You Make Me Smile!

Tonight, I am playing around with Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge again and the new Stampin' Up! Sweet Pea Felt Flowers!   I thought this flower had a fun and funky look that went well with the polka dot paper.  What do you think?  Does it make you *smile* ?  : )

As you can see I did a bit of random stitching all around the outside and on the inside border as well.

This is going to be a quick post tonight as I've got a few more Valentine's I need to work on.  Oh, before I go I thought you might enjoy seeing a photo taken last night when our family all went to dinner to celebrate MoM's 80th birthday.  The restaurant was rather dark, so not the best photo.  I tried to lighten it, but it makes us all look so pale.  Oh well, it is what it is.  : )  On the right is my older sister Susie.  Our younger sister, Judy, lives in California and plans to visit this summer.  She's the smart one in the family...and knows better than to travel to Nebraska in February!  When we left the restaurant it was snowing and blowing and the temperature was barely above zero, but I think MoM was really glad she ventured out to celebrate her special day!   We got her a bouquet of flowers and a gift bag full of quilting supplies to enjoy.

I hope you're all having a great week so far!  Thanks for stopping by today!

Smiles 2 U!

Quote for Today ~
Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that the people who have the most live the longest. ~Larry Lorenzoni

{MTSC60} Just Because ~

It's another Tuesday already and time for Mercy's Sketch Challenge!

It's a good thing this was a fairly easy sketch today, because I wasn't feeling the mojo.  Actually, now that I'm posting my card, I can see that I didn't follow the sketch exactly, but it is similar.   ;)  My card is a 6-1/2" square folded in half.  The base is chocolate chip and I've layered it with one of the pretty Stampin' Up! Designer papers.  The "just because" sentiment is from a retired set.   I think it's the felt ribbon and flowers that make this one!

You're all invited to play along in Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge.

In fact, we would *love* it if you would! ;)

If you need a bit of inspiration to get you started,
please hop on over and see what Mercy's Muses have created this week!

Introducing our February Guest Muse

Anya Schrier ~ Life is What You Make It!

Cindy Haffner ~ Cindy Haffner's Corner
Jackie Pedro ~ The Scalloped Edge

Pam Varnell ~ The Stamping Addict

Julie Lacey ~ Stamps and Taxes!

Crystal Birr ~ The Messy Stamper

Jessica Diedrich ~ The Whimsical Butterfly

Shannan Teubner ~ ShannanTeubner Designs
Mercy Kerin ~ Lord Have Mercy {our Queen Muse}

Now it's your turn! Simply create a card or scrapbook layout using the sketch above, and link your creation to Mister Linky on Mercy's blog. Be sure to use the keyword MTSC60 when uploading to a public gallery.

Thanks for blogging by today!

Happy Stamping & Smiles 2 U!



Quote for Today ~
Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face. ~Victor Hugo

{SSSC55} A Valentine for Sweet Sketch Sunday!

I've been making a few Valentines today and this one was created using the Sweet Sketch Sunday layout.

As you can see, I went a little stitch-crazy. :)  I did a random stitch around the one layer and also added black stiching on the stripe paper.  It's getting late and way past my bedtime so I'm not going to go into too much detail.  Oh, I should tell you this is another $1 stamp I've had for a couple years.  The designer papers are from my stash. 

Karen and all the Sweet Sunday Stampers would love to have you participate in with their challenge this week. Just hop on over to The Sweetest Thing blog for all the details!

Have a wonderful week, my friends!  Nighty night!


Quote for Today ~
Love - a wildly misunderstood although highly desirable malfunction of the heart which weakens the brain, causes eyes to sparkle, cheeks to glow, blood pressure to rise and the lips to pucker. ~Author Unknown

Birthdays are like Quilts . . .

. . . all stitched together one year at a time.

Monday, February 8th is my Mother's 80th birthday.  She is an avid quilter so I thought it was quite appropriate to make her a "quilted" card for her special day.   This fabulous quilt block set is by Papertrey Ink and it was a gift from my sweet DIL Jami a couple years ago.  I love it and haven't used it nearly often enough!  Each little quilt block is a stamp by itself or you can combine them to create a one-of-a-kind quilt.

Not only did I use a non-SU stamp set, but I also used K & Company "Wild Raspberry" designer paper.    But,  I did use a few STAMPIN' UP! products on this 5-1/4 x 5-1/4" card  . . . the base cardstock is So Saffron, layered with Pretty in Pink, the Happy Birthday sentiment is from "It's Your Birthday" set, and that luscious pink satin ribbon and pink flower button are also by Stampin' Up! 

The inside has been finished off to coordinate with the front of the card and the sentiment was computer generated.   I sponged all the edges to give it a bit of a "vintage" look.  And, of course there is plenty of zig zag stitching all around.   Does the layout look familiar?  You got it!  It's from Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge this week! 

Our mother has literally made hundreds of quilts in all shapes, sizes and colors.  She has a real eye for selecting fabrics and combining colors.  Not only that, she is an expert seamtress.  I thought you would enjoy seeing a photo of one of the quilts she just recently finished.  It is all hand quilted and appliqued using batik fabrics.   Of course, the photo doesn't do it justice.  It truly is another masterpiece.

The photo below was taken in September '07 when my sister Judy was here to visit from California.  The quilt is one that Mom created for her with fabrics she had sent.  Isn't it beautiful?

 

I hope you've enjoyed your visit today!   Thanks for stopping by and do come back again soon!

Happy Stamping & Smiles 2 U!

Quote for Today ~

In the crazy quilt of life, I'm so glad you're in my block of friends.  - Quilter's Sampler Set

{MTSC59} You Warm My Heart Valentine!

Here is a card created especially for Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge that is guaranteed to *warm your heart*!

This adorable snowman image is one that was sent to me by a dear friend at The Stamp Shack.  At first I had made it into a Christmas card, but I wasn't happy with how it turned out so I decided to make it a Valentine instead.  I know it is a bit untraditional to see a *snowman* on a Valentine, but here in Nebraska where we're still buried in *snow*, it seems quite appropriate!  Sorry, I don't recall who makes this stamp, but it's not SU!  ;)

This card is a 5-1/4" square.  The glittery red hearts and flowers background paper is from Stampin' Up! ~ Sending Love specialty designer series paper from the new Occasions Mini Catalog.  The polka dot paper is old olive.

It's really quite ironic that I made a snowman card tonight, because I am *really* tired of winter!  It was another cold and drizzly day here with no sunshine.  At dinner tonight MW and I got to talking about how the weather is starting to affect our mood and maybe we have SAD.   Have you heard of this?  It is Seasonal  Affective Disorder (SAD), also known as winter depression or winter blues. It is a mood disorder in which people who have normal mental health throughout most of the year experience depressive symptoms in the winter.   We were just joking, but I really do think there is something to this!  So, do you know what I did after dinner?  I packed up ALL the snowman decorations around the house and called it my official end to winter.  I'm on to Valentine's Day now . . . with thoughts of Easter and SPRING just around the corner!  :D

Here is another *wonderful* sketch by THE Mercy Kerin!

You're all invited to play along in Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge.

In fact, we would *love* it if you did! ;)

If you need a bit of inspiration to get you started,
please hop on over and see what Mercy's Muses have created this week!

Introducing our February Guest Muse

Anya Schrier ~ Life is What You Make It!

Cindy Haffner ~ Cindy Haffner's Corner
Jackie Pedro ~ The Scalloped Edge

Pam Varnell ~ The Stamping Addict

Julie Lacey ~ Stamps and Taxes!

Crystal Birr ~ The Messy Stamper

Jessica Diedrich ~ The Whimsical Butterfly

Shannan Teubner ~ ShannanTeubner Designs
Mercy Kerin ~ Lord Have Mercy {our Queen Muse}

Now it's your turn! Simply create a card or scrapbook layout using the sketch above, and link your creation to Mister Linky on Mercy's blog.  Be sure to use the keyword MTSC59 when uploading to a public gallery.

I'm happy you've stopped by and I hope you have a warm and wonderful week!  Don't let this long winter make you SAD ~  THINK SPRING!!!  : )

Smiles 2 U,


Quote for Today ~
A pessimist sees only the dark side of the clouds, and mopes; a philosopher sees both sides, and shrugs; an optimist doesn't see the clouds at all - he's walking on them. ~Leonard Louis Levinson