Happy Anniversary, Happy Birthday!

Hi, there!

It's been a little while since I've been here on my blog.  Life has been busy with visiting a sick family member.  We did manage to get some fun time away, though, for a break in the action by going camping with my sister and her husband for a few days last week.  It was perfect weather right near Lake Erie.  We had lots of fun bike riding, playing corn hole, and cooking delicious meals over the fire.  I have a few photos and just tried downloading them from my phone, but now I can't access them on my computer.  Ah, technology...isn't what I'm good at, so I'll have to ask my son for help.

Anyways, the above card is for my friend's anniversary.  I used this same image for my MIL for Mother's Day if you remember seeing the image.  It's a wonderful set from Avery Elle.  I really enjoyed coloring the flowers with copics.

Next up, a card for my great nephew who is turning sixteen soon.  I thought you can't go wrong with balloons and cake.  The image is from Sunny Studio.  The frame is from MFT.  I probably should have placed the candles different, but I already had the 6 candle glued down and didn't want the one candle to hide the candles at the top, oh well...live and learn, lol!

Well, that's all for now.  I hope you are having wonderful weather where you are.  It is a perfect day here in the 70's with the sun shining.  We certainly could use some rain.  I don't think we will have rain until possibly this Sunday.  We watered the flowers on Friday and I'm sure we will be watering again soon.

Take care and thanks so much for dropping by today!

Hugs!

Congratulations!

Hi, Friends!

I hope you are having a great weekend!  It looks like a wonderful sunny day here in NW Ohio.  I need to get out and finish planting flowers.  It looks like a good stretch of weather for the rest of the week.  We'll be able to get a lot of yard work done this week.

The above card is for my great niece who is graduating from high school.  She will be going on to the same college that her sisters did, but she decided to stay on campus unlike the other two.  She wants to experience the campus life.  She lives only a few miles away from the college, so Mom and Dad can keep a close eye on her, lol!  I'm sure she will do fine just as her two older sisters did.  I'm very proud of Sydney and her older sisters, Hailey and Julia.  

For my card, I started with a white card base and added an embossed background panel.  The grad dies are from Simon Says.  The frame is from IO and the congrats die is from Paper Sweeties.  A mix of sequins and stars for the fun shaker card.

Sydney

         (kicker for the football team )

Julia, Sydney, Hailey

I can hardly wait to see my sweet beautiful great nieces for the grad party next month.  We have several grad parties in the family this year and a wedding, too.  June will certainly be a busy month!

Thanks so much for taking the time to drop by today!  Take care and have an awesome week!

Hugs!

Happy Birthday!

Hi, Friends!

I hope you all are doing well and had an awesome Mother's Day!  I had a wonderful weekend to celebrate Mother's Day.  My hubby and son spoiled me by taking me out to dinner twice and grilling out, too.  No cooking for me this weekend, how fun!  They also gave me beautiful cards and gift cards.  They are the best!

The above card is for my sister's birthday next month.  I ordered this set from Sunny Studio last year.  A flamingo is standing near the tiki bar waiting for her tropical drink!  My sis loves flamingos.  I colored the sky with distress inks and colored the sand and water with copics.  One year my nephew made a tiki bar to help celebrate my sis's birthday.  We had tons of fun!  

For the inside of the card, I stamped the elephant in a grass skirt and colored it with copics.  How cute is that elephant?!

It was a nice day yesterday except for the wind and chill in the air.  But, my heart was warm and so thankful to go out with son and hubby to a wonderful restaurant!

Ok, thanks so much for dropping by today!  Take care and have an awesome week!

Hugs!

Happy Mother's Day!

Hello there!

Happy early Mother's Day to you!  Do you have any big plans for the special day?  I know that my son made reservations at a restaurant for us to enjoy.  I told my hubby that I didn't need him or our son to get me anything.  Well, then again, maybe I should have given them a list to any craft store.  Have you seen all the wonderful spring releases lately?  Lots of wonderful new things out there.  I certainly need a bigger craft room, lol!

Anyways, the above card is for my mother-in-law.  I know that she likes the color blue.  She always looks so lovely in the color blue to match her pretty blue eyes.  I hope she likes the card with all the beautiful flowers.  The stamp image is from Avery Elle and the stitched frame is from MFT.  A yarn bow to finish the card.

Ok, well that's all for now.  I hope that you are having good weather where you are.  We finally got a nice sunny day here and I didn't have to wear a coat when hubby took me to lunch.  Next week will even be better!

Thanks so much for taking the time to drop by today!  Take care and have a wonderful weekend!

Hugs!

Thinking of you!

Hello, Friends!

Last weekend I got away from it all and spend some time with friends at a craft retreat here in town.  Lots of food, fun, and crafting.  What could be better than that?!  It was cold, windy, and rainy outside, so it was a perfect time to get away and craft inside.  I made lots of cards about forty or so, but mainly simple cards.  It was easy to create and accomplish a lot for the crafty weekend.

As you can see above, the lovely water can filled with flowers image is from Pretty Pink Posh.  The tag is from Sunny Studio, and the sentiments are from Lawn Fawn.

Next up...

This second card was easy peasy and made with all Lawn stamps and colored with copics.

One more card...

For the last card, I added a butterfly, which is from MFT.  The flower image is from Pretty Pink Posh and the sentiment is from Sunny Studio.  

Well, that's all for now.  Thanks so much for dropping by today!  Just as the sentiment says...I hope your day blooms with happiness!  

Take care, hugs!

Happy Birthday!

Hello, Friends!

I'm back again to enter my butterfly birthday card over at Triple B Challenge.  It's a fun challenge where you need to use at least a bird, butterfly, or flower for your creation.  Or, you can choose all three, how fun!  

It's been gorgeous weather lately, but today it turned rainy and chilly.  There will be a huge drop in temps by tomorrow.  We had 70 to 80 degree weather this past week.  It will only be in the 40's on Monday.  Oh well, I know it will warm up again soon.  Everything is blooming and looking so beautiful!  I can look out the window as I am typing to see the lovely weeping cherry tree, so pretty!

Ok, well I'm here to share with you a very simple card that I made using up some bits from my AI backgrounds that I made on my previous two cards.  I added an orange AI background that I had made, also.  

The butterfly card is from Little Inker Designs.  The sentiment is from SU.  I didn't add any gems or sequins for I think the butterfly needed to shine all by itself.  

Thank you so much for taking the time to drop by today!  Take care and have a great week!

Hugs!

Maria

Happy Birthday!

Hi, Friends!

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter!  We had a great day with lovely weather!  Our son drove up and played the organ for the services and our organist, Sara, played along on the piano.  Many were in their Easter best with lovely outfits!  

I got out my alcohol inks and played a bit for two birthday cards due next month.  I  still have some ink along my one fingernail to prove it, lol.  So messy at times, but it's lots of fun!  The above card is for my friend, Joy.  The teal panel was embossed with a SU embossing folder.  The tulips, butterfly and sentiment are from Hero Arts.  The tulips were embossed in green and place against the AI background.  I die cut frames from MFT.  Gems from Pink Fresh Studio to finish the card. I'm entering this card over at Triple B Challenge.

Next up...

I used the same tulip images as the above card, but just stamped them on the back and fussy cut them.  I added white yarn and gems to finish the card.  This card will be going to my friend, Karen.  Joy and Karen happen to have birthdays on the same day.  How many people do you know that share your birthday?  I have a nephew and a friend who share my birthday.

Well, that's all for now.  The weather will be so lovely this week.  And, it is a welcome change!  I enjoyed a short walk with the dog earlier.  Maybe we'll get our bikes out in a few days for a bike ride.  Thanks so much for dropping by, take care!

Hugs!

Happy Easter!

Hi, Friends!

Easter greetings to you!  I have a few more Easter cards to share with you today.  First up is my Easter card using a die cut background from Concord and 9th.  The scallop oval die is from Newton's Nook.  The flowers are from MFT and butterfly is from Reverse Confetti.  I forget where the die cut cross is from, but I think it's from Simon Says.  I colored the image with copics and the background behind the cross panel was made using distress inks.  I'm entering this card over at Double D Challenge just under the wire.  

Next up...

A very simple Easter card using Color Play paper.  The embossed background was made using an embossing folder from TE.  A cross sticker, Easter sentiment from SU, and ribbon to finish the card.

For my final card...

The tea cup is from Avery Elle.  The flowers, butterflies, and sentiment are from Reverse Confetti.    Gems to finish the card.

 My heart goes out to all those who were affected with storms and tornadoes recently.  I pray for all those going through a difficult time.

Friday night here was scary to me and I couldn't sleep due to the weather and from waiting on news of my best friend's daughter who was waiting for their precious baby to arrive.  Finally after 2 1/2 days of labor she had to have a C-section and a beautiful baby boy, Evan Lee 7 lb. 1 oz.  arrived into the world late Friday evening.  What a blessing right before Easter!  

Ok, that's all for now.  I hope you all have a wonderful blessed Easter!  Take care!

Hugs!

Happy Easter!

Hi, there!

I'm back as promised with a couple of Easter cards.  In just a couple weeks the festive occasion will be here.  I am keeping my fingers crossed for warm weather.  We're having rain and it's a good day to stay inside.  My hubby went to visit our son to help him with a few things at his house.  So, it's just me, Sheila(dog), and Nicky(cat) here to do what we want.  And, believe me, Sheila and Nicky do what they want, lol!  

Here is a recent photo of my two sweethearts...

Nicky and Sheila

Sheila has a scarf on for St. Patrick's Day that says...

Pet me for luck!

As seen above, my Easter card has two adorable gnomes from MFT.  Everything on the card is from MFT except for the bird, which is from Paper Sweeties.   All images were colored with copics.  This card is going to my friend, Nancy.

Next up,  another Easter card with a MFT gnome, but with a different sentiment.  A similar scene with just the sky and grass.  A pretty pastel plaid background and the scalloped oval frame is from Newton's Nook.  This card will be going to my friend, Ann.

I have a few more Easter cards to post, but those will come later.  I hope you all are doing well!  Take care and have a great weekend!  Thanks so much for dropping by today!

Hugs!

Thinking of you...

Hi, there!

I noticed that the colors over at Color Hues Challenge are blue and turquoise.  I love those colors, so I decided to enter the card below in the challenge.  I have to say that I was very inspired by Tracey's butterfly card, so pretty!

For my card, I started with a white card base and paired it with an embossed background from SU.  I colored the butterflies from MFT with copics.  I added Wink of Stella to them for shine.  The sentiment is from pretty pink posh and I layered it three times with blue, turquoise, and white.  White gems and a sheer ribbon for the final touch.

I hope you are having a good week.  It does look a little like spring here with the sun shining and the temps in the 50's.  My daffodils are peeking out and I can't wait for them to bloom.  I'll have Easter cards to post soon for another day.  Take care and thank you so much for taking the time to drop by today!

Hugs!

Happy Birthday!

Hi, there!

I wasn't sure I'd be back this soon, but I needed to get a birthday card made for my husband.  I got it done just under the wire since his birthday is tomorrow.  I am pleased how I dressed the fine gentleman as seen above on the card!  It brings me back to the 70's or even the 60's, lol!  I paper pieced his vest and pants and colored his shirt with copics.  The image is from MFT.  The background stripe stencil is from Pink Fresh and the numbers are from a Tim Holtz stencil.  My husband's favorite color is green.  I think I managed to get enough green on this card!

For the inside of the card...

I didn't want hubby to feel too bad getting another year older, so I put the old lady inside.  For I am no spring chicken myself!  I love this stamp set from MFT...what a hoot!

We are going out tonight for his birthday with our son and some friends to our favorite Italian restaurant.  Maybe I should tell the waitress or waiter to sing happy birthday to him?! 

Thanks so much for dropping by today!  Take care and enjoy your weekend!

Hugs!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Hi, Friends!

I'm back again with a couple St. Pat's cards.  It's just a week away!  I received a couple St. Pat's cards today and thought I'd better get going and make a couple more before the day arrives.  I'm just a little behind since we got away for a couple days to Amish Country in Berlin, Ohio.  My husband's birthday is Sunday.  I need to get a card done for him, too, but I do have a stamp in mind to create his card.  We did have a great time away and rented a cabin.  It was very peaceful and fun.  A lot of great Amish food and shopping.  It was wonderful meeting up with our son for dinner the one evening, also.  He suggested a new place in Mt. Hope, which was Mrs. Yoder's Kitchen.  The food was very delicious!

Ok, my first card as seen above was quite simple.  It was made using heart punches and Doodlebug paper.  Gold gems and gold string to finish the card.  I'm entering this card over at The Color Hues Challenge.  Also, I'm entering this card over at the Double "D" Challenge.

Next up...

For this card, I used a gnome image from Sugar Peas.  The tag was made using a die from Sunny Studio.  The gold horseshoe was made using a die from Simon Says.  And, the little shamrocks are from PTI.

Some snow here today.  The weatherman forecasted 3-5 inches of snow, but it doesn't look like we are getting much at all.  I am certainly ready for spring!  

Thank you so much for taking the time to drop by!  It's appreciated!  Take care and have a wonderful weekend!

Hugs,

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Hi, Friends!

Happy March 1st!  Spring is just around the corner and it is great to see the sun today!  We had a lot of rain the other day, so it's good to see the bright sun warm things up and take away all the standing water in the fields, etc.  I was working on Easter cards, but went back and finished a couple more St. Patrick's Day cards.  I already showed you one I made for my son and now I have one that I made for my husband.  I'm entering this card over at Color Hues Challenge.  Lots of sparkly green and gold on this card with a happy little leprechaun!

The leprechaun and horseshoes are from Simon Says.  The scalloped oval is from Newton's Nook and the color block slice dies are from Spellbinder's.  I lightly sprayed green ink for the background of the scalloped oval.  The lucky little guy was colored with copics.

Thanks so much for dropping by today!  I hope you have a good rest of the week!  Take care!

Hugs,

Happy Birthday!

Hi, Friends!  

I didn't think that I'd be back so soon, but I forgot that I needed to get a birthday card made for a friend.  It will be late.  But, I think she will appreciate it.  I did say "Happy Birthday" to her on  face book, but it just isn't the same.  I have been eyeing this particular stamp set for quite awhile and I took the plunge and recently purchased it from Simon Says.  The scallop oval die is from Newton's Nook.  The image was colored with copics.  I'm entering this card over at NBUS.  And, here is the card...

My husband has been busy staining trim to be put up in the office/craft room, so I am working on laundry and card making.  It's such a yucky day out there with rain.  This morning we had freezing rain.  We had to go out into it to take our dog to the vet.  It's good to get back home and out of the nasty weather.  I saw the news that reported some rough weather throughout the whole country, so be careful out there!  Thanks so much for taking the time to drop by today.  I really appreciate your sweet comments!  Take care, hugs!!