FAREWELL . . . and there is a card in here somewhere!!!

Farewell to 2010 and a welcome to 2011!

It has been a good year for the Fox family. The only real downside was the loss of our beloved fur-person Brigit in November. She was a sweet, funny, stubborn, wonderful friend and we love and miss her so much.

Here are some pictures taken at church at Christmas of my DH Chuck and Mom, my special 94-year-old MIL.

This year Chuck learned to play the guitar and as he is the Cantor at church, he can now sing and play the guitar which comes in handy when both of the keyboard players are not available. While he has a musical background (he was a concert trumpet player in his younger days), his progress at playing has been quite remarkable to me. He is also training for his second California Coast Classic this coming September. This is a bicycle tour from the San Francisco Pier to the Santa Monica Pier over 8 days and 500 miles to raise money for the Arthritis Foundation. He will make this ride just after his 70th birthday!!!

Mom crocheted over 2,000 afghan squares this year for Warm Up America! along with 10 or 12 complete afghans and wheelchair lap blankets. These go to disaster stricken areas, battered women's shelters, homeless, etc. Mom has crafted most of her life and we have so many lovely things around the house that she made. She is an inspiration to me that I might continue to do God's work regardless of my age and maybe even through my passion of paper crafting.

 

As for me, my most important accomplishment was creating over 850 cards for Operation Write Home. Many of them are posted on my blog which I started in February of this year. I have made many new friends and increased my stamping knowledge (and stash) by leaps and bounds! I underwent a total hip replacement due to osteoarthritis and have a hip that is as good and functional as when I was a teenager. This has allowed me to begin walking in a serious way and so far I have lost 25 pounds!

All in all it has been a great year for us!

Now for what will be my final cards for the year. I made several of these as I do almost all of my cards. It was a fun card to make and I just loved the DP which came from the Best of K Collection. The stamp is from Cherry Blossom by Flourishes. The ink color is More Mustard and the sentiment from Sincere Situations is by Stampin' Up.

I thank all of you for your continual support and inspiration. A special thanks to Sandy of Operation Write Home and her team who work so hard for our heroes and to create a fun, informative, and inspirational environment for all of us stampers.

And last, but certainly not least, I wish for all of you great peace and joy in this coming year.

ALL ABOUT THE BOYZ

So glad the Holiday Vacation Challenge #6 at OWH was extended until Sunday evening. Kudos to Eric Dull for his darling digi. I had some time this afternoon and wanted to play, so here goes:

I especially love this image because when our beloved French Bulldog Brigit was alive, we would put her Doggles (dog goggles) on her and she would jump in the child's trailer behind Chuck's bicycle and we would all go for a ride! She absolutely loved riding and feeling the air and smelling the smells, but her eyes were protected by the Doggles so they didn't water. She looked so, so cute in them and everyone who saw her would always have this wonderful smile on their face!

Hope all of you are having a wonderful and blessed Christmas day! Blessings,

CHRISTMAS BLESSINGS

Our family wishes for you the blessings of this Holy Night when the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ is celebrated! God is with us.

Louise , Chuck and Mom

VALENTINE BLAST CARD

When I looked at the design of this card, I didn't know if I liked it or not as it seemed to "blast" my eyes with red and white, but Mom and my DH Chuck both quickly said they liked it. Now they don't say that about all of my cards in the initial design stage, so I do trust them.

It is a very quick and easy card to make as there is no stamping or Copics involved - just a Martha Stewart paper punch, a Spellbinder die set, some Gina K paper and some ribbon. I did the sentiment on the computer and printed it in red.

I am not sure if I can post twice for the Midweek Throwdown, but I will give it a try. Have a wonderful week and a blessed Christmas everyone.

WILL YOU BE MINE?

I am happy to see the Midweek Throwdown from Operation Write Home is a Valentine card as that is what I am working on right now! Good timing Jan! 

Once again I do not have the artist who this digital image came from. I am so much better at this now than I was when I first began using "digis". The title is Love Buds so if anyone knows, I will be appreciative if you would leave a comment. The sentiment is printed on the computer at the same time as the digital image, which makes it a very easy - and I think - clean and simple card which could be sent to a spouse or a child. I colored everything with Copics. After the card was photographed, I decided to add coloring to the red hearts with a Red Star Gelly Roll by Sakura. It really gives it a nice pop! Sorry I didn't have the time to re-photograph the card.

I wish you sweet blessings this week and I hope you have a little time to catch a breath and look at all the beauty around us this holiday season!

A SPECIAL DAY

What a special day this is - and why you ask? - because it is the one we are living now! It is Sunday, so it must be time for the Sketch Challenge from OWH.

Here is the sketch:

  And here is my card:

It is not my most favorite card, and I admit that it seemed that every time I turned around something was just not right with the card or an element had disappeared altogether! (The sentiment got attached to my Score Pal which I had put down by my chair - who would think to look for it stuck to the back of my Score Pal? I finally found it after 5 minutes of hunting for it when I went to get something out of a drawer it was leaning against!) My DH Chuck always says each time I can't find something that Martha Stewart must have taken it! She gets accused a lot in this house!

The DP is K & Company and the leaves and flowers I cut from the same paper. The card base is pink, the belly band is Burgundy; and the sentiment is green cardstock made from the Beaded Oval Spellbinder die. The gold beads are from my stash.

Blessings to you all,

CONGRATS OWH AND THANK YOU JOANN

We did it! OWH won the $25,000 prize from Joann.com. Can you imagine the additional possibilities that are available now to serve our heroes and our country? Congratulations to Operation Write Home and a HUGE THANK YOU to Joann Fabric and Crafts!

I made this thank you card for Joann:

The DP is from Far East by DCWV; the cardstock is Cranberry Tart and Moonlit Fog from Gina K; the ribbon is Offrey; the paper punch is Martha Stewart; the die cut is beaded ovals from Spellbinders; and the rhinestones are bulk from eBay.

I can't help but think of the possibilities of what might be done in our world by the simple actions by a group of creative individuals like you joining together for good! I find it both intriguing and exciting!

OWH MID-WEEK THROWDOWN

Happy day and thanks for stopping by today. Here is a very easy and quick card to make - and you could use any shaped die cut you might like or have. Now I know you have seen this card layout a thousand times before but I especially liked the effect of the ribbon, which is what our challenge is all about today.

The DP is DCWV; cardstock is Gina K In the Navy and Sweet Corn; I used a Martha Stewart edge punch and Offray ribbon. The die cut is Spellbinders Beaded Ovals, and the sentiment stamp is Sincere Salutations by Stampin Up.

Thanks again for coming by. I would love to hear your comments! Blessings,

A POST TODAY - YEA!!!

Hello my friends. I am soooooooo happy I am able to make a post today! I am feeling much, much better and I have so much more energy these days. So I got up and thought I would try out this morning's OWH Stars and Stamps challenge before we leave for church.

Here is the sketch:

Here is my card:

The stamp is by Heartfelt Creations - I received my first stamps from Heartfelt for my birthday and I absolutely love them, especially those which have matching Spellbinders dies! I have ordered several of their stamps now and love, love, love all of them. Their website is www.heartfeltcreations.us. Just yummy! The designer paper is from K & Company. Along with all the Heartfelt stamps, my DH Chuck purchased a 380 page paper pack entitled the "Best of K & Company" which is such a fun present. The papers are all fabulous and I will be able to make lots and lots and lots of cards for OWH with this 2 inch tall stack of fab papers. The card stock is from Gina K (Little Boy Blue and Sweet Corn) and Stampin Up (Not Quite Navy). Then, of course, the flowers are colored with my Copic markers (I also received 10 new markers and refills from DH - great birthday huh?)

This was a really fun challenge and I am so happy to be back on my blog. Have a wonderful and blessed week.