A Chocolate Bunny for Valentine's Day

Hello!  This is an atypical Valentine card.  You'd think it was for Easter, but with the sentiment inside (picture further below), "some bunny loves you", I thought I'd try it out for Valentine's Day.  It's at Arts Plus Gallery, if you're interested!

I don't own this bunny stamp, but it's an older Stampin' Up! chocolate bunny.  Wish I'd bought it.  It was stamped here on a small scalloped-edge die cut, and I added SU's French Script background.  Around it, I added a chocolate twine bow and button, Espresso sequins,

The sentiment is from Lawn Fawn's My Silly Valentine set, and the Baby Bunny inside is from Inkadinkado.

Thanks for taking a peek today!

LOVE U

Hello there!  Sharing another Valentine with you today, this one in soft, romantic, shabby chic tones of pink and linen.

This was in last year's batch of cards that went to the shop for sale, and it did sell.  Yay!

Below, you can see a closeup of a stamped sentiment from Altenew's Label Love. I covered it with Glossy Accents, and when it dried, I rubbed gold paste over it, then buffed off the excess.

A beautiful rose sticker from Anna Griffin.  Sigh.

A tiny bit of linen colored lace and a linen bow top a Pierced Traditional Tag (My Favorite Things) die-cut out of pretty DCWV patterned paper.

Little hearts (pink glitter, brushed gold), and tiny pearls. :-)

This card fulfilled the girly, romantic part of me, and it was so fun to make!

Je t'aime / I love you

I'm back with another Valentine card (or, just an "I love you" card) that I made a while ago, but never got around to sharing with you here on the blog.

This was actually a graduation card for our youngest daughter, when she moved up from 8th grade to the high school last year.  She takes French classes and is learning to speak it quite well. She hopes to visit France on a class trip in the next few years.

The fleur de lis, sentiment and Eiffel Tower images are part of the Technique Tuesday Mon Ami Paris set.

The tiny bird is from the Stampin' Up! set Bliss.

Wishing you a beautiful day, wherever you are!  Thanks for visiting!

I {heart} you

Hey there!  I'm popping in to the blog today to line up some cards to share that have been saved in Draft form for months.

This card is a fresh and modern Valentine, and I delivered it and many others to Arts Plus Gallery this past weekend for sale.

The background was created with Stampin' Up!'s Positively Chevron stamp, and A Happy Heart.

The glittered hearts are chipboard pieces from maybe Target, circa 2011?  The small brushed gold heart was made with My Favorite Things heart dies.

I'm still doing physical therapy for my back, and still working full time (but I have a standing desk now!  So helpful!).  It's a slow climb to get those herniated discs better, but I really don't want surgery as an option.

Take care!

Elephant & Chevrons for baby

I just wanted to say hello. It's been a while.

In mid-November, I was experiencing some discomfort in my back (I've had some back issues in the past).  I was visiting my chiropractor to be treated for it.  Usually, his adjustments help me. But, one day, my entire right leg (on the outer side) including the foot...went numb.

Scared the life out of me.
My leg was numb, and it was very painful to sit for anything more than 5 or 10 minutes.
In the months since then, I have spent many, many hours lying flat on the floor, took steroid packs to reduce the swelling, iced my back over and over and over again, and began physical therapy twice a week shortly before Christmas.  I'm still doing PT, and continue with my exercises to be done at home.

I've got a herniated disc or discs, and people ask, "What did you do to yourself??"
Honestly, I don't know what was the straw that broke the camel's Colleen's back.
Apparently, I've got arthritis in some of the discs on my spine.
I sit for almost 10 hours total each day, five days a week, working full time, hunched over a computer.
I have a hobby that involves lots of sitting (wink).
And, admittedly, I don't exercise enough.

Slowly, I am getting better, but it's taking a while.

I just wanted to say hello and let you know I have missed being in this blog space with those of you who visit.  I hope you had a beautiful holiday season, a blessed Christmas, and spent precious time with loved ones.

Planning to come here again as soon as I am able.
Until then, many blessings to you!!

Apples for a special couple

If you view this post, it should count as two servings of fruit for you today. ;-)

I made this almost a year ago, as a thank you for a special couple who were our hosts at Christmastime. This card is chock-FULL of personal, custom details.

1.)  Our hosts' last name begins with the letter C. I used chipboard tiles from Girls' Paperie, and I ran an 18kt Gold Pen from Krylon around the edges of these tiles.

2.) Our hosts live on a street that is named for an apple. I used the stamp set, Apple of My Eye by Flourishes for the focal point, and colored with Copic markers. Just barely visible, I stamped the word 'apples' in the background very faintly.

3.) Our hosts' house # is 3.  Again, another chipboard piece from Girls' Paperie came to the rescue.

4.) Their home is cozy and full of style. I chose a gingham pattern to go along with the apples...I think they make a good match. :-)

Thank you so much for coming by today!

Peaceful Snowflake

Hello! Today I'm sharing a Christmas card that features a muted version of the traditional red and green.

The highlight of the card is the "Peace"-topped snowflake, set on a stitched rectangle die cut. You might be able to see that clear crystal glitter was added to the snowflake (Avery Elle Noel). The Peace die is from Impression Obsession, and I do so love that fancy font.

Had to add a smattering of Sparkling Clear sequins, you know.  I do tend to think that sequins make everything better -- at least on handmade cards.  ;-)

Thanks so much for visiting me today, and Peace be unto you!

Nautical anniversary

My sister-in-law and brother-in-law celebrated their one year anniversary earlier this year. Their wedding was held at the Jersey Shore, and it was such a lovely day! You may remember this card I made for that special day.

The guests who stayed overnight at their wedding were given striped treat bags containing fun snacks and drinks. Each bag featured a customized label with their wedding date and names. I saved one of the bags, carefully cut it apart, and made sure to include that label.

I blurred out the date for this post, but you can see I decorated the spot above their names with a Spellbinders die cut and a few matching gems.

The anchor was on another favor from that day, and I used a circle punch to cut it out and create an embellishment for the lower part of the card. The bow was made with vintage Irish linen twine.

To keep the wedding fun fresh in my mind, I created this anniversary card just days after the nuptial event. :-)

And I loved the anchor image so much that I was inspired to buy an anchor stamp shortly after the wedding!

Sweet Pea Sympathy

As I sit here typing up some posts in a batch today, I realize I've made a lot of sympathy cards this year. Some are for the shop, and some are for people I know who are bereaved.

This card was made for a friend who lost his wife to a brain tumor. Broke my heart to see him go through the valley as his beloved suffered. Upon her passing, I knew exactly which stamp I wanted to use for a sympathy card, as her nickname was 'Sweet Pea'.

I pulled out Sweet Pea from Flourishes, and stamped the smaller image onto a Spellbinders Floral Ovals die cut, then used Copic markers to color and shade.

The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink's Words of Comfort set. I use that set a lot.

Thank you so much for your visit today.

Falling Leaves on Pumpkins

I was playing around with Distress Ink Sprays one day, and came up with this beautifully-mottled background. In order to keep it part of the focal point, I added sparing details:  stamped pumpkins, a sentiment, and a few stamped leaves. Then, I surrounded it with an embossed frame.

The pumpkins (Stampin' Up! Autumn Harvest) were stamped on lined paper, inked with Distress Inks, then trimmed out and placed on the background. Sentiment is from Inspired By Stamping's Little Phrases.

As you can see in the picture below, I stamped the leaves (also from Autumn Harvest) directly onto the background, and then once on lined paper, trimmed out and popped up on foam tape.

This was such a joy to make! I love autumn, my favorite time of year. And as I get older, I appreciate the profound meaning of our Thanksgiving holiday...but my heart has thanks-giving in it every day of the year. My life is full of blessings from above.

Thank you for coming by today!

Happy 21st Anniversary

Well, I'm quite late in sharing this anniversary card I made for my husband.
We just celebrated 22 years of marriage, but this card is from our 21st anniversary.
Just a bit late, huh?

I used an Itty Bitty Accents (Stampin' Up!) heart punch 21 times, using various patterned papers. I measured carefully so things would line up, and adhered the hearts in a grid pattern, popping up some of the hearts on foam tape.

Several Sparkling Clear sequins (Pretty Pink Posh) were added, and the sentiment is from Power Poppy's Dynamic Duos: Peonies and Tulips.

A funny quote I saw:

Some people ask the secret of our long marriage. We take time to go to a restaurant two times a week. A little candlelight, dinner, soft music and dancing. She goes Tuesdays, I go Fridays. ~ Henny Youngman

Ha!  This is actually more like it for me:

From the day we pledged our love, I seem to love you more. Over time our love has deepened and grown stronger in the Lord. Through all the ups and downs we've had, our love has not grown dim. The light burns brighter to reflect the love of God within.

~ Unknown

Thanks so much for joining me today!