Spring MDS style

Spring is such a beautiful time in North Carolina!  These are some pictures I took when the pear trees were in full bloom around my area.  I scrapbooked them in My Digital Studio.  Enjoy!!

Happy Easter 2012

Many people wonder what Easter actually means, as the true meaning of Easter has been lost. What I can tell you is it isn't about cute little fluffy chickens, nor does it have anything to do with Easter bunnies. It isn't even about Easter eggs.  Although an egg can represent 'new life' because new life hatches from the egg, and Jesus was resurrected on the third day - giving us new life in Him. But just like Christmas, the real meaning has been forgotten.  Easter is the day when we celebrate Jesus Christ rising from the dead. Jesus is the Son of God and heroically gave His life to die for our sins. On the third day after He died -- the day we now celebrate as Easter Sunday -- His friends went to His grave, and found that He had risen from the dead. They saw an angel who told them, "Don't be afraid! I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn't here! He has been raised from the dead, just as He said it would happen." Jesus rose from the dead on Easter Sunday; now He offers to you the gift of eternal life and forgiveness of sins.

Celebrate this gift of Jesus today with your friends and family.  I will be going to church with my Mom and sister in their brand new church.  This will be their first service to be held in the new church and they are so excited to see it.  I only wish I could also be celebrating Easter with my daughter and my son and his family.  

39 Years!

Today is our 39th wedding anniversary.  Wow!  Hard to believe.  We've had our ups and downs like any couple but hung in there and made it work.  I think young people today don't understand that concept.   I read an article several years ago that said statistics tell us that first marriages today stand a 45 percent chance of breaking up and second marriages a 60 percent chance!  That's a lot!  Divorce has increased not only in frequency but also in acceptance it seems like. And even if we don’t focus on figures per se,  today far more marriages end in divorce than a couple of decades ago.  I attribute a lot of these failures to the "Me-Now" generation.  Why stay in a difficult or loveless relationship? Move on! Find whatever it is that will provide happiness.  I grew up and saw divorce in my own family.  My mother was divorced when I was about 2 years old, my grandparents divorced (but later remarried plus it was a family secret about their divorce and I didn't even know it until I was in my teens because they had always been together in my lifetime.); my uncle was divorced, my aunt was divorced .... So, my cousin, who was my best friend back then, and I were afraid of marriage and determined that when we did marry, it would be forever.  Unfortunately, that was not the case with her - I think she is on her third or fourth marriage.  So you can understand how important 39 years together is to me.  Just hope we live to make it to 50!!

Here is the card I made for Sonny.  I saw the sentiment on the front of the card somewhere and just knew I had to use it.  I created the circle with the sentiment on My Digital Studio, printed it and punched it out with my Nesties.  I used the Nautical DSP that is now retired (but I can still get it on MDS.)  The DSP trim piece was cut using the Tasteful Trim Sizzix Die.  The heart stamp is from the SAB set, Sprinkled Occasions.

Inside - uses the sentiment from the retired set, Love Matters.

Was I really that skinny?

Monday Mailer cards from March

I received some wonderful Monday Mailers last month.  My partner was Pat Wilkerson and she is a great stamper.  She always makes the best cards so I was super glad to be paired with her.  Here are the last two cards she sent me which I will be CASE-ing!

I think this is what is called a Cascading Card.  It is wonderful!  I just have to take it apart and figure it out.  It uses Mixed Bunch from the mini.  I think it looks harder than it really is!

Isn't this a cool one?  Fold the card stock into a bird house and use Language of Friendship for the bird!  I just love it!

Opened bird house

My brother-in-law flew back to Texas today.  I think he had a good trip.  I can't wait to see what their adventure will be next year.  They are talking about looking into a train trip out west.  I suggested they take Route 66 and see where it takes them.  We had a fish fry last night and invited my mom and sister to come help us eat the catfish.  It was fish that they caught last May when Jack was here and I had frozen it.  It's easier for Sonny and I to go out to eat when we want fried fish than to cook it for 2 people.  But I made macaroni salad, brownies, hush puppies and fish.  Sonny cooked the fish and hush puppies outside so I didn't have the smell in the house.  It sure brought back memories.  When we used to go to visit my sister and brother-in-law and my dad and step mother, we would always have a fish fry.  My mother in law made the best macaroni salad and I use her recipe and Debbie (sister) always had sweets - usually a batch of brownies.  One year when we were there, we had a very memorable fish fry and it is always mentioned whenever we get together.  The guys - Sonny, Jack and Papa - had gone fishing all day and had a few lot of beers.  When they returned home, they went out back to get the fire started to cook the fish.  Our kids were pretty small so we went ahead and fed them first with the first batch of fish.  When the adults sat down to eat and we all had put food on our plate, Helen (my step mother) looked at her fish and asked Papa when he started putting pepper on the fish.  Well, about that time, one of us noticed that the pepper was moving.  It was not pepper but it was ants!  The grease they had used had been outside and was full of ants which of course, they hadn't noticed!  Debbie, Helen and I all dumped out our fish out but the guys knew better.  They just kept eating and telling us how great it was and that those ants wouldn't hurt us.  It was several years before our kids found out that we had fed them fish with ants!!  It's a family story now that none of us will forget.

Summer Smooch Time!

My hubby is on his way home.  I think he is a little jealous that he missed our impromptu surprise guest last night.  Ashley has been at Yale (Connecticut) meeting with a couple of professors that she will be doing a research project with since Sunday.  She was scheduled to fly home last night.  But unfortunately, she had to go through the Dallas airport.  Since there were 6-13 tornadoes that hit that area yesterday, the Dallas airport was closed.  When she called to tell me that, I suggested that she see if she could get re-routed to Charlotte.  And she did!  I picked her up at the airport a little after 9 pm and we paid an unexpected visit to her grandmother who was quite surprised to see her.  She came home with me; we watched The Voice; went to sleep and I drove her back to the airport this morning for a 10 a.m. flight.  Short but sweet visit!   

I also have had another visitor since Sonny left .... Sammie, my mom's cat!  For some reason, the cat does not like my mom and has bitten and/or scratched her several times in the past year. (Might have something to do with the fact that Mom is legally blind and probably steps on Sammie!!)  He did it again while I was in Texas and we decided that was enough.  My sister, Angela, took Sammie to the Humane Society last Wednesday but they wouldn't take her.  So, I told her to bring Sammie to my house and I would keep her until Sonny returned and we found a no kill shelter for her.  Unfortunately, we have not found anyplace for her and I am getting more and more attached!  The funny thing is I have hardly seen Sammie since she's been here.  She's the type of cat that likes to stay hidden and wants to play with you on her terms.  It took me a couple of days when she first got here to even find her.  I finally found her under the couch.  But once I found that spot, she found another hiding spot - in my closet on a shelf!  I discovered that spot by accident so now she hides behind my clothes and shoes on the floor.  Ashley looked for her last night while she was here - in the closet - and told me she wasn't in there and shut the door.  I opened the door and there she was!  She did come out of hiding last night while Ashley was here and we played a while before bed time.   So, I may have inherited myself a cat!  We'll see when Sonny comes home.

I love the name of Stampin' Up!'s April Promotion…Summer Smooches.  Since Summer is such a great time of the year,  the products put me in mind of all the fun activities to do in the summer.  The cute little set, Bright Blossoms, is just SO fun and fits my idea of summer.  AND… the Summer Smooches Designer Paper is so bright and cute and wonderful, I know it will be a favorite!   Fabric Buttons, Fabric, a new PURSE die, ribbon, a Decor Elements Stencil…just look at all those great things!  Stampin' Up! is giving YOU, our customers, a chance to get the Summer Smooches products early in April, prior to it being released in the big catalog on June 1st!  So…take advantage and order yours today! 

You can order Stampin' Up's Summer Smooches products now!

Products in the Summer Smooches suite (click to see) will only be available through April 30--and then won't be available again until the new 2012-2013 catalog is released.

Just a reminder -

The Retired Stamp List will be released on April 15, 2012.

The Retired Accessories/Décor Elements Lists will be released on April 25, 2012.

2010-2012 In Colors will also be retiring.  Stock up now before they Sell out!!!!

Easter Cards

I've been busy working on Easter cards and I need to get them in the mail soon!  Thought I'd share a few of them with you.

I just love this bunny!  (non SU)  I tore the green for the grass and sponged a little Very Vanilla ink on it.

This is a clear set that I picked up a few years ago at Wal Mart.  I stamped the sentiment (Teeny Tiny Wishes) on SU vellum. 

These Easter eggs are from a retired set (boo hoo) from last year, Easter Blossoms.  I was so hoping it would have made it into the catalog.  The DSP is from the In Color Paper Stack.  I stamped the eggs in Wisteria Wonder, Blushing Bride and Pool Party and used the Blushing Bride Pleated Satin Ribbon.

I had to make a flowery card!  Love this stamp set - Field Flowers.  I stamped the leaves and stems directly onto the cardstock,  cut out the flowers and popped them up with dimensionals.  I used a "nestie" to cut the oval.  The DSP in the back is from Twitterpated.  I stamped the sentiment on both sides so you can view it through the window from either side.

This is a square card which I don't usually make (don't want to pay the extra postage!)  But, I wanted to use the round nestie for the image and it fit best this way.  I colored the image with Copics and cut the lilies out and popped them out.  The purple background paper is really recycled!  It is an old Hallmark card that I had saved!!  

How do you like my new blog background and banner?  I made them using My Digital Studio.  It was time for a spring change.

Sonny and Jack are still on their big adventure in DC.  They have been gone a whole week now!  Today they were going to the National Cathedral and then to one of our favorite restaurants - The Original Pancake House - before they hit the highway again. Sonny had called me yesterday to tell me they were heading home today but last night he called back to say there was a change of plans.  So, I found a hotel for them (on line) and they are headed to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.  I was glad because I know Jack will really enjoy seeing the battlefield there.   I am happy they are having fun but I do believe this is the longest we have been apart (if you count in the week I was in Texas).  But he will be back in time for our anniversary on Saturday.  39 years!!  Wow - hard to believe!

More MDS San Antonio and Important Dates

I did a few more pages today with My Digital Studio from my San Antonio trip.  I even went back and added a few more flourishes to the pages I did yesterday!! 

This will be the cover

Here are some dates for you to know:

Sunday, April 15, 2012

RETIRING STAMPIN' UP! STAMP SET LIST

RELEASED

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

RETIRING STAMPIN' UP! ACCESSORIES LIST

RELEASED

(remember.. these are first come first served.. many items can run out the first day!)

Monday, April 30, 2012

LAST DAY TO ORDER FROM THE

OCCASIONS MINI CATALOG!

Thursday, May 31, 2012

This is the LAST DAY for the Current

Stampin' Up! catalog!!!

(note: this is one month earlier than stated on the catalog)

Friday, June 1, 2012

First day of the NEW Stampin' Up! Catalog!

Sale-A-Bration is over .... boo hoo!  But there are a lot of good things coming up.

Scrapbooking San Antonio Trip

I'm home!  We had a wonderful time.  There just wasn't enough time in the day to do .... and eat .... everything that we wanted to!  Oh well, another time.  We got home Tuesday night and my brother-in-law, Jack, flew in about an hour after I did so that worked out well.   Now I'm having another mini vacation - Jack and Sonny left Wednesday morning for a "guy's trip" to DC.  They must be having fun because I haven't heard from them since they called to let me know they got there ok.   I hope the weather there is as gorgeous as it has been here the past few days.  Our weather was wonderful the whole time we were in Texas.  We were so lucky to have missed all the tornado activity they had the day before our arrival.

 I have been scrapbooking my trip to San Antonio with My Digital Studio.  I will share with you the pages I have finished that highlight the Riverwalk.  The pages were so easy to do.  I used Delight In The Day designer template and just inserted my pictures and added the text.  Easy Peasy!!

(you can click on the picture and see them better)

Stamping Queens Sketch

My Stamping Queens challenge for the week will make you hungry!  I used My Digital Studio for this sketch.  It was an easy sketch this week.  Why don't you give it a try?

Also, check out the other Queens' sketches HERE.

Travels and Monday Mailer

We are having a wonderful time in San Antonio and it is hard to believe we have to get on the plane tomorrow to head back home.  We have been shopping, eating (a lot!!), visiting friends and family and just plain having fun!!  Ashley took off from work while we were here so that made it even better.  We started out having Mexican food the night we arrived and followed it up on Thursday at the River Walk and having Mexican for lunch.  We also took the water taxi tour down the river - something I have not done in years.  Thursday night, Ashley had tickets for us to go hear Jeb Bush speak at Trinity University (her college).  He was very interesting and spoke mostly about educating our children.  Friday we went to San Marcos outlet shopping .... spending 1 1/2 hour in the Vera Bradley store!!  Later we went to Austin to meet a friend for drinks, although when she arrived and ordered water, we knew something was up!  Yep - she is pregnant and we are excited for her and her hubby.  Next my nephew, his wife and new baby joined us and I got to see Jack Frost IV!!  What a cutie!!  Saturday we visited a couple of the Missions in San Antonio and got a Nat'l Park Service tour of one of them where we all learned some things.  Sunday after church, some of Ashley's friends came over and we cooked out and visited.  The little ones went swimming but the water was too cold for the adults!!  Last night we went to see The Hunger Games.  It was really good!!  Today we drove over to Gruene, about a 45 minute drive and wandered around in and out of the cute little shops as well as doing a bit of wine tasting.  We have eaten a little of everything - Mexican (of course) 3 times, Rudy's BBQ, Italian, Thai, Texas Chicken Fried Steak .....!!  Diet starts Wednesday!!

Before I left I made my Monday Mailer cards.  Here is one of them.

This is a white on white card.  I stamped the flower from Fresh Vintage first and then used the Designer Frames Embossing Folder to emboss around the flower.  I stamped the little border from Fresh Vintage in Concord Crush as I did the flowers in the stamp set.  This was a fun card to make.  All items came from Saleabration!  This is the FINAL WEEK to take advantage of the great Saleabration items.