GOOD FRIENDS ARE HARD TO FIND

Happy Saturday - whoohoo, it's the weekend!!! It is beautiful here in Northern California - a nice breeze, sunny, and not cold, LOL!! Very weird for us this time of year, normally it is raining, raining, raining! Although I hear it is coming, so I better enjoy this while I can *wink*  I had a great time last night with some stamping friends - it was my monthly stamp-a-Stack and I really needed a night with good stamping friends so it was perfect!!  I will share some of those cards over the next few days - today I am sharing a card I made for a really good friend of mine who is always there for me no matter what and I want her to know how much I treasure her friendship so I made her this card! I have discovered over the years that good and true friends are few and far between so I treasure each one I have been blessed with in my life! Her favorite colors are purple and pink so that gave me my color palette for this one.  I used the yummy Lap Of Luxury designer series paper(item 120436) paired with Blushing Bride(item 119796) and Concord Crush card stock(item 119792), which are two of the current In-Colors and I love them!!!  The stamps I used are a Sale-a-Bration set called Bliss: aren't those little birdies and butterflies adorable??!! And, the best part about this set is you can own it FREE!!!! Yep, place a $50 order and you have this one totally FREE :-)  LOVE LOVE LOVE Sale-a-Bration, LOL!!! I stamped the images in purple twice and then cut the little birdies out and popped them up on dimensionals. Then, I added some of the Orchid fine glitter(108796) to give it some bling! I love the glitter because you get a great variety of five different colors in each set for only $13.95!  The sentiment is from an Occasions Mini set called Bold Blossom(clear item 122232) - I love this sentiment, it says exactly what I want to say to her!  That yummy ribbon is the Concord  Crush Stitched poly ribbon(item 119266) and I tell ya, you sure do get a lot of ribbon for you money with this spool:  only $8.95 and you get 15 yards!!! I used some of the cute little buttons from the Subtles Designer button collection (item 119745) - love all the colors, shapes, and sizes of the buttons.  I threaded them with twine and tied it into a bow - soooo girly, just life my friend, lol!  I had a lot of fun making this card because I wanted to put a smile on her face like she has done for me lately!  I put it in the mail this morning so hopefully come Monday or Tuesday she will receive it.  I have decided that sending them is just as fun as receiving them *wink*   If you are interested in placing an order for any of the items you see here today (or anything else for that matter, lol), you can shop in my online store or email me and I will be happy to place your order! Now is the time to get those orders in, FREE Sale-a-Bration items are nothing to pass up, heehee!!!  Today I am going on a date with  my husband for Valentines day.  We both have to work on Monday so we are going to do our celebrating today :-)  Dinner, a blues concert, and together time.....aahhhh....just what the doctor ordered :-)  I hope you all have a fabulous weekend and are getting to spend time with the ones YOU love - it's important!  I will be back on Monday with another fun card to share - until then, happy stampin'!
Card Recipe:
Paper - Concord Crush, Blushing Bride, Very Vanilla card stock, Lap of Luxury Designer Series Paper
Inks - Concord Crush classic ink
Stamps - Bliss (SAB set), Bold Blossom(sentiment)
Tools - Scalloped Edge border punch, Modern Label punch, Designer Label punch
Accessories - Concord Crush stitched-poly ribbon, designer buttons, twine, glitter, rhinestones, dimensionals

I HATE CANCER!!!

Good morning all!  I am sharing the type of card this morning that I hate making but they are unfortunately necessary in life - a sympathy card.   We found out over the weekend that Tony's Uncle was very ill - he had been in remission from brain cancer but unfortunately, he started being dizzy and not feeling well again and it has come back 10x worse and he will probably not make it through this weekend :-(  We are heartbroken over this - he is a kind, gentle, man who has a great sense of humor and would do anything for anyone.  We drove down to where they live yesterday to visit and say our goodbyes and it just makes my heart ache for his Aunt.  I hate cancer - it comes in and just destroys without a thought in the world which is why I am so involved with the American Cancer Society and the Relay for Life events - I really want them to cure all types of cancer once and for all!!!!!  I made this card and will mail it out today so that they know we are thinking of them and are here if they need anything.  It is a simple card, but full of love!  I used the Thoughts and Prayers stamp set, which as the most beautiful sentiments that really say what you are feeling!  I paired the stamps with the Botanical Gazette patterned paper; the soft muted colors are perfect for this card!  I did a lot of sponging on this card to keep it soft, and added some Early Espresso taffeta ribbon and basic pearls to make it beautiful.  I know that Tony's Aunt and family members will appreciate it and I can take some comfort in the fact that I can bring that small happiness into their lives when they need it most.  Thank goodness I don't need these types of cards often - I don't like to make them.  But, life doesn't always give us happy moments so we have to try and make enough happiness in our lives to minimize the sad things - that is what I try to do anyways.  On that note, I am going to spend the afternoon stamping and making cards for special peeps in my life to let them know I love them and I am so glad they are a part of my life - I think this is a great way to spend the day, don't you??!  In the words of my very good friend Roxy, hug someone you love today - and everyday, and let them know how much you care!!! Have a wonderful day, I will be back tomorrow with a sneak peek of my upcoming mini book class that I will also be selling as a kit!  Until then, happy stampin'!
Card Recipe:
Paper - Early Espresso, Very Vanilla card stock, Botanical Gazette designer series paper
Inks - Early Espresso, River Rock stampin' write markers and stamp pads
Stamps - Thoughts and Prayers
Tools - Scalloped Edge border punch
Accessories - Early Espresso taffeta ribbon, Basic Pearls

VALENTINE HEARTS

Hi all!! I had a wonderful birthday yesterday - thanks to all of you for the sweet birthday wishes, you really made me feel special :-)  And, my sweet, sweet husband made my whole day soooo nice - he made me dinner, a cake, a wonderful card, and he bought me a Keurig!!!!!  I am soooo excited, I have wanted one forever but did not want to spend the money, and now I have one - I love that man!!!! He is very special! Speaking of special, here is another card I made for him to let him know how much I love him.  It's a simple card but I just love this stamp called Be My Valentine(item 122045) from the Occasions Mini! I just love a La Carte stamps, sooo fun to be able to have some single stamps to play with!  I stamped it twice, once in Riding Hood Red Craft ink(item 119717, part of the stampin' spots regals collection) and once in Basic Black Craft ink(102192), covered them with clear embossing powder(item (109130), and used my heat gun(100005) to make them beautiful.  Then, I trimmed the banner out from the black image and popped it up with dimensionals(item 104430) over the red one - sooooo purdy!!!!   Here is a close-up of the image so you can see how pretty it looks all embossed!!!

 I paired the image with Love Letter Designer series paper(item 117162), which can be found in the main catty! I just love this - I recently had a vintage mini book class and we made a whole book with this paper and it turned out gorgeous!! I guess I should share some pics of THAT, lol!!!!  I did use some ribbon too - the Basic Black Satin(item 117285) and Very Vanilla satin(item 117291) look great together and just really add to this one! I topped off the card by adding a little Rhinestone bling(item 119246) to the image and lots of  basic pearls(item 119247) everywhere else!!  I mean, you get 150 of these beautiful embellies in every pack, and they come in three different sizes, all for $4.95 so you can use as many as you want, right??!!   Like I said, very simple to put together but I love how it looks, and I know he will too! Not too foofy, but still has that elegant feel that I think a Valentines card should have *wink*  I am loving all of our products for this season - just so much fun to play with!! And, if you feel the same way and want to have some of these in YOUR mailbox, then you can shop online in my online store or email me and I can put your order in as well!  Now, I am off to get my hair and nails done - it seems like it is harder and harder to keep up with things like that during these busy months, but hey, gotta look beautiful right, LOL??!!!  Have a wonderful day and I will be back tomorrow with something special to share with you! Until then, happy stampin'!

Card Recipe:
Paper - Riding Hood Red, Basic Black, Very Vanilla card stock, Love Letter Designer Series Paper
Inks - Riding Hood Red and Basic Black Craft Inks
Stamps - Be My Valentine
Tools - Scallop Trim border punch, Heat Gun, Clear Embossing powder
Accessories - Basic Rhinestones, Basic Pearls, Basic Black and Very Vanilla satin ribbons

HUGS AND KISSES

Happy Monday to everyone!!!! Today is not allowed to be a bad day since it is my birthday :-)  Yep, another year, another wrinkle, lol!!! Nothing big planned for today, I am going to spend some quiet time stamping for my upcoming classes and then have a nice dinner with the fam.  But first, I am going to share with you another Valentine I made for my husband.  He gets his first one today and then one everyday until the actual day, lol! I just think one day is not enough to tell him how much I love him :-)  Sooo, you may be seeing a few more of these Valentine cards this week, heehee!  I had fun making this one - I used one of the new sets from the Occasions mini because I just love all the cute stamps in this set! It is called  XOXO(clear item 121973) which is perfect because I want to shower my man with hugs and kisses :-)  I paired the stamp set with the Love Impressions Designer paper (item 121780) also from the mini - love this paper! It has textured sheets, embossed detail, and yummy colors - I would use this for all kinds of projects, not just for Valentines Day, it is just too stinkin' cute not to!!!  I have been getting a lot of use out of my Pinking Hearts border punch(item 117649) lately as well - it is PERFECT for adding that pretty detail to all your valentine cards, anniversary cards, your just because cards....well, you get it, lol! And, I could not help but add some little punched out hearts using my small heart punch(item 117193)  from the Glimmer paper(item 121790) in the mini - can you say YUMMO??!!  It is soooooo pretty, it makes me giggle :-) I did a lot of embossing on this one - I just love my Big Shot(item 113439) and all the cool embossing folders we have! The one I used here is called Perfect Polka Dots(item 117335)  - I like this one for embossing over my images because it really makes them pop! And, no card is complete without bling so I added some Basic Rhinestones as well! (item 119246 ).  Lots of layering and lots of texture, make me happy!!!  And of course, you have to add ribbon so I used the thin taffeta Real Red ribbon (item 119251) which added just the right touch to the card!  I had fun making this since it was for my  honey - those are the best cards to make, aren't they??!!  And, I plan on making several more today as I am going to stamp the day away :-)  Enjoy your Monday, I plan to *wink* And, if you see products on this card that you love and NEED to have, you can shop in my online store or email me and I will help you put your order in! Now is the time to do this - with Sale-a-Bration going on, you get FREE stuff with every $50 worth of product purchased!  Did I mention FREE, lol??!!!  So, don't miss out because it won't last forever :-)  Now, I am off to stamp, but I will be back tomorrow to share another fun project with you! Until then, Happy Stampin'!!!!
Card Recipe:
Paper - Crumb Cake, Going Gray, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White card stock, Love Impressions Designer Series Paper, Glimmer Paper
Inks - Pink Pirouette, Real Red classic inks
Stamps - XOXO
Tools - Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Pinking Hearts border punch, Small Heart punch, Large Oval Punch, Curly Label punch, Modern label punch, 1 3/8 inch and 1 1/4 inch circle punches
Accessories - Real Red thin taffeta ribbon, Basic Rhinestones