I'M IN HEAVEN, WEDDING FAVOR HEAVEN...........

I'm taking a break from blogging while I work on wedding favors for my coworker's daughter.  The wedding is quickly approaching and I must finish the 200+ wedding favors.  My goal is to finish them by Friday.  Oh, and I WILL!!!!!  I have favors covering half of my dining room table right now.  My sister is going to swing by tomorrow and help me with them.  (Gotta love family, right?)  I'm hoping to have them done really soon so I can get back to stamping and posting.  I hope to post some new creations in the very near future.  So don't throw the towel in on me yet.  I'll be back!

Non-Stamping Related

I hope all you mothers had a wonderful Mother's Day!  I know I did and what a busy one it was.  I don't normally share family pictures on my blog, but today I'm making an exception.  Last week was my son's birthday and the big dance.  (I can't believe he'll be in high school this coming fall.  I don't even want to think about it.)  Here's a picture taken at home before the traditional Eighth Grade Dance last Friday.  I thought he looked quite "dapper".  (That's a word my grandmother used to use.  Wink!) 

He told me he wasn't going to the dance if he had to wear a shirt and tie.  All I can say is, "Never say never, my man."  We compromised with the "casual" dressy look.  I allowed him to roll up his sleeves, unbutton the top button of his shirt and wear his tie loosely around his neck.  He even tolerated pictures.  Here's another picture with my sister, Sarah, and me.  My sister will probably kill me for this picture.  We were acting goofy and she just got home from a three day conference.  Notice how I cleverly hid myself between my sister and my son.  I hate having my picture taken.  I'm not an ounce photogenic!

After dropping my son off at the dance, I had my husband drop me off to a "Mother/Daughter" banquet at my friend's church.  My friend adopted me for the day since I am now officially motherless.  (My own mother passed away three years ago.)  Saturday was dinner night with the family.  I love spending time with my family.  What better way to celebrate family than food?  Am I right?  Sunday, we darted off to church and then spent the afternoon with my sister, brother-in-law and nephew at the Franklin Park Conservatory.  I love the butterfly exhibit.  I don't think I'll ever grow tired of visiting it.  I see something different every time I go.

Well, I need to get off here.  I have piano lessons to give tonight.  Thanks for peeking in on me and letting me share a little of my life with you.  Have a great week!

WILLIE WONKIE'S BIRDHOUSE

Okay, so this is not really Willie's birdhouse.  The card just looks "wonkie" in this picture for some reason.  It's slightly open and I've mini glue-dotted a gift card to the inside.  So, I'm guessing it was setting strangely in my light box.  I made this card for a wonderful neighbor of mine.  He cleared my driveway after every snow this past winter.  He's retired and he clears all the neighbors' driveways each winter.  Do you know what a blessing it is to come home after a day's work to find your driveway all cleared off?  Let me tell you, it is WONDERFUL!  He's just an all around great neighbor.  He's always ready to lend a helping hand just when you need it.  Do you have a great neighbor like that?

Okay, enough small talk.  On to the card........I've seen birdhouse cards and boxes all over blogland.  Ever since then, I've been itching to make a birdhouse card myself.  This card measures 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" and will fit in a medium size Stampin' Up! envelope.  I used the Woodgrain Background stamp on the front panel to mimic the look of tree bark and then stamped my sentiment from the Bella's Bloom stamp set.  I thought the sentiment was fitting.  The redbird was a snap to assemble.  I just punched him out in Real Red card stock with my Extra Large Two-Step Bird punch and then punched the stem out again with a scrap piece of Old Olive card stock.  The "hole" was punched out in Basic Black card stock with my 1 1/4" circle punch.  The top of my birdhouse was assembled with 1 1/2" pieces of Chocolate Chip card stock.  I punched each strip using my Scallop Edge punch and then sponged each strip for dimension.  (Let me just say that this was "mucho" time consuming.  Wow!)  I trimmed a piece of Whisper White card stock to cover the inside panel of my card and used a sponge dauber with Bashful Blue Classic Ink and a piece of scrap card stock punched with the Scallop Circle punch to make my clouds.  Whew!  Are you still with me?  I think that about covers everything. 

If you are still reading this after my windy post, bless your soul.  Thanks for peeking in on me today!  I'm heading off to Wednesday night church service.  I'm not sure if I'll have any more posts this week.  I need to pack up my supplies for a scrapbook retreat I'm attending this weekend in Wheelersburg.  I'm looking forward to getting caught up on my scrapbook.  I attended the retreat last year and had a ball!  I'm hoping this year will be just as fun!

Summer Mini Sneak Peek

Here's a sneak peek of the Elements of Style stamp set in the upcoming Stampin' Up! Summer Mini that makes it debut on May 1st.  This set is uber vintage.  You're going to love it - especially if you like to color in your images!  Personally, I'm not the greatest at watercoloring, but I took my best stab at it on this card.  And you know what they say, "Practice makes perfect."  It may be hard to see, but after I colored in my flowers using my Classic ink pads and a bender pen, I added Crystal Effects to the flowers.  I also used a Basic Black marker and my color spritzer to add a more vintage feel to my card.  The Pumpkin Pie panel directly behind my stamped image has been embossed with the Stampin' Up! Backgrounds 1 Textures Plate and my Big Shot.  I used a sponge dauber and some Pumpkin Pie Classic ink to the embossed panel to help it stand out a little.  I also added some paper piercing and the thick black stripeded ribbon to finish off my card.

Sorry for the short post tonight and no list of supplies, but I need to go make a fruit pizza to take to my sister's house tonight.  My dear husband and I are going to visit with my nephew while my 8th grader attends a junior high dance.  Oh, the life of a teenage parent.  Sigh!  : )

Thanks for peeking in on me today.  Have a great weekend!

PPA38 & OCC Beautiful Butterflies Challenge

Today's card is a result of two challenges.  I decided to play along with Pals Paper Arts PPA38 sketch challenge and Our Creative Corner's Beautiful Butterflies challenge.  I love the simple layout of this sketch and using Stampin' Up!'s square punches make it a breeze to assemble a card such as this one.  When I saw Our Creative Corner's challenge this week, I automatically thought of the Beautiful Wings Embosslits die in the Occassions Mini Catalog.  (You still have until April 30th to purchase Occassions Mini products.  Wink!  Wink!) 

I actually thought I had an original thought this time combining the butterflies with this sketch challenge.  (You that follow my blog know that original ideas from me are sadly few and far between.  I'm a CASEr.  It's sad, but true!)  Imagine my despair when I popped over to Nancy Riley's blog ISTAMP only to find she had the same idea too!  Now, don't get me wrong.  I'm not overly upset about it.  I actually admire the great and wonderful Nancy and to think that I actually was thinking like her was a pure BLISS moment for me!  Although, I have to admit her card is much more wonderful than mine : )

Well, I must get back to the drawing board.  I'm working on a birdhouse card.  I've seen them everywhere and I'm trying to come up with my own pattern for one.  I hope to post it later this week.  Thanks for peeking in on me!  Hope your weekend was a great one!

Supplies:  (All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless noted.)  Stamps - Thank You Kindly; Paper - Sending Love Specialty Paper -  Very Vanilla, Real Red, Chocolate Chip; Ink, - Chocolate Chip Craft Ink, Real Red Classic Ink; Accessories - Beautiful Wings Embosslit Die, Perfect Polka Dots Impressions Folder, Big Shot Machine, Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Gun, Very Vanilla 5/8" Satin Ribbon, Real Red Corduroy Brad,  Sponge Dauber, Pop Up Glue Dots, Mini Glue Dots, Paper Piercer, Mat Pack; Punches - 1 1/4" Square, 1 3/8" Square