Someone So Special

Good morning, my dear friends. Today's card was made with a heavy heart. My mom passed away Tuesday evening, peacefully, from Alzheimers. I was blessed to be with her when she went, this beautiful woman who gave me life. Because I love to stamp, I wanted to make this for her. It helped keep me busy this morning as we make the final arrangements. Every day is precious and if you can, give your mom a hug today or phone and tell her how much you love her :)

What's in it?
Stamps: Verve forever in our hearts
Ink: SU choc chip
Paper: PTI vintage cream, avocado, tea leaves dp, SU blue
Accessories: SU ef, cuttlebug ef, prima flower, SU brad, ghost flower, brad, rectangular and circle nestabilities

New Mittens ~ Karen's Sketch with a Verve Twist

Hey, everyone....how's it going? Today's card was a quick one...I haven't been home much these past few days. I've been sitting with my mom and spending lots of time with her. I needed a little break so I wanted to make this card for Karen's Sweet Sunday sketch and the Verve contest going on over at the Verve blog. My card is inspired by the gorgeous gloves my bonus son (my term for stepson) gave me for Christmas... aren't they fun? This card turned out pink and blue again!! I'll blame it on the dp this time!! I think Aimes was right when she said I'm heading for Valentines with all the pink!! There are 2 tiny pearls on the cuff of each glove and the band under the ribbon is embossed with the cuttlebug snowflake folder. That little guy has had a lot of use this season!! He's like swiss dots, but for winter. I was hoping that watercolouring would work on the mittens, but it's a bit sloppy, er, whimsical!! LOL Should've gone with some paper piecing I think. Hope you are all well...talk to you soon :)

What's in it?
Stamps: Verve digistamp, free stamp with order
Ink: SU basic black
Paper: PTI vintage cream, raspberry fizz, SU baja blue; watercolour paper; Basicgrey dp
Accessories: pearls, PTI ribbon, cuttlebug ef, Papercrafts border punch

A Wonderful Time ~ Jen's Sketch with a Verve Twist

Good afternoon!! Things around here are slowing down...Jake is on a bus back to the big city and some other family members are on the road as well. I had such a good time with my son...quiet moments as well as laughs and hugs (just what a mom loves :). So now I can play in the studio again :) Things are pretty quiet still in blogland so I was thankful for Jen's sketch this weekend as well as the Verve contest. Use the digistamps on a card or project and enter to win a Verve gift certificate...and if that's not enough...Julee has a great Boxing Day week sale on...check it out!! If you don't have any Verve stamps yet, now's the time to get them!! They are very high quality acrylic stamps and the sentiments are out of this world! Oh, and Jen has a contest too!! A random winner will get a year's subscription to SCS fan club. So, as you may have guessed, my card today is for both Jen's sketch for you to try as well as the Verve contest. I'm full into the winter cards now and soon you'll see some Valentine ones creep into my posts :) I do love snowflake images and making these snowflake embellishments :) I hope all is well with all my dear friends and that you have time to catch your breath and relax a bit. Have a lovely evening...

What's in it?
Stamps: Verve digistamp
Paper: SU blush, kraft, choc chip, melon mambo, PTI vintage cream, watercolour paper, red (craft supply)
Accessories: cuttlebug efs, stitching, SU circle and scallop punch; circle and long rectangle nestabilities; PTI buttons, linen thread, MS snowflake punches, Heidi Swapp ghost snowflake

Christmas Tags

Happy Boxing Day!! I'm am avoiding any store today...didn't line up at 2:00 am this morning for the Door Crashers...never have...thank goodness Michaels and Scrapbook stores don't have those crazy sales:) Today I just wanted to show you my tags and gift card/money holder I made for Jake. The tag shapes were cut from my Slice...I'm starting simple with it as I get used to how it cuts. The gift card holder is from this tutorial via Michelle and Julee's blogs :) I had this "Merry Christmas Dear Friend" shape in my scrap bowl so decided to use it even though it was for my son...LOL. I didn't sign it so he could use it again :) I love how the belly band fits over everything to keep it closed.

Santa was very good to me... gc to Michaels, Starbucks, AND a new hot pink (Raspberry Fizz) Canon Powershot camera!! Tony gave me my first digital camera 4 years ago when we were first dating and now I have the new and improved version...I love it because it's very similar to my old one so I won't have to spend weeks learning how to use it!! I hope Santa was good to all of you :)

O Holy Night ~ Merry Christmas!!

And happy birthday, Baby Jesus!! Just a quick post to share a quick card I had to make...I love the image of the Holy Family...the reason for the season :) My favourite Christmas symbol/decoration is the Nativity Scene. When I was in Texas for Christmas with my sister 3 years ago, I looked all over for a special Nativity set. We looked everywhere and finally found this one in a little town outside of Austin...can't remember the name of it now....anyways, it was 50% off and each piece came well packed in its own box and styrofoam. Perfect!! It has 10+ pieces that were lovingly carried on 3 planes and a taxi back home to Canada :) We were even stopped by security because of Jospeh's staff!! LOL I love it!! It is my favourite and I'm tempted every year to keep it out...but then it wouldn't be that special each year when I take it out of the gold boxes and it looks brand new to me all over again.

Merry Christmas!! All the blessings to you and your families that this beautiful Baby brings!!

What's in it?
Stamps: SU holy triptych
Ink: black versafine, various colours for image
Paper: SU vintage violet, PTI shimmer white, gold vellum, watercolour paper
Accessories: oval nestabilities, gemstone, sheer ribbon, cuttlebug ef

Thanks! ~ Mercy's Tuesday Sketch

Happy Christmas Eve, my dear blog friends!! Today's card is in honour of all of you who have visited my blog...each day or once in a while or only once...you are all so wonderful :) Thanks for all the lovely, inspiring comments, always so kind and encouraging :) I love this retired SU stamp...it's so fun...this cute snowman giving his buddy the perfect gift ;) I love the smiles of delight on both of them. I love the panels Mercy's put on the sketch this week. I have a very large pile of Cosmo Cricket and Basicgrey dp on my desk and it was fun to pick through it and match up these 3 pieces. Whimsical stitching (what other kind do I do? LOL) was in order as was a bow and button (moved down from the sketch).

Okay, I'm really ready for Christmas!! The last of the stocking stuffers were picked up yesterday, the baking is packed and I was even able to play with my Slice to make a couple of tags for gifts. All I have to do today is make some appies for tonight and get ready for Christmas Eve mass. We will spending the evening with my family as well as tomorrow daytime. Then we'll have dinner with my husband's family. I wish you all a blessed Christmas. :D

What's in it?
Stamps: SU It's Snow Time; PTI mega mixed messages
Ink: Versafine onyx, SU soft sky, regal rose, summer sun
Paper: PTI vintage cream, sweet blush, dark blue (craft supply); cosmo cricket dp; watercolour paper
Accessories: circle nestabilities, stitching, grosgrain, button, linen thread

The Most Wonderful Time ~ Mojo Monday

Good morning, everyone! It's a frosty, clear morning here in Beautiful British Columbia. No fresh snow yet, but the roads are clear and dry...just what we want for travellers at this time of year :) Today's card is for my son's girlfriend. They met at university and have been going together for over a year so I thought I'd make her a card and send her a little gift. I really had fun with this dp :) There are so many colours in it that it was fun to play around with different matte colours. Old olive would've worked well here too, but scarlett jewel won out last night. I also used 2 different border punches for the middle panel...love that look. I also changed my sewing machine thread to white but didn't load the bobbin properly :) It took me 3 tries to get it started!! LOL A litte ribbon, another snowflake embellishment, a couple of gemstones for good measure and there you have a card for your son's girlfriend!

These next pictures are from my classroom. This first one is of the Santa pencils I make for my students each year. It's always so cute to see them use them all at once....it looks like a bunch of dancing Santa's!!

This last picture is of our Graham Cracker gingerbread houses. This is one of the best activities ever!! They ALL just love making their own houses. About 13 years ago, a mom, who was a Brownie leader, gave me the good idea to give each child about a cup of royal icing on a plate to help hold up the houses and then act like snow!! It's worked every year since then, even with Grade oners!! So here's our little gingerbread village :)

I have only a couple of stocking stuffers left to get today and then I'm done. Didn't I already say that? LOL Something always comes up, doesn't it? Have a wonderful day :)

What's in it?
Stamps: Verve Christmas in the Air
Ink: SU choc chip
Paper: PTI aquamist, scarlet jewel, Basicgrey dp, linen white (craft supply)
Accessories: Papercraft and EK success border punches, gemstones, SU felt flurry, Heidi Swapp ghost snowflake, button, linen thread, white grosgrain, stitching

Hope Your Day is Fabulous! ~ Jen's SFYTT

I am so happy about today's card :D It's been months, yes months, since I've participated in one of Jen's sketches. I really enjoy her blog and the amazing way she works with paper and images. So now that I've got some time, I can play along :) And it's not a Christmas card!! LOL It's actually for one of my sister's birthday next month (am I prepared or what?). I also got to use some pompom trim that I was determined to find and hardly ever use...because I always forget I have it. I think it's perfect to mimic snowballs!! Pair it with that super fun Cosmo Cricket paper and you have a lovely winter birthday card!! Hope your week is not too hectic and you are able to enjoy the reason for the season...family, friends, and the birth of a sweet glorious Baby :)

What's in it?
Stamps: PTI signature greetings
Ink: SU choc chip
Paper: PTI vintage cream, sweet blush, ocean tide, kraft; Cosmo Cricket dp
Accessories: circle nestabilities, buttons, linen thread, cuttlebug ef, Fancy Pants pompom trim, stitching

Holly Jolly Christmas ~ Karen's Sweet Sketch

Happy Monday!! It's the first official day of holidays for me and I'm loving it!! My son made it home safely and now there's just a bit of baking to do and the tree to decorate. Today's card is for Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch. I deviated from it a bit...that top strip wasn't supposed to go all the way across, but mine does :) I used a new piece from my PTI Holiday Cheer pack and some sheer ribbon. I must say it's the most fun to tie with and I love the shimmer on it :) I can't get enough of my button bits ornaments...they work on any shaped panel :) I don't need anymore Christmas cards, but I can't seem to stop making them!! I may have to wait until after the 25th to make anything else!! LOL I hope you all have a lovely day...thanks for dropping by during your busy day...only 4 more sleeps!!

What's in it?
Stamps: PTI holiday button bits
Ink: SU basic black
Paper: PTI vintage cream, avocado, spring moss, raspberry fizz, holiday cheer dp
Accessories: cuttlebug ef, PTI buttons, sheer ribbon

A Christmas Thank You ~ Embellish Colour Challenge

Good evening, everyone! The house is decorated (minus the tree which comes tomorrow), there is fresh snow outside and my son is coming home tonight...now it feels like Christmas!! Today's card is for the Embellish colour challenge. The yellow really threw me off and I kind of took the easy way out limiting its amount on the card. Oh well!! LOL I love this glittery snowflake diecut cardstock and thought the yummy chocolate ribbon would look nice against it. Oh, and yes, wide ribbon is difficult to tie! I fiddled with it for a while :) The sentiment was pretty lonely so I blinged it up with 2 rows of rhinestones :) I hope you are having a lovely evening.

What's in it?
Stamps: PTI signature christmas
Ink: SU choc chip
Paper: PTI white, kraft, Little Yellow Bicycle snowflake cardstock
Accessories: rhinestones, PTI buttons, SU line thread and choc chip satin ribbon

Your Love Keeps Me Warm ~ Mercy's Tuesday Sketch

Greetings!!! Ahh, I have my computer back now and can resume posting!! I thought I'd go into withdrawal, but was so busy that it probably was a good thing I took a few days off :) Happy to say the old computer is in optimum shape...both DVD and CD players are working and I can listen to my Christmas CDs in the studio rather than have them blaring from downstairs :) Today's card is for my dh, Tony {insert loving heart here!}. Since I've stayed up many a night making a card for Mercy's sketch while my husband went to bed, I thought it only appropriate that she should be part of his card this year!! LOL (love you, Mercy!!). I've had this Snowbunny Bella image in my head for this card all week.


There is no sentiment as I didn't know where to add it so I printed it on the inside. Please excuse the boring inside stamping...I usually leave my cards plain inside as the outside uses up all my creativity! I made my own sentiment "Your love keeps me warm," by printing it out in Word and leaving room to stamp the "love." This saying is perfect for my husband as he is HOT (no, literally!! He's an oven) and I am cold (feet and hands only!! LOL). He keeps me warm all winter!! LOL And loves me to pieces :) {insert another loving heart here!} Yes, there are some girly elements on his card, but hey, I'm a girl and the Bella represents me :) The card below is the one I made him last year. It uses the retired SU stamp from Nice and Narrow...I love this set and still have it :) The sentiment is from the Leann Rimes song, "All I want for Christmas." Again, I just printed it out from a Word document. Inside it says, "'cause all I want for Christmas is you."

Well, that's all for today! Thanks for stopping by! Up next is the Viva La Verve sketch and then I'm going to attempt an Embellish card!! Yikes! Hope you are staying warm (if you want to!) where you are :)

What's in it?
Stamps: snowbunny Bella, PTI heart prints and heartfelt sentiments
Ink: Versafine onyx, SU bordering blue, creamy caramel, river rock, pretty in pink, rose romance
Paper: SU baja breeze; PTI ocean tide, white, sweet blush; cosmo cricket dp; watercolour paper
Accessories: cuttlebug ef, oval nestabilities; chipboard snowflake; grandpa's button; $ store button, SU silver cording; PTI ribbon

Christmas in the Air ~ Karen's Sweet Sketch

Well it's hump day!! And it's 3 more days until vacation!! Today we are making graham cracker gingerbread houses in class...always a favourite! If my dh doesn't have to work, he'll be joining us as well :) The kids love when he visits :) Today's card for Karen's sweet Sunday challenge feels very homey and country to me :) I have loved this Cosmo Cricket paper and sad to say it's almost gone :( Ah, but it's brought me great pleasure! I went with some bold stitching today (how'd I do, Melisa?!). I wanted to put something else in the bottom left corner of the sentiment panel, but not sure what it should be...a snowflake or button would've taken away from the 3 buttons below...hmm, any ideas? It needs some kind of texture. I think this will go to my quilting friend :) Have a wonderful Wednesday... :)

What's in it?
Stamps: Verve Christmas in the Air
Ink: SU choc chip
Paper: PTI vintage cream, ocean tides, kraft, SU choc chip; Cosmo Cricket Jolly by Golly
Accessories: PTI buttons and ribbon; stitching, SU linen thread and felt flurry

A Merry and Bright Snowflake ~ Mojo Monday!

Wow! Is this sketch fantastic or what? I was so inspired I had to make a card right away (that and the fact we are taking the computer in tomorrow and won't get it back until the weekend!! LOL). The hardest decision was which yummy paper to use!! This delicious piece of Eskimo Kisses won out. I must keep telling myself that there will be new and probably even more yummy paper next year. I wanted to make another snowflake medallion which made me wonder where to put the sentiment. So up above the ribbon it went punched out with the SU curly label punch. A few little bits of bling and there she be! My dh has already claimed this card for his mom!! LOL Thank goodness for prescheduled posts...I have one more for Wednesday and then hopefully will have the computer back....nothing serious, the DVD player just needs to be reinstalled. Better to do it now while I'm working rather than when I'm off. I have the new SU digital studio that I want to play with over the break. Thanks for taking the time to stop by!! I appreciate it so much :) Oh, and thanks for all the kind comments about my mom's card yesterday...I think she will love it too! {smiles!}

What's in it?
Stamps: PTI Signature Christmas
Ink: SU choc chip
Paper: PTI scarlet jewel, kraft, hibiscus burst, SU white; Basicgrey Eskimo Kisses, Doodlebug glitter paper
Accessories: circle nestabilities, cuttlebug efs, fiskars apron lace punch; PTI ribbon, gemstones, crystal brad, MS snowflake punches, heidi swapp ghost snowflake, stitching

I Love You So Much, Mom ~ Raspberry Suite Colour Challenge #20

Good afternoon! Whew! I know I say it each time, but this was a doozy. I love this colour combination and I knew I wanted to use a BIG ornament on this card, but that's where the easy part ended. What colour of base? What colour of ornament? Buttons or bling? Which border punch? ....and the questions and trials went on and on.... onto the next day, onto my workout, onto watching the Canadian Olympic Curling Finals (yay, Team Martin!). I had to clear my head and then just sit down and finish it. This card was originally meant for my dh, but I wanted to "girly" up the ornament so changed it to be the card for my mom. I don't think I've ever mentionned it here on the blog, but my mom has late stage Alzheimers. After a year of being in a hospital transition ward and then in a transition old age home, she is finally in the new facility close to where my dad lives. It's a gorgeous building and feels like an upscale hotel inside. Mom has settled in nicely and the staff there is great. So this card is for my mom....though some days I doubt she really recognizes me, she says she does and gives me a kiss. I thought this sentiment "I love you so much" was the perfect one to put on her Christmas card :) I think she will love the beautiful satin ribbon and all the bling! Have a wonderful evening....the posts may be a little sparse this week...the computer needs to go in and have its DVD reinstalled (don't ask how it disappeared!! LOL) As always, thanks for visiting!

What's in it?
Stamps: PTI Signature Greetings, Background Basics Retro, Giga Guide Lines
Ink: Versamark, SU choc chip, PTI aquamist
Paper: PTI kraft, aquamist, vintage cream, SU really rust
Accessories: fiskars apron lace punch, stitching, gemstones, PTI button and ribbon, SU silver cord, cuttlebug ornament die

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

Good afternoon!! Wow...it's been a busy couple of days, but in a good way. Our song at the Christmas concert was a hit and my dh's Christmas party last night was SOOOOO much fun. His company is in a different town...about an hour's drive away....so we drove out after I got off work and stayed the night there. We danced and laughed with this coworkers and just had a blast. There is just a little bit of snow falling so the roads are still good, but the flakes make it feel more Christmas-y...just the way I like it. Today's card is for the Viva La Verve sketch this week. I find I am starting my cards with paper lately and then picking a sentiment and accessories. How can I not with this delicious paper? Wouldn't you start with these too? LOL I may have Christmas patterned paper withdrawal in January!! This paper is from the Cosmo Cricket Jolly by Golly pack. I love how the papers coordinate so there's not a lot of guess work when matching them :) The little felt poinsetta is from Hero Arts. Isn't it sweet? Some stitching, embossing and bling and there's my card. Did you notice it's square? LOL Yes, I stuck with the sketch and made a square card. Perhaps I'll give to a coworker so it's not going very far :) I hope your Saturday is going well. I'm off to finish some more cards for a set someone at work ordered. Then onto more of my own Christmas cards :) Thanks for popping by!!

What's in it?
Stamps: PTI Signature Christmas
Ink: SU choc chip
Paper: PTI kraft, vintage cream, aquamist, pure poppy, SU choc chip; Cosmo Cricket dp
Accessories: stitching, SU ef, gemstones, hero arts felt poinsetta, brad