See the Miracles in Each Day

Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps (SNSS) is sponsoring the CPS Sketch this week! And what a cool sketch it is. If you haven't already, jump in with your interpretation and you may win a prize from SNSS!

For my card, I used In His Time, one of the June releases from SNSS. Isn't that a gorgeous butterfly? I love it! And the sentiments are simply wonderful. I especially love this one... "see the miracles in each day." Even in the darkest moments, there are still miracles all around us.

My DP is from the White Out collection by We R Memory Keepers. The stitching is actually rub-ons. I colored the butterfly with my Copic markers, but then glittered them up with my atYou Spica pens.

Today was Michael Jackson's memorial service. I was a huge fan of Michael's in the early 80's. In fact, I went to a Jacksons concert at Dodger stadium in November 1984... I was eight months pregnant with my eldest son. That was the Victory tour, and around the time that "Billy Jean" and "Thriller" were popular... the peak, I think, of Michael's career. He surely was a wonderful entertainer... so talented, so much fun to watch, so much fun to dance to his music. Hearing his music takes me back. I have the Thriller album on vinyl (pristine condition, I might add).

I also love a lot of the old Jackson 5 music. I remember watching the Jackson 5 cartoon when I was a kid. I guess you could say I grew up with Michael since he and I are just a year apart in age. I'm sorry that somewhere along the line he seemed to derail and became the subject of so much suspicion and criticism. I have my own opinions on that, but it doesn't really matter. It's not for me to judge. I do think he was one of the greatest entertainers of all time, and I'm sorry to see his life end so soon. His comeback would have been a thing to behold. Rest in peace Michael.

A Very Special Blog Award

Since I'm on the road, I have no cards to share today, but rather something else that is very special and important to me. I received this awesome blog award from my dear friend and BBFF (Best Blogging Friend Forever) Kristine Breach. Kristine and I became friends because of our mutual love for the Lord. I saw a post on her blog in which she asked for prayers for a loved one, I replied back, and the rest, as they say, is history! She is a very special friend and blessing to me, that is for sure. So thank you Kristine for honoring me with this award. It means so much!

Without a doubt, I'd pass this award to Kristine. But now it's my turn to pass it along to others. I'm sure some of these ladies have already received this award, but I want to make sure they are all recognized... they are my sisters in Christ with whom I serve on the Design Team for Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps. I'm so blessed to be a part of this group, you have no idea. I recently sent a prayer and RAK request to them for a dear friend who is battling cancer, and they immediately jumped at the chance to lift my friend up in prayer and send her cards to encourage and strengthen her spiritually.

So, this is for you, ladies: Janette Olen, Shannon Pankow, Nancy Brown, Courtney Fowler, Jeanette Comerford, Lorie Souther, Connie Babbert, Sandy Domelle. Suzy Haghighi, Teresa Kline, Deedee Anderson, Leah Cornelius, Belinda Chang, Chris Dickenson, Ceal Pritchett, and last, but certainly not least, our own Korin Sutherland.

And can I say what a talented group this is? I'm bowled over every time I see their creations.

I would also like to pass this award to another BBFF Patti J. If you visit her blog, you'll know why!

Okay, the troops (i.e., Paul, Avery and my MIL) are anxiously waiting for me to get off the computer and get ready to go shop for a new recliner. I'm going to have to talk them into stopping at a craft store along the way...

Have a blessed Sunday!

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July to my American friends! Again, this was a super quick card I put together before dashing off to Arizona. I used today's sketch from The Sweet Stop, as well as a digi image from a digi stamp set by Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps called Celebrate America. Can I just say once again that if you haven't tried digi stamps, you should? The newest digi set called Sweet as Pie by Tami Mayberry for SNSS is posted on the front page... just scroll down and you'll see it. And while you're there, be sure to check out this month's special sale and gift(s) with purchase, Christmas in July. You must also check out the Firecracker Festival going on during the month of July.

When I get home, I'll be featuring some cards made with the ultra sweet "gift with purchase" digi stamps you can get from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps this month. I'll be ready to think snow after all this heat. Speaking of which, not only is it super hot here in AZ, but now the monsoons have rolled in so it's humid. Yay! I just love free sauna's... NOT. {LOL} Of course, on the plus side, maybe it'll steam off some pounds...

Okay, enough complaining about the heat. I hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July, however you choose to spend it. Ours will be pretty low key. The only fireworks we'll see (i.e., little poppers and such we bought at Target) will be those Avery and Paul set off in the street. But we'll have good eats beforehand, and hopefully a bit of scrapbooking for me this afternoon, so it's all good!

God Bless America!

Greetings from Arizona!

Hey y'all! (That's the southern belle in me coming out...hee hee.) Greetings from Arizona, where it is currently 93 degrees at 9:45 in the morning. It was 99 degrees when I went to bed last night at 10:00. They are expecting a high today of a balmy 105! Gee, this is just my favorite type of weather... NOT. It's a good thing we love my MIL so much or we would never venture from "the frying pan into the fire" temps. They are a good 10 degrees hotter here than in Riverside (at the hottest point of the day... right now it's 70 degrees at home), and the nights stay hot here.

On the plus side, I'm away from work, away from home, and all the attendant stresses, so I will finally have time to relax, catch up on my blog surfing, and even do some scrapbooking (naturally, I brought some stuff with me... what else is a girl to do when it's too hot to go outside?) I needed this break sooooo badly. Even the boys stayed behind... except for Avery... so I don't have anyone pulling at me (much). Bliss!

I've been meaning to share this with you... as if you probably haven't seen it already... but Pink Cat Studio is hosting a fundraising event for Make-A-Wish Foundation in honor of Ethan Weiman, who passed into the arms of our loving God at the tender age of 5 after a battle with neuroblastoma. Melissa has designed the cutest Lily and Billy digi stamps (called Cowboy Ethan and Cowgirl Ava for the Weiman children) that you can purchase, with the proceeds going to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Even if you don't stamp, you can still download, print and let your kids color these adorable pictures! Only $6 for the entire set!

My sample was done in a huge hurry before I left town, so it isn't very good... and I messed up on Cowgirl Ava's face... don't look... ah you looked, didn't you? But I'm posting anyway, because I want to support this very worthy cause. Also, of course I MEANT to stamp the greeting crooked so that the pony could read it better. {LOL} Seriously, this isn't about my card... it's about giving to children with catastrophic illnesses. So please download today (if you haven't already).

Also, the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps blog hop continues, so check my side bar and be sure to take a look at all the wonderful eye candy the DT has to offer!

I'll be back tomorrow with another post. And I'll be catching up with your blogs soon, so stay tuned! I've missed all my friends and the fun these past couple of weeks while life's stresses and demands have interfered with my happy time.

Love and hugs to you all!

SNSS Blog Hop - Sweets for the Sweet!

Hello there! I'm so excited because today is my first official day as a Jr Design Team member for Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps! We are having a Blog Hop to say goodbye to some of the DT, starting with yesterday's post by Korin on the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps blog. If you didn't Hop yesterday, be sure to start there and then follow along to see the posts by the gals who are leaving the DT. I'm sorry I never got to work with them. From all I've seen and heard, they will definitely be missed.

Today's portion of the Blog Hop again starts on the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps blog, so if you arrived here before starting there, be sure and click over and follow along to enjoy all of the great eye candy being posted today.

My card uses one of my favorite stamp sets from the June release, Birthday Buddies. Aren't those images just the cutest??? They remind me of cartoons my boys used to watch... Little Bear and Franklin. The best part is that there are a lot of little images that you can use to build a scene. If I were you, I'd grab your set now before they sell out!

My little fox is colored with Copics, cut out and mounted with Dimensionals to give the card some depth. I followed The Sweet Stop sketch for this week. The DP is by We R Memory Keepers from the White Out collection. I stitched the white mat with embroidery floss, just for fun. I think I'll send this card to my sister Linda, whose birthday is next week.

Now hop on over to Shannon's blog to see what sweetness she's come up with. Thanks for stopping by!