Happy (early) Birthday

Good morning!  I have a few things to share today…first up is the card I made for me and all my siblings to give to our dad for his 80th birthday party today.  His real birthday is in a month, but my sister from Texas is up so we thought it would be a great time to have everyone come to town as well and celebrate during our long weekend.  We even have relatives from California here!  So I was asked (of course) to make dad’s card a few days ago.  I immediately thought it would be fun to do a real vintage photo of all us kids.  So during a family dinner last night, I snuck into the spare bedroom where all the family photos are and took this one to scan.  It’s my first birthday!! LOL  See the cake in front of me with 1 candle?  I also stamped happy birthday 6 times to represent us 6 kids :)  Inside the card, I printed out this sweet cowboy blessing (my dad’s a cowboy :)

May the rains fall on your pastures and the grass grow belly high.

May your calves get fat and sassy and none of your cows be dry.

May your horses be sure footed and blessed with good cow sense.

May your neighbours lend a hand when it's time to fix the fence.

May the sun shine on your crops when you harvest in the fall.

May your handshake be considered your word by one and all.

When your life is filled with laughter or when it's sad and grey,

may those you love be with you to share each blessed day.

By Anne Slade 1998

 

Next up is a fun little announcement.  This Be@Home blog contacted me and asked if I would like to be featured in their Best of the Web section.  I don’t know how they found me, but after asking a few questions agreed to do it…you can check out the feature here :)

Best of the Web: Be @ Home #33

And last but not least…today’s is the last day to enter the Verve Diva Dare challenge.  There are 2 ways to win some Verve-y goodness…make a card/project for the challenge and link it HERE and/or leave comments on all the Diva posts and a random winner will be chosen.  All the deets and some serious eye candy are over on the Verve Blog.

Thanks for stopping by…be sure to come back tomorrow for a fun little announcement :)

 

what’s in it?

stamps: pti say it with style, birthday basics, verve big wish

ink: versafine onyx

paper: pti kraft, cream, su espresso, various patterned paper scraps

accessories: vintage photo, button, twine, stitching, pinking shears

Miss You Like Crazy and more SAF :)

Hello there, friends!  I’m back at it again today with a card that makes me smile.  It truly is one I love and it was so fun to make early yesterday morning (still on Ohio time! lol).  I started with this week’s yummy ColourQ colours…I pulled out some patterned paper, picked my sentiment and then played around with shapes until this layout formed.  I would have to say this is my true love style.  Oh, I love vintage and shabby…but this style hits my “happy place!”  I even got to use a new Basicgrey brad that was in my PILE of goodies from Archivers :)  This is my first time inking this fabulous Verve sentiment and I can’t help bursting into the song, “Miss You Like Crazy,” by The Moffats each time I see this stamp :)

Okay, here are a few more Stamp-a-faire pictures.  When Lynn so graciously invited me to Ohio to stay with her and attend Stamp-a-faire…it took me 5 minutes to decide to make it work :)  Not only would I get to travel to a new place, I would get to meet Lynn (and family!) AND meet my all time stamping idol, Dawn McVey.   I came across Dawn’s blog about 3 and a half years ago before she was on the PTI design team.  So I feel like I know her from all her heartfelt blog posts.  I had contacted her now and then with questions about this or that, participated in her Raspberry Suite colour challenges and even received a sweet RAK from one of her draws ages ago :)  She truly is stamping royalty in my eyes (and heart!).  I brought her the card I made for the June PTI blog hop and her birthday, a little keychain from a local Kamloops artisian and my favourite Canadian maple cookies!! LOL  I was shaking a bit as I stood in line for her make and take :)  And guess what?  She recognized my name and our little conversations over the years!  I was tickled by that since she has SO many friends and contacts and fans.  That’s how special and sweet she is :)  I could go on, but this is turning into a diary entry…LOL!  So here are the photos :)

The first one is the placard beside each Design Team’s make and take.  Next up is me and Dawn at the dessert reception where we were able to take pictures with all the DT members :)  Meeting her was on my bucket list…truly..I’m getting teary eyed looking at this :)

Towards the end of the evening, the DT were all standing together so I grabbed Lynn for this fun picture…Dawn was so sweet and asked me to come stand by her :)  These women were so friendly and sweet…that Lisa Johnson is a firecracker and a Northwest gal like me :)  She was the only one who knew exactly where I lived!!

Papertrey Ink thought of everything!  They had a photo booth set up for friends to take pics together…what a cool idea!  Here are the 4 fun photos of me and Lynn…smiling, smooching, jazzy hands and striking a pose…teehee :)  Isn’t that the best souvenir?  It would be so cool at a wedding :)  Whew!! Did you make it through all that?  Have a lovely weekend…it is our long weekend here in B.C (and I think for most of the country).  My whole family (including my son) is in town for my dad’s 80th birthday celebration tomorrow :)  I have a sweet card in the works…will share soon once I finish it :) 

what’s in it?

stamps: hope blooms (Verve)

ink: versafine onyx

paper: pti white, ocean tides, su espresso, basicgrey, october afternoon dp

accessories: circle nestabilities, pti blossom die, fiskars border punch, basicgrey brad, pti ribbon, gems, stitching

Overwhelmed By Your Generosity

Good morning!!  It seems I am still on Ohio time and have been getting up early since returning home Tuesday.  Having said that, I have been ready for bed at 9:00 each night! LOL  It has felt great to be back in the studio with all my new goodies :)  Perfect timing for the new August Viva La Verve challenges that start today!  Amber has drawn up a sweet little sketch for us with LOADS of possibilities. 

 

I kept things a little simple today so that my new Lime Twist paper would shine.  I love the splash of red with the flower!!  This sentiment goes out to my dear friend, Lynn, who was the hostess with the mostess during my stay in Ohio.  Of course, she had some help…her wonderful husband Pat and her four adorable boys helped out too, making sure I was comfortable and well entertained.  Here are a few more photos of my stay with them :) First up is me with Lynn and Pat on their gorgeous patio…it was hot, but there had been enough rain to keep everything lush and green.

Here I am with the boys, Jonathon, Collin (on my lap), Ryan and little Marcel who I believe is giving us his “The Thinker” pose :)  Jonathon was kind enough to give up his room for me, Collin made sure I had coffee in the morning and wine at happy hour and Ryan organized card night and I learned a new card game!  I was hoping that Marcel, the youngest, would tell me “something in my ear,” and he did.  While we were out having ice cream one night, he told me “icecream is yummy.”  I agree :)

This last photo is with Lynn and her mom.  I was so excited to meet her as well after hearing so much about her through Lynn’s blog.  I am her new adopted daughter :D  She took us out for brunch at a funky new restaurant.

Okay, that’s all for today! Check out the new Viva La Verve challenge over on the forum.  Play all month long and you could win the whole next release!!  Sounds sah-weet!!  Have a great Friday!!

 

what’s in it?

stamps: Words Cannot Express, Love Notes (Verve)

paper: cream, aquamist (PTI), Lime Twist (My Mind’s Eye)

ink: onyx (Versafine), ruby red (SU!)

accessories: jotted heart die (Verve A Cut Above Dies), banner and blossom dies (PTI), button and twine (PTI), gems (Kaisercraft)

New Mercies I See

Hey everyone!! I made it safely back from my trip and to tell you I had the best of times is really an understatement.  I don’t think I will ever be able to describe my time in a way that could ever do it justice…but I’ll try :D  More on that later.  First up, I wanted to let you know that I am hosting the Diva Dare post today over on the Verve Blog…so head over there if you haven’t seen all the Diva eye candy or if you haven’t heard about all the fun you can have while trying to win some Verve goodies :)  I had planned this card with some lovely Lily Bean paper before I left, but I came back with 3 new paper pads so I thought it only fitting to break one open for the Dare (Sentimental about Paper).  The butterfly was die cut with balsa wood, then stamped with the coordinating image from Chicks Rule.  Okay, onto a few of the many many photos I took on my trip…I thought since today was all about Verve, I would share some pics of me with some Verve fans that were there.  First up is Lynn, my dear, dear friend and hostess, and Christina.

Lynn and I had just settled into our table in the morning when the sweetest young woman came up to me and asked if I was “Maureen.”  She said she follows my blog and was a fan (oh, my she made me feel like a Rock Star!! LOL) She’s Suzanne and we hung out at dinner with a few others that we met.  She is just the cutest ever with a fabulous Boston accent (hmmm, I wonder if they all thought I had a Canadian accent…I think I was saying “eh” a lot and I was questioned about “zed” when spelling…teehee.)

I knew a BIG Verve fan, Luanne, was going to be there and I asked one woman (who really looked like Luanne’s avatar) if she was Luanne, but she wasn’t.  Luckily the real Luanne recognized me and we took this photo.  Luanne said she was so thrilled, but really, I was too. 

I will slowly share more photos here on the blog…I still have a HUGE smile on my face from this wonderful experience.  I am blessed a thousand times over :)  Have a wonderful day…it’s great to be back :)

 

what’s in it?

stamps: New Mercies, Chicks Rule (Verve)

paper: kraft, cream (PTI), saffron, espresso (SU!), out of print (Basicgrey)

ink: onyx (Versafine), groovy guava (SU!), tea dye duo (PTI)

accessories: flutterby die (Verve A Cut Above Dies), circle and lacy circle dies (Spellbinders), button, twine and ribbon (PTI), stitching, gems (Kaisercraft), note page border die (MFT)

Papertrey Ink July Blog Hop and Blogiversary!!

Well, hello there, friends and Papertrey Ink fans!!  If all has gone well, I have had a FABULOUS time at the PTI Stamp-a-faire with my dear friend, Lynn…I have scheduled this post 6 days ahead of time as I am still (hopefully!) in Ohio enjoying my last day with Lynn :)  This month for the Papertrey Blog Hop we are inspired with this gorgeous colour palette…

Amazing, right?!!  It reminded me of My Mind’s Eye paper so that’s what I used :)  But today is not only the PTI blog hop, it’s also my 2nd Blogiversary!!  Woohoo!!  I was thinking I wanted to celebrate it with the PTI hop, but I think I will wait until I get home and do it up right with another post :)  Thanks for stopping by and thanks for all your sweet comments today and always :)

what’s in it?

stamps: pti Hello Friend, Verve Love Notes

paper: su real rust, taken with teal, pti rustic cream, My Mind’s Eye Stella and Rose

ink: su soft sky, versafine onyx

accessories: Verve Classy Label Die, su ribbon, pti blossom and note page dies, fiskars border punch, gems, pti felt, button, twine, stitching

Congratulations 2011

Hey everyone!!  Didn’t post this card back in June when I made it for my niece who graduated from Grade 12.  It was totally inspired by Julie Lacey’s card found HERE.  Oh, my I am a BIG fan of Julie’s.  I am in awe of every card she makes.  Anyways, my niece loved it (and the cashola that was tucked inside! lol). In her thank you card back to me she said it was the nicest one she received and it’s still up in her room :)  I always love to hear that :)  Well, today is the BIG day!!  Lynn and I are off to the PTI Stamp-a-faire and I get to meet Dawn McVey and Nichole Heady and some more blog friends :)  I am blessed :D 

Bon Voyage, Moe!

Good morning!!  Well, I’m up bright and early this morning!!  I am always the one listening about everyone else’s fun and exciting trips here or there and now I am finally going myself!  I have travelled very little in my life, not because I haven’t wanted to, but because I am so cautious with my money and something always comes up when you are raising a family and own your own home.  But I am finally going to visit my dear friend, Lynn and then we are both going to the PTI Stamp-a-faire on Saturday (don’t hate us!! lol).  I am all packed with goodies and cards and the iPad, of course :)  So today’s card is a fun little send off and wishing everyone who is travelling a safe journey :)  I have a few posts scheduled while I’m gone, otherwise you won’t be hearing from me until my Verve Diva Dare post next week :)  {btw, did you know there’s the Diva Dare challenge going on right now?  Head over to the Verve blog to check it out!!} I’ll take lots of pics while I’m gone, don’t worry!! 

what’s in it?

stamps: pti post marks, su glorious and free

ink: su choc chip, versafine onyx

paper: pti kraft, october afternoon di

accessories: pti ribbon, buttons, twine, maya road tag, basicgrey chipboard letters

Thank You

Good morning friends!  I feel like I’ve been a little MIA in the studio this week.  I’ve been running around picking out kitchen and bathroom faucets, tubs, sinks and toilets!  I know, hard life.  I’m now in the middle of picking out the granite for the kitchen counters…no easy feat.  You need to pick out something you’ll love to look at every day (sort of like a husband!! LOL).  Anyways, I was so happy to finally make this card for the Moxie Fab World’s Tuesday Trigger this week :)  I couldn’t resist this photo!!

Of course, the first thing that came to mind was a button card!!  But I thought I be a little more creative…black dots on a yellow die cut :)  The floral background inspired me to stamp a pink damask design and the tiny bit of green made it’s way to the sentiment panel.  A little black and white gingham for an added something special and the card looks pretty much like what was in my head all week :) Okay, here are a couple more house updates… the first picture made me laugh when I saw it Thursday night…I went up to clean the house for 2.5 hours!!  There were wood shavings, pipe, wood scraps, etc all over after the plumber and his crew were there.  I noticed this little “to do list” beside our bedroom upstairs.  I laughed at the third item “clean up” and it wasn’t checked off…hmmm, I guess they were leaving that job for me!

This second photo shows the progress on the roof and windows.  The roof is pretty much done now.  I think the next phase is having the house wired…then we’ll be at lock up.

Thanks so much for stopping by…I’m getting ready for my trip to Ohio and I’ll try to have a few cards made for when I’m gone :)  Have a great Sunday.

 

what’s in it?

stamps: verve words cannot express, pti damask designs, mat stack 2 collection, polka dot basics 2

ink: versafine onyx, su pretty in pink, mellow moss

paper: pti cream, rustic cream, su daffodil

accessories: pti mat stack 1 and 2 dies, gingham ribbon, gems

Life is Good (Great!)

Happy Friday, everyone!!  It’s been a busy, but fun week here PLUS my beloved Verve stamps arrived Monday and after I tore the package opened and SMELLED them (do you notice how wonderful new Verve stamps smell?), I grabbed this sweet plain jane sentiment to use on my Viva La Verve sketch this week.  I am still in love with this My Mind’s Eye paper and thought it would make a fun, cheery card reflecting what I’m feeling this week :)  Life is good!  And life could be great for YOU if you enter all the Viva La Verve challenges this month and win the next release of stamps!! All the details are over on the forum!!  I hope you’ll stop by :) Oh, and you still have until Sunday to Get Your Diva On!!  Wanna be the next Verve Guest Diva?  Check it out HERE!!  Have a fabulous weekend :)

 

what’s in it?

stamps: Life is Good plain jane (Verve)

paper: rustic cream, lavender moon (PTI), razzleberry (SU!), Lime Twist (My Mind’s Eye)

ink: onxy (Versafine), tea dye duo (PTI)

accessories: limitless labels and leaf dies (PTI), felt (PTI), embossing folder (Cuttlebug), gems (Kaisercraft), buttons (PTI), thread, stitching

You are Missed

Good morning!!  Today’s card is for this week’s Waltzingmouse Sketch challenge.  I was really stumped with this sketch, but the chance to win a WMS stamp set is more than enough incentive to try each week :)  However, now that I look back on the actual sketch…I see I’m a little “off” this challenge too, kind of like the big Play Date colour flub a few days ago.  I’m blaming it on all the decisions I’ve had to make about the new house.  We picked out all the taps, sinks, toilets and tubs yesterday. It was a little bit of a surprise to me as I thought we had another week.  I think the worse part will be light fixtures and knobs…there are a million to choose from.  Anyways, back to the card…I really wanted to try out my new Spellbinders Banner dies and all these Fancy Phrases sentiments from Waltzingmouse fit perfectly :)  Okay, I’m off to check out granite countertops!! Thanks for stopping by…come back tomorrow as I host the next Viva La Verve sketch challenge…at least I can deviate from my own sketch if I want :)  Oh and you still have a few days to Get Your Diva On…ever wish to be a Verve Guest Diva?  Well, now’s your chance!!  Click HERE for all the details :)

what’s in it?

stamps: wms fancy phrases, verve bloom and grow

ink: versafine onyx, su kiwi, pti tea dye

paper: pti kraft, cream, springmoss, su espresso, sahara sand, Pink Paislee butterfly collection dp

accessories: verve elegant leaves die, pti limitless labels dies, spellbinders banner dies, prima flowers, ms butterfly punches, pearls, stitching

Happy Birthday

Good morning!  Today’s card was me just playing around with some of my favourite stamps as well as a new to me stamp…the one on the labels 18 die :)  I don’t  think I’ve ever played with the Play Date Cafe colours, but was totally in love with them and the inspiration photos.  Today is a pretty quiet day here…just have to go and start picking out bathroom and kitchen fixtures :)  There’s too much to choose from!!  Hope your week is going well :)
p.s.  oops, I did it again…I thought that first colour was light blue…after checking out the Play Date blog and READING the requirements…I see that they are mint, light yellow and taupe…not light blue, cream and sahara sand…oh, well :)  I still love my card :)  Sorry!!

what’s in it?

stamps: verve big wish, pti dress form, gina K lovely labels 3

paper: su sahara, espresso, baja, pti cream, MME stella and rose dp

ink: su choc chip, sahara sand, versafine onyx

accessories: pti dress form, doily and banner dies, labels 18 spellbinders, gems, pti buttons, twine, seam binding ribbon, stitching, prima lace

Get Your Diva On!!

Good morning!!! I have the fun Diva duty of hosting this month’s Get Your Diva On challenge over on the Verve forum this week :)  My challenge is the Pretty Purse Plastic (say THAT quickly 5 times!!).  I took 3 beautiful gift cards out of my wallet and was inspired to create!!  Hope you will be too :)  And the prize?????  The winner of the challenge will be the next Verve Guest Diva for an upcoming release!!!! How amazing is THAT?  Here are the gift cards I’ve posted over on the forum, but you can choose one from your purse!!

Can you guess which card I was inspired by?  LOL  So get your thinking caps on and join us over on the Verve Forum!!  Yahooooooo!!!!

 

what’s in it?

stamps: Hope Blooms, Sweet Scallop Tag (Verve)

paper: raspberry fizz, white (PTI), basic grey (SU!), silver (Bazzil Basics), patterned paper (PTI and Echo Park)

accessories: sweet scallop tag die (Verve A Cut Above Dies), scallop border (PTI), doily (Wilton), gems (Kaisercraft), buttons (PTI), thread, stitching, corner rounder (We R Memory Keepers)

Home is Where the Heart Is

Good morning!! It’s been a whirlwind couple of days here.  As many of you know, we’ve been busy packing up the house and getting it ready to sell.  Well, we have a pending offer, subject to an inspection.  I’ll give more details once it’s all final.  So with the thought of leaving the house I bought on my own so many years ago, where I raised my son, where I dressed for my wedding and that saw me through so many other wonderful and sad times, I made this card.  I’ve been up since 6:00 this morning, not knowing what to do with myself, so I went up to the VERY CLEAN studio (because of the house showing) and started playing with the colours from the current CR84FN challenge.  Oh, I love pink and red together…how yummy!!  I knew I wanted a pink card base, but was unsure about which red patterned paper to use, so I flipped through all my pads and settled on this fun floral from October Afternoon Modern Homemaker.  I’ve also got a few more pics of the new house…first up is the stairway (to heaven! lol) to the second floor.  That’s our bedroom on the right, although it was tough to take pictures upstairs as it all just looks like wood boards.

This is the view from the French doors in our bedroom.  It’s boarded up right now for safety :)

And this is what it looks like as of yesterday.  The 3 windows on the left are in the guest room’s ensuite, the guest room is on the left of those.  So you can see the whole shape of the house now.  They are finishing the installation of doors and windows as I type!

Phew, well, I’d better get on with the day, I’m sure I’ll need a nap at some point!! LOL  Hope your weekend is lovely :)  Thanks for stopping by and sharing in our good news :)

 

what’s in it?

stamps: pti mat stack 1 collection, love lives here

ink: versafine onyx, pti sweet blush, versamark

paper: pti sweet blush, cream, DCWV and October Afternoon dps

accessories: pti mat stack 1 and love lives here dies, spellbinders tag dies, su ribbon, gems, bakers twine, stitching