Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Lost and Found: A Happy Ending

Don't you just love stories with a happy ending?? Especially when it is your own story and you experience the happy ending!!

About two months ago I realized I could not find my engagement or anniversary ring! It is not unusual for me to take them off, as I work in a daycare and have to pull latex gloves on and off all day; the rings get in the way. I have several little jewelry boxes on my dresser where I usually put my rings when I am not wearing them.

Well, one day I went to retrieve my rings from their usual safe storage and could not find them! My heart skipped a few beats, I calmed mylself down and told myself they have to be here somewhere! After a week or two of unsuccessful frantic searching, I told my husband that I feared I had thrown away my rings. I remembered one night in bed that the prong on one of the rings was catching on the blanket, so I removed them and put them on the night stand. I was dealing with a miserable cold and lots of used Kleenex. I assumed I had tossed the rings in the trash along with the used Kleenex. There was the possibility that I had taken the rings off in the car before I went into the daycare, but I also had used Kleenex there that I had cleaned out and that could have been when I threw the rings away.

I grieved for my rings! What made it all worse is that I had had my engagement diamond reset along with my mother's diamond, and now it meant her stone was gone, too.

Well, my Christmas present this year was a new set of rings! Larry and I picked out a lovely solitaire, with ring guards and ordered them in yellow gold, to be picked up at the end of December. My husband was a real sweetheart about the process of selecting new rings! He wanted to be sure I was happy with my selection!

Yesterday, a bright and sunny day, we were leaving to make the trip to Nashville, 100 miles away, to meet my son and his family for lunch. They were on their way home to Michigan from a visit to Atlanta for Christmas, and would be passing through Nashville. It was worth a 100 mile trip to hug the grand kids and visit for an hour with my son and his wife. As we prepared to leave the driveway, I asked my husband if he had his sunglasses. He said no, but he keeps a pair of clip ons in the car we were driving. He clicked on the overhead sunglasses container, and calmly and quietly and unemotionally announced, "Judy, I found your rings." There they were, in the sunglass container where I had put them for safekeeping before I went into work!! Of course, then I remembered having done it!! It was sureal to have the rings in my hands again!

Since my new rings have not yet arrived at the jewelry store, we probably had the option of canceling the order. But smart man that my husband is, he told me he wanted me to have the new rings anyway. When we bought my first ring, we were very busy raising children and establishing our new blended families. He said I deserved an upgrade!!

So, that's the ring story with a very happy ending!! 100_1892

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Michelle Steiner's card to me

This amazing Christmas card was sent to me by Michelle who lives in British Columbis as part of Deborah's Card Chain. Feast your eyes on all the details! 100_1889

And look at the inside! What a perfectly wondrous piece of art!! Thank you, Michelle!

It is Christmas Eve, and my wishes for a blessed Christmas and a joyful holiday season go out to all of you! God bless us one and all!

Friday, December 18, 2009

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Welcome to the Hero Arts 2010 Catalog Blog Hop!



Welcome Hero Arts blog hoppers! Hope you have some hopping energy left to see all the wonderful art created with stamps from the Hero Arts 2010 Catalog. I think you will agree that there is inspiration no matter what your style!! I had a great time using the new stamps and I'm excited to share the results. Thanks for stopping by and my heart would sing if you would leave a comment!


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This card was made using the incredible Hero Arts Design Block Silhouette Grass. This is on my favorite stamp list! Endless possibilities: Sympathy, Male Birthday, or a Thank You as I have done.

Supplies:
Hero Arts S5316 Silhouette Grass
Hero Arts CL278Great Flourish Messages
Hero Arts Note Card, Endive
Memento Rich Cocoa ink
Martha Stewart Butterly punch
Ionic Studios punch
Brown cardstock and brass colored pearls


Ideas:


This stamp would look great with an alcohol ink background. I also experimented with using only the top part of the stamp on the bottom of the card. Cool effect!



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This Row of Houses woodblock stamp by Hero Arts is another "all occasion" stamp. Think about "Welcome Home', "We've Moved", "New Home" as well as a party invitation stamp. I've used it here to just say hello.

Supplies:

Hero Arts H5328 Row of Houses
Hero ARts CL380 Truly Appreciated 6x4
Memento Rich Cocoa Ink
VersaMark ink
Ranger Clear Embossing Powder
Fiskars Upper Crest border punch
Gingham ribbon and buttons unknown
Pop dots

Ideas:

It would be fun to paper piece different colored roofs
Maybe turn on some lights in the windows
Separate and rearrange the houses, maybe vertically

Note: My dh wants to know how come I haven't sewed the button on his shirt, but sewed 5 buttons on this card. He just doesn't understand!



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Aren't these little dolls the sweetest? They're from the Hero Arts 2010 catalog clear set Sweet Wonderful You. Perfect for cards to any little girls you know! I've tucked the littlest dolls behind the sentiment and they can be pulled out to play with. There's a suitcase image that comes with the set which adds the option to make bon voyage themed cards! Great images for coloring or paper piecing!

Supplies:

Hero Arts CL381
Hero Arts CL380
Cosmo Cricket, BoBunny and Reminisce card stock
Memento Rich Cocoa Brown ink
VersaMark ink
Ranger clear embossing powder
Flowers and brads unknown
Copic Markers
Diamond Glaze
Sewing machine


Ideas:

Would be fun to stamp, color and cut out extra outfits and use the images as paper dolls.


Well, blog hoppers, hope you have enjoyed your visit to Livin' the Dream! I have had more fun than should be legal playing with the Hero Arts 2010 Catalog stamps. Hope you've been inspired and tempted by the cards I made.

Next on the hop-a-long is the incredible
Tim Holtz


Remember, if you find a link that doesn't work, you can always hop back to the Hero Arts Blog for a list of direct links to all the blogs in the hop!



More cards I made this year.

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This is an image I stamped at a friend's house last year! Decided he needed to get dressed up and on a card!

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This is the blue version of the red card I posted earlier.

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I had fun doing this one!! This is a stamp I bought for 75 cents at a resale two years ago and I finally took it out of its wrapper to see what it could do. I cuttlebugged the background on green card stock. Stamped the flower again and colored it with Copic markers. Mounted the second flower with pop dots. Then added two layers of crystal lacquer. Didn't make many of these! But I love the way it turned out.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

From my mailbox!

Look what Linda the Letter Carrier delivered to my mailbox last week! I have been privileged to make friends from many countries on the Hero Arts Blog! And they have shared their beautiful Christmas cards with me!



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This one is from Cathy, who lives in England.


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This lovely tag was sent to me from France by Jacqueline.

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And this beauty came from Paula in Australia.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Finally, some Christmas cards are made!

My cards this year are more a tribute to the stamps themselves than anything I have done. Because I had 50 cards to make, I went with simple stamping and heat embossing with gold or silver embossing powder. I am thrilled to call this project finished!

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I have had this Stampin Up stamp for several years, and it is a favorite.

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This is a new stamp from Stampendous. I really try to send cards that remind us of the real Christmas story!

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When I saw this little bird in an online shop, I knew I had to have him. Sorry I didn't keep the information about where he is from so I could credit the artist. Now that I have a blog, I will keep better records!

That's it for today! There are three more designs, but I will save them for later. I am totally unable to make 50 cards the same!! Thanks for stopping by.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Coming Attraction!

Did you notice the new Blinkie announcing the Blog Hop taking place December 18th? It's all to celebrate the new 2010 stamps from Hero Arts! Lots of prizes and excitement. Also, hop on over to the Hero Arts blog to learn about the "Kiss the Frog" fun taking place NOW!! More chances for prizes. Just go here: Hero Arts Blog Enjoy!!

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Holiday Tags Challenge at Hero Arts

Christmas tag
Gingerbread Tag


I haven't been very creative lately and it's been worrisome! I've been hoping it's because I have been fighting a sinus infection and preparing for Thanksgiving company. Today I finally had a couple of ideas for Christmas tags that weren't already used by the super creative stampers on the Hero Arts blog! Both tags were stamped with the Hero Arts Design Block Flourish and embossed with white empbossing powder. The best part? Super quick and easy, yet distinctive enough to set your packages apart from all the others under the tree! I can mass produce these ... just as soon as I make my Christmas cards. I know I am way behind, as I have already received several Christmas cards!

It wasn't stars that fell on Alabama last night!

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Alabama license plates bear the song title "Stars Fell on Alabama", but last night SNOW fell on Alabama! This is the scene we woke up to this morning. It was only 6:30 a.m., but I handed my dh the camera so he could take photos of this rare sight! This is the first snow we've seen on our lawn since moving here four years ago. You people up North may notice how considerate Southern snow is; it did not stick to roads, driveways or sidewalks!

To celebrate the snowfall, I set the breakfast table with the snowman dishes and hummed "Frosty the Snowman" while cooking up our eggs and bacon. Glad we celebrated when we did as the snow was gone by 10:00 a.m.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

You can win this blog candy!!

giveaway

Jenn Biederman has generously decided to give away the prize she won on the Hero Arts blog for her digi card!! Click on her blog http://createdbyjb.typepad.com/created_by_jb/ to find out the details! And while you are there, take a peek at the wonderful work Jenn does!

Thanks, Jenn. You are a sweetie!! You are a very talented sweetie!

Turkey Scramble

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Here's the Thanksgiving company posing for a group photo before they set off for the golf course and a frindly scramble! If the folks in the photo were numbered from 1 to 8, reading from left to right, (1) is the new man in my daughter's life, Dan. (2) is my DH. (3) is youngest son, Scott. (4) is daughter Kathy. (5) is my nephew Ken. (6) is Scott's girlfriend Sara. (7) is my first-born, Todd. (8) is Ken's wife Ikwe.

We had a great visit! Our family plays cards and board games when we gather. Someone pulled out a 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle which was worked on over two days. We had a hilarious game of "Beyond Balderdash" and stayed up one evening until 1:30 am playing Hearts!! Lots of laughing, sibling bickering and memory sharing! I love it when someone starts a conversation with, "Mom, remember when ...." and off we go, down memory lane!