Best of Cluck Terry!

Terry is a lady I've known for some time. When I worked at the furniture store, she was one of my faithful customers who bought beautiful things for her home. But she's also been one of the tellers at my bank for 11 years so I've known her in that capacity as well.

Today is her last day on the job; she's retiring from it all. Tomorrow she's a new woman - ready to take it easy, sleep in if she wants to (probably not!), travel, whatever strikes her fancy. In honor of her big day I made her this card wishing her the "Best of Cluck," which is the name of the stamp set I used, retired from SU. It's one of my all time favorites!

Some day I hope to know the joy of retirement. Til then I'll applaud others who have reached that most prestigious point in their lives and acknowledge it with a homemade card.

Happy Retirement Terry!

Two Cards For Two Dudes

I've been busy in so many ways, not the least of which is making cards!!! Here's just a couple of my creations that I've done this past week.

This first one is for Matt, the man from our church whose been working on our house. Since I'm 99.9% certain that he won't be reading my blog, I feel safe in posting it today even though it won't go out in the mail til later this afternoon. Why has he been working on our house? Because we decided to take it off the market and stay put until all of the kids are out of school - another 7 years! So in order to make life more comfortable while we wait for their respective graduations, we're doing a bit of remodeling. Stamp set is SU's Totally Tools.

This next one is for Bill, a friend, a semi-neighbor (he & his wife live 5 miles further up in the hills than we do), and he's the treasurer at our church. Being as I'm the bookkeeper, I work closely with Bill. This stamp set is from Cornish Heritage Farms, Primitive Blessings. I couldn't resist doing this for him, even though he's not an "old crow" per se! On the inside I put "Welcome Home!" (hehehe)

It's another gorgeous day today! My boys are hitting golf balls in our front yard (and will ride the dirt bikes later). My girls and I will go to my SU workshop this afternoon.

Have a great day everyone!

Just Because

Okay everyone. Look and admire. This is the surprise card I received in the mail from my SBS sister, Leslie. Isn't it just the BEST? I had meant to post it a few days ago but I went away for the weekend so I didn't have a chance til now. Isn't this the coolest?

I just love surprises!!! I am so blessed. Thank you Leslie!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIM MARIE!

My friend, Kim, is amazing. She's a wonderful wife by choice, marvelous mother by necessity, savvy speech pathologist by profession, mindful missions director at our church by calling, and a super stamper by gifting! She's the one who started stamping first, and started a blog first, joined the Sisterhood of the Blogging Stampers first, went on the first stamping cruise first...you know, a real epitome of a woman in pursuit of fulfillment!

And today is her birthday! I wish I could say that her birthday card is a real eye-catcher. I wish I could say it came out just like I planned. I think the only thing that came out just like I imagined was the hinged part. The rest was, well, shall we say, "do overs" and "add to its!" But isn't that the beauty of creativity? What doesn't work on the intended side can either be covered up or added to, or even get a second chance for stardom on the reverse! And since she's the one who first introduced me (and alas, my checkbook) to the world of stamping, she understands about such things. The best part, she doesn't mind. "It's the thought that counts" is what she'd say because she's also a faithful friend.

The sun is shining, school is out for spring break which means she's off from work, so I hope Kim has a marvelous day of pampering and fun! And I hope she gets lots of cards from those who love her (and chocolate...because everyone needs chocolate on their birthday...and presents....because a birthday without presents is like paper with no ink)!!!

Happy Birthday Kim!

More Easter Cards

Did I tell you that I had to take my Cricut back to the store because it didn't work right?

It was the one my DH got me for Christmas.

Anyway, I finally exchanged it and this one works perfectly!

I'm quite pleased, needless to say.

I only have 2 cartridges at this point, but I'm sure I'll be getting more because,

afterall, I NEED more cartridges which promotes more creativity!

These are just a couple more Easter cards I did.

Yep, the Cricut cut the grass and the eggs!

May everyone's day be blessed tomorrow!

Now That Clara's Received Her Card...

I joined an Easter card swap in my SBS group.

For those of you who don't know what SBS is,

it's a "Sisterhood of the Blogging Stampers" group,

of which I am part of group #25. As you can see, my card for Clara

is a hinged card in the shape of an Easter egg.

The top opens to reveal the greeting.

I'm so glad Clara liked it!

It was very easy and fun to make!

Happy Easter Everyone! The Lord is risen indeed!!!

I Hate Grocery Shopping!

What does grocery shopping have to do with this card?

Absolutely nothing!

I do have to go tonight though (ugh!),

which means I really should be making my list and checking it twice,

but since that's something I don't feel like doing right now,

I thought I'd stall a bit longer and post something I've done recently.

It's not one of my better "works of art," but it was fun making just the same.

I've seen a few of the challenge cards my SBS sisters have done..

I believe I will tackle one or two of those next (granting more stalling time...).

Hey, sometimes I work better under pressure, don't you?

Does anybody else hate the task of listing, fetching, driving home, hauling in the house, putting away in the cupboards & pantry, those things that are gone in the blink of any eye which requires the same task to be done the next week??? I guess it's better than going to the dentist though!

My First Hinged Card!

Wow! This was so much FUN to make!

I saw the idea on one of my blog-hopping adventures

(which I usually don't have time for)

so I can't tell you for sure where it was I saw it!

But I just had to try one for myself...

and now I've made several.

This is for my sister-in-law, Charlene,

whose the wife of my youngest brother, Scott.

I hope she likes it!!!

Happy Palm Sunday everyone!

Sweet Kimberlyn!

Who doesn't like purple? My niece, Kimberlyn, loves it! I can't say it's one of my favorites (the color or the card), but it's springy and will certainly do the trick to honor a very special girl on her special day.

I saw this layout on Splitcoast some time ago and I thought it was about time to try it.

Now it's time to try another cup of coffee...Bye!

I Got Mine Today!

I had no idea I'd be so excitted but I am!!! On our way home from a day of shopping, my hubby and I stopped by the post office to grab our mail. Amongst the usual assortment of junk and "unhappy mail" (bills) was this darling Easter card from my SBS sister, Anne. Our group is doing a swap - she got my name - and even though she only mailed it from the UK on March 31st, it arrived today!!! What fun to receive!


She also sent me some images to play with, 3 each of 2 designs.
Too bad I have plans for my evening -- take the kids to youth group, go to the gym, and then shop for flooring for my laundry room which is being renovated at the moment. I'd much rather be tucked away in my "special place" where only stamps, ink and paper have my undivided attention!



Thank you, Anne. I love my happy mail!

Birthdays Are Made For Ice Cream!

April is a month filled with special days to acknowledge, much like June, and come to think of it, the rest of the calendar year as well.

I've been busy making this month's cards which I'll reveal a little at a time. (Don't want to overwhelm you with my masterpieces! - ha!)

Anyway, this one's for my niece, Stephanie, who lives in California. I'm not afforded a lot of time with her being as I live on the east coast, but whenever I'm out for a visit she always makes time to see me wherever I might be perching at the moment.

Birthdays are a good time for ice cream - who wants a cone???

I'm One Proud Mom!

Whenever there are 5 Sundays in a month, our church has a "Family Sunday." Instead of going to Children's Ministry, special age-appropriate programming, school-age kids stay in the service with their families. This past Family Sunday my hubby decided to do something completely different than he's ever done before. He had our youth band lead worship for starters. They've really "gelled" as a team and did a great job! But he also asked 4 of the teens to bring the message. The title: "Many Messengers, One Message." The guy on the far right of this first picture is our youth leader, Josh. He set the stage with an overview of what the kids were going to speak on which was the "witnesses" of Jesus that testify to His Truth: His works (Josiah), the Father (Jenn), the Word (Phil), and History (Whitnie). They all tied together beautifully!


Here they all are, waiting to go!

Here's my son, Josiah. He was first after Josh.

And here's my hubby wrapping up the service.

And here's all the cards I made for my hubby to send to each of them for a job "Well done!" Obviously the 2 on the left are for the boys and the other 2 are for the girls!



Yes, I am one proud mom! I'm still beaming...