HAPPY NEW YEAR

Well time has come to say good bye to this year.It has been a busy one, some sadness, but blessings to follow in most of it...My year set a pattern for a need of thank you cards, though I do not think I ever created enough.

I designed this card in hope of re creating it in different colors and styles, so far this is the only one I have completed... At this time of year there are 2 words that should be said so often, but it seems they get looked over  most of the time these days... I think I will try to make more thank you cards to have on hand, just for all of those little things people do . No matter how small, they still deserve a THANK YOU ...


So to all of you that have been so kind to me this year , this card is for you
: )

I used SU basic gray, with the swirl embossing folder, a scrap of brushed silver by SU once again, and a bow off of a package..yep, I do not throw any thing away ...lol
The stamp is from a SU set named Tagtastic, and I used the scallop punch I just bought from a friend...I love it too... I used Versa Magic Dazzle, then silver Encore ink, and then I heat embossed it with clear embossing powder. And I must say,I think it stepped up the clarity and the shininess.
I added detail, using the same ink and embossing powder inside the card as well as the envelope...

So here is my last post for the year... If you have not read my post from yesterday, please do now... That is my wish for all of you as we bring in the New Year.
Thank you for looking at my blog, and I hope you have seen some thing that you have enjoyed, or maybe even inspired you . And I hope you all come back to see what I can come up with this year... My chair is always waiting for you to come sit and visit ...

So take care, Stay healthy and happy, and enjoy all of your blessings every day ,

Soni B

So the New Year is approaching

Hello, how is everyone ?? Are you tired from all you have been doing? Or are you still busy trying to get more done? If so please take just a minute to sit with me, and maybe understand my thoughts .

Are you ready to bring in the New Year?? What does that really mean ???

I am not one to make resolutions. It seems I always think I can do more than I actually can. So I have tried to just think of a few smaller things that are reachable...I have plenty in my life that could use some big help. but I have learned baby steps work better for me : )

So this year I want to try to not be so quick to be judge mental, and along with that I want to try each day to live in a better way, by sharing smiles, and love in any way I can, but most of all I want to try to not let anger in. And my biggie is an ongoing struggle I have, to be able to forgive on a better level. These may sound easy, but not really .The last one will be a lot of work.

The main focus in my year is to ENJOY every day, ENJOY all I have , and not wait until tomorrow to do anything I can do today. We really have no guarantees about a tomorrow . This year has taught me a lot... Life happens, and we go on...We miss the ones we have lost, but we still have our life to live . Yes there is sadness, but there is also goodness , in our memories, and our future.

My family is the center of my world, they are my purpose to live each day. So I plan to love each of them, that part is easy. : )
I hope to be able to be there for my family, just as they have been their for me all of this year, and always in the past. My family is not only relation, but an extended group of friends as well. I am blessed with all that I call FAMILY...

My last area I want to do better at is my crafting and my blog... I really love to create, it does not matter if it is cards, scrap book pages, or gifts for others, I truly enjoy just playing with all of my wonderful TOYS... My crafting area is my HAPPY PLACE, and my computer is just a very favorite thing in my life ... So I want to get more organized, better structured and just basically more regular, especially in making and sharing... Learning new things and ways is right up at the top of my list... : )

So as we get ready to bring 2011 to an end, and look back at our year, I hope we all can smile, and know this NEW YEAR is waiting. It has a lot of POTENTIAL , and much HAPPINESS just sitting there .. It is up to us to REACH out, and make ALL we can of what is waiting for us..

I wish you all a WONDERFUL NEW YEAR with BLESSINGS every day.. I think the KEY to this is to be ourselves, LOVE one another and SEE the good around us , and to simply LIVE a GOOD LIFE... Remember to be HAPPY , and SMILE...

So whatever you want to accomplish in this new year, I wish all of you luck... I hope I get to join you as you reach towards your goals, and see any part of it that I can. Sharing is so much FUN .

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Hugs to all of you ,
Love Sonja


My belief is GOD gives us so much, what we do with that is our gift back to HIM... So whatever your belief is, just keep on BELIEVING...

It's Christmas Time

Hi there, how are all of you ? Thanks for stopping in, and I hope you grab that rocking chair and plan to visit a while .
I have not been very good at creating this year, and this season is no different. However, I did get an ounce of "mojo" as they call it and a couple of ideas... So I am here to share them...

First is a remake of a card I designed last year, with a few changes....The card front is embossed with a Cuttle bug embossing folder, and I used Encore silver ink along with a punched snowflake. I cut the fron a little to see the border I put on the inside and I added white card stock inside to put the sentiment on .
And second is a card from our monthly challenge where we receive images and embellishments and create our own idea... I used Versa Mark all over the images and heat embossed with clear embossing powder and I layered cord on a ribbon, very clean lines, pretty simple, but I like the look. My Versa mark pad had a tint of ink and some speckles too, but I thought it looked pretty cool : )
Then the third card is another basic and simple card, made from leftover pieces from a kit I had to make Christmas cards with . I knew I had the sentiment stamp and the idea just fell into place... Again I was happy with it... I guess I should move on with my level of "acceptance " : ) and maybe then my cards would not be so basic, simple and plain...lol
And fourth is my personal favorite . I am known as the SPARKLE LADY to some of my friends, I love sparkles... My daughter Krista was playing around with a new technique that she saw on SCS, and decided to use my Judikins black detailed embossing powder...Yes I know, this is not a very tradition color scheme for a winter card, but it is ever so pretty in real life... A simple snow flake embossing folder, Versa Mark , my Judikins, and a heat gun... And look what she made... I took the card front and turned it into this... Of course she did the bow, any of you that know me, know I just cannot do a bow, and here look what she did, with adding silver cord to black sheer ribbon...I have not added a sentiment, but I am thinking it could be a thank you, or a birthday or anniversary card with just a choice of sentiment...

Well not too bad for not being in the creative mood : )
I think once I took the "need" to make cards out of the picture, and just had fun it was so much easier.... With saying that, most of my friends will not be getting home made cards for CHRISTMAS : ( ...

I sure hope you enjoyed your visit, please come back soon. Maybe next time I will have some fun pictures.I have a very busy December, with birthdays so I might sneak a few pictures in...


I want to wish each of you a very MERRY CHRISTMAS, and a season of love and happiness , May your BLESSINGS be plentiful and shared .

And one final edition for Ali...

My daughter Krista made her daughter Ali and really cool card...We are all card makers, but some of us just did not get around to making ours : (

I love the added sparkle , STICKLES is such an amazing product !It took this simple layout and turned it into total FUN... Great job Krista...You can see more of her creations here ...http://mypurplepalacetherapy.blogspot.com/

I love this card, Ali's theme was chosen after her colors and designs from her bedroom...Hot Pink, with black and white zebra print. I know when she showed me the bedding last year, I was like OH MY GOODNESS. But that is what she wanted, and she still loves it ! : )

So here is the card, and I hope you have enjoyed these updates.
I love to share my family with all of you....

Please stop in again real soon, I will try to get get something crafty up next .... As Always, thanks for visiting, and Blessing to each of you .

Ali's birthday...second edition

So here are a few of the pictures from Ali's day. She is just "ALI".
She is a fourteen year old that loves to have fun. She has her grandpas and her mommy's and daddy's sense of humor ,( tho I usually do not laugh...lol ) and loves to share it or display it...
Her Mom made her cake as always, the color is way off here, it is hot pink and black and white zebra print... totally ALI : ) Oh and the hat was a gift she choose on a shopping trip recently for her birthday... Don't you just love it ???? ~

She is full of love and gives her absolute best to everything she does. She is an active sports girl, with softball and volley ball and cheer leading being her favorites, but not the only sports she takes part in... She loves to sing and excels at that too..She loves to bake,and that girl can make fudge : ) , she enjoys reading, and of course painting fancy finger nails... Simply, she enjoys LIFE. And usually without the drama. She believes it is best to be happy and have fun.
She is loved by so many .
God made this ANGEL special, as he did all of my grand children...And I am so proud of each of them.
I say thank you daily for being able to enjoy them, along with their mommies and thank them for sharing my babies ...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALI

Happy Birthday Ali ...

Today my oldest grand daughter turned 14, geesh, where did those years go??? We decided to go out to breakfast as a family to celebrate. This girl is is a busy busy teenager, so trying to fit a party in this year just was not going to happen, lol
Her and I are going shopping for clothes as her gift from me, so I just bought a card last night at Hallmark...yes I know, SHAME on me... I felt so bad , that I came home and made a gift card for a small gift I gave her tonight as we had cake and ice cream...It was 3 1/2 x 6 inches, and made like a card on a base...I used Judikins detailed black embossing powder and heat embossed the sentiment , it has sparkle and a bit of color specks... Love that stuff : )
Her mom made her a really cool card, and she loved it, so that just added guilt to me... lol I had to make something... : )

We used her bedroom colors and design as a theme for her cake and paper supplies...HOT PINK and BLACK and WHITE ZEBRA print...
Here is her gift card,I will upload some pictures of her cake and card from her mom and her enjoying today and share with all of you soon...Thanks for stopping by, Have a great week...

Christmas

Again I have not really created for Christmas this year, so I thought I would share some things from the past, I believe I made this two years ago for my youngest daughter, Krista .
We try to make at least one gift for some one..I made another one just like this for a very SPECIAL friend that loves purple too : )

And here is the name frame that Krista made for me the same year. And the last picture is not a very good picture, I apologize, but it is a word frame I made for my oldest daughter, Tammy. She loves snowmen, so I thought she would like this... But I ended up having to make her one just like her sisters...So that was three of those that I made that year : )
: ) Yes my girls are SPOILED, but I would not have it any other way : )
We were so lucky to find the same DP and what ever else we needed...

Those memories are part of what I treasure at Christmas time.
Being with FAMILY is the best gift of all...

I did make one or two new items recently, but they were for a fun exchange with a great group of ladies on Splitcoaststampers, and we have not opened our boxes of goodies yet. So as soon as we do our reveal, I will post those items for all of you top see ...

I hope you are all enjoying this Christmas Season, and thanks so much for stopping by...
I will be waiting for you to stop in again real soon.....

May your Christmas season be BLESSED and full of LOVE and HAPPINESS.... Hugs to all of you


OOPS the first picture ( the winter frame ) is supposed to be the last, and the last one ( Purple Merry Christmas ) is really the first one...geesh, why can I not get this to work right???? Sorry for the technical challenge on my part... * shaking my head...

Thank you

A super sweet and kind lady Started my day by presenting me with a new blog award...
I was so shocked.....lol
She really has more confidence in me than I deserve in my way of blogging as well as dealing with computer challenges...

Tamra, you are so kind and inspiring, not only in paper crafting but in God's word as well...thank you so much and I am so grateful for joining SCS near 6 years ago . I have met so many wonderful ladies on there ...

So here is my award and I will share it with five women that I think deserve it too as soon as I can learn to link their blogs : ) and share Tamra's blogs with you all too ...

I hope this works, if it does please go check out Tam's blog, she is an amazing lady, full of love and simply an inspiration in so many ways. Her ability to be crafty in so many areas is so encouraging . Plus she is just a delight to know ...

http://apronstringsandholythings.blogspot.com

So here is the NEW Autumn Look

Well as I promised, here are some new creations, 2 are from our monthly challenge group...
The scarecrow, isn't he just adorable ? , is a WHIFF OF JOY stamp. I colored him with pencils and used a blender pen to smooth and added a piece of fiber to match, then I popped him up with pop dots after I matted him.
And the thank you card I used the embossed strip on the left , that was from the challenge packet as well.And added a tag I picked up at out local scrap booking store, I tried to match the colors and keep it simple . The card base is textured and I rounded the upper corner to follow the lines of the tag.
The autumn scene is a new embossing folder from Sizzix, I love it... I simply added color with sponges and ink...my first attempt was not great, but I hope to try that some more real soon...

So here are just a few, I know they are not in order, my computer just trips me up every time ! LOL . Maybe I can sneak in a couple of more cards this week ... My week end flew by as a rather large deer decided to bump into me...well really he just tried to wipe me out ... So my car has a lot of bumps and bruises issues... : (

As always , thanks for stopping by, I hope you will do that again. I will try to get more fun stuff up just for you : )

Take care, Be careful. and Bless you all .

I Love Autumn

Well now the colors are really changing, along with the temperatures...
I truly Love Autumn, and usually enjoy making cards that reflect part of the season. I have not made any yet, so I thought I would share some from the years past...And then as I make a few, I will share those and we can all see how my tastes have changed or if there are some things I hang on to ... : )
So I hope you enjoy these cards and will come back to see the new ones... Til then, Autumn Blessings to each of you and maybe you could tell me what you like best about the season of Autumn, and what your favorite technique to use on a card is ...

The first card is Ruby Red and chocolate chip by SU along with a background stamp ... nothing fancy, colored with pencils ...
the second card used an embossing folder and pencils again,
the third card was SIMPLE , just some really pretty dp ,
the fourth card is my favorite, colored pencils and a blender pen plus look close, some sparkle on the pumpkins to look like FROST and some sponging to fill it in a bit : )
and the last one is a 5 x 5 square using more pretty dp, and a leaf cut out and popped up....So nothing too fancy, but they all represent something about Autumn ...

Happy Halloween

Hi everyone, I am just stopping in to say I hope you all have an awesome day. No matter if you choose to follow the scary mode, or the fun mode of this day, or even if you do not follow the tradition for what ever belief...just know I hope your day is blessed !

The pictures are of something my family did yesterday.
Oct 30 was / is my husbands birthday
( yes I know I am supposed to say "late" husband, but those that knew him, know he was NEVER late and despised those who were ! )

As part of our doing this "together" as we promised, I told our grand children that we would send balloons up to their grandpa, when ever they wanted, so they could send him love... So his birthday seemed a super time to do that. We always celebrated his special day TOGETHER... His family and friends were so important to him...I hope and pray he knows how important he was to each of us, and how very much we love him , and always will .

So another "first" is done, and now on to today...

Happy Halloween

Surprise

Since my sweet baby grand daughter looks so ready for Halloween, I decided to surprise you all with a recent picture... She sure is a super baby, and gathering love each day from all of us... So now you can go to the update to really see some cards, just thought I would share one of my many blessings

And more Happy Halloween on the way

Hello, and how are all of you ? I have been playing a bit and enjoying the time in my craft room...so let's get to it
First off, is my glittery spider webs, in real life they are very cool, just love the Judikins detailed black embossing powder, it does amazing things ! The bow was from a piece of left over ribbon and my daughters fingers, lol she does bows so much better than I do : ) thanks Krista : )
And the second one was a super quick and easy card, but I had to try out my new Sizzix die...these ghosts are just too sweet, aren't they?? And the fence was from a new pack of Sizzix embossing folder...
Can you tell I love Sizzix??
Plus I used my Cricut...
Now that is really something for me : )
And the third card is my sweet witch flying by... I was trying to use up more scraps and incorporate something from my challenge packet too, so I used a punch to cut out my witch and added the sheer ribbon and BLING ! I thought this dp was perfect since it was so happy looking ...

So there you have it... I hope to start on a few Autumn cards soon, but I still have some Halloween ideas, so we shall see : )


I hope you all enjoyed what I had to share... and I will look forward to all of you stopping back soon... Thanks for visiting me, I know it is chilly out on my FRONT PORCH , so bring some warm cider or hot cocoa next time ...: )
bye til next time ...

October Challenge Cards

Back in the early spring, it was time to choose our month in our monthly challenge group.I was excited that I was able to have October, as Autumn is such a wonderful time of year with beautiful colors and great temperatures... So as my year progessed, and was quite busy in un scheduled events, September arrived and my memory jogged . I could not at that time decide if I wanted to use fun Halloween stamps and embellishments or pretty Autumn things. But my group was so understanding that with my grand daughter being born 2 1/2 weeks early, that my envelopes would not be mailed quite as early as I wanted them, that I decided to send a little ( or a lot ) of both just to say thank you .

So in todays up date I am sharing just the first 2 cards of Halloween design that I have finished, these also have the inside decorated just a little... I will try to get busy and create a few more cards and post a few more in the next several days...

So the first card is done with a special friend in mind, She loves Halloween and purple... And we both seem to be called a witchy woo once in a while...The second is one I thought would be good for a child, fairly basic, not overdone...

And big woo hoos to me, I figured out how to move my pictures, though I thought I entered them in the correct order, they sure had a mind of their own ! But ALL is good... there just might be hope for me yet...lol

As always thanks so much for stopping by, and putting up with me... I do enjoy my paper crafting along with seeing who came to visit !... Take care, and I will try to get back here real soon with some more cards to look at...

And Here She Is

Wow, where did all of those days go to?? I have been enjoying watching everyone love my newest grand daughter, and watching her and her mommy , my oldest daughter, get acquainted and settled in. She is so precious, and makes some super cute faces, and some down right funny ones too.
Her big sister thinks she is great and her cousins all just love her...And then there is her Aunt Krista, well she is just totally over the moon about her and she has a few nick names already... like "sweetness" or "sugar love " but her Mommy prefers her to be called FAITH
Here are some pictures just to get that all across : )
I have enjoyed being the one to take these pictures, I have had my moments of holding her and loving her,and there are pictures to prove that : ) but just not on my camera .

Since I cannot figure out how to move the pictures, the first is Cousin Cody then Aunt Krista, then Cousin Dustin. Then Big Sister Brooke, Then cousin Ali then Faith and then Mommy and Faith

I will try to get more pics up soon , we have so many...
Welcome to our family Baby Faith...I am ready to love you and spoil you, grandma Soni

Welcome Baby Faith

I am here to say I am a very proud and happy Grandma again, My oldest daughter delivered a beautiful baby girl early today... Mommy did an awesome job, and Baby is simply delightful...Both are doing fine
I do not have pics ready to share, but I wanted to share this joyous news... God gives us amazing gifts, and I am so blessed...I am raising up my hands to God to say THANK YOU ....

I hope to be back soon with some pictures, but I have a busy schedule , being a grandma is like that... : )

BACK TO SCHOOL TIME
It seems school starts earlier every year. My husbands cousin's oldest grand daughter started Kindergaten just a couple of weeks ago, I thought this was perfect to send to her. The image was from a month;y swap I belong to, and it was from CC Designs and the Greeting Farm... the dp was from Me and Mt Big Ideas, school pack...I thought it was so sweet, and just kept it simple... yes I know, simple is what I do...

And the star card is for my grandson,Dustin... he is trying so hard to not only get good grades but to be good in class as well... He is a very busy little guy, and he gets bored and likes to talk or wants to play...being 7 sure is not easy... lol
He has been rewarded with a new Lego set at my house, and since I live right next door now, that is pretty handy . But I still wanted to show him that I am so happy that he is really doing a great job... Of course he just wants more Legos... : )

Hello, time to share...

Wow, I am not sure where this summer has gone...but I do know it has flown by...With very hot temperatures and lots of things to do ~
As in most cases, I am at the last minute in need of making a card, a very special card to say the least. Sunday we will having a BABY SHOWER for my oldest daughter in waiting of her blessing to arrive. We have been told "It's A GIRL" of course that was after one very successful shopping trip, that turned out to be a return lots of baby clothes day ...lol Tammy and I both were sure it was a little boy... oops, guess that shows you what we know... But we had fun on both of our shopping days, and found some adorable little girl clothes... Some say I bought EVERYTHING in the store, but what is a grandma to do ?? : )
Here is what I created, it is not in her color scheme at all, but I saw the paper and knew exactly what I wanted to do... The baby gown is from a SU set named Buggies ans Booties, I love the old fashion look it gives . The sentiment above the gown is from another SU set named Welcome Little One .
I will be back soon, with pictures from the shower and hopefully more cards...I have missed my play time and I am ready to start having fun again.

As always, I am so happy that you stopped by...and hope to see you here again soon... Take care...

New Look for my crafting time

My passion in the form of a hobby is scrap booking,I love to scrap pics of my family and remember the good times, It is followed by a close second of card making, I enjoy creating an individual thought to send to a friend or family member to celebrate a special day or as a get well or just thinking of you card.

I have been very fortunate in the past several years to have a designated area for my crafting... It was an enclosed front porch...hence the name of my blog : )
It all started on the dining room table, just like many of you I am sure... Over time I have collected many tools, lots of cool things and the amount of "paper" well we won't go there ...lol I am easily "enabled "

I have recently moved to a new home, and again I am so blessed to have an actual room to create a happy place for me. I have been able to purchase a few new organizational items that I think are awesome and even splurged on some new desks... Oh and check out the valances, are they not simply perfect for a scrap booking or stamping theme... ???

I have always loved black, usually with red added to make a color combo, but turquoise is another choice that suits me ...
I love my new space, tho I have a few more ideas of moving a few things to make it a bit more user friendly... and 2 more items I want to add... Once I get an ink pad holder or system, that will free up my media center to become the new home of my punches : )
I also want to incorporate DAISIES... I am hoping to get some vinyl ones cut to put on my walls...

Here are a few pictures of my room, for those of you that know me,I think you will smile ... I thought I entered them in order of walking through my room, but I see that did not work sorry...
the location may be different, but I am hoping to continue enjoying time in my new Happy Place ...

Soni's Front Porch is place in my heart as well as a name of a room, and it will always be a part of me, as it was given to me by a special friend...Thank you my wonderful friend Sue : )

As always, thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed your visit... I hope to see you visit me again soon : )