Guest Designing for Cut It Up Challenge

Cheerio friends!  Today, I'm happy to be sharing a card as guest designer on the Cut It Up Challenge Blog.  My project was chosen as one of the "Top Cuts" back in September and thus gave me the opportunity to guest design for a future challenge.  So, here I am today, creating for the newest challenge #323, "This Makes Me Smile".  

 

 

 Well, the simple answer to "what makes me smile", is that I love working with dies!  Especially vintage-y ones!

This darling, retro looking Lovely Layers Vintage Reindeer from Honeybee Stamps most certainly brings a smile to my face.  I purchased the dies just before Christmas and made up a few of them, but they never made it to a card front until now.

The Greetery's Boxwood Heart framed this deer nicely, with some added flowers from Spellbinders.  A layered pair of hearts adds to the sentiment.

Thanks so much to Larelyn and the Cut It Up team for inviting me to guest design for them.  I enjoy playing along with your challenges!

I do hope you'll all stop by Cut It Up and join in on their challenge.  I'd love to know what makes you smile!

Thanks for stopping by!

Celebrate The Savior ~ Baby Update

Hello friends and Happy Easter!  

What a wonderful day it is to celebrate our risen Savior.

I made a few cards using a retired PTI set called Make It Market:  Garden Gate.

The stamped sentiments are also a retired PTI set called Easter Alleluiahs.

Our California kiddos arrived on Friday.  I'm feeling so grateful that our little family is together once again.  My grandbabies have finally met each other and their respective aunt & uncle for the first time.  

I'm thankful for laughter that fills our home when we're together and the joyful chaos that comes with having little ones.  

Today we are celebrating Easter and my husband and son-in-love's birthdays.  What a joy to be together!  

I have both of my little blessings on my lap.  Pure joy!!  My little "C" on the left and my sweet "P" on the right.

My son holding his daughter and his nephew.

My little loves.  Life doesn't get any sweeter than this.  My cup overflows.

May the miracle of Easter bring you renewed hope, faith, love and joy.

Thanks for stopping by!

YOUR WORD ~ Mixed Media Monday

Hi friends~  I'm back today with an art journal entry I made in my Create Happiness Art Journal, using images from Mintay Papers.

I just love Mintay Papers.  In face, I've never met one that I didn't like and I doubt that I ever will. 

 I started by blending on lots of rich Distress Oxide Ink into the background and then spritzed it with water and blotted up the ink using a paper towel, to give it this nice mottled look.  I then stamped a typewriter background using a very old background stamp from My Favorite Things.  I used the Lower Case Modern Alphabet from Scrapbook.com to create the title, adding some white gel pen details.

I typed the rest of the verse out on my computer and printed it on my home printer.  

I fussy cut the flowers and typewriter out by hand and sponged some Walnut Stain Distress Oxide Ink around the edges, and then added some details using a white gel pen.

I found this little scrap of paper in my scrap box and tore it from corner to corner to make a pocket, where I slipped in some ephemera bits from my stash.  I added this pretty vintage blue bird to the corner pocket.  

I used a Create Happiness Borders stencil to stencil the border around the entire layout using black ink.

I hope you enjoyed todays journal entry as much as I enjoyed making it.

I'll be adding this project to the following challenges:

Krafty Chicks Challenge ~ All Occasions 

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge ~ Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by!

Mixed Media Monday ~ Sunflowers

Good morning, friends.  I've got my next installment of Mixed Media Monday for you today and it has a cheerful sunflower as its theme.

As always, I started with some inking, stamping and stenciling in my Create Happiness art journal.  I used the book stencil from Stamperia and a very old Postcard stamp.  

 

This page gave me opportunity to use up some older Graphic 45 papers as well.

This wonderful sunflower is from Cheery Lynn Designs.  I've had it for years and it still remains one of my favorites.  I cut all the pieces out of scraps I found in my scrap box.

The sentiment is from Papertey Ink.  It's stamped on a piece of scrapbook paper that was cut using a notebook die from Papertrey ink.

I enjoyed this project for many reasons.  

1. Because it used up many items that have been sitting around for years.
2.  Who doesn't love sunflowers??
3.  I wait on the promises of God

I Thank you so much for stopping by!  I hope you'll come back again in a couple of weeks for my next Mixed Media Monday offering.

For This BABY, We Have Prayed

Hello friends!  I'm over the moon excited, to share with you this joyful news, that my daughter Amanda gave birth to a wee little baby boy on September 6th.  YES!  Just yesterday, we welcomed baby boy Swan into the world, via c-section. 

He's a wee little one, weighing just 2 pounds 11 ounces and 15" long, but the staff said he was "feisty".  

As you may or may not recall, my daughter Amanda had another premature baby boy, "Jackson James" back in July of 2019 and sadly, he only lived for five days.  Jackson weighed just over one pound.  Amanda has had a tough time for several years, having lost 7 pregnancies to miscarriage and two live, but premature births (including this one).  We didn't think this day would ever come, that we would have a baby this size and to the term that she was able to carry it.  She made it to 36 weeks and two days.

My heart is overflowing with thankfulness and joy, to finally join the ranks of grand-parenthood.  

And, for even more exciting news, my daughter-in-love, Allison, is also expecting a baby around December 3rd.  Two babies in one year, joining our family.  This is Allison's first pregnancy, and she is doing amazing!  

Truly, my cup runneth over.  By His Grace, and because of His Goodness, I am blessed!

Thanks for indulging me and sharing in my good news.

Thanks for stopping by!