And the winner is...

Georgann!!! She said:

I would have to say that right now, I am liking A Muse...I used some for party invitations and they were awesome. I am trying to get inspired for Christmas cards...any fabulous ideas? Georgann

Thanks for playing along Georgann! Be sure to drop me an email to claim your goodies. I agree, A Muse stamps are incredibly fun! (And...I'll be giving some away in November, so be sure to check back.)

I do have some fabulous Christmas idea! Unfortunately, they are all just in my head right now. ;) I'll work on getting them on cardstock and then on my blog.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!!!

A Surprise!

I rarely win anything. In fact, just yesterday, I was calling in to my favorite radio station to try to win Jeremy Camp concert tickets, and my son said, "Mom you know you won't win, you never win anything, it's just your luck." I was touched by his encouragement. lol

Anyway, he will be excited to hear that this is my lucky month! Not only did I win Beate's Sketch Challenge for my Autumn Cherish card, but I won Kim's Pink Cat Studio Contest with the card in my last post! Talk about a surprise!!! Kim had over 170 entries in 4 different categories, so I am really honored that she chose my card as a winner. Thanks Kim!

I can't help but share my excitement by paying it forward with a little surprise of my own. I have a So Many Sayings set from SU! to give away to one lucky stamper that posts a comment here. All you have to do is tell me what your favorite stamp company is and why. The random winner will be drawn next Friday. Best of luck! Thanks for stopping by today!

Pink Cat Studio's Colour Challenge

I just found out that Kimmie's hosting a Pink Cat Studio Contest. I wanted to participate, but don't have much time tonight, so I chose the Colour Challenge. Pink and brown are a fave!

This ones pretty simple. SU! Chocolate Chip & Very Vanilla cardstock, Basic Grey Blush paper, Bobbin Ribbon, Marvy Scallop Oval punches, MFT Boho Blosssoms stamp set, Stardust Glitter gel pen. Despite it's simplicity, I really like how it turned out and I can't get enough of the MFT stamp set.

Thanks for visiting! We're running tonight...so I'm off. :)

Happily Ever After

I love this picture my daughter took of Chris and me. Every now and then, Sarah gets the urge to play paparazzi with the digital camera. ;) This is one of her pics from February of this year.

My husband Chris and I met 13 years ago when we were both working at Venture, a retail department store. I was the customer service manager and Chris was working in the electronics department. It was his third job. He was also working at two museums during the day.

Chris has a passion for history and has received multiple awards for his fantastic work on programs and exhibits. He's an incredibly intelligent man with an amazing gift for teaching. In addition to history, Chris enjoys keeping up on politics, discussing religion, reading, occasional blogging (http://www.pattishub.blogspot.com/), being a Scout leader, serving at church and spending time with us. He's such a loving husband and father. Which is why I love him so much.

When Chris and I met, I wasn't interested in starting a relationship with anyone. I had been divorced for about a year and half, had tragically lost my four year old daughter the year before, was a single mom to two little boys and was in the midst of a custody battle with my ex-husband. The timing just wasn't right for me. However, I quickly learned that God's timing is always perfect and a year later Chris and I were married.

Chris is the love of my life! We are celebrating 12 fabulous years of marraige today and we are incredibly blessed to have four amazing children, wonderful family, a cozy home, great friends and jobs that we enjoy. Our life together is proof of God's amazing grace, and it's my happily ever after. I hope you're on your way to your own happily ever after too. Enjoy your day! :)

Partying with Angel

Have you been to Angel's blog, Angelosity? She's having a birthday countdown celebration! Each day for 31 days Angel will share a card sketch, a card and a treat to go in her blog candy basket, which she will be awarding to one lucky winner on her birthday. How generous is that! You can check out the full details here.

When I got home from work today, I had a package from eP! Inside was the MFT Boho Blossoms and Basic Grey Scarlet's Letter paper I had ordered! I can't tell you how much I wanted to drop everything and go stamp, but the empty cabinets and dirty laundry were calling.

After a trip to the grocery, dinner, several loads of laundry and some time with the hubby and kids, I decided to break in my new stamps by joining Angel's party and completing a few of her sketches from this past week.

I chose to use Boho Blossoms and the Scarlet's Letter paper for all 3 of the sketches I did. Here's Sketch #1. This one took a bit of thinking, mainly because I went with just black and white and I don't do that much. In fact, I found myself surprised by how many different styles of black, white and gray ribbon I have!

Next is a card for Sketch #3. I took a bit of creative liberty with this one and got a little carried away with bling, but I couldn't help myself. ;)

Last, but not least, a card for Sketch #5. This one is for my hubby. He's such a stinker! (And so sweet!) He made a visit to my blog and saw the anniversary card I made for him, so I thought I would make him another one.

This is my favorite of the Angel's sketches so far. It fits a #10 envelope, so it measures 4' x 8 1/2" when folded. I have to say, I love this card. It came together just the way I wanted it to. :)

Looking forward to a fantastic weekend. Today (Saturday) Justin has IMEA auditions, Chris and I have a date and Josh is going to the Corn Maze with some friends. Sunday brings church, a parade that Justin is in and a trip to the Orchard and Corn Maze with Jacob and Sarah. It's the wee hours of the morning, so I'm going to say goodnight. If you have some time this weekend, go say hi to Angel. Thanks so much for visiting!

WSC22- Autumn Cherish

Chris and I will soon be celebrating our 12th anniversary. Sometimes, I can hardly believe it's been 12 years because it seems to have gone so quickly. And then other times it seems like it has been much longer because our life together has been so full.

Because we got married in October, I wanted to create an annivesary card for my husband that featured an autumn stamp set. I chose SU! Autumn Leaf Prints and paired it up with Baroque Motifs and Weathered background. I wanted to stay away from patterned paper, but still add some texture, so I used the Cuttlebug Textile template. I used Beate's weekend sketch challenge 22 for the layout and it worked out perfectly. I thought about adding some brads or eyelets, but felt it took too much away from the leaves. Sometimes, less is more.

Well, Chris and I are going to take Sarah to her riding lessons. They have a new pony at the stables and she's hoping to ride him again this week. We hope she gets to too. :) Thanks for visiting today!

Details
Stamps: Autumn Leaf Prints, Baroque Motifs, Weathered
Cardstock: Confetti Cream, More Mustard, Old Olive, Elegant Eggplant
Ink: Very Vanilla, More Mustard, Old Olive, Elegant Eggplant
Other: Corner Rounder, Sponges

Weekend Fun!

What a weekend! It began Friday night with our homecoming game that went on until almost midnight. It was an emotionally charged game and ended sadly with our loss.

Saturday, I awoke early to attend a World Cardmaking Day event hosted by a couple of stamping friends of mine. Great projects and a fun time! (I'll try to make some time later to show off a few of the projects.) I made this card to swap at the event. It features the SU! Wanted set. If you're on the fence about this set, jump off! It's so worth it!

After stamping all day, I stopped by the grocery and the florist and then went home to make cookies and a salad and help my older boys get ready for the homecoming dance. This was a first for both of them. Josh (our Jr.) was going with a date and two other couples. They had plans to have a steak dinner at the home of one of the girls and then head over to the dance. I went and took pictures of all of them and then went back home to a house full of freshman boys.

My son Justin and 6 of his friends were sharing a pizza dinner at our place before going to the dance. The dance ended at 11 and we stayed up until after 1 listening to stories of the evening's events. A fun time was had by all!

Good Morning!

Each day as I let our dog out into the back yard, I am greeted by the most beautiful sight. Purple morning glories growing on our garden gate! They are a lovely reminder of how much God cares about even the smallest of details. Just look at that star in the middle of the bloom. Amazing!

I hope you have fabulous day today! God bless!

Friends File Folder

Hello! Just a quick note tonight. It's been a busy day and I didn't have to stamp, but I was able to make one more quick file folder card last night. This one features one of my favorite SU! cardstock colors...Not Quite Navy. I paired it up with some great paper from Close to My Heart and used my SU! Wanted set with lots of punches. Don't you just love punches?! The "friends" saying is from Paper Trey Inc. as is the little star flourish. A little paper piercing, a bit of organdy ribbon and some sponging with Creamy Caramel ink and viola!

I'm off to relax and watch a flick with my hubby. It's called The Ultimate Gift. I'll let you know how it is. Have a good night!

WSC21- File Folder Card

I have to admit, I was a bit intimidated by Beate's weekend sketch challenge. I printed off her tutorial, read through it and read through it again and it wasn't until I actually started cutting that it finally clicked. And as it turned out, this was a really fun card to make! (Thanks Beate!)

When I started creating, I knew I wanted to make something masculine and already had my Lovely as a Tree set out for a swap I'm working on. I stamped the large leaf onto Shimmer White cardstock with Chocolate Chip ink, watercolored it with Old Olive ink and then added a touch of Metallic Colored Pencil to the leaves. The "unique" saying is from SU!'s Genuine Article set and the "you" is from the Paper Tray set by Paper Trey Inc. Brocade Blue cardstock serves as the base and the designer paper is from My Mind's Eye. The swirls are Autumn Leaves Flourishes 2. Love, love, love this set! I found mine at Archivers, but since then I've also seen it at Target and Walmart.

It was so nice to be able to stamp this afternoon. In additon to being preoccupied with thoughts of Chris' health, I haven't been feeling well the past couple of days...some kind of "bug". Things went well at Chris' appointment. He does need to have surgery, however there is a less-invasive approach they would like to take using orthoscopic surgery. We're both so thankful that this is an option for him. The recovery time will be minimal and Chris will be able to get back to his normal routine. (You were right Corie- he loved the card.)

I think I'll go make another File Folder Card. It's therapeutic. :) You should give it a try too!