and PART TWO ...

                  And  here  are  the other cards  I made  at the last class I went to

                     Isn't  this  little  guy  or  gal  too cute ??    It is a single stamp offered  by SU called                                                                                kind koala
I  love the simplicity  , adding  just a touch of color to the  bear,  2 colors on a white card base  and some dimension  from an embossing folder  , adding the  yarn / string   bow and it is  just  so sweet 
We did  add  crystal effects  to the  flower  and  his  /  her  nose  for some  added  fun  

   And the second one  is  the same card I changed into a birthday card, but this  was  the original design, well I changed  the style  of  and placement  of the thank you   

   And the third  one  is a  beautiful  Christmas  card  , basic  while   with dry embossing of a  snowflake for an elegant  base  some soft color   and silver punched  snowflakes  

and  bling to  add to that  elegant look

            So  there  you have  them  all  , thanks  for stopping  by  as always  .

                           I hope these cards  have  sparked an idea  or  two   

                    It was a  hot  muggy day  here  ,  end of  summer  heat  I believe...  

                                 So  I will see  you all soon,  remember  to SMILE~  

BIRTHDAYS AND MORE Part one

      I  am not sure  about you, but August is one of those  months, lots of  birthdays... I missed a  few 

but was so happy the card  class I attended  had  several choice  pre designed  for  birthdays, or easy  to change the sentiment...Woo Hoo

      The  first one  was  designed as a  thank you, but  it was  so easy  to change it  up ... It  was stamped  with the set  named Stippled Blossoms  from SU...And the  SU consultant  is  so happy to do all the  fancy  cutting,  yep another Woo Hoo   lol  the  back ground stamp Haedwood is one of the  truest  designs I have ever seen...yep I bought  it   lol the embossing on the  top layer of the  banner  adds so much   and  flowers and leaves  are  all  popped  up at different levels  ~  love love  love  this one

  And # 2  for the  Birthdays  is  something  so different and  fun to me~ I can see this set  being  a stand  by  for  teen cards  or  masculine  cards     .I thought the color combo was  great..The  name of the  set  for  the  splotchy  or spilled  paint  look  is  Gorgeous Grunge   iand   the  Happy Birthday  is from Age Awareness 

Love  how they  look  perfect together... Not sure  which set the label was  from... Again  dry embossing  the small blue square  and  piercing the label  add so much

Now # 3  is a much softer look   and a new technique  as well  We used  painters  tape  to  press into the ink  and place on the  card stock to go with the  birds  image   It came out  light  and so perfect... who would  have  thought   lol ?? The set  used was Wetlands, it comes with  3 different sentiments   so I did one  birthday  and  one  thinking  of  you  . I thought the wood grain  embossing  was  great   like drift wood...It is  the Woodgrain  embossing folder  

There  you  go  for  tonight  ~ I have  a couple  more from the class  but  I will  be back  with  those  

Thanks  for stopping  by,  still  pretty weather  so  grab  your  tea  from the fridge  in the  breezeway

Til  next  time  

 Smile,   and  CREATE....

Bye Bye  

CARDS ~CARDS ~ AND MORE CARDS

WOW  I ENJOYED  A CARD  CLASS  SO MUCH  THAT I WENT TO  IN JULY,
 I  loved  the ideas  presented  to us,  and we  were able  to choose  which ones we wanted  to make and make  2  of  each design we chose   ...    It was  really  a great day , a friend  gave me this class as a  belated  birthday  gift, I  gave  my  sis in law  the class as an early  birthday  gift  and we were  joined  my  a niece, another sister in law and a friend...  What  better  gift  than time  doing what  you  love with  those  you  love  ~
First  is a  card that was  fun to make, easy to change it  up  if  you want  by placement of  lined stamp I did not add the sentiment  because I  thought  it  would  be great  for several  reasons, I will add  one  as  needed  . ...The flowers and  leaves  were  cut  out  and some popped up with dimentionals    ..    red  base , white  card front  , navy  ink, red  ink  and  celery green  ink or some thing similar...  I  forgot to get the  name of the stamp set, sorry

And # 2  is one  that   that  pushed  my limits, lol  ~  stamp, punch  and line  up  ~   .my niece and I also requested to change  the  base mat color, as  she  had some really  off green...  We  embossed the  white  mat after we applied  the  hexagons,  for a  unique look   simple  ribbon  treatment  and popped  up the sentiment  

Ok  and on to # 3

I  love  this  one,  simple  one layer  card,  great  clean and simple  card  ...this is the one  thar  made  me order a new stamp set  lol

She  had  samples of  other cards  she  had  previously  made , all  way to  cute  

And  # 4  is so pretty,  I struggle to make Wedding  cards,  but  check  this out  !  `

clean design, add a little sparkle  and WOWZERS  and you could custom to match Wedding  colrs  if  you wanted to...Love love love  this one   it was  marina  blue I  belief,  yes  my scanner is so  friendly and right on...lol

And  the  last  card  was  fun,  thank goodness for all the  help in  cutting  and  cutting...WHEW   

color  on  color, add  a script background  add some simple  bling, a sweet and simple  tie if strinfg  pretty ribbon and  a  punch  for the sentiment...LOOK  how  pretty

 I   would like to have this set too,...

Crumb cake, Cherry cobbler  and Wasabi green     make a  gorgeous Christmas  card..

.  So  guess where I am going tonight???
  lol  Yep  to another card  class   Yippee

Thanks  for stopping by,  I know I  have  been MIA...  yet again...

I hope  you enjoyed looking  and  if  it it  inspired  you  please  let  me see what  you created ...

Til  next  time,  Smile,  enjoy  your day  and  give  that Smile  to some one,  it may  be the only  one  they  have ~

See  you all real  soon !  bye  bye

A LITTLE RAIN MUST FALL

Hello there,how are all of you ?? Are you enjoying the  beginning  of Summer??
I know  here  it seems like  RAIN  RAIN  RAIN  with a flew blups of beautiful SUNSHINE   ~  I am trying  not to complain, as I know some  have much  worse to deal with  ~ floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, mudslides,  yep  ALL much worse...

So today I  have some pictures  all related to  RAIN...  We  had a  few  massive  downpours  Sunday  night after several days  of rain  of and on ~ this is a  ditch  between my yard and the road   going towards  my  youngest daughters  house

And  this was  the  early  night  sky  after  the  downpours   I love the  swirls of  color

~    just like God was  painting  us a picture  ~ 

  And  these are  some of  my flowers  that  are doing  nicely ~  thanks to all of the rain
Some of the really pretty one  keep  posting sideways... So maybe another time  I can  share those

 I love Gerberas, this is  just one bloom from  seven   on this plant right  now. My grand daughter Brooke  brought me the  plant with  white and  yellow  Gerberas   for Mothers Day

                                                  OOPPPS   look  who  snuck in   ~   lol
                                                                 My little  heartbeat
                  This was  taken  after  we  stood in the door watching it rain  while  the sunshine was out.
                    Her  words "  rain all done  Mom Mom   go outside  and play  PLEASEEEEE "

So  a little rain  must  fall,  some  times a lot of rain  will fall   ~ But  that is just  fine .

The other  part was , I came  to my  craft room  in the later  after noon on Sunday and played  until  the rain brought darkness  and I had to stop ~  I did get 2 cards completely made and  another one  almost  figured  out in my head. Two are mailed already  but they are scanned in.So  as soon as # 3  is  made I will be  back  to share

Ours day  are  in the 80's  So  Ice Tea  it  is ladies.  Grab a glass  and enjoy   THE  FRONT  PORCH with the  view   of  flowers and critters  and God's beauty all around

                                                  Thanks  for stopping by,  See you all soon ...
                                                                            Soni  B

May Flew Right On By

      Well hello,  how are all of  you??     Is anyone wondering  just where May went  ??  I sure am.
It was a busy  month,  filled with Mothers Day,  my great grand daughters  first birthday party, and my oldest dughters  anniversary,  my great nephews  birthday,   and  planting flowers  and preparations  for a family reunion  ~ Since it is  hosted here locally  some of  us  try to organize  and  plan  for all that  come  to join us ... My niece  has  arranged  for  a good time  to be had  by all .
                                   And   here  we  all  are  celebrating Memorial Day  weekend  too 

Ok  and  on to my cards   and pictures  ...

            My first card  is  the one I made  for Zoey's  first birthday ~ simple in  pink, but I love  this  sweet image  with  just one candle on the cake .Pretty  simple, pretty in pink , pretty sweet  just like  Zoey  

Here is  Sweet  Zoey  being  happy  being one  

And  the second one  was an anniversary  card  for my daughter  and her husband  

She loves  yellow  and flowers ,  so a little of  this and that   and there  you have it .Both cards  had images  from SU.Card stock and  DP from my stash,  pretty flower  from my stash too,  iy was from Michael's though

So as we  celebrate  this Memorial Day Weekend,  I hope  you all enjoy some family time,  good food,  rest and  happiness...  

Thanks  for stopping  by,  Enjoy  your weekend  

See you all soon..  

The tea  is waiting, help yourself  

Sonja

PASTELS IN APRIL

        Hello  there , how are all of you  ?  Are you enjoying  the weather??  We sure are  here  ~ another  day  of sun shine and temps in he mid 70's . Not too bad  for  a day in April in the  Midwest   : )
        How was  your Easter? Ours was  wonderful, I will be back  with pics  to share  in a day or two...
But for  now  I  have  some  book marks  to share .
          I have a special  friend  that  is invited to the Walk To Emasus  every  year  to speak, and  she loves to give away  gifts. This is the second year she asked me  to make  bookmarks  to go with the Bibles  she is giving away...After the very long winter  here  her only  request was  to use  these verses  again and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE  use pastels   maybe we can  get Spring to break  out here   : )

       I enjoyed  making these ~ such happy colors  ~ and I was able to use  up some  of my  stash. the inserts  are corner rounded and  edged in ink to match the back piece ,,,the  scripture is computer generated ( with help from my oldest grand daughter  ~ thanks Ali  girl )   the cross is  a favorite  little stamp  I have ... The ribbon work was  decided and done by my  youngest daughter,  she knows  ribbon is not my best  technique  lol   I corner rounded the bottoms of the back pieces, the  top was too snug of a fit with the ribbon in place...
       A valuable lesson learned  : )
                                                                     And a close  up

        Some of  you heard  me  wishing~ very loudly ~  that  I had not waited  until the last two days  to make these ~  Yes I  knew  for a month  or two  *  sigh .

So  there was  just  a few  time consuming steps,  since I  made  60  of these   : ) 

        I was not complaining,  well other than my back hurting  from bending over the  cutter  and snapping  the  metal guide on that cutter too    lol

          But I love doing these  for Miss Amy, I feel blessed to know her  and  honored to  do any thing for her  

So  now we wait to see if  it worked ~  So far  we  have  much sun shine  and  nice temps ...

maybe I should  have made them sooner  ???

I  hope to upload Easter pics to share,  we  have  my grandsons  birthday party tonight  and a 50 th Anniversary  celebration  to attend  tomorrow 

My Krista is doing the cake  : )  I cannot wait to see that  

So grab a glass of tea,  and  check in  in a day  or  two...  

As always, thanks for Stopping by  ,  

Smile  and  Enjoy  your day  

Soni 

SPRING... FUN.... and SHARE

    Hello,  yes I thought  Spring was here , until yesterday when we  had  SNOW and temps in the 20's again...So  are we really going to  have a spring this year?  or are we being teased ????
    My cards today  are both  fun cards,  are are made  with  some sweet SPRING  related  goodies  from a friend, and  of course a few things from my stash  too


    The first card  is  a card  on a  card ...  and is square  just because I thought that fit  better... I  used some  pretty pretty  turquoise  vellum  and a  flower brad  that was  gifted,  and I added  turquoise   and  blush  card stock...  and some sheer turquoise  ribbon  I  thought  matched up nicely ...  Inside the top card ( the smaller one ) I stamped"May God's Love Brighten Your Day "    and on the  inside of the  big card  I stamped "When I  make a card for you, I  put a Prayer Inside "  It is  in the mail to my sister - in - law  that struggles with  health issues...  I thought the blush  was soft  and  may carry some Peace to her,  with the  bright color  to carry  happiness

And card  number two  just  made me  happy to make it ...  The image and ribbon  was  gifted, and I dug into  my  "doggie  stash " for the rest... The dp  is  sparkly... and this was so easy  to put together..

I still have  many pieces  to use and  two precious images,  I am chicken to color...  But I am  building  courage...

I am not sure if I will be back this week,  My oldest daughter is having a gathering  here at my house Friday, so  I need to be cleaning,  Plus  Easter dinner and Egg Hunt will be  here...Monday is my little  buddy's  birthday,   and I need to have 60 book marks  completed  by next Wednesday  for a sweet dear friend...

So  til  next time, when ever that may be   Easter Blessings  from me to you   and Happy Spring too

                                                            Thanks for stopping  by the porch,  
                                                                            Soni

And April is here

First  of all, I am sorry this post is late, seems  I  did  not  upload  a particular  card,  tho I thought I  did~  so I had to wait  to see if I could  snatch it back long enough to scan it in...lol 
                                                      Only  in  my  life  Right ???   : ) 

So  ,   Hello, how is April starting off for  you??  Did  you say goodbye  to March on a good note??
I sure did ! My middle  grand daughter  turned 15  on the  29th, we  had a  lunch  gathering  for  her  and  then some shopping to spend  some of  her  "gifts "  Yes she was  thrilled...  It seems  make  up  was important this year...   said with a smile,  She is  a beautiful girl, inside and out, and I hope some day she realizes  that the make  up is not  the reason ~  but  I love that she knows what she wants, and  goes after it .
                                                She is truly a special  young lady .

My card  today  is  her  birthday card,  I was stumped  not only with her gift  but a card to  suit her  or  her day... However  her cousin was  taking her to the movies  later that day...and they both were so excited...  So I  just  dug in to some  birthday  dp and  embellishments...And   used some of her  likeable colors ...  The inside I  created  a  movie  ticket  to be a  pocket  for cash ~  just to be sure  the  two  young  ladies  had  enough  money  for the evening ~
 As we all know,  some times  they  forget that part...lol  or  simply look past  it  perhaps...lol 
                                                           

                                                            Either way  here it is 

                                       

                                                                         and the inside 

  Ah  but the best  part,  when  her  dad  asked  who that  card  was  from,  her answer was                                                "Grandma Soni,  her cards are  better than Hallmark"  

Yes, she knows  how to  make  me  feel loved  ...   I am so  blessed  with  my grand  kids...  

ok , that is it for today...  Now I am  off to enjoy  my  youngest grand son for  just a few minutes...  he is getting off the  bus  here today...  I  made  fresh  warm  yummy sugar  cookies  ,

 because according to him

                                                   "that is what  grammas  do "  

 So  on with April,  I  have  things  spinning  in my head  ~  Lets see if I can  get  them on  paper

 Enjoy  your  day,  Hope  you remembered  to smile,  and  share  that  smile along the way  

                           Waving  good  bye  from  the front  porch  ~ til next time    ~

                                                    Thanks so  much  for stopping by  

SPRING is making an appearance

   Hello  and Happy Spring...I sure  hope it is more than  just a brief appearance ~ I am ready for some nice weather.
 While I was out in my craft room, trying to go through some things  I  found some  odds and ends  and pieces of  cards.  So I  decided  to see what I could  make... I still have  a  huge pile of goodies  to play with but I thought I would share a couple with you ... 

  My first one was perfect  for a manly birthday card...I dear friend  from high school  celebrated a birthday earlier this week...  It was  great ...I put the  Happy Birthday on the inside with a special note  that said : as far as friends go, you are a true CLASSIC... The image is a SU stamp set  called Classics, I used  basic  gray  card stock, black ink and  mat  and  basic  gray  satin ribbon  
The card front  had  a slight  embossing ,  but it is not showing very well in he scan ...I also  straightened  the  mat and image up  before I  mailed it !   lol  

 The second  one I really got side tracked with because there were a few of these...  My  daughter Krista  actually made these card  fronts  for an exchange  at a SU  gathering...she  had leftovers  so I  asked  her to share them...they  were / are  just too pretty to not  be used.... and with Spring  arriving  it was the perfect  time  to get them ready to go out in the mail ...  This is all SU product, she used a SU  border punch and  watercolor crayons and blender pen  to color it in ..I love it, so soft and  delicate...

So I  guess instead of Spring Cleaning  I  dabbled in  re-furbishing cards...sounds  better  than  "cheating "  
               It sure was more fun than cleaning!  

I hope your first day of spring  has been good and left you with reasons  to SMILE

As always, thanks for dropping in,  I am off to enjoy  a grandson, he came  here after school for a grandma  hug, a Daisy girl  playtime  and oh yes  a SNACK...lol

                           Til next time

                               Bye Bye  

Look what March winds blew in ~ a great challenge ~

   Hello  and   I was so happy to see what our  group  had   this month   to work  with...   I  love  black and  white cards,  classic, elegant, timeless ;  then add a touch of red  and  WOW ,  you get  one of my all time  favorite  color combos... 
      In my first card I did not want to disturb  the look of   the "Gracious Lady " so I  just  let her  be... I  added the touch of red as  suggested and  some  satin ribbon and  black bling to dress it  up ... The black card stock has a slight  sparkle to it, and I  mounted it on a while card base . 
 I love  how she  turned out  

The second card  I did  was  gate fold card  and I punched out  the  stamped  F  - friends  and mounted it on the pre cut red square and mounted  that on some shimmery  black and white

DP  to be the center focal point.. The card base is textured too . I used some red  ribbon to make a band  to hold the card closed 

                                                  This is a 5 1/2 by 5 1/2 square card      

          And the third card  is one I had a little fun with   ~  I re-stamped  some of the sentiments  on ivory  card stock  since  this tag  I  had was more ivory.   I used  the  red  vine  embossed card stock,  it too had some  shimmer  to it  what a nice touch !   I added  a flower and a pearl center  and  fell in love with it ...  Again the black base was  textured  .

Sorry for the  blurry  print,  not sure why   it looks that way...  I still have a few pieces  to play with, but I was excited with what I  made... 

Thanks  for stopping by,  I swept off the FRONT PORCH in anticipation  you all might  be coming.The weather  has been  pretty  nice  other than a day or so here and there  .

I hope you all are doing well  

and are smiling  

Til  next  time  bye  bye  

Happy crafting  

WELCOME MARCH

       Hello  and I hope we are on our way to Spring... We were to get  snow  today, so far as of 8:30 pm  none yet...sure hope I do not  jinx  us...

        Tonight I have two cards to share,  bot are gong to the same recipient  ..One is a thank you  ,  my  "ex" Sister in law   but  dear friend  is always so  kind.  She loves my Daisy  Girl   and is always  so good to her.
The out side  looks like a simple  thank you  but the inside  has  puppy paw prints..~ a stamp by  Stampabilities~  and a note to tell her  Daisy loves her...  Lois is an amazing lady...

The base is  basic  gray,  barely banana  mat, white sheer ribbon  with  basic  gray taffeta  ribbon on top. Scallop circle punch  with  stamping in encore silver ink ~ an Su  stamp ~ and  basic  gray  swirls... 

 I kept the out side  "BASIC"  so the note inside would be the best part  ! 

And the second card  is for Lois's  birthday.

I cased  a card I had made  a year or so ago,  because it was  a  "happy "  card to me .  

It is colorful  and pretty  all due to   the DP

  One of those cards  that is so easy... but  made me smile...

I hope it brings  her a smile too  

Thanks  for stopping  by, we are to have some great temps  the next few days ~ woo hoo  

I will be busy  a couple of them  with  my  youngest  grand daughter  , she is coming  for a sleep over at  grammas  house  

This is a winter time  picture.

.my happy girl  did not like snow on her hands  

Isn't she just precious????

And here is my happy  girl...

yep the sunglasses are  upside down  

 Faith Style...

So I am off to finish  getting things ready  for her visit...and then to  to go visit  you ladies on your blogs..

Enjoy  your  night and  have a beautiful day tomorrow

Smile....just because you can

Bye  Bye  for  now  

See you all soon

Soni.  

Hello Again

Brrr...  It is still cold, as a matter of face  we have  freezing rain, sleet  creating ICE...then  several inches of fresh  snow falling today...Add those nasty winds  and  yep  another  NASTY  winter day in the midwest

So here I am,  playing in  my  craft room   : )

I  am using  a few  things  from our monthly challenge...  The first  card is  on whisper white  card stock by SU...with a sheet of dp from Michaels ~ I thought it looked springy  and it matched  the flowers  I found there too .
I used the SU circle punch and their scallop circle  punch to   host the  sentiment  ~  This card  is because I missed a birthday  for a sweet  sweet  lady...  my beautician.    On the inside , it will say  Sorry I  missed your  special day...Many special wishes  today and every day of this upcoming year ...

 And the second one is using  just a small strip of that same  dp   and  the card base  and matting  are in Calypso Coral by SU.   I rounded  3 corners on the sentiment  which is a  clear stamp by  Fiscars.  I  rounded  2 corners of the card base  to follow that flow  .I  used SU circle punch again  with the scallop punch   and  used white  gel pen  to add dots to help  make that scallop  circle   show up better...  I decided  to keep this  clean and simple...This  is an encouragement card  for  some one  just going through  a rough time...  the inside sentiment  is  " I thought a cupcake might help "

And  again  the scan is  just not quite  right.. Calypso Coral  is such a  soft pretty shade   not too   bright
But I am not complaining, at least  I  got these  scanned in and  transferred...Woo Hoo

So  2  for 2 attempts today...  and I thought spring like thought   even tho  it is still all white and wintery  here.

                                           As always,  thanks  for  stopping by the PORCH...
                                             I am still serving  hot beverages  of your
                                                        Hope to see you again soon...
                                                                 Bye Bye  for  now

                                                                        ~   Sonja  ~

HAPPY HEART DAY

Well hello...I cannot say I am overly happy  tonight...  For some reason  Blogger decided  to not  let  me  in  my blog  under the  account  to to be able to post from...Only the  other account  to view  from,
 So  I will not tell upi how long I have been  fighting  ...AARRGGHHH
                                                        Deep Breath   and SMILE

                                       So  how are you all?? Happy and Smiling I hope

 My family  renamed Valentines Day  HAPPY HEART DAY...we tell everyone we love  that w love them and why                                          Quirky  I  know...   lol

So  here are my Valentines that I made my daughters  and grandkids...You all know  I love  them  right  : )

So there is one picture  with all of them~  why?? you may ask   ~    oh  because  my desktop  is not playing nice either    lol     So  I did scan them in, to show individually, but I am just too tired  now   to risk it ~
I will do another post maybe  to show them closer  if any of you want me too..
.And there is ONE card I  did take a picture of  alone  ~ it is for  my youngest grand daughter...
         She is only 2 1/2   and  has no clue about  valentines, so I made hers  special~  just for her
                                             

                                                 Those of you that know me will understand

I hope you all are warm, safe  and  creating  like crazy...  I will be  making my rounds  to check on all of you
And I have several things on my table~  I am working on a monthly challenge  right  now  so I will share them soon

Til then  drink lots of hot tea : )    warm Ovaltine   or  what ever warms  you  up    lol
And  Smile...  share that smile  with someone  , make them  feel special ...

             As always...Thanks for stopping  by the Porch...  Step inside   tho,   Brrr

2014

WOW THREE MONTHS SINCE I HAVE BEEN HERE...NOT  GOOD.

I wish I had a really good reason,  but  not  any  good  enough  comes to mind...Yes  it was a  busy  holiday season,  yes I  had a really bad  cold, yes  there were  three immediate family  birthdays  and  gatherings to attend... But as I said,  not even those are good enough reasons...

Absolutely NO excuse, NONE  

With that  being said...

I do not  have a  card or  project  to share  today... but I am out  in my room  gathering supplies  and  getting  a month;y challenge ready to be sent out...So  I am hopeful  to have  some thing to share...SOON  

To all of  you  ,  I am  thankful  you  still   come  to look...  Let's see if I can  get motivated  and  jump start this  mind of  mine...  

So  as always , I hope as always  you are SMILING  

and I will go  brew some  tea, and  warm up  some  cocoa...Brrr it is  COLD  here  today ! 

 So  step inside and  join me