FIREWORKS AND FAMILY

      After my last post  telling you about my family  and how we celebrate the fourth of July . I decided to  share some pics with you ...
I was having some issues with my camera  right about the time for the  fireworks to start, but I was happy that I was able to get a few captures that I liked...  It was an amazing display,  we could even feel the ground  rock...   There were many  super loud ones, we call those "boomers" ... and those were the ones  my husband always loved,.  So we told Faith  we were sorry  for those being so loud, but that was her GRANDPA  sending special  fireworks to us... and especially to her  ...

Here is  our  Sweet Baby Faith all dressed for the day 

 Isn't she  just so  precious....    : )   We all sure think so 

And  me with my grandchildren...they sure make life  wonderful...

    Thanks for stopping in. I will post some pics of my birthday   in a day or so... My girls always try to be sure  that the tradition my mom and dad started long ago, celebrating my birthday on the 4 th  lives on...And they still try so hard to be sure I still get a real birthday  too  ...
I am so blessed  to have  my daughters , and all the time they share with me....

The lost card

     Here is a picture of the other  Anniversary  card  that I made for  my oldest brother and his wife. My sister - in - law  took a picture and  emailed it to me...hope it works  : )

    I used  chocolate chip  with  a dp  from SU  that  had  Soft Sky in it... then used  more choc chip and sky  to finish it. I used  my trio  butterfly  die   from Dienamics...I  truly  LOVE that die ... and I used my  labels 18 from sizzix too   and some bling of course.

    Then I used the reverse side of  that same dp, which is a soft floral  and made a birthday card  for  a sister - in - law on my husbands side of the family... Here birthday is the  9 th...I used an old favorite layout  and  I added a white crocheted  flower behind the  blue butterfly , that  really brought out the white bottom layer of  the butterfly~  which was made by cutting a butterfly in half and placing behind the  sky colored layer ~
Sometimes pretty dp  is all you need to make  a card  that is just right for that special  person  : )

    Last but not least,  I made a masculine card for a friend  who  has his birthday on the 8th. We worked together  for 19 years  and he is a part of our family. We used to always share pizza at work to celebrate  our  birthdays...I hope we can  find a day to share some pizza  this year too : )     I used an older color from SU  called True Thyme and a dp that  coordinated  nicely. I added a flat  piece of ribbon  to keep it masculine, but add some texture , and a  design lable punch  for the sentiment,  Then  punched another label in  Thyme  and again I cut it in half and  placed it behind  my  white label.   No bling,   no fussing...
 just a  wish  for a great birthday !

    Thank you for stopping by... July is already  rolling...Busy Busy month for all of us... I hope  you are enjoying your summer  and  finding time to create as well...

     I am not sure  what exact cards I need to work on next...but I know  there will be some  cards  that I need to make, so please stop back by when you have the time ... 

Happy 4 th of July

Sonja

GOODBYE JUNE

    When the end of June approaches, I face  my oldest brothers  birthday...  He celebrates his day on June 28 th, just one week before I celebrate my birthday . 
     But then July brings  anniversaries  for both of my brothers. The oldest was married on July 3 rd  47 years ago ...WOW...
And the other was married on my birthday  July 5  37 years ago  : )
July 26  is mine and my husbands  anniversary, and it would have have  39 years  this  year...I miss him.
   So as you can see  the time  near the 4 th of July  has always  been a busy time in our family. My Mother always celebrated  my birthday on the 4 th...so I remember lots of family time and  lots of fun...My Daddy told me the fireworks  were just for me...and I being a daddy's girl  believed that...for many years... 
   I have  two wonderful sister in laws,  and  they are  as close as any real sisters could be...Actually they both have a given name of Mary...Though one will always Susie  to me : )
  I hope  they all like their cards this year...

     This is  Bill and Mary's card...I loved this paper and thought Marylou would too, my brother loves  red   well really  he prefers orange , he once wanted an orange suit ...can you believe  that !~  he he : )
I thought  the paper  outlined  with red then placed  on top of the pretty  paper again  was a  nice  effect  .
      I am having  difficulty in  adding Don and Sue's card...
 and I really liked  that one...   : (
My image of it seems to be distorted .  
 It is off in the mail already so I cannot scan it again  : ( 
  I hope I can  get  another picture of it   so I can share it later.

   So, as July is  fast approaching, I hope you are enjoying  your summer. Thanks for stopping in...See you all soon. July has more days  that  have a reason to be celebrated  around  here  : )

The Love of Pattern Paper

     In creating time  with friends and doing  some easy or some times not so easy challenges,  I totally enjoyed  making these cards.
The use of  not even a half of a 12 x 12 sheet of simply beautiful  pattern paper was the secret . From super simple  fast cards  to  a little  more  fun,  they were all extremely EASY,  yet  a couple I thought were pretty too ...
First  a  fast   Thinking of you   card using some scraps of that  Pattern paper .  I cut a small strip off of the  front of the card  and them added  a strip of paper inside   to balance the outside , I matted the sentiment that was stamped directly onto the pretty  paper... this is  3 3/4 x 7 1/2

Second , is another fast  card, I used  wide  sheer ribbon  over a wide strip of the  pattern paper,  then added a strip of sahara sand  cardstock,by SU, stamped the sentiment in  brown, paper pierced a bit and added  flowers  from  my  stash 

Third  is a bit more fun, using a home made  tulle flower  made by  a super creative friend  : )    and one  of my  awesome  butterflies with some bling... The pattern paper  is just so pretty  and really fun to work with, pretty enough that  just one or two  fun things is plenty ...I did mount this on a melon mambo card base, it is such a  fun  summer color to work with   : )

And fourth is my personal favorite.I again stamped right on the pretty paper that I mounted on Crumb Cake as my card base.  Then  I used markers and a blender pen to color and coordinate  my image  to  the paper. I matted the image on dark brown to set it up and off and used a piece of  neutral ribbon to dress it up  a bit. Last I rounded  a couple of corners  to  make a change of style.I really  love how this  card turned out ..It just shows that ...

















Sometimes  just a  half of a sheet of pretty  paper is  what it takes  to  jump start   my creativity ,  So  I hope this  sends you looking at your stash of paper  to see what  you can  create too...


    Thanks for stopping by,  And I hope  to see you here again real soon.
Until then, Smile, Craft, and enjoy your day .

Mothers Day

I  enjoyed  coming up with ideas  cards  for cards for  both of my daughters  this year. I decided to go with  a larger size, 5 x 6 1/2. My girls are both  unique in their own ways so I tried to follow  their "likes" to create  each of their cards.  I struggle with making cards  for them, as I believe  they  are better at this than I am  : )

   First  for Tammy, I chose to  use  a dp that I knew she would like, I kept it simple, used some ribbon that I love and a  die cut that was perfect  for the sentiment to be stamped on. And it all fell together  so easy...  We both love  the color "kraft " or " crumb cake " for a card base.  And her love for Sun Flowers will never change, so I was  pretty sure me I did alright  with my choice   : )

   And then  any one that knows Krista , knows  she loves  PURPLE... So  I started with that using  a couple of different  shades.  I had recently purchased some Lily Of The Valley  pre -colored images, and this one  just seemed  right..  I added some butterflies  from a new die I recently purchased  from Die-namics, and I totally love it...And of course some ribbon and  a few  pieces of  small bling were  the finishing touches on her card.

   Third  is the card  Krista made  for me. I love the SU color baha breeze.  I think she did an amazing  job  on this card, I love the reverse  on the pattern paper... The  style of script  is perfect with this dp, again it is   by SU. I think it  gives this card  a vintage touch in just the right way, by leaning towards  an elegant look .
   Thanks  for stopping by, I know it seems like  Mothers Day  was  so  long  ago, but in reality, it was  just a couple of weeks ago...And in my life , well that is not  too far  behind...
 In reality, I am so behind in so much more   : )

    The end of May  is here,  and soon Summer will be too ...
 I hope  you stop back  and see what I have  in store  for all of you,I have a few  things started already .  I hope  to  have some more pretties to share real soon.
 Until then, enjoy  this wonderful weather,  and remember  to SMILE...

SMILE and BE HAPPY

   Today I was  getting ready to make a birthday card  for a sweet lady. She is a very special friend to my oldest daughter, but  has extended so much kindness to me  as well. Even though her birthday is today, and I knew I could not get this to her on time,  I decided to make her a Happy card, not just a birthday card.
   This  image and words were a gift  to me some time ago, and I sure wish
I could remember  who it was from... But I loved what it said...
so I choose to  create a card   using  it...I went with a card   sized 4 x 7 1/2 , just a nice size  for a change of pace : ) 

    The base is perfect plum, with a thin mat of bashful blue, and  the newer color of marina mist  on top of that...and I believe the image was colored in  marina mist and perfect plum  as well

I used a piece of  yarn like  fiber  in the color of pale plum  and  this was  so easy  to put together...

   I think this is a  lesson that  things do not have to be  difficult or fancy
  to say what is in your heart... 

I used the rock n roll technique  to add butterflies to the  envelope , just to  add some extra love .

Critters and Family

As I promised  , here are some pictures...

First...Meet Kasey Jo, my grand dog...She is such a good girl, loveable  and always enjoys  being a part...She visits me most every day, and loves "grandma bones" 

Second...And this  Buddy. He is my newest addition to my critter family. He was brought to me by a sweet lady  that is not even a cat lover, but wanted him to have a good home. I think he has settled in  just fine. His requirements are,  lots of loving, and food twice a day...or three or  four if he had  his way...lol  He  has  accepted  my girl  cats, and Daisy, tho  it was an adjustment, it sure did not take  very long...My youngest grand son  decided  he looked like a "BUDDY"  as that is what I call both of my grand sons most days  : )

Third... These are my  great great  nephew and niece... We were all excited  to have them and their mommy  join us for  our traditional Easter Egg Hunt. My  niece and her brothers  were  always with us when they were children, then as they grew up  their  children were too, so now we are on to the third generation... Isn't that wonderful ...

Fourth...Ah, here are my five awesome grand children... I am so blessed  to  be able  to  spend so much time with all of them. Of course this only happens  be cause I have two amazingly  wonderful daughters that  share their families and life with me... I thank them both  everyday...even when I forget to  tell them...
I love you both, more than life its self... Thank you for  all you are  and all you do  for and with me ...
That is said with LOVE that only a Mother  knows  : )

Fifth...Well yes, this is # 5 in my  grand children as well as in these pictures... This is my  beautiful, and happy   grand daughter... She may be the fifth , but she is  loved  just as much as all of the previous ones were and are ...    She brings  smiles and laughter and happiness to this entire family... She is at the top of my THANK YOU  list  every day...

 Yes Family  is what life is all about, and  spending time with FAMILY  is  LIFE...

Thanks for stopping by, I think May  might be a picture month, with  Mothers Day, 8 th grade  promotion  for my oldest grand daughter  and ball season  for  four  of  these awesome kids...  I imagine I will have plenty to share.
  I hope you stop back to see what we are all up to real soon...