Over the Hill

My SIL was turning 40 and I knew I needed to make a card for her. I'm not the humorous type (that would be my hubby) but needed to make a card that had a little both of us in it, i.e. humor and elegance!

This is what I came up with:


It's a spinner card where the car "drives" over the hill. She loved it and I like how it turned out. I used Ranger Glossy Accents to make the car shiney too:

Now is everything

Tonight I was reminded about something important. As I was watching television (catching up on my shows that were TiVo'd for the last two months!), a the conversations struck a cord with me where an actor said, "Now is everything." How true that statement is. Each day, each moment, is so important.When E was diagnosed last September, ten days before her fourth birthday, my world fell apart. Life changed. Forever. I now see life in a different way. The little hugs and kisses, the moments of joy, ultimately are what is most important. When I come home from work, she meets me at the door, wanting kisses and hugs and I no longer take those for granted. I hold her a little longer, kiss her a little more, knowing that THIS is what is important. My husband calls me Charmin (you know, soft toilet paper??) but I can't help it. I need to live in the now. I don't say no as much as I used to and say yes more often. I don't worry about stains on clothes or saving them for that special moment because that moment is now.

You're probably wondering why I am writing this. Well, E's 3 month scans are coming up next week and I'm starting to get apprehensive about them. That coupled with looking at the pictures for printing makes me a little sad that my little girl had to go through so much and grow up so quickly. It makes me sad knowing my 2 1/2 year old has the words "cancer" and "chemo" in her vocabulary.

I decided to photograph my girls more the last couple weeks. I tried to get more of their personality and less of what they were doing. You tell me what you think and if you see that in their photographs.

So in closing, tell those close to you that you love them. Listen a little more, talk a little less. Play with your children and give them extra hugs and kisses. I know I will.

Review and Giveaway!

Hop on over to Jill's blog to read her review and a chance to win this book!

Sugar Nellies

We once again have guests coming into our home tomorrow so I'll be MIA again this weekend. BUT before I go, I want to share something I got in the mail the other day:

It's an INTERNATIONAL envelope! I've NEVER gotten mail from outside of the USA so imagine my surprise when I opened it to see this:

It's a BRAND NEW Suger Nellie stamp called Flowers. It's it ADORABLE! I won it on her website. If you haven't seen them, please go over and take a look! There are some amazing stamps!

And because I've been so lucky lately, I'm gathering STUFF for you know... BLOG CANDY! So keep checkin' back!

Have a great weekend!

New Creations!

Hi everyone! So sorry I've been MIA. Things just have been CRAZY that I really haven't had a chance to update my blog. I've been creating, just not updating!LOL!


Anywho, I thought I'd show a few things I did for my daughter's Pre-school teachers for end of year gifts. This is a mini scrapbook I created from one sheet of 12x12 cardstock. Thanks Vicki for the tutorial! I took a couple pics and matted them, added some teacher quotes and voila, a cute gift! I bound it with BIA and added ribbons to each pull out, so it was easy to look at each "tag". Here's the outside:

And the inside:


For presentation I took this (on sale at M's for less than $2)


And covered it with coordinating paper (run through my Cuttlebug). I then added their set of note cards and beaded pen, and a gift card (all coordinated colors). I even took the cello bags and stamped flourishes on them then tied them with silver twine with a monogram tag.



They were a big hit since they weren't the traditional apple, candle, etc. type of gift. Especially the gift card (American Express!). My daughter's teachers have been wonderful to her this year and I wanted them to feel special that I took the time to create something just for them for all they've done for her and us.

Hope each of you have a wonderful weekend. Here in the USA it's Memorial Weekend, which is a time to pay tribute to all those soldiers that have fallen giving their lives for our freedom and to say thank you to those that are still serving (or have served). If you know someone that has/is part of the military, let them know you appreciate them, their sacrifice and their dedication. I know I will.

Until later,

Shout Out to SheetLoad - Bella Blog Candy

No, I'm not offering Blog Candy - YET! However, Sheetload of Cards is! Hop on over there!!! They've got their May Issue out. If you haven't seen this, you have to take a look!

I will say, as soon as I hit 1K I will have some blog candy! So keep coming back! Please!

I know I've been absent

So sorry for being absent lately! Things have just been out of hand. First my MIL came to visit, then my grandmother with my sister. After they left, my oldest daughter caught a virus, then I came down with it! Then work got really crazy (still is), my grandfather passed away, and now my youngest has the bug! I'll be absent a little while longer too because I am flying this weekend for my grandfather's funeral on Monday. See, my grandparents raised my sister and me so they are like my mom and dad. Grandpa was in the late stages of Alzheimer's too so I have mixed emotions about his death.

The only project I have had time to finish were 35 baby shower invitations! When the girls and I were talking about throwing a shower, I KNEW I wanted to make the invites! I had the perfect stamp (Stampingbella's Teddybella) for them. I think I should have just made them a little simpler, but she LOVED them as did most of the guests so for that it was worth it. I used stickles for the bow on her belly and bear, glitter pen for the blue bag and copics for all over coloring. Paper is Paper Studio and Bazzil.

Thanks for looking! I hope to be back creating next week.