A Happy Heart

 
Happy New Year everyone!  I face this new year with peace, hope, joy and mostly gratitude.  I have a wonderful family that I cherish deeply.  Friends that I love and know I can count on as they can always count on me.  A career that presents challenges and pressures that help me learn more about myself and the world around me.  And hobbies that relax me and give me a sense of accomplishment when a project is complete.  I ask you to stop for just a moment ... right now - it doesn't take long ... and really THINK about your blessings.  When you hug your children, say "Good Morning" to your spouse, perhaps finish a good book ... whatever it is for you ... just pause for a moment and THINK.  You're pretty terrific, huh?  I knew you would be.  I've decided to not make "resolutions" this year.  I don't want to make a list of my faults and determine how I could "improve" this or that.  No ... I want to be positive, uplifting, and just happy.  I want to appreciate the little things that happen every day that make my world so wonderful.  Like visits from all of you ...

I had a wonderful time making this for you.  Inspired by the gorgeous colors in this Play Date Cafe Challenge, I thought they were perfect for a Valentine greeting.  Shades of pinks, melon, and tan ... I know you love them too.

My card started with Pretty in Pink cardstock.  I layered it with a fabulous new DSP collection which is only days away from release!  "Springtime Vintage" is gorgeous and there's matching fabrics too!  I have given you a sneak peek at two of the new papers on this card and I'll be showing you more soon (along with a link)!  I stitched around the edges and included a length of vintage lace along the top.  The flourish plaque is from Notably Ornate - it is stamped in Basic Black Classic Ink on Very Vanilla cardstock.  My sentiment is stamped with Melon Mambo Classic Ink.  The bird ephemera has the perfect colors and is from a wonderful book I picked up recently at Borders called "Vintage Collage Works - Artful Ideas with Antique Ephemera".  You should take a look at it - there are some interesting tips and the last pages are filled with beautiful images.

The seam binding is dyed to a lovely shade of mottled pink and I crocheted a little heart to add to my bow.  Here's a link to the tutorial over at Little Birdie Secrets - so simple and so sweet.  Tucked behind the bow is a leaf cut from a scrap of old Designer Series Paper.  A bit of added glitter helped it be seen behind all that bow.   I added a couple pearl beads to my jem-topped pin to give it some "presence".  Lastly, my collection of tiny flowers gave up one of it's blooms for a special spot on this card.

I hope you enjoyed your visit - thank you for stopping by today!

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Every day is wonderful with you, Bert

 
It has been a wonderful day. We just returned from seeing Mary Poppins at the Detroit Opera House. What a fantastic production! My son was humming "A Spoonful of Sugar" on the way home and there's nothing like a rousing chorus of "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" (yep, had to look that one up) to make the drive fun!

My post today is inspired by the Design Team over at the Colour Q. This scarf is gorgeous and so are the colors. Don't you agree?

Crumb Cake cardstock served as my card base with Basic Black and Very Vanilla layers. The Distressing Essentials Kit created a vintage look on the vanilla shade. "Nature Walk" is a wonderful is a new stamp set available in January. The set includes this fabulous birdcage, eggs, and plate number ... there's more and I can't wait to show you in future posts! My branch is stamped in Old Olive Classic Ink.  The cage and eggs are in Basic Grey Classic Ink.  It's not a color I use often but I must admit it looks wonderful on this bird cage!  My paper is from the Love Letter collection which I adore.  I added tulle to the ribbon and included a fabulous button.

Apple Blossoms (Hostess Set) has this lovely sentiment (stamped in Basic Black) that fit perfectly over my row of eggs.  Finally, adding Basic Pearl Jewels to the tag just seemed right for this card.

Thanks for spending time with me today ... I hope you enjoyed your visit!


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More Amazement ...

  
Hello friends.  With vacation days at my disposal this week, I decided to do something that was long overdue.  I thought with the start of a new year, I should freshen my favorite room in the house ... the craft room.  Yesterday I spent the entire day cleaning, organizing, and purging.  I was stunned by the treaures I found!  I had forgotten about so many things and promised myself to use them!  Putting them in a place of "honor" (smack dab in the middle of my work table) ... I couldn't wait to get started!  First, my inspiration - a gorgeous color scheme from The Play Date Cafe (isn't that little deer so sweet?) and a wonderful sketch from The Waltzing Mouse (the second time I used this sketch).

For today's project I began with Crumb Cake cardstock and layered on some DSP from our Deck the Halls collection.  The print fabric at the top was stitched on and is part of the Deck the Halls Fabrics which coordinates with the DSP.  I'm glad I bought both since they retire at the end of this week!  My first "discovery" - buried under my work table in a box - was PAINT!  I thought I only had a couple colors but NO ... I found LOTS!  I admit this shade is a bit dark for the card but I brushed it on around the edges regardless.  (Now that I have so much more space, I think I'll have to go get a lighter shade ... you know "just in case".)  The lace is a little smidgen from my newly arrived goodie box (thanks again, Shirley!) and the wine colored chenille was found just "laying around" ... waiting for me to stumble upon it once again.  Later in the day I opened an envelope and what did I find?  FEATHERS!  So many glorious shimmery colors!  So, I added a couple to my card and I think you may be seeing some more of them in the future.

The sentiment was stamped in Pacific Point Classic Ink as were the flower images at each end.  The greeting is from Because I Care (a Hostess Set) and the little flowers are from the Style Beautiful set.  I added a couple Pearl Jewels as accents.  With all the extra space in my craft room now, Sabrina has begun to move in with some of her supplies.  I look forward to watching her create beautiful things - tucked away in our room together.  She emptied her closet of beautiful shades/weights of yarns and crochet hooks of all sizes!  We just had to stop for a moment to make a couple flowers.  I added a bright blue cordroy button (didn't know I had any left!) to my flower with a length of Natural Hemp.  Today we plan to make some precious little hearts for Valentines Day - so happy to spend this time with her.

Thank you for stopping by ... I hope you find some amazing treasures too!

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Amazing

   
There are a few things that have recently happened that I find absolutely amazing.  One is the friendship I find here on my blog.  I had no pre-conceived notions of what would happen when I started blogging.  Now I feel as though I have friends who share a common creative spirit all around the world!  I am so honored that Clare Buswell chose me to receive this incredible award!  I am beyond excited and forever thankful for this gift!

Part of accepting this award is to:
1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you this award.  Thank you Clare!
2. Share 8 things about yourself.
3. Pass it on to 8 bloggers.
4. Contact those bloggers and tell them about their award

Eight things about myself?  Oh my ... here goes -

1.  It's quite obvious I love to paper craft.  I have dabbled in many other crafts in the past - sewing (as long as I don't have to follow a pattern), knitting, crocheting, embroidery, and macrame (yes, I too made the plant hangers and the owls with beads for eyes). 
2.  I began playing the cello in 4th grade and was in the orchestra all thru my school years.  My summers were spent playing in the pit orchestra with my small town theater group.
3.  I'm actually a mechanical engineer (funny, huh?).
4.  I love to garden and have no yard.  Yes, that's right ... no grass to mow -  just perennials, annuals, and trees!
5.  I love hockey!  Watching not playing, of course....GO WINGS!  As for playing a sport - I've been a golfer since I was a little girl.
6.  I have a group of dear sweet friends over every month to play with my stamping toys and try new paper techniques.  Some of them I've known for nearly 10 years - when I first became a Stampin' UP demonstrator.  They are the BEST group of ladies you could ever call "friends"!
7.  I love to read and my favorite novels are historical fiction.
8.  My son and I are members of the National Audubon Society and enjoy a number of feeders/bird houses scattered throughout the garden.

Now to share 8 terrific fellow bloggers (in no particular order) with you ... I visit them often!

1. Cherry's Jubilee
2. Artistic Bliss
3. Midnite Lullabies Studio
4. Ginny's Place
5. To scrap or not to scrap
6. What Happens Next
7. Cupcake's Creations
8. Sylvia's Stamp Corner

Thanks for spending time with me and do pay a visit to the ladies listed above.  They would love to hear from you.  I have a project to share with you tomorrow ... see you soon!


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Gift Kits

  
Christmas Day is just around the corner and the excitement is building.  Wrapped gifts are beginning to magically appear under the tree.  The stockings will be hung soon and there are cookies to be baked.  Santa has a favorite cookie when he visits this house ... as I am sure he does in yours too.

The motivation for todays post actually comes from all of you.  Visiting my most favorite blogs, I've seen so many fabulous gift giving ideas.  My eyes have feasted on gorgeous gift boxes, embellished gift tags, goodie bags as glorious as the gifts inside them, scrumptous recipes (I want to try every one) ... it's just amazing.  The creativity from each and everyone of you is wonderfully inspirational.  I make frequent visits to Etsy Inspired  ... a terrific site that features a new Etsy artist every week.  There is so much to see on Etsy, I could literally browse for days.  Thankfully, this site spoon-feeds me a little every week, slow enough that I can soak it all in.  This week's Etsy shop is the talented Ling Glass.  Drop-dead gorgeous, I tell you!  The pendant on the left is reversable!  How great is that!?  And this is just a small sample of the beauty there is to see there, you should do yourself a favor and pay them a visit.

So, with the encouragement of my daughter (you can do it Mom!), I tackled Black, White and Red.  The papers used for the gift pouches and the card kit are from the Love Letter collection.  I added some tea dyed small envelopes stamped in Riding Hood Red Classic Ink using the Artistic Etchings stamp set.  Also tucked in my pouch is dyed seam binding, lengths of lace, buttons, a bit of red yarn, and a few decorative stick pins.

The crowns are die cut, distressed a bit at the edges, and stamped with heart-felt sentiments.  The flowers are chipboard (Mix and Match On Board) painted red then "glitterfied" with a Basic Pearl Jewel for the center.  And did you see I used some ephemera!?  I have admired these sweet precious images for ages.  I see them beautifully displayed on your artwork and I am in love with them.  So, I finally took the plunge!  My dear sister-in-law sent me sheets of images - each and every one is gorgeous.

Once again, I am grateful for your visits and enjoy reading your comments.  I hope that you are inspired today to create something beautiful too.

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A Splash of Yellow

 
Hello friends.  My daughter and I made a list of all the fun "stuff" we want to do over the next two weeks.  There's a new vintage clothing store in town that we have to visit.  Getting our nails done before Christmas is a must.  A trip to Pier One for some last minute stocking stuffers.  A stop at Borders (they have the BEST hot chocolate ever).  Brendan and my husband are going to build a bookcase - the perfect project for my two Boy Scouts.  The list goes on and on ... we're so excited to have this time together!

Today's post was inspired by two challenges.  The Waltzing Mouse has an adorable sketch this week (of course they always do).  And The Play Date Cafe put together a stunning color combination.

Black and white with a splash of color is very difficult for me to get my head around.  I love the look of classic black and white together and the punch of bright color is amazing.  Perhaps the strength of the colors scares me a little since I am one for doing the softer shabby look.  So ... I have to face my fears!  I started with gathering black and white print papers from my scrap drawer.  Following the sketch, I layed out the patterns on Basic Black Cardstock (the base is Whisper White Cardstock).  I added some beautiful white lace to soften the unfinished edges.

The bird is chipboard (Mix & Match On Board) covered in two different yellow prints from the Sunny Garden Designer Series Paper collection.  The wing was covered in Dazzling Diamonds Glitter and the eye is a Black Flourish Jewel.  The crown is die cut and I added Basic Rhinestone Jewels (you'll see a couple more on the tag too).  My yellow ribbon is embellished with Black Raven Lace and a button.  The Jewelry Tag Punch is the perfect size for my sweet little sentiment.

Whew, that was tough but I'm pleased with the results!  Thanks for visiting and enjoy the rest of your day!

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Home for the Holidays ....

 

Today was the last day of school for my little ones.  They are so excited to be home for "two whole weeks!" ... as they say it.  I'm excited too.  There will be lots of reading, cuddling in front of the fire, watching old movies (the best kind), baking, and of course - crafts.  I can't wait to spend time with them.

We made sweet treats for the teachers this year.  The kids were thrilled to hand them out today.  It all began with some color inspiration.  Isn't this a wonderful combination from the Design Team at Colour Q?

I began with Elegant Soiree papers to capture the blue in the color palette.  Cut to width and stitched on the sides, it makes a pretty patterned pouch to hold your treasures.  For this project it's Totally Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies!  They are delicious and are part of my inspiration colors!  I put two in each Large Cello Bag, slipped them into my paper pocket and tied it all up with a Real Red Striped Ribbon.

My ribbon embellishments were created with our Snowflake Punch cut from Whisper White Cardstock and "glitterfied" with Dazzling Diamonds Glitter.  The buttons are a gorgeous shade of Bermuda Blue.  Using a die to cut out a doily, I softened the edges with Crumb Cake Classic Ink.  The polka-dot print is a retired pattern in Kiwi Kiss color and a 2 1/2" Circle Punch was the perfect size.  A Scallop Circle Punch was matched to my red stamped image from last years Vintage Labels stamp set.  The center sentiment is from the Holly Jolly Rub-Ons  collection.  Watching Sabrina work on these little details brought back such great memories.  I used to LOVE rub-ons when I was young .... to be honest - I still do!  These little cuties were the perfect size for my 1" Circle Punch and I raised them up with a Dimensional.

These were such a joy to make with the kids.  They loved helping put it all together ... even the baking!  They were so proud to hand them to their teachers today - and I was proud of both of them.

I'm glad you had the time to stop by.  Be sure you go see the amazing projects at ColourQ this week and thanks so much for visiting with me again!

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