Blog Candy

No not me but, Jean over Here has some DGS stamps to give away. She also has some really cool cards to check out too.

Valentine's Tin For Brittany

I have finally finished the gift Clark is giving to Brittany...I had to get his approval yesterday. I filled it with shades of Pink nail polish, chocolates and a stretchy valentine's bracelet. Because Clark lives in a group home and I can not trust that this will get to school in one piece (or even get to school at all)...I will take it tomorrow myself. Meeting Clark at his school when he gets off the bus allows him the opportunity to carry it into school on his own.

All the extra work can be frustrating at times, but

what am I supposed to do? As much as I would

like to yell at the folks at his home, I can not or

otherwise I am afraid that they will take out their

possible anger at me on Clark.

I have learned, through much experience and time, that I have to pick and choose my battles. Better yet, I measure everything on the "On a scale of 10..." or "In 6 months will this really matter?" Guess we all do that in some manner or another.

I guess the bottom line is...Clark is worth the extra effort!! Dissapointments, frustrations and all.

So, now you know what I have been working on, crafty wise, the past few days. In addition, I am getting ready for my In-Laws visit next weekend and preparing to go on vacation the following weekend. I have been shopping for the trip...in Orlando...and cleaning like a crazy woman.

Oh yeah, I am still organizing downstairs in the evenings too. I think I am more busy since I quit work than before!!! Why is that? Let me know if you come up with something. LOL!

Ok, I have rambled enough...here is all the details on the tin - In the close-up of the heart on the front of the tin, I cut paper flowers in thirds and glued them to the back of the heart, doodled around the edge of the heart, added stamped hearts and dots of Stickles. Kept wanting to put some type of word there but stopped to keep it simple.

• Paper - Scrappy Cat
• Stamps - SU Short & Sweet, Rubber Paper Tapestry, Happy Heart Day
• Ink - SU Whisper White Craft Ink and Pixie Pink Classic Ink
• Accessories - Rusty Pickle Chipboard Heart, Paper Flowers, Assorted SU and Non-SU ribbons, Large and Small Tag Punches, Foam Tape, Modpodge - Matte and Glitter

Thanks for looking and Happy Crafting!!

Cindy

Confetti Hearts

I don't remember where I found this inspiration....it wasn't the colors but the layout I suppose. My sewing machine has been in storage since the beginning of December when I was sewing Magic Pillowcases and Hawaiian Shirts for gifts. It was time to dig it out.....looks like I need to practice more as the stitches are not laying so well. And I appologize for the color....our scanner program has been sick so, I have to find another way to get better pics. C'est la vie!

I have to tell you about the great sales I picked up on yesterday. Oh you know, the stuff you could live without but, would rather not. One of the places I stopped was Michael's the 40% off coupon was burning a hole in my pocket! They have put in a Dollar Deals (I am not sure if that is the name....it was more seasonal stuff) section towards the back of the store....not the one they usually have towards the front. Anyway, for a $1 I found chipboard (feeding the addiction) house, heart, flower, splat, star shape books. I picked up the houses and stars....thinking ahead for July 4th with a "Liberty" garland.

Also for a dollar I picked up a organdy bag (about 5x7) that can be 'dressed' up with stamping.....ooooo....better yet....how about putting those jars of Denise's Lotion in (the jars came in Thursday and I bought the things needed to make a batch yesterday)? There were some cools glittered stickers in flower, butterfly and star shapes (July 4th banner??) Well, I think you get the idea here....some really great ideas came flowing when I did not have to rush about yesterday. Now I just have to get busy and get crafting!!

• Stamps - Inkadinkado, SU Short & Sweet, Rubber Stamp Tapestry (tiny heart)
• Ink - SU Real Red, Basic Black
• Paper - SU Kraft, Basic Black and Whisper White
• Accessories - Brads, Sewing Machine, Dimensionals, SU Stampin' Pastels, Blender Pen

Hope you have a great Sunday with family and friends!

Happy Crafting!!

Loaded with Valentine Love

Good Morning crafters!! I wanted to post this one this morning as a tribute to my brother, Chris, who is in car sales in California. Like nearly everyone else, he is struggling right now with the crappy economy. I wanted to cheer him up and send a Valentine too.

For the longest time, until I told him one day on the phone, he did not know that the cards were handmade. So, he was throwing them away. And for a while, that bothered me. But, then I had to tell myself that I did my part in sending a the creation, what he did with it afterwards is up to him. He's just not a saver.

Well, I am off to run errands and hit my LSS, they are having a big sale today to get ready for all the new things from CHA. Have a great Saturday....I hope to post a couple more Valentine cards later.

Happy Crafting!!
Cindy

She Lights Up His Life!

This is the card I made last night for my son to give his best girl, Brittany, for Valentine's Day. Clark, our son, and Brittany go to the same school. This is his 2nd year at this particular school for the disabled in St. Louis. We chose it because the regular high school could not meet his needs or they were going to place him in classes that would be of no use to him. So, we chose a Special School District not too far from where he lives. It has been a wonderful decision!

When Clark arrived at Southview School, Brittany, liked him right away and told him so. She invited him to Prom last year, visits him at the group home he lives in and just wants to be close to him. Isn't that what typical teenagers do? Brittany is also in a wheelchair, though she can write and speak clearly.....things Clark cannot do without devices and tools.

Anyway, when it comes to getting gifts and cards for anyone, we always give Clark choices.....since we cannot take him to stores to get them (a story for another day). I had found a sheet of postage stamp looking valentine's by K & Co. He looked them over and picked this one. When I asked him why that one? He said, "because she makes me so happy." Isn't that what we want for our children? Life for Clark is certainly not very easy so why not make it as happy for him as I can.

• Stamps - None
• Inks - None
• Paper - Bazzill, Basic Grey, K & Co, SU Confetti White
• Ribbon, Brads, Fruit Punch Stickles, Chipboard, dimensionals

I hope that you have someone or something in your life that "lights" you up too!

Happy Crafting!!

Love Garland...again

Thought I would show you some close ups since I don't think you can get a good enough look at the garland the way it is.....HTH!!

Love Garland

Hello! Well, I finished the first item for Valentine's Day.

You know I was cleaning and organizing things downstairs and one of the items I said I had a lot of was chipboard. Well, the big heart with the scallops was in a pkg. of assorted hearts from Rusty Pickle. I think I bought it last year at my LSS....experience has taught me that I need to buy things when I see them because they will either run out before I decide whether I want it or not or I will have to look all over H--l and creation trying to find it because then I have to have it.

I traced it 4x from thin chipboard in my stash that I have gotten from the packs of paper that my LSS gets in. Fixed designer paper to front and back....and because I am not too handy with a craft knife, I sand the edges. I would have liked to find some really cool way to hang them like a cool strand of beads but, the twine will have to do for this year. I will keep my eyes open for something neater.

• Paper - SU! Loves Me DP, Close to Cocoa DSP, Kraft
• Ink - Vintage Photo Ranger Distressed Ink, SU Chocolate Chip
• Twine, assorted ribbon, dimensionals, bling, SU Chipboard flowers and some asst. bits of wedding lace with sequins, beads and pearls, ribbon roses, Grungeboard Alphas, asst. charms.

Happy Crafting!!