Fabulous 40!

Last night I went out with my dear friend Carol. She took me to our favorite Mexican restaraunt for dinner, (mango) margaritas (yum) and chit-chat. As we pulled into the driveway, there was a big Happy Birthday banner in my front yard and a door hanger featuring the Grim Reaper! Shocking!

For a moment I thought I'd pulled into the wrong driveway. lol And then I realized that all the fuss was for me. I turned 40 today! While Carol and I were out to dinner last night, her hubby, Todd came over and decorated the yard and my kitchen. It's just like Carol and Todd to make a girl have a good long laugh on her birthday. It helped put things into perspective.

40 really is fabulous! I am incredibly blessed by a God who is loving, merciful and faithful. I have a husband who adores me, 4 healthy, happy children, and the best of friends and extended family. What more could a girl ask for!?

Well...a trip to Chicago! Despite being born and raised in Illinois, I've only been to the windy city to go to museums, theatre, a Cubs game and the American Girl Store. So, when my husband asked me what I wanted for my birthday, I requested a day in the city with him and our children. We're looking forward to going to Michigan Avenue, Water Tower Place, the Wrigley Building, Millenium Park, Buckingham Fountain and the Sears Tower. I'm hoping for good weather tomorrow. ;) Enjoy your weekend! ~Patti

CP Bear Cub

Hello! Just popping in for a quick post this afternoon. This little Bear Cub and the Wolf (featured below) are on their way to visit friends in Washington. We miss you Macie and Savannah!

My daughter Sarah assured me the Wolf card was perfect for her friend Macie. Macie's sister, Savannah is a girly-girl, so I'm hoping she enjoys my take on Creative Play's Bear Cub. Once again, I pulled my watercolor pencils and blender pen out and had a great time coloring. Coloring is so therapeutic!

When I was little, I used to love to color in coloring books. First tracing along the inside edge of the image and then carefully coloring it in, all in the same direction. Yes friends, even as a youngster, I was completely anal. To this day, my sister and I giggle about my color coordinated sock drawer. ;)

Well, now that I've revealed my secret, I'm off to enjoy the evening with my family. I hope you get to do the same. Warmly~ Patti

PS- Don't forget to enter to win your own Creative Play stamp set here!

Project Details
Stamps: Creative Play Bear Cub & Thinking of You
Paper: SU! DP, So Saffron & Whisper White
Ink: SU! Chocolate Chip
Other: May Arts ribbon, Watercolor Pencils, Blender Pen, CTMH paper flower, misc pearl, scallop scisors, SU! oval punches

CP Wolf

Happy Monday! Whew, what a weekend. Chris was working this weekend, so I put in a lot of mileage with the kiddos.

I've decided to take the day off today. I'm going to leave the taxing to my oldest son and I'm going to stamp! :) Although I may have to tidy up my stamping desk, as I think I only have about a 6x6 square left to stamp on.

I've really been enjoying my new Creative Play Stamps. This Wolf image is amazing! His eyes look as though they can see right through a person. I don't usually do a lot of watercoloring, but this one was a joy. I used Memento Tuxedo Black Ink to stamp the Wolf and watercolor pencils and a blender pen for the coloring. I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

Don't forget to leave a comment on this post for your chance to win your own Creative Play stamp set.

Have a wonderful day today...hope you find some time to stamp too! Smiles~ Patti

Project Details
Stamps: Creative Play Wolf
Paper: SU! Whisper White, Basic Black, Going Grey, Bliss Blue
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Other: Cuttlebug Textured Textile embossing plate, Watercolor Pencils, Blender Pen, MM Brads, SU! Black Gingham ribbon

Sharing Exciting News!

I am simply honored and thrilled to be able to share that I am the newest Design Team Member for Creative Play Stamps!!! :)

Laura and Art Hampton are the owners of this lovely little online shop. Laura's stamps are beautifully detailed, very economical and available in unmounted red rubber for easy storage. In addition to stamps, you'll find lots of other fabulous items at Creative Play, like Stickles, Glimmer Mist, Marvy punches, Cuttlebug accessories, Sakura pens, Grungeboard, Memento ink, Pallette Hybrid ink and much, much more!

To share my excitement, I'm giving away one of my favorite sets from Creative Play, Swirl Garden! I've featured it here in my first card design for them. All you have to do is leave a comment (one per person, please) on this post telling me what your favorite stamping technique is and why.

I'll do a random drawing the morning of Monday, June 30th, to reveal the winner. In the meantime be sure to check back for more designs with Creative Play Stamps!

Thanks for sharing in my news! :) ~Patti

Project Details

Stamps: Creative Play Swirl Garden

Paper: SU! Whisper White, Cool Carribean, Garden Green, Misc

Ink: SU! Blue Bayou, Cool Carribean

Other: May Arts Ribbon, SU! Silver Cording, Patina Stickles, Bling

And The Winner Is...

#3...spatters said...
These look like a nice addition. I never have luck finding things like you do. Your sharing ideas is really nice. SLSP

Thanks for visiting Sherry! I'll have your blog candy for you when I see you next! :)

I'll also be back later this weekend with some very exciting news as well as some new card designs, so be sure to stop back. :) Blessings~ Patti

Sending You Smiles

I can't get enough of this Elzy image. She's just too cute! I'm hoping that she brings a smile to a friend today.

I'm so incredibly blessed to have such wonderful dear friends. You know who you are! You brighten my day just by sending me a quick email, calling to chat for an hour (or two), meeting for margaritas or stamping the day away. You share in my celebrations and sorrows and always have a listening ear and a kind word.

Whatever you're up to today friends, I hope you know how special you are! Hugs~ Patti

Project Details
Stamps: Elzybells, Verve Thoughtful Phrases
Paper: SU! Pixie Pink & Whisper White, Basic Grey Sultry
Ink: SU! Chocolate Chip, Adirondack, Copics
Other: Fiskars Treading Water punch, Primas, Pearl

Austen Heroine Quiz

Being a big fan of Jane Austen movies, I just couldn't resist taking this fun quiz to see which Jane Austin character I would be. I was honored to be likened to the very sensible Elinor Dashwood! Although my husband said that 15 years ago I was much more like Miss Marianne Dashwood. I suppose there's a little Elinor AND Marianne in all of us!

Take the Quiz here!

If your not familiar with any of the movies, you must see them! I recommend Sense & Sensibility first. Followed by Mansfield Park, Emma, Pride & Prejudice, Persuasion and Northanger Abby. I also recommend keeping a box of tissue nearby. ;)

I've decided to add reading the Jane Austen novels to my summer "list". If you're an Austen fan, I'd love to hear which book, movie and character are your favorites.

Thanks for stopping by today! Smiles~ Patti

VVPP03: Tulip

Another beautiful day here in Illinois! I wasn't sure I'd find time to stamp, but as I was blog hopping this morning and I saw that Verve is holding another Project Parade Challenge. I couldn't resist trying it out as the inspiration for it is simply awesome! Not only is the quilt gorgeous, but look at that sparkly picture behind the bed! I can totally picture a big vase of red and yellow tulips in that room! Can't you!?

This Anna Griffin tulip stamp from All Night Media was one of the first stamps I ever purchased. It's been a keeper all these years as I love using my SU! markers on it. I paired it up with some patterned paper from Daisy D, keeping with the red, saffron, white and sand color combo. This was really a fabulous challenge to play with! If you get a chance be sure to join in all the details are HERE. Thanks for the inspiration Verve girls!

Have an awesome evening! ~Patti

Project Details

Stamps: Anna Griffin Tulip, Verve Starlight Starbright

Paper: SU! Real Red, So Saffron, Whisper White, Daisy D

Ink: SU! Real Red, So Saffron, Mellow Moss, Sahara Sand, Close to Cocoa

Other: CTMH Organdy ribbon, X-mas Red Stickles, Crystal Stickles, Fiskars Treading Water punch, SU! Oval punches, Martha Stewart Butterfly punch

A Swinging Day!

Happy Monday! I hope your week is getting off to a great start!

I got to stamp this morning! :) I think I mentioned that I was going to try to get back in the swing of some challenges. This morning, I stopped by Julee's blog and she has Mojo Monday #42 up.

I'm late on several birthday cards, so I was thankful for Julee's inspiration. This card is for my aunt. She likes "cute", so Elzy is perfect for her. I colored Elzy with Copics! In fact, she's my first attempt at using Copic markers. :)

My friend, Juli was nice enough to bring her Copics to our little stamping get together last week and I got to play with them. I love how smoothly they blend! I'm afraid I'm going to have to have them...ALL. lol

Enjoy your day! ~Patti

Project Details
Stamps: Elzybells, Amuse
Ink: SU! Basic Black, Adironack Pitch Black, Copics
Paper: SU! Ballet Blue, Summer Sun, Green Galore & Whisper White, Misc
Other: Green Galore Grossgrain, Bling

Giveaway!

It's time for a little giveaway! The occasion? Just because! :)

I came across these great little stamps at Michaels and paired them up with some double sided black and white satin ribbon and several fun adhesive chipboard shapes.

Just leave a comment here (one per person please) for a chance at these goodies. I'll do a random drawing next Friday morning to select the winner. Thanks for stopping by and have a super day! :) ~Patti

Summer Stamping

Hello Friends! What a wonderful first week of summer break it's been. I've accomplished so much and have had a wonderful time in the process. My house is clean, really clean, for the first time in months. No cobwebs or dust bunnies around here. Just a pile of laundry. ;)

The best part has been reconnecting with friends. I got to meet my dear friend, Carol at Panera on Wednesday morning and we enjoyed a wonderful time of chatting, sharing and laughing over warm toasty bagels. Life is so much better when I can connect with Carol.

Yesterday, my friends Theresa, Paula and Juli came over to stamp. We shared a Shoebox Swap in the morning (my card is above), took a break for lunch and then enjoyed sharing stamps and tools in the afternoon. I was also introduced to Copic Markers and I now understand why everyone loves them so much. They're fabulous! (Thanks for such a fun day girls!)

I'm still in my PJ's today and it's well into the afternoon. I'm being lazy... doing laundry, catching up on phone calls, emails and blog hopping, while the revolving door of our home has my 2 younger children and their friends running in and out enjoying bike rides, ladder golf, a trip to the playground and some Guitar Hero in between. Needless to say, the dog is very tired from trying to keep up with all the activity.

Tomorrow brings the Great Day of Serving at Christ Community Church. Our family will be at Chesebro Elementary School doing a variety of projects including spreading mulch, transplanting bushes and organizing a reading room and storage area. On Sunday we're taking the train to Chicago to go to the Shedd Aquarium. I'm really looking forward to this weekend, there's nothing better than spending time with my family.

Enjoy your weekend as well! Blessings ~Patti

Project Details

Stamps: Inkadinkado Pattern Bugs, PTI Mixed Messages

Paper: SU! Cool Caribbean & Whisper White, Crate Paper Blue Hill

Ink: SU! Cool Caribbean, Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel

Other: Spare Parts Flowers, Primas, CTMH Bling, Crystal Stickles, SU! Oval Punches, Cuttlebug Texture Textile Folder, Fiskars Treading Water Punch, Swirl die cut

Star Shine

High School Graduation is such an exciting time in the life of teens.

My two older boys have been celebrating with their graduating friends over the past week and I have made about a dozen grad cards already. As I don't own any stamp sets with graduation caps, etc, I went with stars.

Verve's Starlight Starbright was just perfect paired up with this designer paper from Close to My Heart. I covered chipboard stars with matching paper and lots of Stickles to really make them shine! The inside verse says "Reaching for the stars, we find our greatest self."

The "Your time to Shine" card features the Fiskars Treading Water border punch. Was so excited to find it at Archiver's! The "Headed for Stardom" card features Julee's Mojo Monday 39 sketch. I'm hoping to make more time for participating in her sketch challenges this summer, along with Beate's.

Now that summer break is finally here, I have a whole list of things I want to accomplish and enjoy this summer. Shall I share? OK, I will. ;)

1) Spending time with my family, going to Chicago, vacationing in Galena, visiting with extended family and friends, enjoying Concerts in the Park, bike riding, going to the Theatre, catching some movies, bowling and lots more!

2) Doing a major house cleaning! I know, doesn't sound like fun but it needs to be done. I think there might be something to feng shui because I don't function well in clutter. ;)

3) Working on home improvement projects! We are hoping to put new siding on our house this summer...Slate (a medium grey color) with black shutters and a red front door. Can't wait to see it done!

4) Sorting and organizing my children's school work, projects, pictures and memorabillia. I have several (at least 4) big boxes of their "stuff" that I've collected over the past 12 years. It's time to get it into some kind of order.

5) Walking with Leslie! I'm working on shedding about 30 pounds this summer and my favorite work out is the Leslie Sansone Walk away the pounds series. No matter what the weather outside, I can always walk inside, no excuses.

6) Stamping! I've already spent a couple of days getting my stamping space in order and I'm looking forward to playing more! Even have a few days on the calendar to stamp with friends. :)

7) Relaxing with some downtime! I really enjoy watching movies and like to watch Pride & Predjudice, Sense & Sensibility, Emma and Mansfield Park each summer. In addition, my children and I like to take rainy summer days and watch all of a series of movies in the same day. One rainy day we'll watch all the Harry Potter movies, another the Star Wars series, and so on.

I hope you and your family are able to enjoy some fun and relaxing times this summer too! Thanks for stopping by today! Smiles ~Patti