Christmas Angel

Hi There
I’d like to extend a warm welcome my new followers.  I hope you will enjoy your visits and come back often.  Please do leave me a comment so I know you've been here and I will be sure to visit you as well.  A big Thank You to all of you who have stopped by to leave me a comment even though I haven’t been around for a while.

Will someone please tell me spring is on it’s way, PLEASE!  I do realize I’m blessed and other parts of the country are suffering server damaging weather but I’ve had just about enough of Mother Nature’s tantrums in our neck of the woods. We have had frightening (keep you up all night wondering if your home will be blown away) winds and another 5” of the white stuff last night. I know you’re all thinking ‘Want some cheese with that whine Bernie?’ I think I have a bit of (SAD) Seasonal Affective Disorder. I need some sunshine.  I have been busy in the Craft Closet and I have tried to keep up on my commenting but simply haven’t felt like posting here. I’d like to enter my card in Sandra’s Rudolph Day Challenge so here I am.

I found this lovely 1990 Hero Arts stamp called Christmas Angel in a thrift shop. The wood block is stained with an assortment of inks, obviously well loved but after 22 years it still stamps a crisp clear image. I think the sparkle maybe distoring the photo, her face and hair seem washed out or blured in every shot I've taken.  I stamped her with Stazon ink (Why does that stuff smell so bad?) and colored her with colored pencils. I used my Quicky Glue pen on her wings and the snow behind her then sprinkled with Holographic EP. I have a box I call my ‘That Didn’t Work’ box. Whenever, for whatever reason, something is not right for it’s intended use I pop it in that little box. I try to go to that box and my scraps (snippets) before resorting to cutting into something new. The embossed back ground, scalloped oval and bow were in that box. The angel was stamped on a scrap. I cut out the tip of her wing then used my oval die to cut her out. The blue card and ribbon were also scraps so I am also entering this card in Di’s Pixies Snippet Challenge 9.  Geez Di I haven't been to the playground for such a long time I hope you'll let me have a ride on the swings. 

I’m coming up on my 100^th post. As often as I disappear I find that astounding. I will be offering a small candy to celebrate. Jim is scheduled for a number of tests and doctors appointments so I'm not sure when I'll make it to that 100 mark but stay tuned.

Please do keep Jim in your thoughts and prayer. Hopefully these test will show the doctors how to help make him more comfortable.

I hope this finds you all well and enjoying lovely weather, if not I hope you’ll wake in the morning to sunshine and good health.   
Have an Amazing Day!

Blessings
Bernie
Click here to give --- It’s Free

Happy Valentine’s Day

I hope Valentine's Day is everything you wish it to be.  Jim and I have never really celebrated Valentine’s Day. I told him when we were first dating that I thought it was a silly commercial holiday. Thirty three years later I think he is still relieved. I strongly believe if you love someone you shouldn’t wait for a holiday to tell them so. Not a day passes that we don’t say I love you and we show each other we do as well. Now that Jim can’t shop he leaves me little notes around the house saying 1-4-3 meaning I love you.  I know when I make my morning coffee on Valentine’s morning I’ll find his note in the microwave. This card will be waiting for him when he takes his 3 AM medications and does his nebulizer treatment.

I found the video tutorial and template on Splitcoaststampers. It was an amazingly easy card to make. It took me longer to make the tiny envelop for my tiny message then it did the rest of the card.  I wanted a masculine card so I used papers from DCWV Rock Star Matstak. This isn’t paper I would normally buy as I find it difficult to work with dark colors but when I found the complete 12 X 12 matstak in a thrift shop for $3 I couldn‘t pass it up.   


Have an Amazing Valentine's Day!

Blessings
Bernie
Click here to give --- It’s Free

 

Happy Birthday Little Brother

Hey There,

My card today is for my brother Ernest and will probably get to him late, again. I made this weeks ago but as usual I forgot to get it in the mail. Ernest thinks its funny that I still call him my little brother but no matter how old we get he will always be that to me. I was only four but I have a vivid picture of the day Mom and Dad brought him home.  In my minds eye I can see them getting out of Grandpa’s shinny new ‘51 Ford. Dad was beaming with pride, this was his name sake and Mom was tired but smiling from ear to ear.  The Ford was black and Ernest was bright pink, almost red. To this day his ears still turn bright pink when he is embarrassed and the sight of it always makes me laugh and takes me back to the first time I ever saw him.

I found the barbed wire on the web.  I printed it and my sentiment on a scrap of craft card stock. A book plate tied with a bit of raffia layered on a scrap of denim paper and bandanna ribbon. The stamp is from a retired Stampin’ Up set called Mini Horses. I’ve used Spellbinders Label Three again.
Have an Amazing Weekend!
Blessings
Bernie
Click here to give --- It’s Free

Happy Birthday Vicky

Hi There Sweet Friends

Gosh the weather news does not look good across the pond, I do hope my friends there are keeping warm and staying safe. It’s breezy and cold here but otherwise it is beautiful.

A short post today.  This card is for our lovely niece Vicky.  It was a quick card as I’ve let the DCWV Mariposa Matstak PP do all the work.  I think this 6.5 X 4.5  size will be much easier to use on cards then the 12 X 12. I picked up the blue in the printed butterfly to frame my sentiment and added a few more blue MS Butterflies as well. I’ve layered my ribbon over some sparkly tulle. A few tiny flowers and some gems to finish.

I used the same size Spellbinders, Label Three die for the sentiment and the frame. I traced around my die on the blue card with pencil then cut it out by hand, this gives a thinner frame then using the next large die would.   
Thank you all for your lovely comments. I do so enjoy hearing from you.

Have an Amazing Day!
Blessings
Bernie
Click here to give --- It’s Free

Liebster Award Part 2

Hello Friends
Sandra at Stamping For Pleasure has decided not to participate in awards. I’d like to pass this award on to my sweet friend Winnie at Winnie In Wonderland. She is a busy lady working more then one job but she does managed to create some lovely cards as time permits. She is very sad this weekend as she has lost her sweet little companion Miss Kitty. I hope you will pop over, see her lovely cards and leave her a little love.

Have an Amazing Day!

Blessings
Bernie
Click here to give --- It’s Free

Butterflies!

Good Morning! 
I do hope this finds you all well and keeping warm.  Chilly and windy here but the sun is shinning.  I'm hoping to spend a crafty day in  the Closet, it's warm in there.

I’d like to extend a warm welcome to my new followers. I’m thrilled to have you and hope you will enjoy your visits.

I have no idea how you lovely ladies manage to create, blog and comment so religiously. I can’t manage it, life seems to get in the way. I must admit I aggravate people because it always takes me longer to accomplish most things then it does most people. Lets faced it I’m SLOW.  Please forgive me for not commenting on your blogs more often.  I will try to do better.

I have several DCWV 12 x 12 mat stacks which have ALL gone unloved, some for years. Not sure why I keep buying PP as I have such a difficult time using it but I am determined to grow and get past that. Although I didn’t use a template I have loosely followed the One Sheet Wonder principle. This set uses DCWV The Garden Party Stack plus some cream and black cardstock. I spend quite a bit of time sitting in doctor’s waiting rooms, to keep from going totally bonkers I try to take something crafty to occupy myself while I wait. On a recent visit I sat and cut out these butterflies. I hope to sell these cards at a local spring craft fair.

 


These are quite simple but if you have any questions about what I’ve used I’ll be happy to tell you.

Have an Amazing Day!



Blessings
Bernie
Click here to give --- It’s Free

Tickled Pink!

Hi There Everyone;
I hope you are all having a wonderful day.  It is a beautiful day here.  I actually got up because the sun was shinning in my window this morning.  Loving it!

I am so thrilled, Elizabeth has awarded me the Leibster blog award!!! Thank you so much Elizabeth.  I'm in awe that anyone would find my little blog so interesting but I am delighted.   Please pop over to Elizabeth’s marvelous blog.  I am sure you will enjoy her cards and projects as much as I do, they are always lovely and so inspiring and its always a joy to hear about her trips and lovely family and to see the fabulous photos she shares.



The idea of the award is that it be given to bloggers with less than 200 followers in the hope that it will bring them new friends and followers.

It has very simple rules and they are as follows:

1 Show your appreciation of the award by thanking the person who awarded you and link back to their blog.
2 Reveal your five choices for the award and let them know.
3 Post the award on your blog.
4 Bask in the love from the most supportive people on the blog sphere - other bloggers.
5 Finally and best of all - have fun and spread the love.



The blogs I've chosen are listed below. Click on over to their sites and take a look! This was no easy task as there are so many lovely ladies out there who inspire me in so many ways.



Brenda of Benzi Stamps is a Southern Bell. Women from Alabama all seem have a certain delicate charm and Brenda’s cards convey that charm. I am always inspired by her use of color and dies.

Cindy at Creating With Heart is a high school librarian, wife, mother of 4, card maker, scrapbooker and an avid reader. She inspires me to craft because as busy as she is, somehow she manages to find time for crafting and sharing her lovely creations with us daily.  

I’ve only recently ‘met’ Laura at Lozadoodle. She is in her final year at university studying to be a children's nurse. I don't know how she manages to get her studies done and create as well.  Only 21 and so very talented.

I’ve never met Sandra H of Namagramps but somehow I just know she is one of those people who makes everyone feel welcomed and loved.  Her creations are always a delight and never ceases to inspire me.   

Sandra of Stamping For Pleasure shares her delightful creations peppered by beautifully photographed and easy to follow tutorials. Her Sunday Roast chronicles the delightful antics of her hens Harriet and Margot, not to be missed.

I hope you'll hope over and enjoy these lovely ladies work and you'll give them a little love.


Have an Amazing Day!

Blessings
Bernie
Click here to give --- It’s Free

    
   



 

Happy Valentine's Day

Hello

Second post for me today. Please scroll down for my Stamp Catalog ideas.

It’s a beautiful day here, cold but the sun is shinning. Love it! I think I’ve gotten the bugs out of my computer. I wasn’t yesterday but I’m a happy camper today.

I had a simple task yesterday, cut and emboss with my new Spellbinder’s Lacy Circle die. Pull out the die, find a scrap the right size, pull out the Cuttlebug, and plates… You’d think the next step would be to cut and emboss, right. NOT, I lost my die! I never got out of my chair.  Really the Closet is so small I don’t need to and if I do get up I need to move my chair into the door way so I can have a spot to stand. My desk is only 3 1/2’ X 2 ½’. Not a lot of space to misplace something right. I made so much noise moving things in my search Jim asked if I was packing up and moving out. Not a complete waste of time, I did get my desk cleaned and all the odds and ends put away but still no die. Before Jim called the folks in the white coats or I became completely bald from pulling my hair out I gave up. I did some (ugh, dirty word) housework, washed, dried, folded and put away a load of laundry and fixed dinner. When Jim joined me at the dinner table he said 'You've had ‘that thing‘ on your sleeve all day, what is it?'  My Lacy Circle die! Stuck to the sleeve of my sweater! I have had my dies stick to my plates before but never thought the Spellbinder’s adhesive residue was strong enough to keep a die firmly attached to my sweater for over eight hours while I all but ran a marathon.

So here is my card. Finally! I embossed my pink card with a Swirls EF. I used MS Garden Trellis under my ribbon after cutting away the scallop portion. I used EK Success scalloped border punch on my black panel then glued the scallops from the Garden Trellis to the scalloped border. Waste not - want not. Finally I adhered my Lacy Circle and centered my MS Lace Scalloped Heart on it. The flowers and feathers are from my stash are my handcrafted rhinestone swirls. The sentiment is one of many free Digis from Bird at Bird‘s Cards. All the papers were scraps so I’ll be joining the girls in the playground at Di’s Pixie's Crafty Snippets - Challenge Number 4 .  Do visit the playground, you are sure to be inspired by the amazing talent there.   

Have an Amazing Day!

Blessings
Bernie
Click here to give --- It’s Free

Stamp Catalog

I am sooooooo proud of myself. I put on my big girl panties

and cataloged ALL of my rubber and acrylic stamps. It is working so well for me I thought I’d share it with you today.

As my stamp collection grows I can no longer remember where my stamps are and I’m beginning to forget what I have. I've spent an insane amount of time searching the web for a catalog idea that would suite my needs. I came across Patter Cross’s Rolodex idea but once again space was an issue. I’ve adapted her idea and placed my cards in photo albums instead.  

I began with an 8 1/2" X 11" album until I found some wonderful 12" X 12" photo albums, you guessed it in a thrift shop. This resulted in some images being turned the wrong way but hey I can still see them and these albums take up no more space then a matstack. Years ago I bought some card stock in a thrift shop. Both were dreadful stuff, of no use on my cards but perfect for practicing and as it turns out perfect for my stamp catalog.

I stamped each image on a separate card and noted it’s location in the corner in pencil. As most of my stamps are previously loved, more often then not I don’t know the stamp name or what company it was made by so I’ve only noted their location. Do pop over and see all wonderful information Patter has noted about each of her stamps on her Rolodex cards. You may even get a few ideas on how to store your stamps.  Patter's blog is jam packed with wonderful storage and organization ideas.

I am please with my catalogs. Should one of my stamps find a new home or I decide to move it I can simply remove a card or erase and note it’s new location. I have lots of space to add new images as they find their way into my collection.



I hope someone finds this helpful. If nothing else I encourage you to make yourself a stamp catalog ASAP. The longer you wait the longer it will take.
Have an Amazing Day!

Blessings
Bernie
Click here to give --- It’s Free

Pretty, Pink, Butterflies

Good Morning
Hooray it's stopped snowing!  I hope the weather is being kind to you where ever you are.  Bless him the snowplow guy went around and cleared the driveways.  A little to late for me but just shows to go ya, he is a sweetheart.  It's warmed up so everything is melting now.  Our area wont be affected but there is a fear of flooding.

Our granddaughter Shannalee Mahealani passed away in ‘05. Had she lived she would have been 27 this past Sunday. I miss her, sometimes desperately but I can never be sad when I think of her. The mere thought of her warms my heart. It was a joy and an honor to be her grandmother, she lives on in my heart. Shanna was a bit of a diva from the day she was born. Even as a toddler she loved having a manicure. Not just having her nails painted but a full on manicure and I loved giving them to her. She could make me laugh till I ached. When we were moving in here I plugged in an old rotary dial phone temporarily. Shanna asked if she could use it. Sure she hadn't even seen one before, I asked if she knew how to use a rotary dial phone. She said ’Grandma I’m not blond!’ Which of course made me smile but when she tried to turn the dial toward the zero I laughed so hard I cried.  She said ' Grandma it's stuck.'  I couldn't speak, I had to show her how to dial it properly.  That resulted in her making a face at me. Oh she could make faces, faces that would melt your heart or bring you to tears with laughter.

Even though this card is for her mother Donna’s birthday, I had so many wonderful memories of Shanna running thru my head as I made it. Shanna loved pretty, PINK and butterflies. I think I’ve filled that bill. I love the 3-D butterfly on the top right corner. After gluing the three MS Monarch butterflies together I rubbed it over my versa mark pad then dipped it in holographic EP and heat embossed it. You can find the tutorial on making the 3-D butterfly here.    The flowers were from my stash. I Shimmer Misted it but once again I can't get that to show in my photo.  I used my heat gun to dry the mist, totally forgetting it would melt my ribbon.  Oops in the blink of an eye one tail vanished and a tiny hole appeared on the band.  Not to worry I tucked another tail in there and covered the hole with another butterfly.  The papers were scraps so I am entering it in Di’s Pixie's Crafty Snippets - Challenge Number 4

Have an Amazing Day!

Blessings
Bernie
Click here to give --- It’s Free

White,White,White

Hey There

Not to worry I haven’t injured the snowplow guy but only because I know they wont let me have sharp objects in jail and I don’t think I could survive without crafting. Actually the man is a sweetheart. He is our park handy man and if he thinks one of us old frats seniors could use a hand he will stop and help. Last year he jumped out of his truck, grabbed my shovel and dug a hole so I could plant a shrub. Somehow, I know he wouldn’t pile the show in the driveway if he could figure out how to avoid it.

I love pure white cards but I’ve never been able to create one before. Today I finally managed to resist the urge to add color somewhere. I began by embossing with a no name EF that came with my Cuttlebug. Next I created a frame with MS Garden Trellis punch and added my bow. I arranged a bouquet of two sprigs of leaves with Sizzlets Leafy branch die and flowers from my stash on a one inch circle then tucked it under the bow. I then added three MS LG Monarch Butterflies and Recollections pearls to the corners, the butterflies and flower centers. Finally I sprayed the entire card with Shimmer Mist Sparkle. This was difficult to photograph, couldn’t get it to show but it really does sparkle IRL.

Becca Feeken of Amazing Paper Grace does magical things with paper, ribbon and Spellbinders.  She also uses punches in ways that boggles my mind.  For my frame I followed Becca's turorial for Perfect Mitered Corner with Punch here.My bow is also a Becca creation she calls a Peg Bow.  You can find that tutorial here.  I’d love to make a bow maker like hers but space is at a premium in the Closet. Instead I’ve pushed my pegs into a few layers of foam board. The bottom layer is wide so I can weigh the whole thing down with my Cuttlebug. I can remove the pegs and fit the pieces into a small space.

My computer has been acting up quite a bit lately. I am no computer whiz kid but I am going to try to figure out what’s going on, hopefully I wont blow it up. If you don’t hear from me you’ll know I did something wrong.
Have an Amazing Day!

Blessings
Bernie
Click here to give --- It’s Free

Snow

Hi There Dear Blog Friends

I’m running late but its not my fault. My ISP was running like dial up, nearly lost the will to live trying to download my photos.    *AND*   It’s still snowing and showing no signs of stopping. This morning we had freezing rain. Not wanting to let it get to deep I have been diligently shoveling the snow off the driveway and walks every hour or so. Let me tell you if a person could be arrested and locked up for the things they think I would be in jail right now. If that snow plow driver keeps piling the snow in my driveway I may lose all control and actually do to him the things that have been running thru my head. I’m not sure he is doing any good anyway. Cars are still spinning their tires and slipping and sliding out there. Yours truly isn’t venturing out any farther from the house then the mail box and I’m walking there.

My card is a diagonal pocket card. I found scraps just big enough and a bit ribbon to make this card. I hate to see the end of this ribbon, I do love it. The PP is from Colorbok.  It's the first stack I ever purchased and had the most difficult time cutting into.  The pink embossed paper is by Fiskars.  I found it at a yard sale.  Never even know Fiskars once made papers. I edged my papers with MS Cherished Hearts punch. The flower and charm are from my stash.  The stamp is from the $1 bin at Michael's.

I’m entering this card into Di’s Pixies Crafty Snippets Challenge then I’m off to shovel the drive way again. I just heard the snow plow go by so say a little pray for the guy that I don’t beat him over the head with the snow shovel, I do so want to.

Have an Amazing Day!

Blessings
Bernie
Click here to give --- It’s Free

Love is in the air

Hi There

I hope the weather is treating you all well. Mother Nature is kicking up a real fuss in our area. The storm has already hit the Seattle area and it is barreling it’s way over the Cascade range toward us. We are expecting as much as a foot of snow tonight and more later in the week. Yikes! Apparently people are going a little crazy trying to stock up at the last minuet. Since I am terrified of driving in those conditions I am always prepared for all eventualities except alternative heating if the power goes out. Fingers crossed that wont happen, the temp is already dropping fast. Burr!!!

My entire card was made from snippets. The background paper is a scrap from an old Martha Stewart Holidays stack.  The hearts were punched from scraps with a Recollections heart punch, the lace from my jar of ribbon bits and pieces. The sentiment is a Studio G $1 stamp and the charm is from my stash. I have glued down that pesky little corner since taking the photo.

Cheap Trick:  Use a post-it note as an extension or handle when punching smaller scraps.  

Okay I'm headed to the playground to enter my card Di’s Pixies Crafty Snippets Challenge before the snow gets to deep. :) 
  I plan to hold up in the Closet until this storm passes so if I have power and the internet I will see you all tomorrow.
Have an Amazing Day!

Blessings
Bernie
Click here to give --- It’s Free

Lovely Trees

Hi There

Hope this finds you all well and keeping warm. Burr it really is cold here today and we expect some of the white stuff soon.

My card today is for Aaron, my son Matt’s best buddy. Currently in the Navy stationed in San Diego Aaron hasn’t been home for some time. Matt will put his motorcycle in the back of his truck and drive the 1160 miles to visit him as often as he can. The boys had a wonderful week riding their bikes in late Nov. Matt headed home only to have his truck break down, 200 miles from home, in the middle of no where, on top of a mountain, in the middle of Oregon, in the middle of the night. Yikes! He had no way home, Mom to the rescue. One day to go get him and another to take him back to retrieve his truck. Just one of the many things that kept me from blogging this winter.

I rarely make 5” X 7” cards but this lovely Hero Arts Classic Evergreen stamp needed the space. I scored the borders of my card, I love how scoring dresses up a simple card. Using post-it notes to keep my borders clean and my homemade stamp-a-ma-jig I stamped my focal trees then stamped off and stamped the trees in the background. I am pleased with the result, a (new to me) technique.

Thank you to those who have left me such sweet comments. Sorry I haven’t been able to reciprocate to many of you. I will as soon as Blogger decides to play nice again.
Have an Amazing Day!

Blessings
Bernie
Click here to give --- It’s Free

Happy Friday the 13th

Hi There

I hope everyone is well and enjoying the new year. I thought after the holidays were over things would settle down around here but I was sadly mistaken. I’ve been rushing around like a chicken with it‘s head cut off. It hasn’t been any fun whatsoever either. Today I got to stay home and actually found some play time.

Friday the 13^th has me thinking of my dear quirky friend Exie. We met as coworkers at a hospital in Calif. and remained friends until she died of Alzheimer’s many years later. Exie firmly believed Friday the 13^th was the luckiest day of the year. So much so that when she was rushed to the hospital needing emergency surgery on the afternoon of Thursday the 12^th she refused to sign the consent forms. She was positive if they operated on the 12^th they would find cancer. In spite of the entire hospital staff trying to convince her otherwise she stubbornly held her ground. She signed those forms at 12:01 AM on the 13^th and was rushed to the operating room at 12:02. Although it was by no means a minor problem it wasn’t cancer. The entire episode served to convince her that Friday the 13^th was indeed the very luckiest day of the year.

So it’s with Exie in mind that I’ve made my card today.

A year or so ago friend asked me to use this image to make a card. It’s a coloring page found here. I resized it and printed it along with the sentiment. I’ve colored it with my Berol pencils and fussy cut it. I used a quickie glue pen and Sparkle EP for the rain in the background.

Have an Amazing Day! 

Blessings
Bernie
Click here to give --- It’s Free

Happy New Year!

I hope your Christmas was wonderful and all your wishes came true. I couldn‘t have asked for a better gift then to be surrounded by family but I was completely spoiled as they showered me with gift cards to all the craft shops in town as well. What can I say, they know and love me. LOL!

Growing up in Hawaii New Years Eve meant fireworks and lots of it. Every Dec. 31^st, shortly after dark, my family and I would all gather on the large front steps of our home as though they were bleachers. Dad would put on a marvelous fireworks display for us on the front lawn. To this day whenever I see a fireworks display, no matter how grand it is, I can’t help but think Dad’s were always better. Guess it was the love he added.

Later we would walk to my grandparents home.  They thought rock and roll was the devils music and should be banned but after diner my Aunty Alice would take us kids out on the screened in porch and turn up the radio anyway. We had no idea how to dance but we had a wonderful time trying until we ended up literally rolling on the floor laughing. Aunty Alice always made every holiday special for us kids, for New Years she served us Highballs that LOOKED just like the ones she made for the adults. What fun memories.

Back home again my siblings and I would run thru the yard writing our names in the air with sparklers and set off firecrackers under the strict supervision by our parents. We would be in bed long before midnight but were wide awake until well after. All over the island people climbed to the top of power poles and attach strings of firecrackers the length of the poles. At midnight they would begin to set them off. It seemed to go on for hours and the air would be filled with smoke long after it was over. For the next week there were tiny bits of red tissue paper scattered on the ground everywhere.

Those memories inspired my card. The firecrackers are rolled red tissue paper stitched together with gray floss for the fuse. I embossed a gold band on my red card stock to highlight them. The sentiment was printed, I have no idea where it came from. It sits behind a window made with Spellbinders Labels Three. The sparkle was added with a Quickie Glue pen and EP.

I made this card at the dinner table with the entire family as my audience. I did it in part because The Closet is an utter disaster area and partly because I was asked how I cut those fancy shapes and how I got that shinny stuff to stick to my cards. I fully expected the men to head for the hills but they were as fascinated by the workings of the Cuttlebug and the melting of the EP as the kids and the gals were.


I wish you all Good Health, Prosperity, Peace and Everything Wonderful in 2012.

Blessings
Bernie
Click here to give --- It’s Free

Merry Merry Christmas

Hello Dear Friends
I do hope you and yours are all well and the weather is being kind to you.

When I last posted I had no idea it would be so very long before I’d be back. You see I won the lottery and I’ve been on a world cruise, I’ve seen all the lovely sights…  Errr you aren’t buying it are you. That would have been so very nice but the truth is I’ve just been busy with every day life.

It’s all good. The house is all shiny and bright, the halls are decked, everything that needed to be has been mailed, the gifts are wrapped and the stockings are hung. We are enjoying two glorious weeks of children, grandchildren and in-laws, 15 in total. The house is full of joyful laughter and more food is being consumed then anyone would believe.

Since we are a family of yours, mine and ours, our tradition is to celebrate and open our gifts on Christmas Eve. Everyone is free to spend Christmas day as they wish but since we have open house most of them filter in and out through out the day.

The house will seem empty and be very quite when everyone leaves. I’ve miss playing in the Closet and I’ve missed all of you but I am enjoying every second I can with those I love. I will return and visit with you all after the first of the year.

I wish all of you and yours all the joys and peace of Christmas.  May all your Christmas wishes come true. 

  Have an Amazing Christmas!
Blessings
Bernie
Click here to give --- It’s Free

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

My card today is to promote breast cancer awareness. I used the free digi HOPE ribbon from Incy Wincy Designs. I printed it on pink card stock, cut it out then mounted it onto a Spellbinders Classic Ovals Lg. I colored the border of the oval with liquid gold DecoColor pen. The lace, flowers, half pearls and rhinestones are from my stash.
  One look at my blog and you know Breast Cancer is a subject close to my heart. My dearest friend Susie is a 25 yr. survivor thanks to early detection by mammogram.  My daughter Donna was diagnosed with breast cancer on 1-11-11. She has only recently completed her treatments and is now in remission. Thankfully Donna’s cancer was discovered very early by mammogram. Even after they pin pointed where the tumor was neither she nor her doctors could feel it. This shows just how important it is to get your mammograms regularly.


You can also help save someone else’s life. In this dreadful economy many women, my sister included, have lost their medical insurance and can no longer afford their mammograms. On my side bar and at the bottom of every post I have links to the Breast Cancer site. Please click on one of those links whenever you visit, it only takes a second and each time you do a sponsor will donate funds so women can receive free mammograms.

Thank you for stopping by. I truly treasure each and every kind word you leave me.

Have an Amazing Day!

Blessings
Bernie
Click here to give --- It’s Free

A Starburst

Hi There Friends

Hope you are all well and enjoying a lovely week. Sorry for disappearing. I have been trying to visit you all but there's lots going on here all interfering with the crafty side of my life.  Winter seems to be coming towards us like a runaway fright train. I have been trying to get the garden put to bed and plants tucked into the greenhouse before it gets here.  Aw but you know I can’t stay out of The Closet for very long so I do have a card to share with you today.

I found this tutorial some time ago and I’ve been wanting to make one ever since. I used Spellbinders Foliage, a portion of Sizzlit branch with leaves and layered some flowers from my stash. I don’t have a ribbon die yet so I stamped my sentiment then cut it out with Spellbinders Labels Three. Just ran it thru the Cuttlebug cut and embossed then repositioned the die to make a narrow ribbon and back thru the bug. I used a slot punch then weaved my ribbon thru and behind my sentiment. I think this would look much better if I had inked my edges but over all I'm happy with how it turned out. Since the entire card was made with scraps including the ribbon I’ll be sharing it at Jules’ playground.  


THANKS for stopping by and thank you for your lovely comments.

Have an Amazing Day!
Blessings
Bernie
Click here to give --- It’s Free

BOO!

Hi There
Just a quick post and a simple card today. I’ve never made a Halloween card before, just never had the need for one.  This is what I came up with when I was asked to make one. 

I don’t have any Halloween stamps, papers etc. I found this spider web on the net and printed it on to Transparency Film. I used my Spellbinders Classic Ovals Lg to cut the transparency, a window in my black card base and an orange frame. I printed and hand cut the sentiment and added green paper on the inside to finish.

Have an Amazing Day!

Blessings
Bernie 
Click here to give --- It’s Free