrafted Mother’s Day Card turned out cute, Huh? I got the idea and template from Dawn.
 

Another special woman who was like a mother to me is being remembered today too!  It’s a long story, but she took me in when I was a teenager and was a wonderful, beautiful, funny, silly, and special person to me.  I called her “Ma”.  I am so blessed to have known her and still miss her.  Happy Mother’s Day Ma!  I know you’re with my Angels watching over me and Denise.

I hope you are all having a wonderful day!

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Simply Blue

Here is a pull-out criss cross card I came up with for a boy's birthday. I just wanted to keep it simple and not frilly.

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Another January Birthday and Seriously C-c-c-c-cold Temperatures

I thought I would share the card I made for my SIL's birthday (Jan. 8). She's an avid book reader and I really liked this stamp. I love my Prismacolor pencils. I haven't tried Copic markers yet and I probably won't for a while since they are a little pricey. (Pay bills or buy stamping/crafting supplies? Damn, I HAVE to be a responsible adult!)

Can you believe how cold it is? It's -8F degrees right now. And tomorrow is supposed to be the same. I was outside earlier this evening and one thing I was reminded of was that it really doesn't matter if it's 20 degrees or 2 degrees, it's friggin' cold out there!! I'd love to go somewhere warm, like Alaska. At least it's a balmy 34 degrees there today.

Well, here's the card. Take Care!
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Birthday Card for Dad and Jim

Hello Again Everyone! I thought I would share a birthday card that I made for my Dad and my brother Jim. They both have the same birth date of December 27th. Isn't that neat! I guess it's all in the timing!! Anyhow, I haven't had time to post it until now. I tried to keep it as masculine as possible and I think it turned out pretty nice.

It went down to 5 degrees (-3 wind chill) and it's supposed to snow more. I love the beautiful snow, but I can't wait for winter to be over. I'm feeling claustrophobic.

Gotta run - Take care!

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Happy Birthday to Ruth!

Good Morning Everyone! Here is a crisscross pull-up card I made for my very good friend Ruth. Her birthday was yesterday! Happy Birthday Ruth! She loves green and she collects snowmen..... so this is what I came up with. I love how it turned out, but most of all, she liked it too.

Take Care and Stay Warm!

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"Christmas" Confession

You know how this is supposed to be a magical and merry time of year...... that's crap!   

For years now, I have tried to have a positive-spirit and attitude around this time of year.  I believe I have pulled it off again this year and I know no one noticed that I was feeling a little lonely and empty.  I was mostly disappointed, as I am every year, that there was no amazing, wonderful, miracle-like climax on Christmas day or night.

I baked a ton a cookies and made cookie trays for the neighbors and family.  I put up a beautiful light display on the house and in the yard.  I handmade cute cards to send out to everyone (see below).  Yet, I truly was disappointed when Christmas Eve and Christmas Day came.  There was no holly jolly; no Ho Ho Ho.  The angel was on top of the tree, but she just stared at me.  She has no magical glow about her anymore.

In all honesty, I couldn't tell you when the last time was that I truly enjoyed Christmas (except for when I was a child.) 

Here is an example.  Christmas four years ago, I was with MSK and he and I went to a friends cabin in Canada for the holiday.  I was soooo hoping it would be truly special.  Instead of him giving me a nice card and a gift(s), he gave me a plain white envelope with a little note inside and cash.  My heart sank to the floor.  I knew then that I would never be a priority in his life (along with other clues - DUH!), and it crushed my holiday spirit - again. 

 

Now, this is the part where I make a vow to continue on in my quest to find the magic and joy of Christmas, but guess what?  I'm not going to lie to myself and I'm not going to lie to my blog friends.  I give up.  Maybe if I have no expectations, I'll be pleasantly surprised next year (or the year after that, or the year after that.)

 

Hope you like the Christmas card I sent out to everyone.  Thanks for stopping by to listen to my tales of woe. 

Goodnight!   

 

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I'm Back in the Computer Chair (finally)!

Hi Everyone!

It seems like forever since I've had my butt in this computer chair. I finally have this computer, and two others, updated, upgraded, and working perfect. It feels good to dwindle down my To-Do List. Computers first..... Craft area next! Except, this blog needs attention, so that will have to be worked on immediately.  

***There are a few things I would like to catch you up on:

1.  Approximately a month-and-a-half ago, I met a nice guy. He makes me laugh and we have good chemistry. We'll see where it goes. We're both still unsure of it all.

2.  I haven't really been working for the last few weeks. I was recuperating and feel much better now. I also had a major computer meltdown and needed to get that worked out. I'm happy to have my main computer up and running as I use it for my job, medical transcriptions. I started back to work on Monday, supposedly, but there hasn't been any work for me to do. I'm feeling really a little let down because I was excited to start on Monday, but as the week progresses, my happy balloon is deflating. We'll see what happens over the rest of the week.

3.  I'm really happy about a mutual family decision. This year we decided to NOT exchange Christmas gifts anymore. I am so happy about that! I thought we lost the magic and spirit of Christmas a long time ago. I'm looking forward to this Thanksgiving and Christmas. My family is coming here and we are going to have a lot of good food and desserts, (which I love to bake.) I also want to start a new tradition. I would like for us to play games. I think we need to keep the television off and play a game that can involve everyone. If you have any suggestions as to what games to play, please leave me a comment! (We are all adults now, so there are no children to keep occupied while playing games.)

4.  It has been snowing for the past three days and it is so beautiful.... BUT.... I usually get sick of it the day after Christmas. The beauty of it turns black and sludgy, and the idea of the snow being crisp and clean goes away with every passing snowplow and salt truck.

Also, I have been working on cards and treat bags, but was not really able to post anything for you to see, so here are a few things I have worked on.

Enjoy! Have a great evening everyone!!

                  

(Click on each image to preview) 

     

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Back to reality tomorrow morning. But, for now....

Good Evening Everyone! Unfortunately, the quiet weekend is coming to a close and tomorrow it's back to work. Keep your fingers crossed that the adjustments in my medication will get me through the work-day.

Meanwhile, I had a very quiet and unexciting weekend. Frankie and I just hung out and I did a lot of paper crafts. Once again, thanks to Dawn (Dawn's Stamping Thoughts), I had plenty to keep me busy.

Check out the cute treat bag toppers I made.

This is a mummy card that turned out so cute! I was going to stain muslin with tea bags, but decided that was too much like work, so I just distressed the paper edges and made it look dirty with chalk instead.

And of course, here is good old Frankie (not my Frankie - Frankenstein Frankie). Are you as confused as I am now.

Well, I'm off to look at a few blogs before I start yawning! Nite Nite Everyone!

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Just Say It!

I know you want to!  You're sick of reading the last post and was wondering when I was going to update my blog!

New medicine, more medicine, rest, and quiet.  That's what I'm doing to feel better.  And I am getting better!  Thanks for asking!!

To pick up my spirits a bit, I went shopping Thursday for some "stamping stuff".  Unfortunately, a local scrapbooking store has decided to go out of business; but luckily for me, I got 65% off everything!  I bought as many Sizzix dies that I know would work with my Cuttlebug.  I have a picture of some of the stuff I bought.  I forgot to add the other bag of ribbon and buttons, but you get the idea.  I spent of total of $90 and saved a total of $145. ISN'T THAT AMAZING!!  I cannot believe what a great deal I got! 

     

I've been blog surfing again for inspiration and as usual, I can always count on Dawn (Dawn's Stamping Thoughts)!!  She is so cute and sweet.  You have to watch her videos.  She really likes what she is doing and it shines through in her work!!  I really like all the cute ideas she shares!!

I made a birthday card using the frog she created in her video, but I had to modify it a little bit due to different sized ovals, etc. It was fun to make and it turned out so darn cute!!              

I can't wait to make the owl that she also has a video tutorial on!

     

Well, here are some cards I made for birthday's this weekend!  I'm taking a break, but I hope to get back to stamping and work on some Halloween cards.  I already made a couple of the Frankie cards, but I will show them in another post, along with other Halloween stuff.

            
(The T-shirt card is CASED- can't remember from where)

Thanks for stopping by to see how I'm feeling, and for checking out my results of my self-imposed occupational therapy!  hahahahaha

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