ICS #46; The Cutting Cafe

To create this card for Inspirational Card Sketches, I used the printable stamp set from The Cutting Cafe called Happy New Year Circle Word! Regina is always coming up with the most wonderful digital stamp sets; she just seems to know what I like!!!! My Sweet Friend, Dawn, has the greatest sketches and her DT is just so talented! I love participating in Dawn's Sketch Challenges!

Patterned Papers: DCWV Holiday Stack

Machine Stitching

Thank you so much for visiting!!!!!

Friday Sketchers #81

I have been watching the Friday Sketchers's site for a while now but I just have not had the time to create a card using their sketch patterns UNTIL I saw this quilted sketch! You know me, I will always find time to create a quilted card!!!!! :-))))

Patterned Papers: Graphic 45

Papertrey Ink Stamp Sets: Holiday Button Bits; Signature Christmas

Machine Stitching

Birthday Organizer: The Cutting Cafe

Regina at The Cutting Cafe has a Birthday Organizer Printable Stamp Set that I just had to create! For so many years I have had a truly disorganized way of keeping track of Birthdays. This project was just what I needed. The papers are Cosmo Cricket and the Happy Birthday Circle is from the Cutting Cafe's All Occasion Circle Word Set 1.

The Decorated Birthday Organizer:

The Birthday Organizer opened to show the inside:

Using a decorated clothes pin for each month on the front of the organizer:

The Cutting Cafe; ICS #45; CPS #144

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Dwain and I fixed dinner here and celebrated our blessings with our Daughter, Brenda, our Grandgirls, Madison and Paige and a dear, dear Friend of Brenda's. We had turkey, my special sausage dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, cherry salad and dinner rolls. Brenda's Friend brought a very delicious Pear Pie! YUMMY!!!!! We all had a FABULOUS time!

The Cutting Cafe: Regina has a fabulous set of printable stamps called "Gift Card and Money Holder Cutting Files." I chose to create the money holder since our Christmas gifts to our children each year are checks. You can find the set HERE. While you are there check this out!

Inspirational Card Sketches & Papertrey Ink: This week for Dawn's Inspirational Sketches, I created a Holiday Planner Book! You can find her sketch HERE. For this book, I used THIS book as my start, embellished it with Cosmo Cricket paper and the stamp set from Papertrey Ink called, Take Note! As you can see, this book is not very expensive; I have already made a book for Madison's preschool teacher and am working on some others as gifts. Yes, each page is lined!

Card Positioning Systems & Papertrey Ink: It has been a long, long time since I have created a card using Card Positioning Systems. For this card I used Papertrey Ink new Christmas Paper and stamped set called, Communique Curves.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is by far my favorite of all the Holidays. It speaks of family, warmth, laughter, togetherness and being grateful for all those special blessings we experience each year.

Last year on Thanksgiving, I was in the hospital in ICU fighting for my life. I had pneumonia that ended up in my bloodstream and was given a very slim chance of survival. Dwain and my family kept vigil by my bedside for those seriously ill days. Dwain kept my blog updated on how I was doing and we both received so many heartfelt messages from all of you, my special, special Friends. For 7 weeks, I went from ICU to Intermediate Care to Rehab. It was a very long, long road to travel and as Dwain and I progressed through each phase of the healing process, we relied on the prayers and messages from all of you.

So for this Thanksgiving post, I decided that both of my cards would reflect how much we appreciated all those loving prayers and messages of hope that everyone sent to us. We will always be grateful that each of you are in our lives. These cards even reflect my love for all of those who are new to my blog; with your sweet, sweet comments, you have encouraged me to keep doing what I love to do.

Note: I put some photos of my family in the sidebar; my reasons for survival and as I strive to still recover is for them. The doctors said that it would take a long, long time for me to feel normal again and they were so right! With your continued messages and the help of my family, I know that someday, I will once again feel normal in body and soul. I am so thankful for all of you!

Our Grandgirl, Angelina, will be 8 on Thanksgiving Day!!!!! We absolutely adore and love our beautiful and loving Grandgirl! Happy Birthday, Angelina! Love, Grandma and Grandad.

Inspirational Card Sketches: Dawn at Inspirational Card Sketches has one "awesome!!!" sketch for this week! I have to confess that I love looking at her DT's work even before I "see" her sketch! They are just so creative! For this card, I used Papertrey Ink's paper, cardstock, ribbon and stamp sets. The pumpkin basket is from the set called, "Vintage Picnic" and the sentiment is from "Signature Greetings."



2 Sketches 4 You: Kazan at 2S4Y has another "wonderful to work with" sketch this week! The DT is always so inspirational! To create this card, I, once again used Cosmo Cricket's "Nutmeg" paper. Guess you know by now that I LOVE this paper! I used Papertrey Ink's Signature Greetings again for this card plus their new Terra Cotta cardstock and ribbon.

Free "Cutting Cafe Set" -- Limited Time; 2S4Y#39; ICS#43

Regina at The Cutting Cafe is giving away a FREE digital stamp set!!!! Woohoo, isn't that exciting? She wants to give back to all those who have supported her and her site. Now....this give-away has a limited time frame. You have from today to Thursday, November 19, to get the free set! So what are you waiting for? Go get yourself this set! You can link to her site HERE.

2 Sketches 4 You & Papertrey Ink:

Laura's sketch at 2S4Y this week is just amazing! To create this card, I used Cosmo Cricket (Mini-Deck: "Jolly By Golly"), and Papertrey Ink's "Holiday Button Bits" stamp set. All I can say is: I LOVE this stamp set!!!!!! :-)))))

Inspirational Card Sketches & The Cutting Cafe:

Dawn at Inspirational Card Sketches has a beautiful sketch for this week! I don't recall ever calling a sketch "beautiful" but this one is. I just had to design a "beautiful" card to showcase it! The "Merry Christmas" circle is from The Cutting Cafe, the papers are Basic Grey and the stickers are from the $1 bin at Michaels! I snagged the last of them and might just have to go see if they have restocked. Aren't they yummy?

Happy Birthday, Brenda; A Drawing - The Cutting Cafe; ICS #42; 2S4Y #39

And the Winner is......Desire!!!! Thank you to everyone who entered my drawing! Keep checking back because I will be having another one real soon!

On November 11, 1975, our daughter, Brenda, was born! It was a difficult pregnancy; there were many days that I spent in bed just trying to hold onto her. Whenever there was a twinge, I would say, "NO!!!" to her and she complied each time. Her due date was in December but she didn't listen the early morning of 11/11/75 and made her entrance into this world a month too soon; luckily, she was okay. Since then, Brenda has been one tough, independent person. She has had to call on this toughness to help get her through a divorce this year and to ensure that her daughters are doing okay. Dwain and I are so very proud of her! We love you, Brenda! Happy 34th Birthday!

A Drawing - The Cutting Cafe:

I am so excited to be able to again do a drawing this week for a digital stamp set from The Cutting Cafe!!!!!! The set is called, "Fancy Holiday Season Set." Aren't they just beautiful? I love how you can create Christmas cards in a "snap" when using this set. There is a sense of elegance about them. For this card, I used a Hero Arts "Cling Stamp," red and white cardstock and a sentiment using the stamp set.

What do you have to do to win this set???? Well, just leave me a comment and on Monday, November 16, I will have a drawing to give away this set for free! So, so EZ!!!!!!



Inspirational Card Sketches #42 - Papertrey Ink - The Cutting Cafe:


Once again, Dawn at ICS has another terrific sketch this week; her DT created the cutest cards using it! I used Basic Grey's "Eskimo Kisses" paper (6x6 paper pad), Papertrey Ink's "Holiday Button Bits" stamp set and The Cutting Cafe's "Fancy Holiday Season Set" digital stamps. I couldn't help myself, I just had to use Regina's stamp set on another card.




2 Sketches 4 You --Kazan's Sketch #39:

If you were wondering when I was going to make another apron card, well, here it is! I love working with this Karen Lockhart rubber stamp. Kazan at "2 Sketches 4 You" has one fabulous sketch this week and the new DT created so many beautiful inspirational cards using it. Once again, I used Cosmo Cricket's "Nutmeg" Mini Deck -- just love that paper!!!! For the sentiment, I used Papertrey Ink's "2009 Autumn Tags."

Happy Birthday, Rob; ICS #41; 2S4Y #38; The Cutting Cafe

On November 5, 1970, our son #2 was born! Happy Birthday, Rob! Even though you will be 39 tomorrow, you will always be our special little boy! Thank you for so many wonderful memories! We love you so very much, Mom and Dad.

ICS & The Cutting Cafe:

Dawn at Inspiration Card Sketches has another "multi-layered" sketch this week! I love those kind of sketches. For this card, I used The Cutting Cafe Digital Stamp set: Bell Shaped Card. Along with the card, Regina has 2 circles included with the set. I just got a kick out of the one I used on this card: "you're the JINGLE in my BELL!" :-))))) What I did, to create this card, was to enlarge the circle and to print off a "mini-bell" from her pattern. How fun is this? I also used Cosmo Cricket's Jolly By Golly mini deck.


2 Sketches 4 You & Papertrey Ink:

Isn't this Cosmo Cricket Nutmeg pretty? The "mini deck" papers are the perfect size for card making. I also used Papertrey Ink's Stamp Set: Autumn Abundance to create this card. I adore working with Fall colors so this stamp set was so great for me! I love the versatility of Laura's sketch this week and oh, the DT.....beautiful work!!!!!

ICS #40; The Cutting Cafe

Hello Everyone! I hope you all are doing okay and I wish each of you a wonderful day! Yesterday was my Birthday so Dwain and I spent time doing what I love to do: shopping and eating lunch out. The highlight for me on each Birthday is to hear the voices of my children and grand-girls when they call. We told them long ago to not get us any gifts; a phone call is gift enough. Because our children are all grown up and away from home, calls from them always touch our hearts since we miss them so much.

This card was created for Dawn's Inspirational Card Sketches. Members of her DT are always so sweet and leave so many wonderful comments each time I post a card. Thank you so much to everyone!!!!

For this card, I used one of Karen Lockhart Stamps. I love any stamp where I can use my markers to color it! Guess that comes from winning a coloring contest when I was 10 years old sponsored by our local newspaper; I won $10 and I was just delighted!

Have I told you how much I love The Cutting Cafe? I guess you already know that! LOL! This card was made using "The Cutting Cafe -- Christmas Circle Digital Stamps (Set 2)."

The circles in the circle set are actually 2" around; what I did is enlarged the one I used because I have an HP printer that allows me to do that per Regina's instructions HERE. The stocking was created using Papertrey Ink -- Stocking Prints Stamp Set. The paper is also from Papertrey Ink Here.

ICS #39; The Cutting Cafe

Dwain and I spent last weekend "girl-sitting" our two youngest Grandgirls. We came home full of hugs, kisses and a whole lot of "sweetness" that we carry with us when we come home. They hold us over until new ones are made when we "girl-sit" again. We are truly enjoying our role as Grandparents; there is nothing better than spoiling our Girls! :-)))))

Dawn at Inspirational Card Sketches has, once again, outdone herself. She never ceases to amaze me with her sketches each week! When I first saw the sketch, I thought, "Hummmm" and then after looking at the samples done by the DT, I thought, "Oh, I can do that!" Sometimes my mind just goes "wacky" for a while and I have to go looking for inspiration. Luckily, Dawn has a lot on her site.

I used stamps from Papertrey Ink: Vintage Labels, Peaceful Poinsettia and the sentiment is from Autumn Abundance.

Regina at The Cutting Cafe has been creating "Long Border" digital stamps and I have just fallen in love with them. In each set, she has one border just perfect for creating a card and one border that is just perfect for a layout. You can find the Christmas one HERE. Since I adore making card sets, I might print out a bunch of these and use them to make some Christmas card sets for friends and family. They are just so "EZ!!!!!"

The Cutting Cafe: 2S4Y (#37), Halloween, ICS (#38)

Remember a while back, I wrote about how excited I was about Fall coming? Well....for the last few days, we have been having WINTER!!!! Dwain and I were talking this morning that we can't remember ever putting our heat on in the house in October. We have had a few nights of what they call, "hard freeze" this week but, thankfully, it has warmed up a little today. Our poor trees don't know whether to turn colors or to just give up and drop their leaves. LOL! Looking on the bright side of this, maybe we will have a "Harvest Moon" this year!

2S4Y and The Cutting Cafe:

Kazan at "2 Sketches 4 You" has a challenging but oh, so fun sketch this week. The DT did such beautiful work with their creative samples. I used Basic Grey's 6X6 paper pad called, "Indian Summer" to create this card along with The Cutting Cafe's: Happy Thanksgiving. Isn't this the prettiest paper? The rubber stamp I used is from Inkadinkado.

The Cutting Cafe:

I used The Cutting Cafe's: Halloween Long Border to create this fun card along with Basic Grey's 6X6 paper pad called "Eerie." Those little bats were part of a "stick-on set" that I used a long, long time ago. As you can see, I save even the little things!

ICS & The Cutting Cafe:

The rubber stamp I used on this card is very, very old! I can't tell you who made it or anything but I can say it is one of my favorites. I used Dawn's Inspirational Card Sketches to create this card; it was so much fun to work with and of course, her DT created so many inspirational cards. The sentiment is from The Cutting Cafe's: Happy Thanksgiving like I did on the first card.

ICS #37 (Papertrey Ink); 2S4Y (#36 - The Cutting Cafe)

As you view my cards, take note of something new. Do you see it? Yes, I finally learned how to put my name on the photos of my cards! I am so excited! I have to give credit to my dear, sweet Hubby, Dwain, for pointing me in the right direction. There is something wonderful in being "gleeful" with the little things that come along in our lives!


ICS#37 and Papertrey Ink:
Dawn at Inspirational Card Sketches has once again outdone herself with this week's sketch and her DT made so many inspirational card samples. I used papers and stamps from Papertrey Ink to create this card: papers (Bitty Box Basic Paper and In Bloom) and stamp sets (Autumn Abundance (pitcher with flowers) and Fall Elegance (sentiment.)

2 Sketches 4 You & The Cutting Cafe:

I created this card using Basic Grey (Eerie) 6X6 paper pad, the digital stamp called "I'm BATTY for you..." from The Cutting Cafe and Laura's sketch from 2S4Y. So easy when you have great paper, a wonderful place for digital stamping and an outstanding sketch! Can't get any better than that!

A Drawing -- The Cutting Cafe; ICS #36

The winner of the drawing is...........Jeananne (golfergal.) Congratulations! Thank you to everyone who participated this week! Keep checking in because I will indeed being doing this again in the near future!

WOOHOO!!!!! I get to have another drawing for The Cutting Cafe!!!! I will be giving away the digital stamp set called "What's Cooking?" This set includes some circles and some sayings like what I used on this card!

I also used Dawn's Inspirational Card Sketch for this week. Once again, she has a terrific sketch and all the DT creations were just outstanding!!!!!

I cut the ovals on my Cricut Machine and that vintage APRON was created using a rubber stamp from Lockhart Stamp Company! Isn't it the best? Instead of just stamping the apron on plain paper, coloring it and cutting it out, I stamped the image on several patterned papers, cut out the parts and pieced it all together.



Now, what do you have to do to win the "What's Cooking" from The Cutting Cafe? Well, just leave me a comment and I will enter your name for a drawing. I will be doing the drawing on Thursday (October 8) and will announce the winner on that day! Good Luck to everyone! Be sure and check out The Cutting Cafe on Monday (October 5) for other drawings that will be available.

Our Fellow Blogger, Judy

As of today, October 5, Judy is now home. She wrote all about her "scare" on her blog! Thank God, you are okay, Judy!


Hello Everyone,

I went over to see what fabulous projects Judy was working on and read a note from her Daughter, Robin. It stated that Judy had suffered a massive heart attack yesterday and they had to put a stent in for a 100% blocked artery; she is CCU right now. Please keep her in your prayers. If you have a chance, I would love it if you left her a message on her blog. I know, from past experience, that when I got home from the hospital, how much I treasured all the emails that were left for me to read.

Here is her blog.

Love to all of you, Glee

ICS #35; Scrap Tags; The Cutting Cafe; Happy Birthday #2, Paige!

"Autumn, the year's last, loveliest smile."

(William Cullen Bryant)

Dawn at Inspirational Card Sketches has another great sketch for this week. I just can't get over how she does this -- I feel it takes a lot of creativity to draw sketches. Each one has to be different and challenging each week. She has added to her DT with some new members; what talent she has over there!!!!! I used Papertrey Ink Paper and The Cutting Cafe's digital stamp set called, "When I Count My Blessings..." to create this card.

What do you do with a whole bunch of little bitty scraps that you just can't bear to throw away? Well, you make tags! I added to my stash this week by creating these "Thankful" tags using the stamp set "Vintage Picnic" from Papertrey Ink and some of my paper and ribbon scraps.

September 25 is our Grandgirl's Birthday #2! Isn't Paige the sweetest little girl even with ketchup on her face? We will enjoy partying with her and her little friends Friday eve! They are all so cute to be around. Her Mom (our Daughter) always makes each Birthday for her girls a really special occasion with fabulous decorations, people all over the place, etc. We always have a lot of FUN!!!! Here is the card that I created for her. The theme of her party is "monkeys" since she is in that "daredevil" stage right now. Nothing keeps her from "scaring us" sometimes. LOL! I used The Cutting Cafe's "Big Stuff Sentiments" on this card -- one of Paige's favorite words is HAPPY so this was perfect for it!

ICS #34 (Papertrey Ink;) The Cutting Cafe; Madison

Aren't these the cutest owls? They were so much fun to work with for this card I created using Dawn's Inspirational Card Sketches for this week. She always offers the best sketches; this one I am especially fond of and will use over and over again. The Stamp Sets I used on this card are called, "Wise Owl" and "Out On A Limb Revised" from Papertrey Ink. Be sure and check out the DT creations using this sketch! So, so inspirational! Can you tell that I am so enjoying Rubber Stamping these days?

Regina at The Cutting Cafe has some wonderful and "oh so fun!" digital stamps for the Kitchen. I made this card using Kitchen Circles. I wanted it to look like a placemat so I used the new Cricut Cartridge called "From My Kitchen" to die cut the plate and utensils. Regina just posted some Pirate stamps that you just have to see. Check them out Here and Here!

This is our sweet, sweet Grandgirl, Madison (4 years old,) who started Preschool yesterday. The night before, her Mom (our Daughter) reminded Madison at bedtime that she "has Preschool tomorrow." Madison replied, "No, Thank You!" LOL! Well, she went for her first day and then called her Grandma and Grandad to tell us that she had a great time! It seems like just yesterday that she was born and I held her in my arms right near my heart. She stole this Grandma's heart from the start!

2S4U (#34), ICS #33, The Cutting Cafe, Papertrey Ink

It's on its way!!!!! FALL is almost here! I love this time of the year. We are having cool nights and warm days around our area. I have not seen any leaf change yet but there is something about the shortening of the days that indicates that it will happen soon. Kennewick is so very pretty during the Fall! I can't wait for the "crisp, cool" air of the season to gently touch my cheeks and to smell the "fresh air" associated with Fall! What is it like where you live?

2S4U, Papertrey Ink and The Cutting Cafe:

Regina at The Cutting Cafe has a new set posted called, Autumn Days Printable Stamp Set! When I saw the sketch for 2 Sketches 4 You this week, I knew I could use this set on my card. I used Papertrey Ink's "Autumn Abundance" paper, "Autumn Abundance" stamp set for the leaves and acorns and "Fall Elegance" for the sentiment.

ICS and Papertrey Ink:

I created this card using Dawn's Inspirational Card Sketches for this week! Once again, she has a terrific sketch and her DT did beautifully using it for so many inspirational samples! For this card, I also used a new stamp set from Papertrey Ink, called "Sign Language." Isn't this the coolest idea? I also used PTI's Paper, called Hocus Pocus! It is just perfect for Halloween!!!!

Tent Cards and The Cutting Cafe:

I tried a new way of doing cards this week from my Friend, Michelle (Mish) called "Tent Cards." You start out with a 4.25 card, work on this size and then add a "topper" to it creating a 4.5 x 5.5 card -- just right for a regular envelope. I used The Cutting Cafe's: Thank You Printable Background Stamp on the card base and Thank You, Thank You..I can't say it enough on the topper. Because these cards were "lifted" from Michelle, I want to thank her for the idea! These were so much fun to create! HERE is Michelle's (Mish) Blog; "woo-wee" she has some GORGEOUS stuff there!

A Drawing - The Cutting Cafe; ICS #32

The winner of this week's Cutting Cafe stamp set is Jenn! Congratulations! Thank you to everyone who left me so many sweet comments! Keep checking in because I will be giving another set away real soon!

MY OH MY, I get to give away another digitial stamp set from The Cutting Cafe this week! I am having so much fun participating in these "Give-Aways!!!!!" This set is called "Halloween This and That." Regina has so many items in this set to use on your creations! See the entire set HERE. While you are browsing around the site, check THIS out! Isn't this the best idea???? Also, starting on Monday, there will be other members of the DT giving away sets for free so be sure and check back at The Cutting Cafe on that day!

This card and envelope was created using my Cricut Die Cut Machine. I used the "New Arrival" Cartridge (page 131; 5".) I can just see the recipient of this card opening the envelope and seeing "BOO!" in big, bold letters as a surprise! :-)))))

Now, what do you have to do to win the "Halloween This and That Digital Stamp Set" from The Cutting Cafe? Well, just leave me a comment and I will enter your name for a drawing. I will be doing the drawing on Wednesday (September 9th) and will announce the winner on that day! Good Luck to everyone!

I created this card using Dawn's Inspirational Card Sketches! I just can't get over how much I look forward to each Tuesday when she posts her new sketch for the week! She does terrific work and her DT just "blossoms" with so many inspiring ideas! Once again, everything you see here except the ribbon is from Papertrey Ink! The image is from their new set called, "Autumn Abundance." You can see the set HERE! Since the image is small, I had to use extra care in coloring it because of a tremor in my hand. I think I did a pretty good job for an "old Grandma!" LOL!

A Photo, A Drawing, ICS #31

The winner of this week's Cutting Cafe stamp set is Tonje! Congratulations! Thank you to everyone who left me so many sweet comments! Keep checking in because I will be giving another set away real soon!

Dwain and I celebrated our 43rd Wedding Anniversary in Seattle this last weekend. Our son, Jim, works for the Seattle Seahawks and gave us his free tickets so we could see the Seahawks play the Denver Broncos. The highlight of this trip was having time to visit with our eldest Grandgirl, Angelina (7 years old and daughter of Jim.) Angelina performed at halftime on the field as a Junior Seagal with the Seahawk Cheerleaders, the Seagals. This is her 3rd year of participation (yes, we have gone each year) and we so enjoy watching her dance in her cheerleader outfit and her pompoms! It is AWESOME!!!!!

Because Angelina will be starting 2nd Grade soon, our time to visit her is limited while school is in session and because the weather during the winter in the mountain passes keeps us on this side of the Cascade Mountains, we have to give her "lots of loving" when we are with her. You may ask, "Glee, how do you make it during this time without seeing her?" Well, she calls me on a regular basis and when I hear, "Hi Grandma," I just melt. She is a true sweetheart and such a loving young lady. Her 1st Grade teacher called her "my little adult!" So true, so true.

Oh, GOODIE, I get to give out another set from The Cutting Cafe!!!!!

Regina at The Cutting Cafe has a new digital stamp set called, "Bless You!" Oh my goodness, I saw the 14 sentiments and I just had to create a set of cards using 4 of them!

Now, what do you have to do to win the "Bless You Digital Stamp Set" from The Cutting Cafe? Well, just leave me a comment and I will enter your name for a drawing. I will be doing the drawing on Sunday (August 30) and will announce the winner on that day! Good Luck to everyone! I love this set!

Once again, Dawn has an outstanding sketch this week at Inspirational Card Sketches! Her DT sure "rocked" the sketch in so many "inspirational" creations!

Everything I used on this card is from Papertrey Ink: paper, Quilter's Sampler stamp set, and ink. Being "new" to stamping, I love the stamp sets that Papertrey Ink creates; my images always come out clean and crisp (unless I don't put enough ink on them--LOL) compared to others I have tried which sometimes disappoint me.

And the winner is......

Judy!!!!! Congratulations! You won a free stamp set from The Cutting Cafe! WOOHOO!

Thank you to everyone who left so many sweet comments on my blog. Keep checking back because I will be giving another set of digital stamps away before too long!