Make a Wish!!

Well, I will be celebrating a big milestone in my life on Tuesday..Yes..I will be turning the big 3 0!!! YAAA!! That is a bit scary for me..where has the time gone?? It feels like I just celebrated my 20th birthday...still in college, living a crazy and carefree life and now here I am ten years later married with two beautiful babies..The saying that time goes by faster the older you get is definitely true.. I have to be positive with the whole thing and I'm actually looking forward to my thirties..watching my children grow into little people, hopefully adding more little people into the world, spending time with my husband and family and continuing my passion of creating cards!! So, I thought it would be fitting to leave you a card I made titled "Make a Wish". I have my wish all planned out and ready for when I blow out all 30 candles on Tuesday..and no, I can't tell you what it is or it won't come true!!!

Honorable Mention!!!

I'm just soooo excited!! I received Honorable Mention again this month from Nichole Heady and Papertrey...This is such an honor!! I'm just so suprised because the women I am mentioned with are soooo talented...Nichole is a sweetheart for even considering my work..it just makes me want to try even harder!! I worked soo hard to come up with another project that she would enjoy and she actually did!! So cool!!!! She chose my basket that I created and I'm just so happy!! It was so funny because I checked her blog last night before bed to see if she had posted anything and there were the Honorable Mentions...As I scrolled down the page my heart was beating a mile a minute..One after another my hopes slowly dwindled away and all of a sudden I saw my name...the last one..YAAA.. I just started screaming and jumping up and down!! I just get sooo excited...You can definitely tell I'm an amateur at this stuff..all the other mentions have professional pictures and their signature watermarks..my picture is rather blah and doesn't do justice to my basket..but my husband promised to help me this next month so I'm definitely taking him up on it!! Nichole is doing a really cool thing this month by allowing us..the customers to vote on which Honorable Mention we like the best...Well, I haven't received any votes yet but hey..I can't get too cocky here!! LOL!! Thanks again Nichole..you made my month once again!!!

Basket made with love

Now that I'm a mom one of my favorite times of the day is right before falling asleep. I have just checked on my babies and they are peacefully sleeping..(best feeling in the whole world) I crawl into my bed, sink my head into my pillow and find my cozy position...I say my prayers and then the ideas just start flowing..I try and think of ways to alter my cards and to come up with something completely new! I eventually fall asleep and dream of my ideas.. Once I awake in the morning I find my journal, jot down my fresh ideas and then look forward to the time I can try them out!! Well, one of my bedtime ideas came to me the other night.. One of the stamp sets from Papertrey Ink that I received from my brother Ben for Christmas(thanks Ben.. love you) is called My Punny Valentine.. some of the stamps included in this set are strawberries with a small twist..they look like hearts!! For some reason I kept thinking of a basket full of strawberries..So, the next day I starting playing around with paper and made an adorable basket out of long, thin strips of paper..it was actually fairly simple and easy to make! The great thing about it is that it can be made to any size that you would like..I think it really turned out cute and it can be used for so many different projects/themes..I'm really looking forward to Easter..so many ideas... Once the basket was complete I stamped ribbon with the smaller strawberry stamp to go along my handle. I then added ribbon around the basket that held my sentiment..Love you Berry Much!! I knew I had to fill my basket with "strawberries" and found the yummy Strawberry and Creme Lifesavers. If you are familiar with Nichole Heady's creations she is known for her label designs...She takes white mailing labels and creates stamps to fill in the area..she then uses those to cover different candies..so, in this case I used her small strawberry stamp to go along with one of her label stamps from her new stamp set Limitless Labels. I cut it out to fit around the lifesaver..It couldn't have worked out more perfect.. And now I have a basket full of "strawberries" made with love!!

Cheers!

Happy New Year!! Wow..I can't believe it is 2008! That is definitely crazy...where does the time go?? I know..lots of hugs and kisses and oh yeah, diapers!!! I'm looking forward to another great year full of excitement!! Now that I have found my new passion I have set some goals for myself for the coming year....1) Find a wonderful design team 2) Get at least 2-3 items published 3) Receive honorable mention/guest star stamper on Nichole Heady's blog 4) Sell some of my work in a local store here in town 5)Continue to LOVE what I'm doing at the end of the year!! There you have it.. I know those are some big goals but definitely doable as long as I put my heart and soul into my work!! I was so excited today..my husband Brian was off of work so I piled everyone into the car and we drove to Michael's Craft Store.. I put a movie on in the car for the kids and had Brian drive around while I shopped by MYSELF!! It was sooo exciting because I was able to actually shop for my supplies without chasing around two toddlers and didn't have to leave the store with 2 packs of Thomas the Train stickers that cost 6 dollars!! YEAH!!! I picked out some new ink, glitter, glue, paper..lots of cool paper.. I was in the Valentine mood so lots of pinks, reds and real girly prints.. Just beautiful! And of course..my favorite..ribbon!! One of the reasons for my shopping excursion goes along with one of my goals..to sell some of my work in a local store...Well, my mother-in-law did a bit of a sales pitch for me at a store here in our downtown that sells beautiful women clothing and jewelry. They just opened a new section in the store where they sell unique gifts. The manager of the store would like to see some of my cards and would be willing to sell some in her store if she likes them.. YAAA..pressure..it makes me so nervous but this is what I want.. what can I lose??? Nothing! Just a great opportunity!! So, we will see!! I may be crossing off one of my goals here shortly!! Wish me luck!! I hope you all had a great New Years and Cheers!!

Merry Christmas!

Hope you all had a great Christmas filled with joy and yummy food!! We had a wonderful Christmas this year and Santa was definitely good to all of us! There is nothing better than being with family and this year I really realized how BLESSED we all are. We are all healthy and happy and are pretty lucky to have the things we have. It is a good time to reflect on all our gifts and to find ways to help others that may need a bit more. In the coming year I definitely would like to start giving back...because I love card making so much and working with children I thought it may be fun to call up to the children's hospital here in town and see if I would be able to come up and help some of the kids make cards! Wouldn't that be fun? Please stay tuned to see how it all turns out... What is something you could do to warm some one's heart this year? Just some food for thought!! I saw the wreath on my door and thought it would be fun to recreate..so, here it is using the small leaf stamp from the Take a Bough set. I will leave you with the sentiment...Season's Greetings!!

Oh my goodness..Oh my gracious!!!

I can't believe it.. I received honorable mention this morning on Nichole Heady's blog!!! That is sooooooo exciting for me.. I worked sooo hard this past month trying to come up with a card that would impress Nichole and she actually picked one of mine!! OH MY GOSH!! Thanks so much Nichole..you don't know how much this means to me.. For all of you stay at home mommas you know how life is.. the best in the whole world yet it can get a bit mundane..I started falling into the trap of what else is out there for me..I know I'm a good mom and I know I'm soooo lucky and blessed to get to be with my kids everyday but there are moments I feel I should be doing more with this life of mine!! Well, finding Nichole's blog has really lit a fire in me and I have found a passion that I just love..card making!! I've only just begun and have a really good feeling about the future! Life is definitely short..you need to believe in something and for me... that is my babies and stamping!!! Here is my card that made honorable mention at nicholeheady.typepad.com...

Christmas Spirit

I can't believe three more weeks until Christmas Eve!! WOW! Where does the time go? I feel like I was just putting up my decorations last year..life is too fast.. I'm particularly excited for Christmas this year..I want to decorate..I want to see all the lights on houses and I just can't get enough of the music..especially the classics. It's different this year because of my babies..we all know it is such a magical time for children and as adults we miss that time(at least I do). Well, now I get to replay that magic and have a big part in creating it! What fun! There is nothing better than seeing the joy and pure wonder in my children's eyes when I turn on the Christmas tree lights every evening! As I see the sparkle in their eyes it reminds me of the old Christmas saying "Believe". This year they have helped me to believe; to believe in love, to believe in joy and to believe in each other. Now that is a gift!!

I created my card once again using Papertrey Stamps. I used the Spirial Bouquet set to spell "Believe" and used the Take a Bough set to create my snowman!