Love

I FINALLY had a chance to create a bit this week - it's been over 2 weeks since I've had time...I feel so much better! LOL

Tonight I wanted to participate in the Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge - Round or Square? I decided to go with round...I rarely make round cards so it was fun to try.

I used DP from Basic Grey's Bittersweet paper pack - love, love, love this paper! I used oil pastel crayons & OMS to color the letters in "Love" fading from a light pink to a brighter pink. Then I colored over each letter with a clear Spica Glitter Pen (hopefully if you click the picture you can see a bit of the glitter). The stamp is from Verve Visual's new release, Love's Flower. I think this had to be one of their BEST releases to date - so many great images, fonts, quotes, etc.

See that pretty heart scalloped punch - I have *hearted* (pardon the pun - LOL) that punch for a year and FINALLY purchased it recently with a coupon - just love it! I also added the same punch strip inside the card as well as more of the striped Bittersweet paper. From the scalloped hearts, I saved 3 small solid hearts and adhered them to the inside of the card too. Lots of papers, lots of embellishing - such fun. It was just fun to create!!

Are you gearing up for Valentine's Day? Any special surprises up your sleeve? Do you buy treats for your children or your significant other? Leave me a note and tell me what YOU have planned; I'd love to hear from you!

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you have a GREAT week! Hugs, ~M.

RF (Random Fact): Rhode Island is the smallest state with the longest name. The official name, used on all state documents, is "Rhode Island and Providence Plantations."



WHAT'S IT TAKE (scrappy card)?
Stamps: Verve Visual Love's Flower
Paper: PTI Raspberry Burst, Hibiscus Burst, Dark Chocolate, Vintage Cream, DP by Basic Grey
Ink: Versamagic Jumbo Java, SU Close to Cocoa
Accessories: nestabilities, sponging, MS Scalloped Heart Punch, felt flower, button, twine, light pink rhinestones

Just a note to say...

Greetings friends, how is everyone doing? I am very happy to report our little guy is still doing good - you can tell he feels much better so we're all hoping we've 'turned the corner'. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers, they are deeply appreciated!

I have a little project to share with you. I made this card a few months ago for a friend's father - his wife had passed away unexpectedly and life was just tough for him. My friend wanted something simple so we went with some basic colors of Dark Chocolate, Sage Shadow and some scrumptious DP from MME's (you know...my all-time favorite!).

Directly above the DP and below, I added some score lines for interest. (Don't forget you can click on any picture and get a bit better view). The foliage in the main image was stamped with Versamagic ink - coming to be some of my favorite ink. After I cut the image with an oval nestability die, I left the card stock in the die and lightly sponged some yellow around the edges. I also cut a scalloped oval and edged it with Close to Cocoa; I stamped the "Just a little note to say..." in Jumbo Java (chocolate). The rest is self explanatory. I did mount the main image on dimensionals.

Thanks for stopping by; I hope you have a great week!! Hugs, ~M.

RF (Random Fact): In the average lifetime, a person will walk the equivalent of 5 times around the equator.




WHAT'S IT TAKE (scrappy card)?
Stamps: Verve Visual Forever in our Hearts
Ink: Versamagic green, jumbo java, yellow, SU! Close to Cocoa
Paper: PTI Dark Chocolate, SU! Cream & Sage Shadow
Accessories: nestabilities, sponging, scor-pal

A card & an update

Hi friends,

How are you? This is a card I made quite some time ago but never posted. Very little stamping - just the verbiage; the rest is all designer paper and punched butterflies. I scored a square piece of Hibiscus Burst card stock and then punched out the butterflies, if you click on the picture, you "might" be able to see the lines on the butterflies - there is one large butterfly and two small ones. I also added small chocolate half pearls to the middle of each butterfly. I'm really lovin' the chocolate pearls!!

I also decorated the inside of the card - simple, but so fun.

Last is a picture of our son, who has been so very sick, and one of his buddies. We attended a hockey game and our 'regular' mascot was there - but then this chicken was also there??? I have no idea why; he's not a very "cute" chicken; but nonetheless the boys wanted their picture taken with the chicken so I complied. :)~

That's what mom's do!!

By the way, our son (the shorter one) is doing MUCH better! He's off the pain & nausea medication; we still have another medication we're taking daily and we added Activia Yogurt to his diet to help with any bacterial imbalance in his tummy. Thank you for your thoughts & prayers; we greatly appreciate them!!

Thanks for stopping by; hope you have a great week! Hugs, ~M.

Our Very Sick Little Boy

At 1:15 a.m. on 1/8/10, we made a trip to the ER for our son - well, he and I made the trip while daddy and the girls stayed behind and got some rest!

Our son has been very ill for 6 weeks; I think we reached the peak last night and I reached my wits end! Here are a couple of pictures from the hospital; the first is shortly after they started the IV drip and gave him nausea and pain meds.

The pain med didn't do much; within an hour he was crying and screaming again so they gave him some more nausea med and then a dose of morphine; when they finished pushing the morphine in, he yelled, "I'm going numb!"; it was the side effect of the morphine but scared him to death...(me too). He literally passed out after the morphine went in as you can see from the 2nd picture.

He's a very tough little boy; he has never cried when they've drawn blood, or started an IV or anything - but this stomach problem brings him to his knees. If he's not better next week, we'll be seeing a pediatric GI doc. I pray we don't have too; but we'll do whatever we have to do - we want him healthy again!

Thanks for stopping by; hope you have a great weekend! Hugs, ~M.

Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake

This is a recipe given to me by DH's mom; it's ALWAYS a hit with my family. Some eat it plain, some add milk to it in a bowl, others want an egg on top...you just never know! I made 2 full cakes this morning; one is 3/4 gone (much has been eaten since this picture was taken), the other is just waiting...bet by Sunday evening both are totally gone. LOL

Here's the recipe if you'd like to try it:

Cake Ingredients:

1 Egg
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup Milk
2 Tablespoons Oil
1 Cup Flour
2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
Dash Salt

Mix together and pour into 8"x8" greased dish.

Topping:

1 Tablespoon butter, melted
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Flour
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon

Mix together until crumbly and sprinkle over cake.

Bake 375 degrees for 25 minutes. Serve warm and enjoy!

A Scrappy Card & Holiday Notepads

Greetings friends - welcome to 2010. So what are you going to call this year? 20-10, 0-10, 10, you won't say two thousand ten will you?? Yes, this topic has been discussed over lunch with friends. LOL

I needed an extremely last minute card for a secret pal so this is what I came up with.

I used a poofy flower which I purchased from Dawn McVey and running with the PTI Pure Poppy color and adding chocolate chip. The Damask Designs stamp set is stamped onto some paper from a paperback novel; the Pure Poppy ribbon has a strip of tacky tape covered with small clear microbeads for a fun accent which Nichole Heady does wonders with!

And last, I'll leave you with several holiday notepads I made and sold in December. Happy New Year friends; thanks for stopping by! Hugs, ~M.




WHAT'S IT TAKE (scrappy card)?
Stamps: PTI Damask Designs
Ink: PTI Pure Poppy
Paper: PTI Pure Poppy & Dark Chocolate, paperback book
Accessories: ribbon, tacky tape, microbeads, punch