A {H}ippity Hop!

Hi there! It's my first day official day off of Spring Break, and I am already enjoying it! I'm going to savor each day.

I participated in the Unity Friends with Flair blog hop on Friday and that was my first time. I decided to participate in the Ippity Blog Hop today - also my first time! I'm hoping to make this a regular thing because it will help me to use my Unity and Ippity stamps more.

When I saw this stamp set, "Simply Home," I *had* to have it. I grew up with a simple lifestyle, and to me that's what it's all about. I love the *simple* things in life. We actually have chickens here at home, so I wanted to use this chicken on my card.

I have to tell yall what my brother, Aaron, said about this card. He is the resident chicken-guru. He knows everything there is to know about chickens. He told me that the eggs were bigger than the chicken, and the chicken would've needed an epidural to lay those eggs. LOL! That kid cracks me up!

I used Taylored Expressions Sketch #106 for my card. I just love Taylor's sketches! I used October Afternoon Farm Fresh for the papers. I stamped the image and sentiment in Memento Rich Cocoa and inked around the edges with Colorbox Dark Brown Chalk Ink. I cut out the squares with Classic Square Nestabilities and layered them on Choice Buttercream squares cut out with Scallop Square Nestabilities. I inked all of the edges and stitched the gingham panel to the cardstock. I kept my card simple and not fussy because after all, it's the simple things that matter, right?

Be sure and hop over to the Ippity blog to get a list of the participants. Have fun hopping! :)

Card Supplies:
Paper: October Afternoon Farm Fresh, Kraft cardstock, Choice Buttercream
Stamps: Simply Home by Ippity
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa, Colorbox Dark Brown Chalk Ink
Tools: Classic Square Nestabilities, Scallop Square Nestabilities

{SSCC #30) Mount-Up Technique

Hi there! It's a beautiful Sabbath in South Mississippi today, and I truly hope you have had beautiful weather as well today!

We had a wonderful church service this morning. Our pastor preached an inspiring message about how we can say we strongly believe in God, but what really matters is showing that with the way we live our lives.

So many times I say or do things I shouldn't, or I lose my temper with one of my kids at school. That's not exactly the way a Christian should live. I pray every day for strength and grace to have a Christian HEART. Lately, I've realized that this is not MY life to control. It's all His.

God, take my life. Let it be yours. I want you to shine through me. I want to live my life for YOU. Create in me a PURE heart. I don't ever want to be a hinderance to someone. Let me always have a smile on my face and joy in my heart because you love ME. You are like NO other, and I give YOU all the praise.

I'm rather late with my Stampin' Sisters in Christ card today. I usually have it posted before I go to church. I apologize for that, but better late than never, right? :) Kristine Breach is our talented hostess today.

Scripture
"But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Isaiah 40:31

Isaiah 40 is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible. It's all about how God comforts his people. It's very inspiring, and I read it often when I am feeling down. This particular verse that Kristine chose is very encouraging.

Challenge
Mount up parts of your image in layers.

For my card, I stamped the ladybug image on the Choice Snow White cardstock. Then, I stamped it again, also on Choice Snow White. I colored both images. I cut out the second image (except the antennaes) and popped it up with foam tape on top of the first image. I added black Stickles to the spots. The stamps are from Unity Stamp Company's March Kit the Month (Rockin' It Unity Style), and the papers and ribbon are from Taylored Expressions February Key Ingredients.

Our sponsor this week is Our Daily Bread Designs. They are offering a $15 gift certificate to one random winner. I sure wish I could be in the running for that! I LOVE ODBD stamps! However, there are just waaay too many that I want. I will never forget the first time I ordered from ODBD. I was so impressed with Kelley's customer service. You will love shopping there, too!

Hop on over to the SSCC blog and check out the inspiration from the design team. You will surely be blessed there.

Thanks for stopping by today! :)

Card Supplies:
Paper: Choice Snow White cardstock, Prism cardstock
Stamps: Unity March 2010 KOTM (Rockin' It Unity Style)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics
Ribbon: Taylored Expressions
Accessories: Black Stickles

Sweet Stop Sketch #49

Hi there! It's Saturday, so I have a card to share with you for the Sweet Stop Sketch today.

I used the March Key Ingredients from Taylored Expressions for my card. I colored the image with Copics, and cut it out with Classic Rectangle Nestabilities. I layered it on a panel cut out with Scallop Rectangle Nestabilities.

The cute image and setiment are from the February Unity Stamp Company Kit of the Month - Nothing But Blue Skies.

I really wanted to put the sentiment on the front, but I kinda ran out of room, so I stuck it under the image panel. That works for me!

Now, hop on over to the Sweet Stop blog and check out the sketch and inspiration from the Sugar Babies.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Card Supplies:
Paper: Kraft cardstock, Choice Buttercream cardstock, Crate Paper Brooke patterned paper
Stamps: Unity Kit of the Month (Nothing But Blue Skies)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers
Ribbon: Taylored Expressions
Tools: Classic Rectangle Nestabilities, Scallop Rectangle Nestabilities

{Unity} Friends with Flair Friday!

Hi there! I'm participating in Unity Stamp Company's Friends with Flair Friday! This is my first time, so I'm excited about it.

I recently became a Unity Kit Club subscriber, and with your first order as a new subscriber, you get a goodie bag of stamps. This cute little chickie was in my bag, and when I saw it, I just knew I had to ink it up in time for Easter. I'm sorry, but I searched all through the Unity store trying to find the name of it so I could link to it, but I couldn't find it. It must be discontinued.

I used my Taylored Expressions Easter Key Ingredients for this card. All of the papers are BasicGrey Kioshi. I colored the image with Copics, cut it out with Nestabilities, and sponged Memento Cantaloupe on it. This is a technique I've seen a lot lately, and I wanted to try it. However, let's just say that my sponging skills leave a lot to be desired.

I also added some Stickles to the eggs. I matted the image on pink cardstock, cut out with Scallop Circle Nestabilities. I stamped the sentiment - "Happy Spring" from A Year of Sweet Sentiments by Taylored Expressions - directly on the card. I finished it off with two ribbons from the Key Ingredients.

By the way, I think I used a sketch for this card, but I don't remember which one. Oops! LOL!

My spring card is perfectly appropriate. Today is our last day of school before Spring Break! YES! I've mentioned that my students have been driving me crazy. The closer it gets to Spring Break, the wilder they get. Thank you, God, for a vacation! :) I plan on giving this card to a friend at work. I wanted to make some cute little Easter baskets for my co-workers, but I didn't have time, so I just purchased some chocolate bunnies and tied pink bows around them.

I am entering this card in the Simon Says Stamp challenge to make an Easter or Spring card, as well as the Our Daily Bread Designs challenge to make a Spring card.

Be sure and hop over to the Unity blog to see the list of the FWF participants today. Leave 'em some love! Thanks for stopping by!

Card Supplies:
Paper: Basic Grey Kioshi, Couture cardstock, Choice Snow White cardstock
Stamps: chick by Unity Stamp Company, sentiment by Taylored Expressions (A Year of Sweet Sentiments)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Memento Cantaloupe, Copics
Accessories: ribbon by Taylored Expressions, Stickes (Cotton Candy, Baby Blue, and Lavender)
Tools: Classic Circle Nestabilities, Scallop Circle Nestabilities

{SSCC #31} Clean and Simple

Hi there! Happy Sunday! It's time for another challenge at Stampin' Sisters in Christ. Ceal Pritchett is our talented hostess this week.

Scripture
"Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness, let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spririt within me." Psalm 51: 7-10

Challenge
Make a clean and simple card or project.

I LOVE the look of clean and simple cards, but I usually struggle with them. I have no idea why. They should be easy, right? I guess I'm just in the habit of using a lot of layers on my cards. Anyway, I was a little stressed until Ceal shared this link to Clean and Simple Stamping with the design team. Wow...there are such beautiful and simple cards there! I was so inpsired that I even used one of their awesome sketches for my card today. By using the sketch, this card came together very easily...almost too easy. I stamped the silhouette image from Discover Your Wings by Taylored Expressions onto the pink cardstock and used my Fiskars Threading Water border punch on the edge. I stamped the sentiment (from a Unity Stamp Company Kit of the Month) directly onto the Choice Snow White cardstock. I also heat-embossed both the image and the sentiment. I rounded all of the corners and finished it off with some black ribbon before adhering the pink piece to the cardstock.

Be sure to hop over to the SSCC blog and check out the simply beautiful inspiration from the design team. Our sponsor this week is Simon Says Stamp, and they'll be donating a prize to one random winner!

Thanks for stopping by today! :)

OWH Spring Break Blog Hop

*If you are looking for my Sweet Stop post, please scroll down.

Hi there! Today I am so excited to be participating in the Operation Write Home Spring Break Blog Hop! If you've arrived here from Erica's blog, then you're in the right place. If not, please go back to the OWH blog.

This is my first time for the blog hop, but not my first time making cards for OWH. I think what the wonderful people at OWH is amazing. It's such a good cause, and I hope you'll consider donating some cards for our men and women to write home with. I love to make cards for our nation's heroes because I feel like it's the least I could do for them. My uncle served in Iraq at the start of the war, and even though I don't have any family or friends currently there, the soldiers there are somebody else's husband, father, wife, daughter, etc. They are doing something so selfless for our country and we should support them 100 percent. Sending cards to OWH is my small way of letting them know I care.

Have you ever checked out the OWH blog? There are lots of great things to check out there, but one of my personal favorites is the tutorial section. The crimped leave tutorial is so neat, and there's even a tutorial on shading with Copic markers. That's one tutorial I desperately need to study! The blog also has challenges, sketches, and much more, so be sure to check it out!

You can send cards to OWH all year long, but don't forget these upcoming deadlines:
Mother's Day - April 1, Graduation - April 19, and Father's Day - May 15. All other cards anytime! You can go to the OWH site for more details, as well as to get an address to ship your cards to.

Since this blog hop's theme is Spring Break, we were to make a springy thinking of you card. I used a butterfly from Unity Stamp Company's Bevy of Butterflies set. The sentiment is from Taylored Expressions A Year of Sweet Sentiments. All of the papers are BasicGrey Kioshi, from my Taylored Expressions Easter Key Ingredients. I followed an older Sweet Sunday Sketch by Karen Giron. I love the look of so many different papers all on one card! I added pearls to the body of the butterfly and finished my card off with some white ribbon.

Would you like to win some blog candy?! I am offering some Autumn Leaves clear flower stamps by Rhonda Farrer - brand new - to one random winner. All you have to do to enter to win is leave a comment on this blog post. For an extra chance at winning, simply become a follower of my blog. I will draw a winner Friday, March 26.

Thank you so much for stopping by today and joining in on the fun! Your next stop on the hop is Darlene.

Card Supplies:
Paper: BasicGrey Kioshi, Choice Snow White cardstock, Prism cardstock
Stamps: Bevy of Butterflies by Unity Stamp Company, A Year of Sweet Sentiments by Taylored Expressions
Ribbon: Offray
Embellishments: pearls by Recollections (Michael's stores)
Tools: Classic Circle Nestabilities, Scallop Circle Nestabilities

{Sweet Stop #48} Happy Spring!

Hi there! Here's my card for today's Sweet Stop Sketch Challenge. This week there's a spin! The spin is "fuzzy-wuzzy."

For my card, I used this cute C.C. Designs digi image from All That Scraps. I colored it in a little with Copics and used liquid applique for the tail. I love that stuff...it's like magic! It's so fun to watch the way it puffs up.

All of the paper is from Making Memories Flower Patch collection. I cut out the image with Classic Rectangle Nestabilities and mattied it on a piece cut with Scallop Rectangle Nestabilities. I pierced the background piece (even though you can't see it in the photo) as well as the image panel by running it through my sewing machine with no thread. That's a quick and easy way to paper-pierce. The sentiment is from Taylored Expressions' A Year of Sweet Sentiments, and was also cut out with Nestabilities. I added a bow and some pearls to finish off my card.

Be sure you hop over to the Sweet Stop blog and check out how the sketch and how the Sugar Babies interpreted "fuzzy-wuzzy."

I'm headed to my LSS today...yes, I just discovered one in my area! I'm so excited. Thanks for stopping by! :)

Card Supplies:
Paper: Making Memories Flower Patch, Choice Snow White cardstock
Stamps:
Ink: Memento Richo Cocoa
Embellishments: pearls by Recollections (Michael's Stores), ribbon by Offray
Tools: Classic Circle Nestabilities, Scallop Circle Nestabilities, Classic Rectangle Nestabilities, Scallop Rectangle Nestabilities

Chocolate Makes It All Better...

Do you ever have one of those days when you really just want to eat your favorite comfort food? Today was my day for that. It's been a rough week at school. Wait, who am I kidding? It's been a rough MONTH. I don't think I've ever felt so much pressure to succeed at a job before. I'm not going to lie...it is HARD. I'm not the only one going through this, so I thought my fellow *awesome* English teachers could use a treat.

Normally, when I bake, I love to bake from scratch. Homemade cookies, brownies, cakes, etc...you name it, I love to bake it. I hate using cake mixes unless, of course, I doctor them up. However, because I was pressed for time, and I literally threw this together on a whim, I relied on Mr. Hines...Duncan Hines, that is. He's my go-to guy when life calls for a quick, sweet chocolate fix.

I baked a batch of browniess, packaged them in cello bags and tied a simple tag on. I cut the tags with my Cricut, and I used the Taylored Expressions Bakery Business stamp set. Isn't she cute? That's me, stirring up brownie batter in the kitchen. I colored the image with Copic markers and even added a little pearl for her earring to finish it off. I wish I had more time to make these cuter, but I was rushed. I hope the English gang enjoys them as much as I enjoyed making them!

Thanks for stopping by today! :)

Project Supplies:

Paper: Choice Snow White

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers

Ribbon: Hobby Lobby

Embellishments: pearls (Recollections by Michael's stores)

{SSCC #30} Peace

Good morning! It's time for another Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge! Helen Phelps is our talented hostess this week.

Scripture

"The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace." Psalm 29:11

Challenge

Make a card or project using a peaceful image or a verse about peace.

To me, nothing says peace better than the cross. It's a sign of our Saviour, who is peace himself. It's such an uplifting thought.

For my card today, I used the newly released Easter Key Ingredients from Taylored Expressions, as well as the new Easter Blessings stamp set. This stamp set is sooo beautiful. It has two different crosses to choose from, as well as many inspirational sentiments. I stamped one of the sentiments on the inside of my card.

I stamped the cross in Memento Sweet Plum and Bamboo Leaves. I cut out the image with Classic Oval Nestabilities and matted it on the purple scallop oval, also cut with Nestabilities. I followed an older Taylored Expressions sketch, and I stitched the layers together with my sewing machine. I added some ribbon from the kit and adhered everything to my card base.

Hop over to the SSCC blog and check out the beautiful examples from the design team. Also, remember one random participant has a chance at winning a prize from our sponsor, Whiff of Joy.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Card Supplies:

Paper: Basic Grey Kioshi, Choice Snow White cardstock, Prism cardstock

Stamps: Taylored Expressions Easter Blessings

Ink: Memento Sweet Plum, Memento Bamboo Leaves

Embellishments: ribbon from Taylored Expressions

Tools: Classic Oval Nestabilities, Scallop Oval Nestabilities, sewing machine

A Sweet Stop Sketch

Good morning! Happy Saturday! Wow, I am sooo glad it is the weekend. I thought it would never get here.

Here is my card for this week's Sweet Stop Sketch #47.

I actually made this card for my brother to give to someone. He wanted a religious birthday card for a friend, and he wanted it to be red and yellow.

The paper is Cosmo Cricket Early Bird, and the cross image is "Saved" from Unity Stamp Company. I cut out the image with rectangle Nestabilities and sponged around the edges with Memento Desert Sand ink. I matted the image on the green scallop piece, also cut with Nestabilities. I used my Fiskars Threading Water border punch for the trim. The flower is from Sassafras Lass.

Now, hop on over to the Sweet Stop blog and check out the sketch and the inspiration from the Sugar Babies!

Thank you for stopping by today! :)

Card Supplies:
Stamps: Unity Stamp Company
Paper: Cosmo Cricket Early Bird, American Crafts cardstock
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa and Desert Sand
Embellishments: flower by Sassafrass Lass (In a Stich Blossoms - Sunny Day)
Tools: Classic Rectangle Nestabilities, Scallop Rectangle Nestabilities, Fiskars Threading Water border punch

A Grillin' Birthday

Hi there! Have you missed me? I haven't blogged (or created anything, for that matter) all week long. I think I'm just getting tired and a little stressed...work things.

My students are about to drive me stone batty. I think their sole ambition in life is to make me insane. I found three grey hairs the other day. I'm 23. A wee bit early, ya think? It's not all of them, but there are at least three in each class who make me want to scream. Sometimes, I just have to close my eyes and breathe deeply (and pray, of course...begging God to restrain me from beating them). LOL...I'm kidding! Anyway, as we prepare for the big state test in May, things are just stressful, and I'm feeling it. I've also been tutoring three days a week after school until 5:00, and I'm trying to get back in the habit of going to the gym. It all boils down to the fact that I haven't had the time or the energy to create/blog this week.

Stamping is sure to lift my spirits, and I made a few cards tonight. I was asked to make a masculine birthday card. I really struggle with masculine cards, so I went straight for the Taylored Expressions Boys Will Be Boys stamp set. I bought that set mainly for the golf images, but it has lots of other great manly images in it as well.

I quickly figured out that I am definitely lacking masculine papers. I did happen to have the Cosmo Cricket Get Happy collection in my stash - one of the first paper collections I ever purchased when I started paper-crafting about two years ago. I stamped the image onto Choice White cardstock and colored it in with Copic markers. I stamped, colored, and cut out the flame and steak images. I popped up the steak with foam tape. The sentiment is also from the same stamp set. I added three white brads to finish it off.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Card Supplies:
Stamps: Taylored Expressions Boys Will Be Boys
Paper: Cosmo Cricket Get Happy, Choice White cardstock
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers
Embellishments: Paper Studio brads, foam tape
Tools: Fiskars Apron Lace punch

{SSCC #29} Joy!

Good morning! Happy Sunday to you! It's time for this week's Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge. Our lovely and talented hostess this week is Peggy Sue.

Scripture
"Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you." Isaish 12:6

I love this scripture! Even though we may go through bad times in our life, we should always be rejoicing because God is always with us!

Challenge
Make a card or project that shows joy or joyfulness.

I decided to actually use the word "joy" in my card, because I had this stamp from an older Unity Kit of the Month, that sadly, had never been inked up.

I followed an older Mojo Monday sketch. This card came together super fast! The paper is October Afternoon's Farm Fresh. I love that paper line...so cute! Actually, after I made the card and was taking a photo of it, I realized that the flowers in the paper look almost just like the flowers on the tree! I didn't even plan it that way, so it was neat how that worked out. I cut out the circles with my Classic Circle Nestabilities, adhered them down, and then stitched around the edges. I tied my bow at the top, and then popped up the image on foam tape.

Now, hop on over to the SSCC blog and check out the examples from the design team! We'd love to have you play along with us this week. Also, a special thanks to our sponsor, The Town Scrapper, who is donating our prize this week! :)

I did okay at the craft fair yesterday. I was disappointed in the turn-out, but I did sell $100 worth of my stuff, so that's good!

Thanks for stopping by today! Have a GREAT week! :)

Card Supplies:
Paper: Kraft cardstock, Choice Buttercream cardstock, Farm Fresh by October Afternoon
Stamps: Unity Stamp Company
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa
Ribbon: Offray from Walmart
Tools: sewing machine, Large Classic Circle Nestabilities, Fiskars Threading Water border punch
Other: foam tape

Springtime is Coming!

Hi there! Happy Saturday! I made this card for this week's Sweet Stop Sketch #46. My card just screams spring at me! Spring finally feels like it is HERE! It's been cold in the mornings, but it warms up beautifully by lunchtime. I've been opening the windows in my classroom and letting the sunshine in. I can tell that my students have spring fever, too. They've been getting so drowsy with all of the warm sunshine pouring in. I don't blame them. It feels wonderful!

As for this card, I'm usually not very crazy about my own work, but I LOVE this one because it's so springy!

All of the paper and other elments on my card are from the Bloom and Grow Card Kit by Taylored Expressions. I used the Discover Your Wings stamp set for the image. I love that set. It works great on projects all throughout the year.

I used a technique on this card that I haven't used in a long time - heat embossing. Back when I first started making cards, I used to heat emboss everything. It wasn't finished if it wasn't heat embossed. Then, I got more into dry embossing. As I was making this card, I thought that a shiny image would be nice, so I stamped my image in pigment ink and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder. I think it turned out nice.

I stitched around the edges of my card. I'm loving stitching these days, thanks to my Janome Sew Mini! I've got some cute fabric and a pattern, and I want to try making me an apron. I'm ready to graduate from sewing on paper to sewing on fabric. I also used my Fiskars Threading Water border punch for the green piece.

Now, hop on over to the Sweet Stop blog and check out the sketch and the awesome inspiration from the Sugar Babies. When you see the sketch, you'll notice that I took a bit of liberty with the sketch. As I was making my card, I realized that I didn't have enough room for the circle element. Oops!

Today, I am participating in my very first craft fair! I have a lot of local requests for my cards and other items. There is a small monthly craft fair in my town, so I decided to try it out. I've been making things the past two weeks to get ready for it. I'll be there all day, and I'll be sure to take lots of pics to share with you. I'm so excited!

Have a great day! Thanks for stopping by! :)

Card Supplies:
Paper: Bloom & Grow by My Mind's Eye, Prism cardstock, Choice Buttercream
Stamps: Discover Your Wings by Taylored Expressions
Embellishments: Kaisercraft pearls, ribbon by Taylored Expressions
Tools: sewing machine, Fiskars Threading Water border punch

Sweet 'n Sassy Digi Day

Sweet 'n Sassy is having Digi Day over at SNR Card Universe! There are some adorable digi stamp prizes up for grabs! There is one prize if you play along by 10 p.m. TONIGHT, and other prize if you play by 10 p.m Monday night. You can click here to check out the challenge and see those cute freebies! I can't wait to create something with them!

I got to play along today, and this is the card I made. I don't have very many people stamps, so I've been trying to add more to my collection. I purchased this cutie, along with some others from the C.C. Designs collection of digi stamps, from All That Scraps.

I goofed when I made this card. Don't you just hate when you get something almost finished and then you mess up? I contribute my goof-up tonight to the fact that I was medicated and not feeling well. I was just about to adhere my colored image to the blue oval, when I accidentally smudged black ink on it! I'm quite the perfectionist when it comes to my creations, so I had to redo it. You can still see a bit of it on the pink cardstock, but I didn't want to redo the whole card, so that mark is there to stay.

I followed Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge #63. I did some machine-stitching on this card, popped my image up on foam tape, and used some white glittery ribbon that came from a Taylored Expressions ribbon grab bag. I seriously *love* the grab bags. You get 10 1-yard pieces of high-quality ribbon in all different styles, for only a dollar! It's a very inexpensive way to build up my ribbon stash without breaking the bank. Though, my Mama says I don't need anymore ribbon. LOL!

On a personal note, I am STILL having trouble with my tooth. For those of you that don't know, I had a temporary crown put on two weeks ago. I spent a week in pain before going back to the dentist. He did a root canal. I spent another week in severe pain. I went back today. He did an x-ray and said it looked great. He filed it down some because he said the pain might be due to the bite being "off." He gave me some stronger antibiotics and pain meds, and I am really hoping that does the trick. I came home and took my medicine and went to bed. When I woke up, I felt a LOT better. Please pray that I get back to normal soon. I'm running out of sick days at work!

Thanks for stopping by tonight! :)

Supplies:
Paper: Paper Studio, Taylored Expressions Choice Snow White, October Afternoon Ducks in a Row
Image: C.C. Designs
Embellishements: white brads, Spare Parts by The Paper Studio, White Opal Liquid Pearls
Ribbon: Taylored Expressions
Tools: sewing machine, Classic Oval Nestablities, Scallopped Oval Nestabilities, Martha Stewart Loopy border punch, Copic markers

Happy Anniversary!

Today is a very special day! 25 years ago today, my mama and daddy were married! I am so thankful to have them as my parents. They have been an amazing example of what a marriage should be.

So many people these days take their wedding vows for granted, but my parents have truly honored theirs. Love was never promised to be easy, and they've stuck by each other in good times and in bad.

Aaron and I grew up in a loving home with parents who cared about each other and about us, and that has made all the difference in our lives. I see kids at school who don't have that situation and it's heart-breaking. It makes me so much more thankful for these two people who gave me the greatest gift of all - love.

Daddy asked me to make a card for Mama for him to give to her, and this is what I came up with.

The stamp is the Melody of Love digi set from Sweet n Sassy. I cut it out using Labels Four Nestabilities and inked around the edges with blue Colorbox Chalk Ink. The black paper is from the February Taylored Expressions Key Ingredients. The ribbon is from Walmart. The pearls are from the dollar bin at Michael's. I was still nursing my toothach and wasn't feeling well when I made this, so I didn't feel like coloring in the image. After looking at it, I actually like it uncolored.

I made this card for me and Aaron to give to them. I followed Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge #58. The papers are from an older Mosh Posh kit. I *think* they're by My Mind's Eye, but don't hold me to it. I cut out the panels using Classic Squares and Scallopped Squares Nestabilities. I cut out the hearts using my Cricut and popped them up with foam tape. The stamped sentiment is from an older Unity Stamp Company Kit of the Month. I stitched around the edges and finished it off with two Making Memories snaps.

Mama and Daddy, I wish you many more years of love and happiness! I love you! xo

Thanks for stopping by today. :)