Little Peaches

One of my favorite stamp designers is Maurie J. Manning (Mo's Digital Pencil). Mo's little images are so innocent and delightful that I find myself smiling the entire time I am coloring one of them. The image on the two cards above is one of my newest ones. I think Mo is going for the whole summer fruit theme because her newest stamp is Watermelon girl. However, being from Georgia and a true Georgia peach, I just had to get this one. (Although, we do like our watermelons here in Georgia, too!)

I did the first card yesterday and then found that this week's challenge at http://mosdigitalchallenge.blogspot.com/ wanted flowers and pearls, so I did the second one today to enter for the challenge. (I didn't mind coloring this little cutie a second time; I'm probably going to color her even more.) I think both cards are quite cute, and I know they are going to bring a smile to the face of whomever receives them.

I am also entering the second card at http://deconstructingjen.com/ for her sketch challenge for this week.

Enjoy.

Sugar Nellie

Aren't the images on these cards just the sweetest? They are from Sugar Nellie stamps, and I just adore them. Sugar Nellie is a small Scottish stamp company, and it has the sweetest little stamps. The first card (little girl in blue) is one that I made earlier this week. The circular saying on the card is about butterfly kisses which could be sent to any special person in your life (I'm thinking my little Claire, maybe). The second card (little girl in pink) was just done today and will be entered in the Sugar Nellie blog challenge at http://sugarbowlblog.blogspot.com/

If you have a little time and would like to enjoy some definite eye candy, stop over and feast your eyes on the beautiful cards by the design team and by many talented fans. Then link over to the Sugar Nellie store. They sell both rubber and digital, and yes, the prices are in pounds, but PayPal will convert.

Smell the Flowers

This week's image from Designed2Delight.blogspot.com is this adorable little bear. He is daydreaming and enjoying the spring time weather. I chose the saying, "Smell the flowers" because I have a good friend who is going through a lot of stress right now at work. I thought this might cheer her up a little to let her know that I'm thinking about her and praying that she will soon have some time to stop, smell the flowers and play a little bit.

I colored the image using Copic markers. The designer paper was from a package that I received as a gift, so don't know the manufacturer. Cardstock is DCWV. I added ribbon to the one side and a little bit of glitter to the dandilions in the background -- sweet, easy card.

Happy Birthday, Joe

I just realized that this entry and the the one before last both start with Happy Birthday. A friend of mine's husband will be celebrating his 60th birthday next month (June), so she wants to surprise him with 60 birthday cards. She has asked family and friends to all send cards. What a fun way to commemorate a new decade of life, eh?

I really don't like birthdays all that much. On the one hand, I'm glad I am still having them, but on the other hand, I'm not so fond of the numbers. My mother and I shared our birthday. I was born on her 20th. This September will be the 3rd year I will celebrate without her. Birthdays all tended to be glumped together in my family. My sister was born the day before my Dad's birthday. My older daughter was born two days after my husband's birthday. My younger daughter and my son are both August children, five days apart. My oldest grandson and my granddaughter, his cousin, share the same date, ten years apart. My mother used to joke and say that made it easier for us to remember them.

Anyway, the card pictured above is the card I made for Joe. Making cards for men is a lot harder than for women. Most images tend to be more feminine in nature than masculine. I think this one worked out rather well -- gotta love those little House Mouse mice -- they work for everybody!

Good Job, Kid!

I made this little card today for one of my grandsons. The image is a digi-stamp from Some Odd Girls (www.someoddgirls.com). I colored the image using Copic markers. I cut out the boy and glued him to the cardstock, but I put a pop-dot behind the skate deck so that it would stand up and out, giving the image some dimension.

My grandson is 15 years old and is finishing up his grade 9 year at school. Yesterday was the awards program. In addition to maintaining A's and B's all year, he received awards for leadership and for civics. Mason is a good, well-rounded kid. I've been blessed with four super grandchildren. All three of my grandsons are handsome, smart and caring young men. My beautiful little granddaughter is a total delight.

Happy Birthday, Dude

This week's challenge image from Designed2Delight is this adorable little skater dude. As I colored the image, I kept thinking that he is just too cute to be a real skater. My 15 years old grandson, who IS a skater, would be laughed out of the park if he showed up at the ramp looking as cute and colorful as my little guy above. Heck, the most colorful thing about a real skater is his deck!

Anyway, I did have fun with my little skater dude. Cards for men and boys are hard to do because there are so few images appropriate for them, so I was glad this little guy showed up in my email box on Friday. Unfortunately all three of my grandsons, come next month, will officially be teenagers, so cute little boy images such as this one just won't qute work anymore. Why do they insist on growing up? Do they not realize that we grandmothers love them as young men, but really miss those cute "little" guys they used to be? Alas, that's life -- which really is a good thing.

Spring

I have a love/hate relationship with spring. I love the fact that the weather is starting to warm. I love the trees and shrubs are green again. I love the beautiful flowers that are in bloom. Unfortunately, all the things that bring beauty to the season also bring pollen. Allergies DON'T get better as you get older. Just the opposite; they get worse! So, while I love the spring, I also suffer for it. The past several weeks my head has been in a total fog. I've had the usual sneezing, coughing, itchy eyes and stopped up head -- in other words, the seasonal miseries.

Despite not really feeling very creative, I wanted to get this sweet image from Designed2Delight completed before Thursday's deadline. This image, with the tin wash tub and quilt, reminded me of my great grandmother. I had the wonderful experience of knowing my great grandmother (also my great, great grandmother). She lived in a great big farm house, and tin bucket/tubs, hand made quilts, and crockery were among the many things that I remember from her home.

Bowl of Cherries or Chair of Bowlies

I have fallen "in love" with the adorable images from Mo's Digital Pencil, and I have always been a fan of the whimsy of artist Mary Engelbreit. When I purchased Mo's image "Cherry," it just screamed "Mary E" to me. I combined (very old) Mary Engelbreit paper (background) with her signature gingham and black and white dots to make this carming little card.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day is getting close (only two days away), and I feel as if I should be writing something about this wonderful day of recognition. Unfortunately, not all Mother's are created equal. My Mother, whom I loved dearly, and I did not have the warm, fuzzy, best friend relationship that many mothers and daughters share. There were often times that I wished for that kind of relationship, but it was not to be. My Mother was a career woman, so I was pretty much raised by other women (a live in nanny in Germany and Japan and then from the time I was 8 a wonderful, dependable and loving woman named Jodie Bell Shelton who came to our house, without fail, every single day until I was 14). Mother and I really had little in common, but she was my Mother, the woman who carried me in her womb and gave birth to me. She was who she was, and I accepted that and went on. I didn't always like the things she did nor the way she did them, but I always loved her just the same. I gave her the unconditional love she couldn't give me.

Last Saturday (30 April), my husband's family surprised his Mother by ALL of us getting together for a family picnic. She was totally unaware of the event (planned two months in advance). She thought she was going to have a cook-out with one of her grandson's and his family. The photo above shows the entire clan which consisted of 3 children, 11 grandchildren, and 10 great granchildren (with two more on the way). Of course, it included spouses, too, for a grand total of 32 family members. My Mother-in-law was absolutely thrilled to tears because this is the first time that everyone has ever been together at the same time.

As for myself, I'm the mother of three. I know I've been a better mother than some and not as good as others. I guess that can be said for the majority of mothers. Most of us try to do our best -- with the knowledge and experience we have at the time. We make mistakes and do things wrong but if we are lucky, we do a lot of things right. Some of us are capable of giving more, doing more, being more -- sometimes it is enough and sometimes it isn't.

Princes and Frogs

The image this week from Designed2Delight is the little fairy on the front of the card. I also combined it with the toad from last week's image to create this fun little card. This is called a window card. The hole is punched out on the front so that the image (frog) can be seen. It was a fun little card to create although different from my usual style.

I had a friend who just four weeks ago lost a year and a half battle with cancer. Sharon had a wonderful sense of humor, and I miss her dearly. I used to send 2-3 cards a week to her (She lived in Michigan and I live in Georgia.) The cards were my way of keeping in touch with her and (hopefully) brightening her day a little bit. As I made this little card, I kept thinking how Sharon would have gotten a kick out of it -- especially with the "reverse" philosophy sentiment I used.

We think of Prince Charming as being the "perfect" male who rides in and saves the lovely lady in distress, and every little girl wants to find her Prince Charming. Those of us who have been "around" for a while know there really is no such thing as Prince Charming. However, a good toad or frog is worth their weight in gold. Those frogs are staples -- there are a lot of them; they are rather common; they are quite cute in their own different ways; they are good for keeping bugs away; they are steady and dependable. In other words, in fairy tales, they are considered to be the less desirable, but in real life, they can be pretty good to have around (especially if you are trying to grow a garden).

I have been married to a frog/toad for over 45 years. He is a wonderful man who has worked hard to keep the "bugs" out of our life and together we raised three wonderful children. He has been steady, dependable and loving. Sharon was married to a wonderful frog, too. It really is those common, but wonderful frogs who make up the majority of good marriages. Princes are rare.

Sharon, I know you get the humor (and the truth) of this little card. I can just hear you chuckling over it. I miss you so much.