Some Hand-Made Christmas Cards

I wanted to share some of the lovely hand-made cards I've received this year, so here they are (in no particular order!):

This reindeer card is from Paula, the "punch art queen"!  I can't believe how much work went into this!  Isn't it amazing?

Treena made this beautiful bird card.  It's hard to see the details in the photo, but there is gold ink sponged ont eh embossing and around the edges - it is really stunning!

This beautiful, sparkly card is from Bea.  She used dazzling diamonds glitter over the image so it's shimmery like a snowfall.  Gorgeous!

This gorgeous card is from Susan.  I love this stamped image paired with gold and burgundy- just stunning!  Look at the shadow from the young Jesus. 

Martha made this card using a black and white photo of her yard, paired with Cherry Cobbler and Sahara Sand.  Isn't it lovely?

I hope you enjoy these as much as I have, and I hope your Christmas holiday is full of love and laughter.

Blessings,

Birthday RAKs!

I received some gorgeous cards last week for my birthday, so I thought I'd share some of them. I love them all!

This one is from my friend, Sintra:
My mother-in-law, Margo, made this one:
My sister-in-law, Wendy, made this one:This one is from my friend, Cheri:
The "B is for Birthday" card is from my friend, Laina; the "Birthdays are the Best" card is from my friend, Treena; and the Soft Sky Flower card is from my friend, Susan.

Christmas Cards!

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! I'm working on New Year's resolutions, and I think one of them will be to make sure I blog at least once a week! I've been a bad blogger! LOL!

I love receiving hand-made Christmas cards, and this year, I received quite a few gorgeous creations! Here are a few that I thought I'd share with all of you. You can check them out individually in the slide show.

Halloween RAK

This is a Halloween RAK that I received from Shannon, a fellow Canadian! I'm always complaining about how slow mail service is from Canada Post! This card arrived this week, even though it was sent before Halloween!

Anyway, I think it's just an adorable card! Thank you so much, Shannon! I love the cute little frog! You're awesome!

Thank You, Denise!

Denise at Stamping Vacation sent me this fabulous RAK for her Pick Three Challenge! The blog candy was just supposed to be the stamps, but she threw in some CB'd cardstock and some Bella images (I love them!). Plus, look at the amazing card she made as well. Isn't that cute? I love the bright summery colours! Denise has her current Pick Three Challenge up right now, so check it out! It's lots of fun.

Thank you so much, Denise! I can't wait to use all this stuff!

Blessings to you,

Bella Fun!

Yay! I finally got a chance to use one of the Bella images that BlueMoon sent to me! I thought this image needed some fun colours, so I started with some Bali Breeze designer paper. I coloured in the image with my Stampin' Write markers, then stamped around it with the dots from Life's a Breeze. I accented it with some grosgrain ribbon and Pewter Hodgepodge Hardware. The sentiment is stamped from Everyday Flexible Phrases and punched with my small oval punch. Here's the quick recipe:

Paper: Bali Breeze, Purely Pomegranate, Tempting Turquoise
Stamps: shopabellas, Everyday Flexible Phrases
Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Purely Pomegranate, Pumpkin Pie, Always Artichoke, Close to Cocoa, Barely Banana
Embellishments: Pewter Hodgepodge Hardware, Tempting Turquoise grosgrain ribbon, dimensionals

Thanks for stopping in today, and thanks again, BlueMoon! I love these images!

Blessings to you,

RAKs!

My MIL made this card, and she and my SIL gave it to me as a thank you for donating some prizes to their Weekend to End Breast Cancer All-Day Scrap. Isn't this card amazing? I just love the little pink ribbon and the filmstrip style.

Then yesterday when I went to get the mail, I found an envelope from Janet. She sent me some Bella images because I had mentioned that I wanted to get some Bella stamps. That is so sweet of you, Janet! Thank you so much! I just love these images and I can't wait to make some cards with them.

RAKs!

Man, I have to stop saying I'll post something on a certain day because I'm so bad at blogging lately that I never post when I say I will!

Here are some wonderful RAKs I received last week from some talented ladies!

This first one is from Amy. I just love the colours on this one! And look at all the gorgeous paper piercing on this - what beautiful details! Thank you so much, Amy. I just love it!

This one is from Blue Moon as a thank you for some blog candy that I sent her. I just love those Bella stamps! I really need to order one soon! I love the colours she put in this one, and the cute little flower bling! Thank you, Blue Moon! I hope you enjoy your blog candy!

Thank you so much for reading. I appreciate those of you who are still showing up, even though I've been a bad blogger lately! I'll work on it!

Some Birthday RAKs!

I seem to be in a creative slump lately, so I don't have much to show of my own work, but I have some amazing cards that were made for me by various friends and family for my birthday, so I'll show those instead! Enjoy!

I smiled when I opened the mail and saw this beautiful card from Amy! I had seen it on her blog, where she said she made it for a friend's birthday. I left her a comment saying it was wonderful and her friend would love it, little knowing that I was the friend she was sending it too! I am so thrilled that she made this for me - I love the pretty colours and beautiful design. Thank you so much, Amy!

My sister-in-law, Wendy made this next card for me. Isn't it fantastic? I love the fold and the embossing and the paper! It's so pretty! She even included an antique button as an embellishment. What a great idea! Thank you, Wendy!

My mother-in-law, Margo made this Groovy Guava card for me using all her new SU! goodies! There's the sticky letter with green micro-beads, the Pretties flower and pearl over scalloped circles and some double-stitched Guava ribbon, all on textured cardstock! That lady has everything! I love this card!!

My friend, Sherri, made this ice cream cone card for me. She's new to stamping - just joined one of my Stamp Clubs this year, and she's loving it! We all laugh about bringing her over to the "dark side" of paper crafting! I was so touched that she made me a hand made birthday card. She even used the double inking technique (two colours on one stamp!). Thank you so much, Sherri!

This final card was made by one of my new friends, and a lady who joined my downline last spring, Laina. I love seeing her excitement about Stampin' Up! She really keeps me motivated and excited about trying new things. It's hard to tell from the photo, but the purple butterfly is raised on dimensionals for a 3-D effect - very pretty! Thank you, Laina!

Thank you all for your birthday wishes and for sharing in my birthday blog candy a few weeks ago. Have a great day!

More Christmas RAKs!

I wanted to show some more of the Christmas cards I received from my friends and family and my new blog friends. I would have posted them sooner, but they've been displayed on my mantle as they arrived, and I didn't take pictures before. Now that I'm putting away the Christmas decorations, I'll be taking these down (but saving them!). I received lots of hand-made cards this year, which is exciting! Here are some of them; I'll post some more tomorrow.

This first one is from my new blog friend, Teri. I just love the Blush Blossom with Chocolate Chip! Isn't this gorgeous? Thank you so much, Teri!
My friend, Treena, made this next card for me. She's a wonderful lady whom I've gotten to know better this year. She's really become a dear friend to me. I just love all the 3-D parts to this card. She also gave me a hand-stamped candle that is just beautiful (I have to check with her before I post it here!).
Another great blog friend, Amy, sent this festive "Merry" card! Don't you just love the fun colours and stamps? This is so pretty! Thanks, Amy!
This last one is from my wonderful mother-in-law, Margo. I keep telling her to start her own blog, but she's ignoring me! Her cards are so beautiful. She makes tons of cards to sell in our local stores, and she donates all the profits to breast cancer research. She's such an amazing woman.

I'm Back - and I Have Some RAKs to Share!

We got back from B.C. late Thursday night. We had so much fun with my mom and step-dad. It was just too short a visit. The photo above is the view from their balcony. How gorgeous is that? That's Lake Okanagan and the mountains beyond it. The weather was just beautiful - warm, but with lots of snow, so Adam could play outside. I always love going home to Mom and having her cooking! I just can't seem to make turkey stuffing as well as she can! I guess a girl always needs her mommy. The only rough part was the loooong drive which seemed longer with two whiny toddlers in the back of the van! I guess that's parenthood!

Anyway, I returned to find some goodies in my mailbox that I wanted to share with you.
Teri (Big Ideas From a Little Girl) sent me this beautiful tag holder filled with amazing Christmas tags, along with an instructional CD and a package of chocolate covered macadamia nuts (my favourite!). Thank you so much, Teri! I just love them! Just look at all those gorgeous tags!This beautiful card was made by Candace (Crazy for Papercrafts). I just love the Frosty set, so was happy to see yet another way to use it. I love the Sage Shadow and Soft Sky with this card. I hadn't thought to use those colours with Frosty! And didn't she do a great job on the shading!? Thank you, Candace! I love it!

I also received a cute card in the mail from my mother-in-law and partner in stamping, Margo. She made this wreath card using the Three For All punch box punch. Love it! Thanks so much, Margo. (Margo doesn't have a blog yet, but I think she should! She makes tons of cards to sell and donates all the proceeds to breast cancer research. How wonderful is that?!)

Random Acts of Kindness

My husband volunteers with our church's Youth Group, and last week, they had a Random Acts of Kindness evening. Before they began, the youth pastor gave the kids some books of Tim Horton's gift certificates. Then, my husband drove a group of kids around town while they did RAKs for people. I almost cried when my husband told me what some of the kids came up with to do for strangers. They went to Tim Horton's, stood at the till, and paid for people's coffee or donuts. They brought donuts to a needy family from our church. They did so much more, and my husband said they thought of all the things; he just drove them there. In this age when a lot of adults have such a negative opinion of teenagers, I thought it was so great that they were doing a positive thing. DH said that people were so thrilled and moved to have the teenagers help them.

So on that note, here is a list of RAKs that you can do for people (our youth pastor, Dade, gave us this list). I'm challenging myself to do some of them in the coming weeks. I challenge you to do the same! (By the way, our church is not sponsored by Tim Horton's, as you may think from this list! LOL! A lot of people at our church just like the coffee there!)

1. Collect non-perishable foods from your house and drop them off at the food bank bin at Safeway (or other grocery store).
2. Sing a Christmas carol at one of the seniors' centres in your area.
3. Give a stranger a Tim Horton's (or coffee) gift certificate.
4. Buy a cup of coffee for someone in line at Tim Horton's.
5. Pay for someone in the drive thru at Tim Horton's (or another restaurant).
6. Shovel a stranger's driveway.
7. Bring coffee and donuts to someone you know.
8. Give someone you know a phone call and give him/her a word of encouragement.
9. Go to someone in the church you know that needs prayer and pray for him/her right there together.
10. Write a thank you card to someone you know telling him/her something you appreciate.
11. Find a homeless person or someone in need and buy him/her a meal - sit down with him/her.
12. Help someone load her groceries into her car at the supermarket.
13. Offer to pump someone's gas.
14. Buy coffee and donuts for the police/fire department.
15. Find an area, parking log, fast food place, gas station, etc. and pick up the garbage on the ground.
    
16. Phone a teacher and thank him/her for doing such a great job with your children.
    
17. Tape a quarter to a pay phone with a note welcoming anyone who needs it to use it.
18. Leave some quarters in the pay shopping carts at Safeway (or other grocery store).
19. Offer to babysit for a busy mom and give her some time to herself.
    
20. Offer to do some housework for a busy mom.

These are just a few ideas. If you think of some more, please post them in the comments!
God bless!

RAKs in the Mail!

This was a good week for RAKs! It was nice that they arrived this week after all of us being sick for so long! These all really brightened my days!

This card arrived from Amy (AmyGDesigns). Amy is a good friend I've made here in Blogland! I just love her work, and she's such a sweet person as well. We've been encouraging each other for awhile now, and I'm really so grateful to have "met" her! It seems strange that we can be friends with people we've never met in person, but I'm just loving that it can happen through our blogs. Make sure you check out Amy's blog - her work is fantastic. Thank you so much, Amy, for this beautiful card! she made it with a One-Sheet Wonder. I love the colours and the slot pouch for the tag!









This one is the first Bella card I've seen IRL! And it's beautiful! This one is from Shannon (tyrymom), who won my blog candy draw awhile back. She sent this as a thank you card. I love the blue and orange! And this bella is so cute! I'm going to have to start looking into getting some bella stamps myself... Thank you so much, Shannon! I love it!












This card arrived from Tracy (Who is Tracy?), who also won some blog candy from me awhile back. I just love the soft, pretty colours and the sponging around the image! Thank you Tracy, for this wonderful card. Make sure you check out Tracy's blog as well! She's got some beautiful creations on there, and yummy recipes as well!

Encouraging Blogger Award!

I'm so excited and flattered! Jules at Stamping Stuff nominated me for an Encouraging Blogger Award! Thank you so much, Jules! If you haven't already checked out her blog, make sure you do - she's got some really great stuff on there!



In turn, I would like to nominate a few other bloggers who have been very encouraging to me:

• Alex (California Stampin')
• Amy (AmyGDesigns)
• Corie (Creations by Corie)
• Teri (Big Ideas from a Little Girl)
• My Paper World
• Diane aka dd2njoy (Diane doesn't have a blog, but she frequently leaves me very nice compliments, and I appreciate that!)

These are just a few of the wonderful ladies out there who have been so kind and supportive of my blogging efforts. Thank you so much!

RAK for the Dunns

Here is my RAK that I will be sending to Andrea for the Dunn family, who has twin baby girls with Neuroblastoma (click here for more information).

I used Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge #22 for the layout. I started with the designer paper circle. I love the Almost Amethyst, so I went for that. Then I had to choose some cardstock to complement it. I used Elegant Eggplant for the card base and Rose Red for the matting.

I stamped the flourish from Baroque Motifs in Almost Amethyst on some Whisper White cs. Then I added the sentiment (from Greetings Galore) in Rose Red. I wanted to use one of my flower brads that I won in some blog candy (from Alex), so I put that on the flourish. It still needed a little something, so I stamped some butterflies from Priceless in Elegant Eggplant, cut them out and attached them with dimensionals.

Andrea's Blog Candy for a Cause

PLEASE check out this post at Andrea's (Crafty Engineering) blog. She has friends who have twin baby girls (three months old) who have both been diagnosed with cancer. Andrea is offering blog candy for anyone who sends her a RAK (Random Act of Kindness card) to send to this family (she's hoping to fill a shoebox with cards). My heart and prayers go out to this family. It must be the most difficult thing in the world to watch your babies fight a horrible disease. PLEASE do what you can for this family. I'll be making cards this weekend to send!

Another Great Mail Day!

Imagine how excited I was when I received not one, but TWO envelopes of goodies in the mail today! I won some blog candy from a couple of wonderful ladies and everything arrived on the same day. This is a great week for fun mail!

This is what I received from Alex (California Stampin'):
How cool is this? Some cards and envelopes, stamps, flowers, ribbon, a punch, flower brad, clear stamps and little gem accent stickers. Wow!

This came from Julie (Stamped in His Image):
These are some beautiful clear wedding stamps! I actually don't have any wedding stamps, so this is a great addition to my collection.

Thank you so much Alex and Julie for your generosity. I'm excited to play with these new goodies!

Please make sure you check out both ladies' blogs! They are both so talented, you won't want to miss their beautiful creations.

BTW, Alex will be offering some blog candy again soon for 5000 hits, so be sure to watch for that!

Look What Came in the Mail Today!

Look what Corie (Creations by Corie) sent me! It's a CD of card ideas that her friend, Teri, (Big Ideas from a Little Girl) came up with, along with a beautiful hand-made card! You can check out the details on the CD here. I so appreciate this, Corie! You went way above and beyond - thank you so much! I love this card, too! It was on Corie's blog, and I just love the smile flower! Too cute! And thank you, Teri, for sharing with me too!

RAK at my Door

Look what was on my doorstep this morning! I've been feeling overwhelmed and discouraged lately with all I have going on. And it's tough being a mom! Someone knew I needed a cheering up!

Thank you so much to whoever left this on my porch! (I think I know who it is...) I really needed this today. Hopefully you can see the message on the paper - it is a verse from Jeremiah 31:25 "I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint." The message at the bottom says, "Be encouraged today Shannon."

I am so touched! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

RAK From Diane!

Imagine how excited I was yesterday when I opened my mail and found this adorable tri-fold card from Diane, along with these cute flower and dragonfly brads! I just love this card! She even stamped on the rik-rak! And the dragonfly on the flower in the center is so sweet! Since I'm a Stampin' Up! demo, I rarely use anything other than SU! stuff just because I don't have it on-hand, so it's so nice to get these so I can see some other products! I guess I'll have to venture into my local craft store more often!

Thanks again, Diane! This card is beautiful!