Mother's Day!

Today is Mother's Day! Hope all of you had a lovely day today...a very blessed day!

I got to have only 2 of my 6 kids here for lunch today...the others all had plans with other mothers! I had told them that was just fine...we can't get together every year the same now that most of them are married or have steady girlfriends. I had a great day anyway! All of them called or stopped by at some time today and 2 of them brought me hanging flower baskets and my husband gave me the most precious card! 

Tonight I just finished one last Mother's Day card (sorry, I think I said that last week too!) and I will have to just put it away for next year.

Here is my list of supplies used to make this one:

Digital rose & Bible verse image - Imagine That Digi Stamps "Rose Blessings"

colored with Spectrum Noir and Memento markers

Happy Mother's Day sentiment - computer generated

Spellbinders dies - "Labels 15" & "Fleur de Lis Squares"

Patterned card stock - K&Company "Merryweather" &

Webster's Pages "Petite Papers"

White card staock base - Bazzill

Ranger Stickles glitter glue - "Icicle"

Flatback pearls - Pizzazz Aplenty "Pale Pink"

Paper doilly, pink ribbon and pink card stock - from my stash

Challenges being entered:

http://Celebratetheoccasion.blogspot.com - #111 "Happy Mother's Day"

http://clearitoutchallenge.blogspot.com - Anything Goes + 2 or more patterned papers

http://imaginethatdigistamp.blogspot.com - #6 Mother's Day, Rose Blessings

http://sweetstampsblog.blogspot.com - #116 "For Mom"

http://wordartwednesday.blogspot.com - #79 Anything Goes

http://sketchandstashchallenge.blogspot.com - #113 Sketch 9
(new stash= digi image, neglected stash= old doilies)

CAS "Thinking of You"

Another quick post tonight! My hubby is away for the weekend so I've had some extra time to spend in my craftroom! I keep a nice list of fun challenges handy in case I get time...and the urge to create!

Here is a CAS card....

Challenges:

http://casestudychallenge.blogspot.com - #139 

http://pileitonchallenge.blogspot.com - #17 "April Showers Bring May Flowers"

http://wordartwednesday.blogspot.com - #78 "Anything Goes"

Ingredients:

Stamped sentiment - Stampin Up

Digital flower & filigree images - Free Vintage Digital Stamps

Ink - Memento Black

Markers - Memento "New Sprout", "Lulu Lavender"

Card stock and paper from my stash + gem

Children Say "Happy Mother's Day!"

Mother's Day is fast approaching! I had high hopes of putting several Mother's Day cards on Etsy but time is running out! I'd rather make cards than try to sell them...too bad 'cause that would help pay for my "habit"!

My thoughts on Mother's Day

Mother's Day is such a special celebration of our mothers...mothers of all ages and all generations.

Of course, without being blessed with children a woman may have trouble celebrating the day. But its good to remember that our "physical" children are not the only ones to bless us...often we have spiritual children, and nieces, nephews, neighbors, students, friends...special children who mean so much to us. And not just youngsters, but any one God has placed in our lives to nuture and care for. 

My own dear little mother is now 88 years old and lives in another state with my siblings. I'm sure she never thought she would someday live with them again when they, one by one, left home to begin their own lives.

But God had a different plan and they are now caring for her...a role reversal. It took over a year to adjust but they are doing well and I'm thankful for their dedication to her. When I talk with her I can sense in her calm responses a sense of security and peace.

I myself am facing the "empty nest" very soon...next week, in fact. The last of our six children is moving into his own house! He's been remodeling and buying appliances and a lawn mower...he's excited and so are we, but I will miss him terribly. We have such good conversations and laugh together and discuss God's word and share a special adult relationship. He is one of the special reasons I get to celebrate Mother's Day!

(Yes, I've got tears in my eyes!)

So this is one more card to honor all the "mothers" out there...ALL varieties!

My ingredients:

Embossing folders- Sizzix "Ribbon" & "Dots, Circles, Stars"

Stamp- Sweet Stamps "Singing Children"

Bible verse- digital image from WordArtWednesday

Die cut- Sweet Stamps "Elegant Leaves"

Card stock- Lt blue: One Heart...One Mind

White: Bazzill

Sentiment- computer generated

Silk flowers, handmade flower, ribbon, trim- from my stash

...and Stitching.

And the challenges I'm entering this one in:

http://sweetstampsblog.blogspot.com - #115 "White on White + 1 Color" (blue)

http://ourdailybreaddesignsblog.blogspot.com - #152 "Needle It, piercing/stitching"

http://celebratetheoccasion.blogspot.com - #110 "Anything Goes"

http://wordartwednesday.blogspot.com - #78 "Anything Goes"

http://tuesdaymorningsketches.blogspot.com - #196 "Sketch by Melissa" (which I turned on it's side)

Thanks so much for stopping by today! May you all have a truly blessed Mother's Day!

Beautiful Butterflies Bring Get Well Wishes

What a beautiful sping day! I saw one of "our" orioles is back already! I quickly cut an orange in half and set the halves on my deck railing. Hope they stay around for a while this year...they are soooo pretty and have such a lovely song. 

Today I finished a card that will hopefully fit into a few different challenges. I followed a sketch that was supposed to be for Birthdays ONLY...which obviously I forgot(!) and made it a Get Well card instead. Oh well, I need more of those anyway...no birthdays coming up real soon.

Ingredients:

Spellbinders dies- Standard Circles Lg, Scalloped Circles

Butterfly stamps- StampingScrappingDesign "Tab Basics 1" -

(colored with colored pencils)

Get Well Stamp- Stampabilities

Cloud background & Sun inks- TH Distress "Squeezed Lemonade", "Shaded Lilac", "Peacock Feathers"

DP- Paper Studio

Challenges entered:

http://casestudychallenge.blogspot.com - #138

http://wordartwednesday.blogspot.com - #77 Anything Goes

Tilda in Brown Tones

Just one card this evening for one challenge:

http://dutchmagnolialovers.blogspot.com - #55 "Photo Inspiration: Brown Tones"

I plan to send this one to one of the older ladies from my church who can't get out and about any more.

List of ingredients:
Magnolia stamp: "New Years Tilda"
(colored with Spectrum Noir markers and colored pencils)
Spellbinders die: "Labels 20"
Background DP: K&Company "TC Blossomwood"
Martha Stewart border punch: "Doily Lace"
Rhinestones are Basic Grey "Bling It- gold"
Computer generated sentiment
Ribbon, CS, doily are all from my stash

Thanks for stopping by!

Encouragement & a Hug

Good evening, All!

Finished one more card today...which was supposed to be a simple one. But...I sometimes just can't make myself 'keep it simple'! 

Ingredients:

Magnolia stamp - "Cozy Family: Sister & Brother"

Our Daily Bread stamp - Bible verse

Cuttlebug embossing folder - "Madison"

Fiskar border punch 

Creative Memories "Corner Rounder"

Stampabilities Dye Ink - "Black"

TH Distress Ink - "Antique Linen"

DP (blue) - K&Company "Julianne"

other cs & buttons - from my stash

Challenges:

http://clearitoutchallenge.blogspot.com - "Anything Goes + 2 or more buttons"

http://craftybloggersnetwork.blogspot.com - #10 April "Anything Goes"

http://thedutchmagnoliachickies.blogspot.com - #43 "Colors: Red, White, Blue + a little Orange"
http://vssweetideas.blogspot.com/ - #10 "Anything Goes"

http://wordartwednesday.blogspot.com - #76 "Anything Goes"

http://Mojomonday.blogspot.com - Sketch #290

CAS Card

Quick post for a couple challenges!

Here's my CAS card:

The green card stock has textured dots, its from my stash....brand????

The print cs is K&Company "Merryweather"

Get Well stamp is Bildmalarna

Memento "Bamboo" ink

Old buttons from my growing button stash!

I'm entering this one in:
http://clearitoutchallenge.blogspot.com - "Anything Goes" (w/ 2 or more buttons)

http://casethissketch.blogspot.com - Sketch #24

Oops! Well, so much for THAT idea...missed the sketch challenge by 30 seconds!
WHY do I wait so long??

A Springtime Cup of Tea...or Two!

Once again a challenge I wanted to make a card for has the theme "Tea for Two" and I really wanted to use the adorable House Mouse stamp I have called "Feeling Rosey" with Maxwell sitting IN a cup of tea. But since its tea for TWO I thought I'd try doing a reverse stamp. I was surprised how well it worked! I stamped the image on my rubber mat for embossing in my Cuttlebug, then laid my paper on it and pressed evenly. I colored them both using Promarkers, Spectrum Noir markers and a few colored pencils, overlapped the reverse one so you can't see the tea bag tag which printed backwards, of course! So here it is:

The yellow rhinestones don't show up well in the photo but do catch the light nicely when held in your hand or propped for display.

The 2 challenges being entered:

http://housemouse-challenge.blogspot.com - #142 "Springtime"

http://celebratetheoccasion.blogspot.com - #108 "Tea for Two"