Head for the Border!!

Hey everyone!!  Are you ready for another fun challenge over on A Passion for Papertrey?  It’s my last hurrah as their June Featured Stamper so head on over to check out the new “Head for the Border” challenge.  I have to giggle at the title as I AM heading for the border in 3 weeks :)  Yup, on my way to the PTI Stamp-a-faire (don’t hate me!! LOL).  For more deets on my card, check it out over on A Passion for Papertrey…AND don’t forget, you have 6 more days to make a card for my Wild Card Colour Challenge…it’s open to stampers worldwide!!  Wahooo!!   Hugs all round :)

what’s in it?

stamps: pti say it with style, verve love notes

ink: versafine onyx, pti tea dye duo

paper: pti kraft, rustic cream, berry sorbet, aquamist, cosmo cricket odd ‘n ends

accessories: labels 18 nestabilities, pti ribbon, button, twine, pti banner border die, ek success large scallop border punch, stitching

Someone So Special

Good morning, friends :)  The last time I used this sentiment, it was for a sweet teacher retirement card.  Today, however, it is for a sympathy card.  Yesterday at mass I found out that a former colleague and friend had passed away.  I knew she had been ill, but wasn’t quite sure how things were going.  I saw her daughter’s wedding announcement in Saturday’s paper and was hopeful that she was feeling better with a wedding to celebrate.  Unfortunately, Saturday was when she passed.  I had been designing a card for the CR84FN colour challenge in my head this morning, but when I heard this sad news, I changed it to be a sympathy card that I’ll give to the family.  My dear friend had enormous faith, strength and love for her family.  She was an amazing and caring teacher and loved by so many students and parents.  It will be a difficult service to go to on Thursday, but a celebration of such a wonderful, inspiring woman.  I know I will never forget her.  I went for a soft, vintage look and paired my new Cosmo Cricket paper with some older October Afternoon.  I had this lovely yellow doily waiting and willing to be used in my scrap stash…I think it was the perfect addition, especially for this week’s colours.  Have a glorious day!!  Only a few more days and I’m off for the summer!!  Thanks for stopping by…come back tomorrow for my final post at the Featured Stamper over on A Passion for Papertrey…there’s another contest starting tomorrow!! 

what’s in it?

stamps: verve forever in our hearts, gina K lovely labels 3

ink: versafine onyx, su kiwi kiss

paper: pti cream, rustic cream, spring moss, cosmo cricket and october afternoon dps

accessories: pti doily die, ribbon, buttons, pearls, labels 20 nestabilities, stitching, ek success large doily border punch

Papertrey June Blog Hop and Birthday Wishes!!

Good morning!!  It’s the 25th of June and we are celebrating a few things on today’s post.  It’s Papertrey Ink’s monthly Blog Hop as well as the incomparable Dawn McVey’s birthday!!  Yahoo!! Happy Birthday, Dawn!!  The inspiration this month is this picture…

I was totally inspired by the colours…I picked up this gorgeous deep coral grosgrain/silk ribbon last week and it is just delicious!!  This really is Dawn’s birthday card too………because……I am one of the lucky 200 who get to go to PTI’s Stamp-a-faire next month!!  I get to meet Dawn herself and personally hand deliver this card (with a little treat from Canada).  ACK!!  My second card is also inspired by the colours and is my way of celebrating going to this event with my dear blog buddy, Lynn :)  She is playing hostess, tour guide, shopping buddy and chauffeur when I arrive in OH!!  Thanks, Lynn!!  Will YOU be there?  Can’t wait to meet you!!  Have a great day and I’ll see you on the HOP and in OH next month :)

p.s. Want to win a PTI gift certificate?  Check out my Wild Card Colour Challenge over on  A Passion for Papertrey!!  The WaCCCky has gone global!!

what’s in them?

{wishing you a happy birthday}

stamps: pti mat stack 1 collection, mat stack 2 collection

ink: versamark, versafine onyx, su choc chip

paper: pti rustic cream, kraft, aquamist, crate paper dp,

accessories: may arts ribbon, pti mat stack, banner, blossom dies, pti felt, gems, stitching, su scallop punch

 

{congrats!}

stamps: pti just the ticket and newsprint background, verve to the moon

ink: versafine onyx, su choc chip, sahara sand

paper: pti rustic cream, kraft, raspberry fizz, dotti biscotti dp, MME dp

accessories: pti tag, just the ticket, love lives here dies, pti ribbon, button and twine,

You Make Me Smile

Good Friday morning everyone!!  Gee, that kind of sounds like it’s Easter!!  Well, it is almost a holiday!!  Less than one more week to go.  Many people ask if I’m counting down the days.  I actually don’t count down days. I count report cards and field trips!! LOL  Zero report cards and 1 more field trip :)  Today’s card uses Diva Teresa’s sweet little Viva La Verve sketch for the 4th and final challenge of June.  I have continued to use my beloved October Afternoon Schoolhouse paper to make another teacher thank you card.  The flower is made from PTI’s harvest gold felt and I’ve stitched the white border to the gingham paper, although most of it is covered by the panels.  Have you been playing along with us this month?  You have 6 more days to get all your cards in for the chance to win the next whole release!! Oh, that would start off the summer with a BANG!!  Hope you’ll join us over on the Verve Forum :)

Okay, how about  a few more house photos?  This first photo is from the street again.  You can see that the garage is all framed and work on the second floor has started :)  We even have a funky zesty orange waste bin now :)  Cool!!

Here’s the view from the back.  The sundeck is on.  The studio window is that one on the bottom right.  Yes, there’s a post blocking a small portion of my view, but that’s one of the few sacrifices I’ll have to make.  Cold drinks on that sundeck at sunset or a coffee in the morning will more than make up for it :)

Here’s a picture of the kitchen again, but with the second floor on top now.  The great room (living room) will have a vaulted ceiling and the master suite starts up there above the kitchen and dining room.

As I was walking through the house (I do that every time I go up…visit each room and visualize living there), I heard a familiar truck drive up.  The dh stopped by to see how the day went.  It was kind of cool that he did because just as he pulled up I was thinking about how lucky I am to be building this beautiful home with him.  Here he is hamming it up in the guest room walk in closet on the second floor.  There are no stairs there yet, so he shimmied up a wall brace!!  I’m waiting for the stairs!! LOL

That’s all for today :)  Second floor should be complete in the next day or so.  Have a glorious Friday and join us over in the Verve Forum this week!!  Ciao, bellas!! 

what’s in it?

stamps: Fabulous You (Verve)

paper: cream (PTI), kiwi kiss, basic grey, black (SU!), Schoolhouse (October Afternoon)

ink: onyx (Versafine)

accessories: oval, scalloped oval, labels 18 (Spellbinders), ribbon (SU), blossom die, button, twine (PTI), gems (Kaisercraft), stitching

Happy {Belated} Birthday, Aimes!!

Hi everyone!!  Here I thought things would calm down a bit once reports were done, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.  Maybe once school is out next week :)  Today’s card is a little belated birthday wish for my dear blog buddy, Aimes.  Her lovely birthday was yesterday and by the sounds of it, she was having LOTS O’ FUN!!  I had to make this loopy flower again!!  They are really so very easy and fun to make….instant gratification!!  Did you see the Wild Card Colour Challenge I have going on over at A Passion for Papertrey?  Check it out…it’s open to participants worldwide!  Have a wonderful Wednesday!! I see a Friday right around the corner :)

 

what’s in it?

stamps: verve happy birthday plain jane

paper: pti white, su turquoise, razzleberry, my minds eye dp

ink: versafine onyx

accessories: scalloped circle and rectangle nestabilities, pti leaf dies, pti felt, buttons and twine, cuttlebug ef

Celebrate

Good morning, everyone!! Hmmm, not like me to start a Monday with “Celebrate.” It’s even a staff meeting day, but one of the last ones this year and the second to last Monday before we break for the summer. So let’s celebrate!! Today’s card is the next installment of the WaCCCky!! Number 26, if you can believe it! I’ve also turned it into a full blown challenge over on A Passion for Papertrey blog. Join us for the next 2 weeks and you could win a PTI gift certificate!! Check it all out HERE!! Wow, Monday has never been so fun!! Hope yours has started out fabulous too :)

what’s in it?

stamps: pti button boutique, mat stack 1 collection

paper: pti hibiscus burst, fine linen, berry sorbet, rustic cream, sweet treats dp

ink: versafine onyx, su sahara sand

accessories: button boutique, doily details, fillable frames 4 dies, pti buttons, su linen thread, gems, ribbon, stitching

Thinking of You and Smiling

Good afternoon, friends!!  Thanks so much for letting me puff my feathers a bit yesterday.  I was just on top of the world about it all and bursting to tell everyone.  But now I’m excited about something else :)  It’s official and I can blurt it out now…I get to go to the PTI Stamp-a-faire next month in Cincinnati!!  ACK!!! My dear, dear blog friend, Lynn, has invited me down to visit and stamp our hearts out with the PTI design team, along with 198 other PTI fans, many of whom we probably know through our blogs!! It’s been in the works for a week now, but Lynn officially got the tickets yesterday within the 7 minute window they were on sale.  Whew!!  So now I can book my flight, update my passport and start packing.  ACK!!  Okay, onto today’s card.  I don’t have much time for stamping this week, but wowza…look at these Moxie Fab World Tuesday Trigger colours!! I couldn’t resist.  I was inspired by the colours, of course, and the idea of sewing…hence, the Material Girl paper, stitching, pinking border, buttons and delicious yellow gingham ribbon…which tastes like lemon if you were wondering :)  Have a wonderful day.  It’s been grey and cold here, but I am on such a high this week that it doesn’t matter!!  Thanks for letting me share my week of blessings :)  Hugs,

 

what’s in it?

stamps: pti fillable frames #4 stamp set, hello friend

ink: su taken with teal, versafine onyx

paper: pti rustic cream, su taken with teal, poppy parade, pumpkin

accessories: pti border and fillable frame #4 dies, cuttlebug ef, corner chomper, basicgrey buttons, stitching, gingham ribbon, baker’s twine

Anyone you know?

TGIF friends!!!  I finally have my copy of the July/August 2011 Papercrafts magazine!!  I have had a few real thrills in my card making career…being published, becoming a Verve Diva, being a Guest Designer for challenges, but this one is kind of special.  Some of you know that I won the Colour Inspiration Challenge over on the Moxie Fab World in February for my little card that could :)  I say that because I couldn’t photograph it properly.  I received the Cricut, Gypsy and cartridges about a month ago, but I was really waiting for this issue to come out.  It’s the first time my picture has appeared along side my card.  I like to say that I was “published without submitting!”  lol  Another funny little thing about this card is that I made it on a weekend and really wanted purple thread for the stitching, but it was late, I wanted to finish it, so I went for black thread.  Okay, onto today’s card…

You know the drill…it’s Friday, it’s the weekend and there’s a new Viva La Verve challenge up and ready to inspire.  Diva Sankari brings us a fresh, new sketch that is sure to stir up some creativity!!  I knew I wanted to go shabby on this one just because of all the panels.  The butterfly is made of two layers, the bottom is from a  corrugated SB sleeve and the top is made of vellum cardstock crumpled up.  Well, that’s it from me…thanks for stopping by and for all your sweet comments!!  Enjoy your Friday and weekend :)

 

what’s in it?

stamps: Bloom and Grow (Verve)

paper: cream (PTI), creamy caramel (SU!), Butterfly Garden (Pink Paislee), vellum cardstock (PTI)

Ink: onyx (Versafine), tea dye duo (PTI)

accessories: Flutterby die (Verve A Cut Above), labels 18 (Spellbinders), seam binding ribbon (Memriemare), gems and pearls (Kaisercraft), corrugated rectangle (Jillibean Soup), linen thread (SU!), button (Grandpa’s collection), stitching

Thinking About You

Hi everyone!!  Thanks for all the sweet comments about Mrs. Beck’s card yesterday…she totally loved it :D  It was so nice to see the retiring teachers with whom I’ve taught over the years…many good times to remember :)  Anyways, today’s card is for this week’s Waltzingmouse Challenge.  I have been staring at these beautiful doily stamps for ages and finally started to ink them up :)  I can’t wait to play with them more, but time has been precious lately.  Lots of running around with the house.  Speaking of which…here are some more pics as of yesterday :)  The first picture is the main entrance (front door) on the right.  The den is on the left and will have French doors.  You can see the stairwell in the lower right hand corner.  That’s where the stairs going up will be.  It’s been fenced off for safety :)

Next up is the basement staircase.  It was so fun to finally walk up to the main floor on stairs instead of having to go out the basement door and around to get to it.

Finally, here is the studio again all framed in.  It looks like I might get my walk in closet back.  We’ve found another spot for the furnace :)

Thanks for stopping by :)  The weekend is just around the corner.  Hope all is well with everyone!! Hugs,

 

what’s in it?

stamps: waltzingmouse fancy phrases, large doily

paper: pti rustic, cream, su so saffron, october afternoon dp

ink: su going grey, kiwi kiss,

accessories: large scallop nestabilities, su ribbon, pti button and twine, gems, stitching, mft butterfly die, ms butterfly punch

Thanks, Mrs. Beck!!

Hey everyone!!  Today’s card was a true joy to make.  Jake’s kindergarten teacher retires at the end of the month and it’s the district’s retirement dinner tonight.  I’ll be attending as I know a few other teachers retiring.  Not only did I have the privilege of this wonderful woman introducing my son to the school system, but I also got to work with her at my last school for 5 years.  We transferred there the same year.  What I love about Mrs. Beck is that she lets kids be kids.  She runs a tight ship, works endless hours and advocates for her kids no matter what.  She let Jake play with blocks and trains.  Yes, he had to try the other activities, but she let him play.  I like to credit her for encouraging the builder in him.  And now he’s in Engineering at university.  This was him in kindergarten :)  He was only 4 when he started because his birthday is in November.  Aw, my baby!!

I had been thinking about what to do for the card.  I wanted to make it special and what better way than to add a picture!! So I dug out Jake’s old kindergarten photo, scanned it and printed it out in grayscale.  He’s the little one in the bottom left hand corner :)  Inside I typed out a sweet poem a mom had written in a scrapbook she made for me a long time ago.  It reads..

I bet you’ve tied a million shoes

and dried a million tears

and given out a million hugs

as a teacher through the years.

In my child’s life, the role you’ve played

has been a priceless part

and you must know the special place

you hold in my child’s heart.

I tear up every time I read this :D  Anyways, I think she’ll like this and I hope she knows what a difference she’s made in so many children’s lives.  Thanks, Mrs. Beck!!

what’s in it?

stamps: verve forever in our hearts

ink: versafine onyx

paper: pti aqua, cream, su sahara sand, little yellow bicycle notepaper, october afternoon schoolhouse

accessories: pti notepage die, pti button, twine and ribbon, clothespin, scanned photo

Bring on the Happy!!

Good morning!!  Today is challenge day over on A Passion for Papertrey and yours truly is the Featured Stamper!!  So head over for more details about this card.  ACK!! Is this my shortest post or what?  Come back tomorrow for a heartfelt tribute to a special woman…have a fabulous day :)

 

what’s in it?

stamps: pti love lives here, postmarks, big birthday wishes

paper: pti aqua, rustic cream, summer sun,  su sahara sand, pti distressed dots

ink: su going gray, more mustard, versafine onyx

accessories: pti scallop border and love lives here butterfly dies, gems, pti ribbon, stitching, corner chomper

Get Your Diva On (and some more house pix!)

Good morning, everyone!!  I’ve been super busy this weekend, writing reports (they’re D-O-N-E!) and picking out things for the new house…more on that later.  It’s the second Monday of the month, so that means the new Get Your Diva On challenge begins :)  Submit a project over on the forum and YOU could be the next Verve Guest  Diva!!  How exciting would THAT be!?  The theme this month is SUMMER, ahh, long days, warm sun, blue skies…my favourite season next to Spring :)  I had blue and yellow on my mind for this one…and this sentiment from Feel the Sun.  “Wherever you go, no matter the weather, always bring your own SUNSHINE.”  How wonderful is that quote?  Well, I will see a lot of sunshine from the new house…oh, how do you like that segue?  Here’s the house from in the middle of the street on Friday afternoon.

Here’s looking into the great room (living room).  There will be a 14 foot vaulted ceiling and then the dining room is next to it with the French doors (you can seeing the opening for the doors).

This next one is the kitchen.  You can see the French doors on the right, then the kitchen window where the dh does the dishes {wink, wink!}. You can also see a bit of the stairwell to the basement :)

So it’s coming along quickly.  Everyone said this stage would go quickly.  Then everything slows down when they work on the inside.  Now they’ll start putting on the top floor :)  Hope all is well with you!! Have a fabulous day and thanks for visiting :)  Come back tomorrow for my Passion for Papertrey post!! 

 

what’s in it?

stamps: Let It Shine, Feel the Sun (Verve)

paper: yellow, aqua, kraft, rustic cream, cream (PTI), bitty boxes paper (PTI), blue organic paper (Amy Butler)

ink: onyx (Versafine), barely banana (SU!)

accessories: circle and inverted circle dies (Spellbinders), ribbon (PTI), gems (Kaisercraft), border punch (Fiskars), stitching

Grant Me the Serenity…and some house pix!!

Happy Friday morning, everyone!!  The week has proved to be VERY busy but fun.  There is a lot to do at work and with the house as we have to start nailing down decisions about flooring, lighting, etc.  More on the house later.  Today’s card is for the new Viva La Verve sketch brought to us by Diva Andrea :)  When I saw the large oval panel, I knew the exact stamp I wanted…I have always loved this prayer and have found it very wise and comforting when going through life’s many troubles.  Serenity, courage and wisdom…what more could one wish for?  Here’s the sketch and then an update on the house ;)

So I was complaining to  joking with the dh that my studio seemed smaller than he had promised it would be.  He said it’s HUGE and proceeded to measure it out at home to show me.  Then he loaded me into his truck and took me up to the house to prove it.  He was 2 inches off!!  No wonder it felt smaller! ;)  So we took some pics of me “working” in the studio…my main desk will be counter height in front of the window.  The photo under that is the view that night, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

 

Here’s a photo of the basement the next day.  The load bearing wall is up! (And there was a flood in the studio!! LOL)

Here is what the basement looked yesterday morning.  The framers were there bright and early.  I’m thinking I will drop off donuts this morning to keep them all happy…and try to bribe them to make the studio larger!! LOL ;)

I am loading some extra photos in The New House page on top of my blog if you want to see more :)  Thanks for visiting!! TGIF!!

 

what’s in it?

stamps: Serenity (Verve)

paper: vintage cream (PTI), sahara sand, soft suede (SU!), Butterfly Garden (Pink Paislee)

ink: onyx (Versafine)

accessories: scallop border (PTI), scalloped oval and labels 18 dies (Spellbinders), grosgrain ribbon (SU!), buttons (PTI), stitching