Happy Valentine's Day

Beat me with a wet noodle. I know I am overdue for a post but I have been crazy busy at work. We were short staffed and I have been busy waiting for one to switch from another department and started training an additional casual employee, along with implementing a new process for digital reports. Everything is to a point that I can sit back and relax and now life is good. I actually don't mind a bit of the craziness every now and then because it makes the days go by faster and I find that I stick to my diet.

I was feeling so organized I thought I would get a jump on the holiday and make a Valentine's Day card. The DS paper is Honey Pie : Avery from Cosmo Cricket. The label is from Sizzix called Labels Fancy  3 and it is the largest of the four that are in this set. These are the only dies that I have from Sizzix and they do not emboss around the edge. I believe Spellbinders has a patten on that feature. All the same they are very nice but I think they feel a bit more flimsy than the copper Spellbinders dies. After I cut out the label, I ran it through the cuttlebug with the Swirls embossing folder. I found a package of the red foil hearts and the red ruffled ribbon at Jo-Anns and the tags were from the dollar store. The pearls pulled the white out of the paper and tied in the label.

 

 

 

Still trying to keep warm here in Michigan. We got a few inches of snow along with some chilling weather. Looking on the bright side of things, our winter started later this year. Let's just hope it ends at the usual time. Just a phone call from Florida gives me hope of warmer weather. Looking forward to Stampin' Up's Sale-a-Bration. They are several things I put on a wish list. Who am I kidding-it's not a wish list, it's a must have/can't live without list.

 

I have to cut this short because I have a stamping buddy coming over for an afternoon of fun. I hope all of you in the northern regions stay cozy and warm in whatever method required. Be it beverage, physical activity or whatever suits your fancy. All of you in southern states just keep sending us warm wishes as you sit by the pool.

~Have fun and enjoy!

Fit for a Lady

 I love Thinking of You cards because I can use them for so many situations. This one was for one of the girls in my group of friends that had surgery a few months back. We had pitched in to by her some new pajamas because there is nothing that makes you feel better after surgery than new PJs and took her out for a good meal since she wouldn't be eating much in the following days (she has since fully recovered and we are glad to see her on her feet and back to work). I thought the image of the three women was very appropriate. This also allowed me to fancy it up a bit since the women were so proper and dressed to the nines.

The image of the women is from Graphic 45 which is an older line of paper. I layered it on SU Cajun Craze and Soft Suede. The Fancy Tag from Spellbinders was cut out of the Soft Suede as was the inside border (in the picture below it looks more green but it really isn't). The sentiment was stamped on a tag punched out with SU Modern Label punch. When I punched the right side of the card with the Martha Stewart Vintage Floral edge punch it didn't show up very well due to the cream inside of the card. That is why I decided to put the same border punch on the inside of the card. I typically don't decorate the insides except for a sentiment, but in this case it was needed. To balance out the card, I ran a brown satin ribbon along the left side of the card. Click on the images for an enlarged view. Now that I look back at the card, the only stamping I did was the sentiments. Oh my, what would we have done had they not come out with dies and punches.

We had some beautiful weather here yesterday. Not quite as nice as where some of us are (I shall not mention any names). It made it all the way up to 55 with some rain that helped to wash away the snow. This is not typical for our Michigan weather and it is getting me antsy for spring. It will all be over this week when we dip back into the 30's with some light snow. Every now and then I get a call from the south to remind me of the warm weather other people in the country are enjoying. All I have to do is close my eyes and I can feel myself sitting by the pool. A big Thank you to my friend that takes me on an imaginary vacation until I can get there for real. It sure helps me to get through this Michigan winter.

Everything is rather calm here. No news is good news right! I hope to get into my stamping room for some much needed stamping therapy. I might even tackle some type of altered project-we'll see.

~Have fun and enjoy!

Another Eiffel Tower

One of my favorites is anything Paris. When I found this paper I was thrilled and I knew exactly who I wanted to share it with. I have a dear friend who has been going through a very difficult and
long journey with a very sick child. Even though her daughter is an adult with her own family it doesn't make it any easier. Unfortunately I know all too well the feeling of helplessness. The feeling that loving your child isn't enough to cure them. If that were so, I am sure there would be no sickness in this world and wouldn't that be breathtaking.

The paper was a great find on clearance at Jo Ann's. A 12x12 with 48 double sided sheets for $2.97. It's from Color Box called Antique Paperie. I used the Spellbinder Shapeabilities called French Frills to cut out the Eiffel Tower in brushed metallic gold. I had some lovely beige trim that I put down the side and a flourish or rhinestones. The font is from Stampin' Up Curly Cute stamp set. Below are a few more pictures.

Everyone is back into the routine of the New Year. I still have my Christmas decorations up. It has been quite a week at work and my DH's birthday was yesterday so we put off taking everything down until next weekend. Our weather is to hit a high of 40 later this week so it will be a perfect time to get the lights down. The tree goes in the spot where DH's recliner sits, so I know he is anxious to get his favorite spot back. I can tell the couch isn't quite cutting it for football.

Believe it or not I have already started a few Valentine's Day cards and procrastination wasn't even one of my resolutions. Actually I didn't make any new resolutions. I just want to continue eating healthy and keep walking. Thankfully I brought all the cookies into work and they were gone in a couple of days. I'm glad they enjoyed them so much. I better get going on coming up with a project for this month's stamp club or I will have a bunch of unhappy stampers.
~Have fun and enjoy!