Retiring Stamps

What have I been doing for a week (since I last posted on my blog)????  Well, probaby like everyone else .... I have been at home!  I've been taking long walks, making more cards, eating too much .... you know how it is!  Mother's Day was last Sunday and what a different Mother's Day it was.  I had a bit of a pity party for myself Sunday morning.  I was missing my kids and knew I'd only hear from one of them and I was missing my mom although we saw her on Saturday and I did see Ashley via Zoom on Saturday too.  It was funny on Saturday.  We all met up at this restaurant that was closed and had our own tailgate.  Marianne and Greg came with their Chick Filet, Mom and Angela showed up with McDonald's, I had Jets pizza and salad and Sonny enjoyed a burger from 5 Guys!  I guess that's one good thing about the food situation - you can go to whichever restaurant you want and then just find a good spot in a parking lot to enjoy.  We were socially distant in the parking lot (brought our own chairs too!)  Mom has a mask but as long as we were masked, we didn't make her put hers on.

Before I show you some of the cards I've made, I want to show you our newest member of the family - Abigail!  She is one week and 2 days old!

The new catalog will be available June 3.  If you are a customer of mine, you will be receiving one in the mail.  If not, contact me and I can send you one.  Here are a few cards I have made with some of the retiring stamps.  If you see something you like, I would suggest you purchase it now before they are gone for good.

This Little Piggy is a really cute set.  I paired it with Under the Umbrella (which is NOT retiring)  The music notes are from Music from the Heart.

This card and the next two are made using Music from the Heart.  I am really surprised that this stamp is retiring.  It deputed in the last Mini Catalog and was inspired by Million Sales Achiever Dawn Olchefske.  

I will be keeping this stamp set to make cards for my music loving friends and family.  

Here is another jewel!  I love these dancing women.  Another great birthday card for your friends. 

Mother's Day Cards 2017

I can't believe I have not written on this blog all month!!  May has just been crazy for me with Mother's Day, graduations, traveling, company, stamp club and just regular life happenings!  Our friends from Texas came to visit for a week in early May.  Margaret and I were able to do some stamping and also had time to fit in a few shopping excursions while the guys went to South Carolina with a group for target shooting for a few days.  They returned on a Thursday and on Friday we attended my nephew's graduation party.  Wouldn't you know it - it was nice and warm all week but on Friday it was downright cold and the party was outside!  We all had our jackets and sweaters on plus they had a fire going in the back yard so that made it fun for everyone.  Margaret and Graham were able to have their first smore!!  On Saturday, Sonny dropped me and our friends off at the Charlotte airport.  They were catching a plane back to Dallas and I was on my way to New Orleans to meet Ashley.  She had a conference there the week before and took a few days of leave for some "girl time."  We had a great time exploring parts of the city we had never been before.  Plus we took a cooking class at New Orleans School of Cooking that was wonderful!  We learned to make gumbo, shrimp and grits, pralines and bananas foster with crepes!  It was a short trip - we both headed back home on Tuesday.  The day after I returned home, Sonny went back to Myrtle Beach with a group of guys for 5 days of golfing.  While he was gone, I drove to Haw River State Park with my downline for the NC Quarterly.  We ran into some terrible weather driving down there Friday - heavy rain and hail - and on our return trip Saturday - it was road construction that had us at a dead stop for about 45 minutes!  I could hardly get out of bed on Sunday because my back was killing me.  I'm sure it was from being tensed up from the drive and sitting all day on Saturday.  In the midst of all this, I am worried about my mom and a health issue of mine.  Mom is having difficulty getting her breath and the dr. thinks it is congestive heart failure.  She is going to see a cardiologist hopefully tomorrow or Friday.  I had some blood work done last week and my liver count was elevated.  So I was a little worried.  Yesterday I saw my doctor and had more blood work done and everything is back to normal now so I didn't really need to worry!

These are the cards I made for Mothers Day.

This one was made for my mom.  This set is retiring and I have not used it enough!!!

For this card, I used the a mask to sponge Pool Party on the white cardstock.  I also used Gorgeous Grunge (a favorite that is also retiring - boo hoo) to lightly stamp the background.  The flower stamp set is a new one in the 2017-18 catalog, Daisy Delight.  I think you will be seeing a lot of this set!

For this card, I paired the old with the new.  The old is Swirly Scribbles and Thoughtful Banners with it's matching punch (both are carrying over to the new catalog).  The new is the Oh So Eclectic stamp set and the new in-color ink colors - Powder Pink and my favorite, Lemon Lime Twist.  I sponged the half doily.

This card uses the Daisy Delight stamp set and I sprinkled a few sequins around.  The ribbon is retired.

Another card using new products!  The sentiment is from Lovely Friends and the flowers are again from Oh So Eclectic.  The DSP is a great one called Color Theory.  I can't wait for you to be able to order this pack of paper.  It features six designs in four colors - Berry Burst (new In Color & the one I used above), Old Olive, Crushed Curry and Dapper Denim.  The designs include pages that look like a paint chip, some pages of color gradients, and some with a crackle appearance (which I used.)  They come in a 6"x6" pad - 4 each of the 12 double sided designs.  The card above also uses another new in color, Tranquil Tide.

April Blog Hop - Thankful for Mothers

Welcome to the April NC Blog Hop!  We are happy to share our Mother's Day projects with you.  Mother's Day is just around the corner - May 14.  I will be in New Orleans with my daughter on Mother's Day - wonder what we will do special!

Here are a few facts that I didn't know about Mothers Day -

In the US, Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of May.  In some countries, it was changed to dates that were significant to the majority religion or to historical dates.  In most Arab countries, Mother's Day is always celebrated on the 21st of March, which is the Spring equinox.  In the United Kingdom and Ireland, Mother's Day is celebrated on the fourth Sunday in Lent (Mothering Sunday).

Ok - now that you have learned a few facts, it's time to share my Mother's Day cards with you.  I think you'll be able to figure out my favorite new In Color!!

This first card is a sneak peek at a new stamp set - Lovely Inside and Out.  (It also has a coordinating set of thinlits.)  I paired the Lemon Lime Twist with black and love how the colors pop!  I also used Work of Art on the card and some retired washi tape.

This is the card I will be giving to my mom.  She loves flowers.  I took her yesterday to a local nursery and she bought a hanging basket that attracts hummingbirds and a camelia bush.  I ended up buying her a second hanging basket for her porch for an early Mother's Day gift since I will be out of town.  Mom is 88 and legally blind so she has a little trouble getting around.  The people at the nursery were great with her.  They got a wagon and pulled her around the nursery in it!!  I wish I had thought to take a picture.

This card uses another sneak peek stamp set - Oh So Eclectic which also has matching thinlits!  The "Happy" is from the new Happy Birthday thinlet - I just cut away the birthday portion.  The bird is stamped in Lemon Lime Twist and Always Artichoke.  The flowers are Fresh Fig and Berry Burst which is also the color of the card stock.The Mother's Day sentiment is from the retiring Crazy About You.

My final card is oh so simple!  I wish you could see how sparkly it is up close with Wink of Stella on the Dragonfly wings.  I stamped the dragonfly from Dragonfly Dreams in Lemon Lime Twist (told you it's my fav!), Peekaboo Peach and Soft Sky.  Each was stamped off first.  The body was stamped full strength.  The sentiment comes from another sneak peek set - Happy Birthday Gorgeous.

I hope you enjoyed the cards I made to share with you today.  Hop on along to the next blog and see what Laurie has in store for you.

Our April Blogs:

Tamra Davis
Jo Anne Hewins
Michelle Irinyl
Melissa Kerman
Tracie Evans Langley
Sharon Maranich (you are here)
Laurie Meier
Lisa Tedder 
Frances Wagner

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there.  I hope your day is special.

I'm sad that I am not with either of my children but I know I will be talking to at least one of them plus we will be seeing Ashley on Tuesday.  I am going to my sister's house in the afternoon and we will be celebrating our mom with a cook out.  I have made potato salad and coleslaw and some fresh salsa - yum!

Here is the card I made for my mom using Indescribable Gift from the Occasions Catalog:

My mom is the best.  She has always been there for me, no matter what.  She believes in me wholeheartedly and thinks I can do no wrong.  I haven't always been the best daughter, I know.  Over the years, I have learned, with my own children, that being a mom is sometimes a thankless job but one I would not give up for all the tea in China.  My mom has always been the one I turn to when things go wrong.  I know she always has my back.  She wiped my bottom, wiped away my tears, and was always my biggest cheerleader.  I want to take this opportunity to thank my mom for always being there for me.

I have loved being a mother too.  I have two kids that I love with all my heart.  We may not always see eye-to-eye, but I hope they know I always love them and would do anything for them. I have many fond memories - as I hope they do - of them growing up and all the things we did as a family.  I will worry about my children for the rest of my life - they are my treasures and will always be on my mind no matter how old they are.

 Being estranged from my son on Mother's Day makes it a little tough.  I have recently read that estrangements between adult children and their parents these days is a silent epidemic.  I believe this. It's amazing how many people I have talked to that are estranged from some member of their family. When it is your own child, it really hurts but I always have hope that a resolution is in my future.

Mother's Day should not just be one day of the year.  It takes so little to show your appreciation on a more frequent basis and I am going to make an effort to do just that.  Whether it's a quick cup of tea, a movie, going shopping or simply telling your Mother how much you love, appreciate and treasure her, consider doing this often.  Simply say .... Mom, I love you!  My daughter does this for me.  I always know she is there and she loves me unconditionally.  We never hang up the phone without saying "I love you."  It's the little things.

Thanks Mom for making me the woman I am today.  I thank you, love you and am sending you a big hug!

And thanks to my daughter for being my best friend and the greatest daughter in the world.

Mother's Day Card

I think cold weather is behind us!  Today I think the temps got up to 86.  It was sure nice - just about boating season!  Sonny bought a new battery today for the boat; I think he'll be putting it in the water soon.  His hip is still bothering him.  In fact, he is scheduled for a hip replacement May 20!!  He needs both hips done but the dr. doesn't want to do both at the same time.  So, hopefully, this one won't be too bad and he will schedule the second one soon after recovering from the first one.

I worked a bit on my card stock organization today.  I love my rolling cart which is where I store loose card stock by color.  I kept scraps in a baggie that I dropped in each color folder but it was a pain to pull out each baggie and I found myself just dropping scraps into the folder.  So I ransacked the house looking for manila folders which I stapled together on the sides and put in the color folders.  Then I put my scraps in each one of them.  Now I just need a few more folders!

It has been a while since I just made a card for fun.  So I pulled out Indescribable Gift and did some watercoloring.  I love to watercolor and love how this card turned out.

The colors I used were:  Always Artichoke, Rose Red and Baked Brown Sugar.  I stamped the image onto watercolor paper and embossed it with white embossing powder.  Then I used my Aqua Pen and ink that I had squeezed into the lid of the inks to color. 

Mother's Day Cards

I got a couple of Mother's Day cards today in the mail.  Wonder how long I can "milk" Mothers Day??!!!  Both cards use punches on the front.

This is the card Ashley sent.  Isn't it great?!!  She used a butterfly punch with dimensionals.  And the two buttons .... love it!  I particularly liked the gift certificate that was inside too!!

This next card is from my upline, Carol.  She used a flower punch on the front with the Polka Dot DSP behind it.

I am heading to Charleston, SC tomorrow.  Sonny and I are driving down and meeting Ashley there.  She has a conference there this week.  Charleston is such a great city.  I haven't been there in about 14 years.  Ashley and I took Marianne there for her 40th birthday.  I'm ready for a little R&R!!  It's been about 5 months since I took a trip ... too long!!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day!  I hope to be spending much of the day with my mother.  And although I won't be with my own children for Mother's Day, I hope to at least get a phone call!  I will see Ashley next week in Charleston and can't wait!

This is the card I made for Mom using the wonderful Blendabilities!  I love them and will be sharing more in the coming weeks.

My Mother's Day Card

I received a beautiful Mother's Day card from my sweet daughter.  What a lot of work went into this card .... especially knowing that she does not own a square punch!  She cut all these squares out with her cutter.  Wow!  She told me that this would have been an easy card to make using MDS.  So I thought I'd give it a try!

I made my "inchie" card into a birthday card.  So, what do you think?  Ashley's is better because it has a lot more elements but an MDS card is very "doable"!!

Sonny and I are headed to Florida tomorrow to celebrate our anniversary a little late.  It's been a long time since we took a little vacation - just the two of us.  He is not a big fan of the beach and I think I could live at the beach.  But, he is being a good sport.  We are staying on Amelia Island at Fernandino Beach which I think is a pretty quiet little beach.  I've got a few good books packed, my sunscreen and my bathing suit .... ready to relax!

Happy Mother's Day!

Hope your day is special!  We are taking my mom out to eat this afternoon.  We are hoping to miss the crowd by going around 3 pm. 

I've been busy the past few days trying to learn how to use my new smart phone!  It's sad when a phone is smarter than a person!!  The kid I bought the phone from at Verizon ran through the instructions so fast my head was spinning when I left!  I'm planning on going back to take a class on how to use my phone and find out about all the apps.  In the meantime, I did learn how to play Words With Friends!  I had dinner last night with Marianne and Greg and she helped me out with my new phone.  Although I think my phone doesn't like me.  Every time I power it on I get a little green man who I'm guessing is the Droid laying down.  He stays like that for a while before continuing to power on.  Not sure what that is about.  Looks like I killed him!

I've been working on making cards using the retired card stock and stamps sets that didn't make it into the new catalog.  Button Buddies is one of them.  It was one of my favorites when it first came out but I have to admit, I didn't use it near as much as I thought I would. 

This one was easy!  I just stamped the flower in the Button Buddies set with white craft ink and embossed them all with white embossing powder.  Then I glued a button in the center of each flower.  The card stock is Certainly Celery.

Wonderful Mother's Day Card

Well, the Red Cross has disappointed again.  We got a call yesterday that they had opened a shelter for the local flooding victims and needed volunteers to man the shelter.  We told them we could work it from 1-7 today since I had a meeting this morning.  The shelter was set up in north Charlotte and when Sonny and I arrived, there was no one there.  And I don't mean no clients, but no workers ... no one!  I called the Lake Norman office to see what was going on and was told they had closed the shelter at noon.  Didn't we get a call?  NO!!  Sonny and I both have cell phones and had them turned on but nothing and when we arrived home, there was no message waiting for us there either.  You know that old adage, three strikes and you're out?  Well, we're OUT!   Every time we've worked a shelter, there has either been no one needing our services or one person.  It would make much more sense to put one person in a hotel rather than all the manpower necessary to set up a shelter!

OK - on to other things.  I made a Mothers Day card for the Paper Craft Crew challenge using MDS.  I love using this trick with ribbon.  I used the grosgrain ribbon bow and cropped it so I just had one loop; copy, paste and voila, two loops.  It's a pretty simple card but I think I will be printing this one out for my mom for Mother's Day.  Now I just have to find a gift for her.

Make sure you visit the Paper Craft Crew Blog site and check out what the other members have done with the sketch.  And while you're at it, make your own card using the sketch.

Happy Mothers Day!

Happy Mothers Day to all you moms!  Hope you have a restful, peaceful day and are with the ones you love.

What a busy few days this has been!  I would truthfully been happy to just stay in bed and stay home all day today but don't think that will be the plan! 

Friday Sonny & I were in Shelby for an all day CPR/First Aid class.  You have to get certified in CPR every 3 years but I just wish there was a quickie 2-3 hour course to go over the basics!  There probably is but our instructors on Friday were new - we were their first class I think - and they covered every detail.  Oh well, we are done for 3 years anyway. 

My mom had back surgery on Friday (outpatient).  I hated that I was not there but she was in good hands with Marianne and Angela.  Besides, what could I have done except keep them company in the waiting room for several hours?  She came through the surgery fine.  The doctor said she definitely had spinal stenosis and she should have relief after the surgery.  She was in Recovery for a while dealing with the pain but by 3 pm, she was headed back home.  I went over to visit her after my CPR class.  She was sitting up in her chair watching tv.  Her main complaint now is that it hurts when she gets up and down to go to the bathroom.  But any surgery is going to take time to heal and she needs to be patient.  I talked to my sister today and she is not doing so great today.  I think she thought after the surgery, she would be instantly better.  But any time you have surgery, you have got to expect pain for a while.  She just needs to be patient.

Marianne's son, Derek, graduated from UNC-C yesterday.   We didn't attend the graduation - he only got 6 tickets and they went to the grandparents.  But that was ok - sitting through graduations is not the most fun .... especially when your last name starts with "W"!!  But we went to the party afterwards.  Sonny and I went over early to set things up while they were attending graduation.  We had a great time.  It is hard for me to believe that Derek is 22 and a college graduate!  Where does the time go??

I received a beautiful Mothers Day card yesterday from Ashley.  I just might be CASE-ing this card!!

Here are the beautiful flowers Ashley sent to me on Thursday:

Now I'm crossing my fingers hoping for a call today from my son!

I'll be going over to visit Mom and take her her Mother's Day gift and card later today.  Unfortunately, she does not feel up to going out, but that's ok!  As long as she gets better, we will all be happy.

Mothers Day Cards

I was good this weekend!  I went to the Used Stamp Sale at Stamper's Alley and only spent $10.00!  Yeah for me!  I bought a Desktop Carousel for scissors, pens, etc. for $6.  I've seen them at M's for much more!  And two stamp sets for $2 each.  They are SU and never been used.  I will use them for my customers as a little thank you.  So, not bad!  After the sale, I pampered myself with a pedicure and then ran a few errands and had some BBQ for lunch.  I love NC Eastern style pork BBQ and Sonny does not and I have been hankering for some and it was yummy!!   Friday night we met some friends out for dinner and enjoyed a great catfish meal!  Not so good on the calorie count, but who's counting?!! 

I have a couple of cards to share with you that I received in April for my Monday Mailers.  They are both Mother's Day cards which is great because I have a very busy week and might not have time to make a card.  I already have my mother's gift bought - just need to find a box and wrap it.  Plus, Saturday is my nephew's graduation from UNC-C and Marianne is having a party for him. 

Isn't this beautiful?  I have not purchased this bird die and wasn't planning to, but I keep seeing some beautiful cards using it.  I love the color combo on this one.

Another beautiful card.  It's hard to see the embossing on this one but it is embossed with the Adorning Accents dotted embossing folder just below the flower.

I have two Red Cross classes this week.  Tomorrow we travel to Gastonia for a Social Media class.  Sounds like an odd one for Red Cross, huh?  But, we have to be able to talk to reporters, etc. when we are at a disaster and know what information to give out.  Then on Friday, we are taking a CPR class in Shelby.  So, I have a busy week ahead of me - Soup Kitchen on Tuesday; taking Mom for her pre-op visit on Wednesday; Stamp Club on Thursday .....!! 

Happy Mother's Day

I hope all you mother's out there are having an enjoyable day and were able to spend it with your children.  I got to talk to my daughter this morning and she wished me a Happy Mother's Day.  Unfortunately, didn't hear from my son.  I didn't expect to but one can hope, can't she?

We met my sisters and my mom in Mooresville this afternoon and had a great day.  We had lunch at Sonny's BBQ where mom's ate free so that was nice.  Then we went over to a new wing restaurant that had opened to try out their desserts.  We all had chocolate chip cookies with chocolate sauce and ice cream served warm in a small frying pan .... except for Sonny who had fudge brownie with ice cream.  Needless to say, I think we all needed wheelbarrows to roll us out!!  Sonny won't have to worry about finding something for us for dinner that's for sure!

Now that I have given all my Mother's Day cards out, I can share the last ones that I gave to some special mothers locally.

 This is a 5 1/2" square card that I made for Brenda at Stamper's Alley.  I used the big flowers from the SU Sizzix Die (Flower Fold) in Melon Mambo and Regal Rose DSP.  The spinner wheel is from the Occasions Mini (Take A Spin).  I sure hope this stamp set makes it into the big catalog this summer!  The leaves are petals that I ran through my crimper.  I also pierced the card all along the edges.

This card I made for my Mom.  She kept fingering the flower trying to figure out how I made it!   If you missed the directions, you can find them HERE.

This is the card I made for my sister - in purple of course!!  The stamp set is Because I Care, a Level 1 Hostess set.  The card is Concord Grape.  The Certainly Celery pieces sticking out of the sides of the Top Note is the Curly Label punch cut in half.

 This card is the same as Marianne's (above) EXCEPT for the flower!!  I CASE'd this flower from Kristeen Gill whom I came across while blog-surfing.  I love this card but it will probably not be one I make again or any time soon!  It would also need a special box to send it.  Luckily, I was delivering this one to my neighbor and friend, Judy so just put it in a cello bag and took it to her.

For the flower, I cut a syrofoam ball in half and sanded the bottom to get it as smooth as possible.  I punched a bunch of small flowers with the Itty Bitty Shapers Punch Set.  (I just got these punches and don't know what I did before!!)  I sponged the flowers with Baja Blue.  To get them to curl up, I used my stylus and a piece of foam and pressed the flowers in the middle.  Then I sponged the tips in Marina Mist.  I inserted them into the styrofoam ball with straight pins with the pearl heads.  I had to cut about half of the pin off with wire snips because they were too long.  Oh - I also put a layer of  glue on the styrofoam ball before inserting the pins to make sure they would stick.

Mothers Day Cards

I've been busy the past few days working on my Mother's Day cards.  I don't know why I always wait until the last minute to do these things!!  Oh well, makes life interesting!

Supplies:

• Paper:  Pink Pirouette, Melon Mambo, Whisper White
• Ink:  Melon Mambo
• Stamps:  Medallion, All Holidays
• Dies:  Beautiful Wings Embosslit Die, Elegant Bouquet & Tulip Embossing Folders
• Accessories:  Stampin’ Sponges,  Dimensionals, 1 3/4" Circle Punch

Supplies:

• Paper:  Whisper White, Springtime Vintage DSP (retired), Cherry Cobbler, Wild Wasabi
  
• Ink:  Cherry Cobbler
• Stamps:   All Holidays
  
•  Accessories:  Bird Punch, non SU punch, XL Oval Punch, Sponge Daubers

Notice how I cut away the top of the Label Punch to simulate a vase!

Supplies:

• Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Pear Pizzaz, Whisper White
  
• Ink: Black, Markers:  Pear, Cherry Cobbler
• Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes; Four Frames
  
• Punches: Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Bird Punch, 3/4" Circle
  
• Accessories: Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding, Cutter Kit (for distressing), Pearls

This is the paper that you could have ordered last month.  It will be in the 2011-12 catalog.

Supplies:

• Paper:   River Rock, Bravo Burgundy, Paisley Petals DSP
  
• Ink:  Bravo Burgundy
• Stamps:  All Holidays
  
• Dies:  Spellbind
  
• Accessories:   Daubers, Rhinestones

Supplies:

• Paper:    Whisper White, Peach Parfait, non SU DSP
  
• Ink:  Peach Parfait
• Stamps:   All Holidays
• Punches:  XL Oval, Bird Punch
  
• Accessories:  Stampin’ Sponges,  Dimensionals, 

This is a non-SU card that I watercolored with my markers and used Stickles for sparkle!