Cards from Friends

Hi peeps!  Hope you had a good weekend...ours was very busy and so I got no stamping done, but I thought I would share some pretty cards that I've gotten in the mail over the last week or so!  

This one is from my upline Pennie:

She pieced together little strips of cardstock and cut them crosswise into a longer strip and put a piece of glimmer paper between!  Very clever!

This beauty is from my sweet Paper Player teammate from across the pond, Joanne:

Those orchids are beautiful! 

And this little Mouse House card is from my dear friend Martha:

We need these boots today...Cassidy is at a nature preserve, in the rain, and FORGOT hers!  I guess that's one way to learn!

This sweet floral is from my friend Doris:

Isn't that floral gorgeous?

And my friend Robyn made a perfectly adorable little Easter card with these sweet patterned chicks and that one friend who just has to think outside the box...the one wearing the bunny ears:

Finally from my up-upline, Denise, a pretty diagonal fold card:

So blessed to receive all these beautiful creations!  Enjoy your day and hopefully I'll be back tomorrow with something new!

Be blessed yourself!

Birthday Blessings

Hello peeps!  Yesterday was a lazy day...sometimes you just need one of those days!  So nothing was stamped...but I thought I would share all the hand-made birthday cards I received this year!  So much creativity!  I thank you all for them!  So here they are, in no particular order!

This first beauty is from my sweet friend and Paper Players teamie, Claire:

This fun one is from my dear friend and partner in stamp show shopping, Debbie:

And another from Paper Player teamie Sandy....I might have to CASE this sketch, I love it:

And this is Cassidy's favorite, from my treasured friend Robyn....and the inside is just as cute as the outside with those clever pop-up owls:

And this glittery gem is from my foxy friend Shawn:

And a gorgeous creation from my dear friend Sally....don't you love these subtle colors?:

Kristie amazes me with her stunning colors and CAS simple design:

And this little treasure is from Alison, who is a treasure herself:

My Paper Players teamie Nance knows how much I love birds:

Karen's beautiful sparkly card has the coolest fold:

And Bonnie knows I love birds too...and her watercoloring is amazing!

Thanks again, ladies....your cards are a blessing to me!  Enjoy your day!

Happy Card and More Happy Mail

Hi everyone!  Happy Saturday!  It's gray and gloomy here this weekend, so I thought I would share a happy, cheerful card I made recently to say "thank you" to a customer!  I had never used this particular pattern of the Festive Birthday DSP...it was a wee bit too busy for me....but I thought it would be fun to pair it with the flowers from Basket Bunch as well as the retiring Friendly Wishes!  So here we go:

The sentiment was stamped in Melon Mambo and diecut with an oval stitched die; then I stamped the flowers in Melon Mambo, Pumpkin Pie and Delightful Dijon, then lightly sponged each one so as not to overpower the outline:

I thought they worked with the floral background pretty nicely!  It sure made me happy! And I had to chuckle when I saw my German friend Claudia's blog yesterday!  Check out her card here!  Great minds think alike!

 Here are a few more cards that made me happy as well!  This is from Claudia:

And two cards from my upline Pennie:

And finally, some REAL happy flowers from a recent jaunt to Longwood Gardens:

Aren't they gorgeous?!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!  And be sure to come back tomorrow for the next Paper Players challenge!

Project Details
Stamps	Basket Bunch, Friendly Wishes
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Melon Mambo, Tempting Turquoise, Festive Birthday DSP
Ink	Melon Mambo, Pumpkin Pie, Delightful Dijon
Accessories
Tools	Big Shot, Stitched Shapes Dies, Dimensionals, Sponge Daubers

Happy Mail and This Month's Paper Pumpkin

Happy Friday, stampers!  Hope you have some fun things planned this weekend!  I just received my April Paper Pumpkin kit, and it's a really fun one!  It features colored pencils, watercolor papers, some with resist patterns, and a paintbrush!  Cool!  I whipped up these two cards fairly quickly; I only used one color on this one, making my design darker at the bottom to create an ombre effect:

  

All you do is color in the areas inside the resist pattern, then brush it with the damp paintbrush!

Here's the second one...I did add a few retired sequins just for fun:

The kit comes with full-sized cards, white inserts, and even black envelopes with a white space on which to write the address...more trendy fun!  If you're interested in subscribing to Paper Pumpkin, click on the link on the right side of my blog!

And speaking of fun, I got some lovely Easter cards in the mail, and I thought I would share them! Their names are right on the photos!  Thanks, everyone!

I just had to share this picture!  We went up to my brother's house to let out the dog on one day when Cassidy had off school.  She had gotten a word puzzle as a party favor the weekend before and brought it with her.  While I tossed a stick to the dog, she sat on the ground and did her puzzle.  The reason it brought a chuckle is because I do the same thing....might not sit on the ground, but if I have a long car ride (or a short one!) or a few free minutes to spare, you can be sure I have a crossword or sudoku to work on!!!  And my mom used to do the same thing...I guess it's a family tradition!

Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Tired Today

Hi peeps!  I am bushed....we had a busy weekend and I just didn't get any stamping done!  I did want to share a couple of cards that I received recently that I thought were pretty special!  This one is from my upline, Pennie, a beauty of a card featuring copper embossing and accents:

The next one is from my sweet friend Sandy; this Halloween creation is just so fun, plus it had some stickers in it for Cassidy:

and finally, much to my amazement, THIS card is from the PRESIDENT of Stampin' Up!, Rich Jutkins:

I hit a milestone in sales and he wrote a personal note on the inside, congratulating me!  I must say that I was quite touched and honored!  I don't know if he made the card; he could have, I have seen him stamp at convention, but one way or the other, it made my day!

I don't have any Cassidy pictures, although I should have some tomorrow, but I thought I'd share a couple photos of what was outside on my porch yesterday afternoon:

I have been waiting to see a preying mantis for a few days now; every year around this time, I usually find one on my holly bush, but I haven't had any success so far.  Here, this little guy (or gal!) just popped by to say hi, right on my porch railing!  Just check out these eyes:

I wonder what he's thinking as I stick my camera in his face, LOL!   Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Easter Blessings

Happy Saturday, peeps!  I haven't been too organized lately...here's what my craft area looks like, at least the part I am willing to show you:

What a mess!  How can anything creative come from such disarray?!  So I thought I would show you some beautiful Easter cards I got in the mail from my friends!  This cutie is from Linda; I just love those bows and pretty colors:

And this lovely iris-fold Easter egg is from Martha:

Even John was intrigued by the beautiful folded edge Robyn added to her springy creation:

And finally, a gorgeous creation from Debbie!  Love that ribbon and these colors are wonderful!

Finally, amidst all the mess, I did manage to create a simple Easter card that I sent to a few of my friends:

I used the cross from All God's Grace atop some retired SAB DSP from last year and a retired SU Easter set!  Thanks for popping in, and be sure to come back tomorrow for a new Paper Players challenge!

Ahhh...the challenges of teaching a wee one how to tie shoelaces!  We'll need more practice for sure!