Mojo Birthday Wishes

Hi everyone! I hope you are all having a relaxing (or productive!) weekend so far. I have so many things on my "to-do" list before Monday...which begins Teacher Appreciation Week here. So many fantastic things I'm envisioning doing to express my deep appreciation to those teachers at my son's school, Round Rock Christian Academy. It's been a bit of a challenge though as I'm feeling a bit....somber?? perplexed? maybe a little bit angry? More on that later....if you care to read about it. :)

In the mean time, I have two wonderful friends who are going to be celebrating their birthdays here in a couple of weeks and I wanted to go ahead and have their cards finished. I based my layout completely on the MOJO Monday sketch...which is also a contest! I also used a hodge podge of my beloved Verve Stamps....a little Bountiful Backgrounds on my tag, Thankful Accents behind my sentiment, and sentiment from Wishful Elegance. Paper is from the new Valentine paper pack from K & Company....so very pretty and versatile. One birthday celebration card down....one more to go.



I had also enlisted myself to make Gratitude cards for all those teachers who touch and enrich our children's lives on a daily basis. Six teachers...in addition to the kindergarten teacher, who I am sooo thankful for. Their job really is thankless...


I had a gift certificate to Papertrey from Christmas and couldn't wait to get my new stamps inky. I used the new Baby Button Bits and Signature Greetings on these cards and went with a Clean and Simple format. Did a little coloring and airbrushing with my Copics and whipped these little lovelies out.



I hope they'll like the cards. The children will be signing them for all their teachers...PE, Art, Music, Spanish, etc....
I really am so grateful.

***Read on with caution...the following is just me being human...airing frustrations...getting personal**

Friends....some stay with you forever, while some quickly come and go, but they all leave little imprints on your soul...whether it be good, bad or indifferent, it is a part of you. I know that not everyone is going to like me all the time...I'm comfortable with that. I had a friend...she was near and dear, but I recognized that the friendship could not continue. It wasn't healthy for both of us...we both moved on. Recently, I discovered that one of her little ones was in the hospital. He's sooo little...I sent a text message...just a sentiment that I said a prayer for him. The message was completely benign and with the best intention. But I soon discovered my sentiment of prayer was unwelcome...at least by a family member. Her message implied that only her true "FRIENDS" were praying for her son. Really??? How this has anything to do with a little one....I have no idea? How grossly spiteful. This coming from an a) adult who b)claims to be the epitome of spiritual. I'm in shock. I'm dumbfounded. I don't share this feeling at all nor will I ever. If you've never liked me...for whatever reason valid or not, if you send a prayer my way, for my children....I welcome it openly. I feel a little better. It feels good to type this out and share...I'm human, and this is me.

Courtney's Celebrates a Year!

Look at this super sweet little girl! She is turning ONE today and I happily obliged Libby, over at Libby's Little Addiction, to help her celebrate! See that cute little outfit she's wearing? Well, myself and a few others were challenged to create something inspired by it. Now this is not a new challenge over at Libby's blog. She has been posting pictures of her sweet girl in various outfits and challenging everyone that visits to be inspired by Courtney's Closet and create something for almost a year now! Check out what all these talented stampers came up with and be sure to give them some love. :)

Carole Burrage at Mother's Little Helper
Leslie Miller at Running With Scissors
Maria Gurnsey at Scraps by M
Rose Ann Reynolds at Paper Delightz
Nancy Riley at iSTAMP
Sue Kment at Sue's Stamping Stuff

And here is what I came up with..

All Supplies Stampin' Up! (unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Crazy for Cupcakes, Short & Sweet, (I hand drew the cherry on top)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers for coloring
Paper: Neenah Solar White, Whisper White, Pink Passion, Pumpkin Pie, Sweet Always dsp
Accessories: Cuttlebug Argyle and Swiss Dots embossing folder, Bold Brights beads, Stickles, Robin's Nest Dew Drops, Nestabilities, Coluzzle, Crystal Effects, Word Window punch, White grosgrain, Pumpkin grosgrain

Not enough eye candy for ya? Well how about some BLOG CANDY!??! That's right! There's no birthday without presents and Libby's definitely got some mad goodies to give! Be sure to stop by her blog for some sweet and delicious blog candy.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET GIRL!!

Ok, let's celebrate!

As promised, I've got some candy to give! First, let's start with a little eye candy. I got my Stampin' Up! order a couple of days ago and IMMEDIATELY had to play. This is my "Wish Big" birthday card following the layout from Splitcoast Sketch Challenge #212. All supplies are from Stampin' Up! I used the new Parisian Breeze Specialty designer paper, and let me tell you this paper is AWESOME! It's textured and super thick cardstock weight. I ran my background Baja Breeze cardstock through one of the new texture plates (harlequinn pattern) and then took a white gel pen at all the intersections...I love doing this for interest! I also ran a piece of the Baja Breeze cardstock through the Simple Flower embosslit, but wasn't happy with the "flat" look it had. I wanted some texture, so I ran another piece of baja cardstock through my texure plate with woodgrain look. Voila! This made my cardstock look like textured cardstock (without paying the extra $$!) I then ran a small piece of that through the embosslit and it kept the texture! I was just tickled with my little discovery. :)

See the goodies over here on the left? That is the Flight of the Butterfly stamp set, Best Yet hostess set, package of Flirty ribbon, and Loves Me designer paper (only missing 1 sheet.) Be sure to leave me a comment on this post telling me your most embarrassing moment!! (I expect some good laughs) :) You will have until Wednesday, January 28th at 11:59 PM to leave your comment and I will announce a winner on Thursday. Good luck!


Lastly, I wanted to share some awesome hand-stamped birthday cards I received. Enjoy!


Created by Valeria Sequeira.


Created by Anitra Tovar


Created by Rosie Hughes

So you think you can dance?

I think I can dance! I may look like I'm convulsing, but I'm having a good time doing it! LOL I'm SOOO excited for Sunday evening! I'm headed off to see the "So You Think You Can Dance" live tour...WOOOOOO!!! It's a show that aired earlier this year kind of similar to Dancing With the Stars...except, no celebrities, just hardcore dancers. LOVE IT! As a matter of fact, I dubbed my own little saying. "When life's got you stressed, just do a bodyroll!" Child driving you nuts? Bodyroll! Uncomfortable silence around friends? Bodyroll! You get my drift. Either way, it's going to bring some laughter and definitely lighten the mood. I've even taught my son to do it...poor soul! :)

On another note, I'm getting into these challenges! A friend/customer of mine just had a baby girl and I need to make her a cute baby card. I took advantage of Taylor's Cupcake Challenge and this is what I came up with.


This was tons of fun to make. My favorite was mixing white craft ink with Bashful Blue re-inker to make a swirly ocean. Was a bit messy, but whatever! I also cut out a tiny flower from the Sweet Always dsp (the bottom circle to be exact) and put that up on the sail. Thanks for the challenge Taylor!

Most Products Stampin' Up! (we need embossing folders to go with the background stamps..WHO IS WITH ME?!)
Stamps: Nursery Necessities
Ink: White craft, Bashful Blue, Regal Rose, Pink Pirouette, Kiwi Kiss
Paper: Whisper White, Bashful Blue, Kiwi Kiss, Sweet Always dsp
Accessories: Nestabilities small circles and scallops, Cuttlebug Swiss dots folder, Styled Silver hodgepodge, pink gingham ribbon, pink beads duo, dazzling diamonds

Thanks so much for visiting and have a GREAT rest of the weekend!

A Birthday Wish

My mom's birthday is coming up at the end of this month...October 26th to be exact, and every year, I'm ashamed to say, I am late sending her a gift and/or card. I know, I know, a bad daughter I am. She never makes a big deal about birthdays and I've used that stance to justify why it's ok to not ever be on time. Having your own children, though, really has made me realize the magnitude of loving care they devoted to me. I not only birthed my children...a piece of me was reborn at the same time. A person a lot less self-centered and a whole heck of a lot more appreciative of them. (Is this just me??)
So this card is for you mom. You mean more to me than you'll ever know.

All products Stampin' Up!
Stamps: Happy Everything, Best Yet
Cardstock: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette, Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze, Holiday Happenings DSP
Ink: Chocolate Chip classic and craft, Kiwi Kiss
Accessories: 3-flower punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, Kiwi Kiss satin ribbon, Dazzling Diamonds
The wonderful design from this card came from Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge #36

Thanks for looking!