~~~ Hoppy Birthday ~~~

Good morning Y'all.....TGIF!! Dan had asked me weeks ago to make his sister a birthday card and I toadally forgot until he reminded me Wed, that he need the card today! She loves frogs so I knew that was going to be on the card. I used Create a Critter for the frog and Birthday Bash for the present and sentiment. The papers were part of my goodies that Tatiana sent to me ( THANKS T !! ) arent they the sweetest papers ?? I added lots of pearls to this one, cause Dan is giving his sister a sweet set of saltwater pearls for her birthday.I used several different embossing folders, did a tad of inking and popping. Thanks for taking a peek...Have a great weekend !!! xoxoxo Joy

~~~ Your SEW Sweet ~~~

Hi Y'all!! Happy Hump Day ! A sweet friend of mine on this MB sent me some goodies and this beautiful Webster's Pages paper was just some of the gorgeous paper she sent to me, so I had to make her a card!! I used French Manor for the dress form ( another gift from a dear friend...thanks D !!) and I used Bloom for the butterfly.Y'all know I am always looking for new things to try,so I added a handmade tulle flower with a vintage button in the center. There are many tutorials on Youtube for making Tulle Flowers and they were pretty fun to make.Lots of inking and layering on this card and I added a bit of lace to the tag and used a punch for the bottom edge. The sentiment is from the Sweet Sentiments Collection by Kimberly that you can find here.Thanks SEW much for taking a peek and THANK YOU, Tatiana !!!

Hugz and Kissez, Joy

Thank you ALL for the thoughts and prayers for my Mother!!! She still seems to be doing just fine.....thank the Lord !!!

~~ Just Because ~~

Good morning Y'all !!! It's Monday and that means there is a new challenge over at My Craft Spot and this week the theme is Emboss It ! I love to use embossing folders, and I used several on this card and I also used a technique I saw on UTube, using embossing powders. As I am always the last to find new techniques, I'm sure many of you have done this before, but this was my 1st attempt. I used a glue pen to trace the fancy pattern on the paper in the upper portion of my card and then covered it with embossing powder and used my heat gun to melt it. I really like the effect, I just wish I had a steadier hand when it comes to tracing!!I used the Swiss Dots folder on the solid blue Core'dinations paper and sanded down the edges and each small dot. The frame was cut from the Bloom cart, I added some vintage seam binding , small brass brads and a vintage button. The sentiment is from The Sweet Sentiments Collection, Set 1 and I used brown Bakers Twine, both of which can be purchased at http://craftspotbykimberly.blogspot.com/ . Y'all be sure to check out all the other projects this week and find out what goodies Kimberly is giving away!!! Get out your embossing folders and embossing powders and Emboss it !!

Thanks for taking a peek!

~~ Happy Birthday Bird ~~

Hi Y'all...Happy Friday ! I finally convinced myself that I needed Birthday Bash...I'm always a day late and a dollar short ! lol I used that funny little bird as the focal point for this card, which is for my X Husband. Yep, My X. Allen's nickname used to be "Wildman" back in the day and we always assumed that his peculiarities were just his way of living up to his name.Little did we know, that Allen suffered from Schizophrenia. Allen dealt me fits during our 30 years of marriage,but he and I had some good times and we did produce the apple of my eye, John Allen. Right before Allen and I divorced he really started acting strange. I had already moved out of our home and he would call me at least a dozen times at work, asking me if I would always love him and if I would come to his funeral when he died. Well, that freaked me out about the funeral business, but he was always threatening suicide, so I said a prayer and convinced him that yes, I would always love him and I would attend his funeral. He would call to tell me that people were breaking into his truck and leaving him notes. I really assumed that Allen was trying to get my attention, with all these crazy stories. Not until a year or more after I was married, Allen was finally diagnosed. John Allen did his best to look after his daddy, but Allen would always become euphoric and stop taking his medications, so after many failed attempts at him living alone, John Allen resorted to placing Allen in a half way house . He seems to be pretty content there and they make sure he is well taken care of. For years now, I have wanted to go visit Allen, but John Allen and his uncles thought that was a bad idea. Everytime he spoke to me or saw me in town, they said it always set him back. Here lately though, I have had this strong urge, almost an obsession to see Allen. I was afraid that he would die without knowing that I still have compassion for him and that I will always love him and be there, even at the end. FINALLY, last week John Allen took his daddy to a funeral ( of all places ) and I got to see ole Allen !!! I didn't recognize him at 1st. Then I realized who it was and I almost burst into tears, I had no idea he was going to be there!! John Allen had a soft lil smile on his face and I think he was happy to see his Mama and Daddy together, if even for a short time. It was difficult to try and chat about the old days at a funeral, but it eased my mind and heart, to finally get a chance to see Allen! As we parted ways, I hugged his neck and told him that I loved him and always would. He smiled and said " then fix me something sweet to eat !" I just about hollared !! We all had a good laugh and I feel at peace, knowing I got to finally see my first love and reassure him of my love for him.

So, I will be baking up something sweet next week and with Dan's blessings. It goes without saying that I love Dan too and I have thanked him numerous times, for being so understanding!! For those of you that have read this, God Bless You!! lol Writing this was just some free therapy for me and I feel 100 lbs lighter !! Have a great weekend!!

Oh shoot, I forgot about the card ! lol I used Birthday Bash for the entire card. Lots of doodlin and poppin and tied 3 different colors of Bakers Twine around the top. I just love all the bright new colors Kimberly has at http://craftspotbykimberly.blogspot.com/!! You should go check 'em out ! Thanks for stopping by !!! xoxoxox

~~~ With Sympathy ~~~

Good morning Y'all !! I made it through Atlanta without havin a nervous breakdown...yea me !! This card is for my X Daughter in Law.He father passed away last week and I wanted to make her a card and to use a new technique that I discoverd over at Scrapbook.com. I used a Prima flower for the butterfly !! Many of you may have seen this and used the flowers for butterflies before, but I had never seen it and I couldn't wait to try it out. Considering that it's my 1st attempt, I think it came out kinda pretty! There are several tutorials on Youtube if you want to give them a try.I think I keyed in "how to make butterflies from prima flowers." I used Cindy Loo for the frame and Wild Card for the sentiment. Added some pearls made with Liquid Pearls, did some inking and popping and added some Crinkle Ribbon ontop of the punched scallops.Thanks for taking a peek and for all the prayers that helped me make it through Hotlanta !! xoxoxox Joy

~~~ Smiling Flowers ~~~

Good morning !!! Theres a new challenge this week going on over at My Craft Spot and this week we are "Inking it up!" Most of you know I ink almost everything on my cards anyway, so I thought I would take it one step further and add some Peachy Keen stamped faces to my card. This was my very 1st time using these stamps and I was a little intimidated about using them, but I'm pleased with the outcome !! The flowers are from the Paisley cart and I stamped my smiling lil faces on patterned paper and then used a 1" punch to punch them out. I used a Copic pen to color the cheeks and added tiny white dots with a white gel pen. The picket fence is from My Community and the leaves are some green and white twine that I just tied into small bows. I'm loving all the bright summery Bakers Twine that Kimberly has for sale!!!The stamped sentiment as well as the twine can be found at http://craftspotbykimberly.blogspot.com. Y'all be sure to get out your ink and join us over at My Craft Spot this week!!! I know Kimberly has a great prize for the winner of the challenge!!! Thanks for taking a peek.....I'm off to South Carolina and I have my fingers crossed that I will breath as I drive through Atlanta !! Have a great week!

xoxo Joy

~~~ Zinnias ~~~

Happy Saturday Y'all !!! Yep, I'm at it again, this time I made zinnias!! I used Walk in My Garden for the flowers and cut them in sizes from 21/2" down to 1", in 1/4 increments,and I cut probably 3 in each size for all the layering. I used Tim Holtz paper for the vintage zinnia seed packet.I just fussy cut the leaves and added doodlin...added doodlin all over the card. I added a touch of yellow Stickles here and there on the leaves and gave the entire card a mist of Glimmer.The centers of the flowers were made using a sun punch.Added some seam binding and called it a day! Thanks for taking a peek!! Please say a lil prayer for Dan and I...we are headin to South Carolina on Monday to visit an old Army buddy of Dan's, who is terminally ill. They were like brother's back in the day and I know Dan is going to be one sad puppy AND I have to drive through Atlanta!! I'm sure there will be a card to come out of that adventure ! Have a great week!!

xoxo Joy

~~~ Flowers and Butterflies ~~~

Good morning Y'all !!! I'm still on a flower making kick. I think I got a little carried away with the butterflies and flowers...it's too busy, but I decided to post it anyway. I used the Paisley cart for the largest flower and Walk in my Garden for the flower pot. The smaller flowers were punched.Did some embossing, used Glossy Accents here and there and Stickles too. Added a few vintage buttons and some bright yellow bakers twine that you can find at http://craftspotbykimberly.blogspot.com/. She has some great summery colors! Thanks for taking a peek !!

~~~ God Bless America ~~~

Good morning Y'all ! I decided I better jump on the band wagon and make a 4th of July card. I used Stand and Salute for the bunting frame and A Child's Year for the cute lil children. Lots of layers on this one and lots of inking. I crimped the background paper, that you can barely see, added some vintage seam binding, a star button with bakers twine tied into a bow and you can find LOTS of colors of the twine at http://craftspotbykimberly.blogspot.com/. Added the punched borders and called this one done! Dan and I will be heading to my home town of Selma, for the annual Bearden 4th of July Bar B Que Bash, on Monday!! I hope y'all have a safe and fun weekend !! God Bless America !!