Mother's Day!

I was able to be in California to celebrate Mother's Day with my Mom and my sister, Heidi.  We had a lovely early dinner out with the three of us and my sister's husband.  Mom and I finished off the evening playing Mexican Train, and I actually won!  My mother is a master at most card and board games so to actually win is certainly a novelty!  But, win or lose, we don't care, we just enjoy the camaraderie of playing the game and gabbing as we go.

While we were in Mt. Shasta on our family crop retreat-vacation in April, I brought my "To Do" stash along. . .it could keep me busy for several weeks for sure!  I had joined Becca Feeken's Amazing Paper Grace monthly kit group back in September 2012.  I had kits from the beginning through February that I had not even started on ~ shame on me.  I was determined to catch up and finish some, and I did.  My mother fell in love with one I was making while there.  I had no intention of giving it to her, because I would not make one in front of her that she could see if I was actually going to give to her.  She kept "oohing and aahing" because she REALLY loved it, so I decided after the fact, that it would be her Mother's Day card.  I generated a computer verse to fit the inside diamond created by another set of filigree die cuts like those that grace the front.  

This was a lovely design that Becca Feeken came up with as one of the four projects in the October 2012 kit.  This card was quite a challenge because the dies are so intricate and there were 12 of them to deal with!!  They did not cut or punch out unless you used wax paper on each die cut.  That little trick certainly helps a LOT!

I apologize for the picture focus.  I did not have my scanner in California, so I resorted to taking a picture with my cell phone.  It is not one of the "new" phones with all the bells and whistles; thus, the pictures are not the best, but I think you get the general idea of how pretty this card really is.

A note to my dear readers and friends:  I will be out of commission for a bit as I make my return travels to home in Washington.  Then, I will have loads of stuff to sort, unpack, and put away, not to mention, oodles of stuff to catch up on of those mundane chores of everyday life: laundry, house cleaning, yard work, etc.  See you when I get back to catching up with my blog.

Recipe: Amazing Grace kit, Neenah White Cardstock 80#, Spellbinder dies, Button w-round pearl center, pearl stick pin, flat-bottom pearls, Prima mini roses, white seam binding ribbon, Beeca Feeken bowmaker.

Sister-in-Law Birthdays Begin for 2013!

I have a total of seven sister-in-laws!  I'm sure someone else on the planet has me beat, but that's a lot to be sure.  Their birthdays start in May and go through October; therefore, there will always be at least one sister-in-law birthday card for each month for six months of the year!  I never have the excuse that I have no birthday card to make that is for sure.  I only have one brother, so only one of the seven falls on my side of the family...the other six belong to my husband's side of the family!  

My first sister-in-law birthday card to start off each year is in May and is for my brother's wife, Diane.  This year, I made her a "flower" card, featuring a stamp that allows the two-step stamping technique.  I then cut the completed stamped image out with a Spellbinder Label die, and finally, I sponged its surface lightly around the edges before removing the Spellbinders die.  I love the white edge this leaves around the sponged image, almost making it a frame.  I hope Diane liked her card.

Recipe:  SU Stamp: Flower Fancy (ret.), SU Cardstock: Whisper White, Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze.  Pattern: scrap. SU Ink: Marine Mist, Garden Green, Baja Breeze (sponging).  Spellbinder die: Labels Three. Ribbons: 3/4" White ruffled organza, 3/8" Marine Mist satin-edge organza. Turquoise rhinestones.

Brother Mike's Birthday!

At the beginning of May, my brother, Mike celebrated another birthday!  I was so busy visiting with Mom that the time got away from me and our planned visit to celebrate with him snuck up on me!  I had to delve into my stash to come up with a card really quick!  

I made this card several years ago in a class taught by my sister, Heidi Gonzales (her blog: mylilscrapcorner.blogspot.com) with an emphasis on learning to color images with woodless-colored pencils and paper-piecing (Ed's umbrella is paper-pieced and the rest of him is colored).  I thought these stamps were so darn cute.  I'm glad I had a chance to given "Ed, the umbrella man" away to someone who would appreciate him.