Cheer up!

Everyone knows I love pink. Big duh, right? I mean, it's only the most fabulous color in the whole wide world. It's also no surprise that it's my fave, since I tend to be a bit of a girlie-girl. Well, if you don't count the fact that I don't like to play dress-up and I don't wear much make-up...usually none at all, to be precise. But I hate to get dirty, love to be pampered and spoiled (come on, who doesn't?), get my nails done, totally love shoes (can't wait to get to DSW to spend the gift card work gave me), and I've got this new love for Coach purses. The Coach outlet is my friend. Once again, though, I digress. The purpose of this post is to show everyone this cute digi stamp named Lisa. You can find her at Guylou's store: http://guylousinimitability.blogspot.com. Yeah, try saying that three times fast! Anyway, I kinda cheated. The cards from the DT aren't going to be posted to the blog until tomorrow. I'm not the most patient sort and G said I could post today, instead, so I took her up on it! Truth be told, I was afraid I'd forget to post it tomorrow. I'm already reminding myself over and over to get my passport photos printed off tonight. Work is sponsoring a passport fair tomorrow...imagine that - I can actually walk to the other side of campus and get my passport done, rather than making an appointment with the USPS. Rock on! I need it, since I hope to visit many more places. In fact, my cousin Theresa and I hope to see more of Germany next year. Fun times! Man, I am chatty today. Well, that's every day, but I think today I am just bored at work and looking for something to do! Shh...don't tell my boss, since it doesn't happen often! With my luck, I'd end up with more work than I could handle, so I am staying mum on that subject, that's for sure. Babble, babble, babble...

In2Stamps celebrates with blog candy

In2Stamps is celebrating by giving away this awesome blog candy. Just check it out at: http://in2stamps.blogspot.com/

Introducing Dominique

This little guy must be one of my fave images at Guylou's store. I just love his curly hair, big hat, and sweet face. I really like how you can set him up to look like he is leaning on practically anything: ribbon, patterned paper, or maybe a background stamp if you have one (like a cute desk or table, or how about a cloud?). He also happens to be the mascot for Guylou's store and you can find him here: http://guylousinimitability.blogspot.com/ for only $2. Want this image but prefer a girl? Just add a bow or flower to the hat. What a versatile image!


While you're shopping and on G's site already, anyway, why not sign up to be a follower? You can get her cute Jessica image for free, plus join a card challenge. The winner will win two images from G's store!

Oh, and for those of you who ask, I have absolutely no idea what copics I used on this image. LOL. I didn't write them down AGAIN. I am trying to be better about it, then I lose the paper. Geez.

Loss - Journaling Junkie challenge 78

Stefanie at http://journalingjunkie.blogspot.com has posted challenge 78, which is to do a LO focusing on grief or loss. Although I finished this LO a while ago, Stefanie was kind enough to let me enter it into the challenge. I am currently working on a memorial album of my husband, Rick, who died unexpectedly on September 18, 2009. He was just 38 years old. The challenge runs until May 1, I think (don't quote me...I suck at dates), for any of you who are interested in entering.


The journaling is long and has a bunch of private jokes in it, but if you want to read it, here it is:
Over the last four months, I've discovered that the loss of the little things is so much harder to process than the "big picture" ideas. It's the little day-to-day things that hit harder. You know, the little intimacies that are private and exclusive to who you are as a couple, to that relationship as not only husband and wife, but best friends. Things like: the feel of your skin under my hand when I touched your face, as I did several times each day; Gina speak; "boo!" "kitty!"; rubbing my hand through your hair; teasing you about your cute pj's; listening to you breathe beside me in bed each night; your occasional night terrors; waiting what felt like forever for you to finish your shower; that expectant look whenever you made us something new for dinner; your perfectionistic tendencies (over an hour to hang a few pictures? Really?!?); watching you fall asleep sitting up, then deny it; "Which way? Right or left?"; the way you closed your eyes whenever I put the car in reverse; "Do we have time?"; your love of British TV, the history channel, and Hogan's Heroes; listening to you laugh like a loon at Hogan's Heroes in German; anxious repetition of the same darned stuff; the look of concentration on your face when you were futzing about in the war room; your practical jokes; feeling your arms come around me when I was washing the dishes; "Could you use this for your scrapbook?"; "Hey, ooo! How is?"; "It's Rick's world."; your chicken peck typing; singing Sound of Music songs just to get on my nerves; your horrible timing; your inability to "say anything right"; gorilla cheeses; "Go ahead, be a mommy's girl!"; listening to your conversations with Athena each morning; the sound of your shaver; insisting on fixing things yourself; your total inability to judge time (30 minutes v. 3 hours!); crazy bike rides to God only knows where; you wash, I dry; "Honey, the cat licked my ice!" and other whiny sick bed complaints; my filter; "honey, where's our water?"; the smell of Dunkin' Donuts coffee; missions!; reading oh-so-boring educational materials to you in the car; your patience; your goofy sense of humor; we "acquire"; tighty-whities; the scar on your back that you refused to call a scar; hearing you dress in the dark each morning; forehead kisses and quick pecks; jewelry and Steiff for me, tools and WW2 for you; you unload, I put the groceries away; Gina's hair is everywhere; lit candles; cuckoo clock upkeep and repair; your insistence that I get what I want, but then your resistance to buy what you wanted; "I hear it calling you!"; the search for new members in the land of the misfit Steiff; messages from ebay; laughing at the butt songs; the "sexy" dance; rewriting history and rose-tinted glasses; "ooh...it's silky"; the way you'd laugh while telling a story that wasn't even remotely funny; "The iceberg sunk the Titanic!"; your absolute refusal to tell me what I said after you proposed; game pie; hoarding gifts; no bears left behind; definitely; your tendency to let me win and then play it off like you hadn't; "let me think about it....no."; innovative solutions to the strangest problems; chocolate cat prints and other kitty gifts; 831; how you always took in and tolerated even the most annoying people; the look on your face when we argued; different shades of blue; lists for everything; little things you'd pick up for me here and there, just because; your laugh...there are so many more things to list, but these are the first that cross my mind as I think about our daily lives. My life will never be the same without you. It, and I, are forever changed.

Just Magnolia

Finally...here's my card for the Just Magnolia challenge/blog hop, based on Mina's great sketch. I really intended to put the three items across the bottom, but Tilda's feet got in the way, so the little yellow daisies had to move to the left. Then the right corner looked naked, so I added the flower pot there. Then the yellow daisies looked lonely, so I added a few little white flowers, too. I hope you can still see the other elements of the sketch, though. What can I say? I have a hard time following things just as they are...I'm so bad about that. Anyhow, here's the sketch and my card:


Head on over to http://justmagnolia.blogspot.com to participate in the blog spot and sketch challenge!

Just Magnolia Blog Hop with a yummy prize pack

Wow...check it out!

Just Magnolia's blog has turned one full year old! My blog is still a baby, but theirs is not and they are celebrating by giving away this awesome prize pack. Follow their fun blog hop to start. There's tons of inspiration to be found. If you see me hanging out, don't mind my green face. I'm just a bit envious of the talent on the blog hop. WOW. Anyhow, you can start the hop here: http://justmagnolia.blogspot.com

When you're done the blog hop, take some time to make a card using the sketch and link it back on the just magnolia blog. I plan to make a card for this one, too, but I can't get started just yet. I'm determined to have it ready to post here soon, though!

It's a contest!

Ok, so check it out. Here's an easy peesy contest to enter and no matter what, you win because you get this cute image from Guylou's digi store (see above on my card). Her name is Jessica and she's having fun playing in the puddles and rain. So, here's how it goes: become a follower on Guylou's blog: http://guylousinimitability.blogspot.com/
Follow the directions on her blog to enter the contest. It's pretty easy...you just have to do what you love doing: create a card! Upload your project by 12:00 in the afternoon on Friday, April 30. The winner will be chosen randomly to receive two of Guylou's digistamps. You even get to choose which two you want! Come on, give it a shot!!! I'd love to see what you do!

Tilda can ride a bike, unlike me....

Yep, it's true. I never learned how to ride a bike. My cousin tried to teach me when we were kids. My parents got me a cute pink Huffy bike with those streamers for the handlebars. I guess that was supposed to be incentive. Unlike Tilda, I don't think I looked so cute, standing there holding my bike because I couldn't ride it. If I remember correctly, I looked downright sulky. Then when I grew up (didn't lose the sulk, mind you, but I somehow got called an adult, anyway), my husband tried to teach me how to ride a bike. That poor guy. He had so much patience, but I'm a wimp. Every time that sucker wobbled, I put my feet down. I think he wanted to tie my feet to the pedals so I couldn't do that! I know that he talked about making training wheels for it. LOL. Before he passed away, he used to go on these long bike rides and he'd be gone for hours. He mentioned multiple times how he'd love it if I could ride along with him, but it was a skill I just never mastered. Unfortunately, I was a bit too big to ride on the handlebars of his bike, like we see so many kids doing. Wait, sorry. As usual, I got off topic. The topic at hand here is this card. I gave Tilda a pink bike just because it brings back memories (and honestly, because pink is the best color in the world!). This card is for a good friend of mine who's been feeling icky for the last few days. I hope she is better soon! I also hope she loves the card.

The big pink rose and the two medium sized ones are from a dollar store. The smaller ones are from Wild Orchid Crafts (www.wildorchidcrafts.com). They have gorgeous stuff for very reasonable prices, just make sure you pay attention to the exchange rate if you have a budget. I forgot to do that once, but that's another story and I shouldn't bore you with more digressions. The butterflies are Heidi Swapp with some pearls from Recollections (Michaels) thrown on there. The papers are Basic Grey and Tilda is carrying a bouquet of Ultrafine Flower Soft. I got the paper and the flowersoft from one of my fave stores, Create-It-Crafts (www.createitcrafts.com). Unfortunately, I colored the image a while ago and I don't recall which copics I used. I keep saying that I am going to get better about writing it down as I color, but I just never do! Bad me! Thanks for coming by my blog, even though I'm super chatty and forget to do things like write down colors!

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

This is a card that I made for my grandmother for her birthday. My grandmother has a thing for hummingbirds and flowers. After my dad died in 2002, this one little hummingbird started flitting around outside her window. He has some kind of special marking and she swears she can identify him. She believes that my dad sent this bird to keep an eye on her, which gives her some measure of peace (as much as you can have after a devastating loss like that, I guess). Since then, she's all about the hummingbirds. As usual, I digress. I found this pin/pendant at the craft store and decided to incorporate it into her birthday card. If you pull the pearl-topped hat pin out of the bow, the hummingbird becomes detached from the card so she can wear it. I had a lot of fun making this card. Would you believe that the four open pink roses and the pearl sprigs are from the dollar store? The middle flower is a prima and the tiny rosebuds are from Wild Orchid crafts. I hope she likes it!

Check it out, it's blog candy!

Jodie from Oz has some fun blog candy. You could win two Magnolia stamps: 1) Edwin with Basket and 2) chicken Tilda. I love Maggies, so you know that I had to enter. Rather than being selfish and keeping the chance to myself, I decided to post for my blog friends so you all have a chance to win, too. The link is on my sidebar. Just click the cute chicken Tilda!

Have a wonderful holiday weekend. I am excited about mine, although I am sure I will be bone tired after chasing my cousin's kids around all day. It's so much fun, though!