FOR THE MALE IN YOUR LIFE

Good morning friends, and a lovely day it is. I've made a few cards for the men in my life and I wanted to share with you. I used Stampin' Up's new "The Open Sea" cling stamp set and their coordinating designer paper; just love it. For the first card, I used a Mojo Monday 192 layout.

My inspiration for the next card was an Easter card a friend had received. Well, actually, it was the "cut" of the card. A little different from the usual card and I apologize that it's hard to see. The design was another "challenge" that I had seen but don't remember exactly which one. Again I used the same products as the first card.

The piece of resistance is this beautiful card and little "treasure chest" I received from my daughter for my birthday. She made the card to match the chest and there was even a lovely silver chain in the chest that said "Mother, Daughter, Friend". Doesn't that just bring tears? She is such a wonderful daughter and so talented. Love you, Tina.

I'm off to the pool to do some water exercise but wanted to share. Have a wonderful day.

HAVE A LOVELY DAY

It's a wonderful day in Florida. We've had absolutely perfect weather for the last few days, but that is coming to an end. It's going to get hotter and "stickier" for the weekend.

The following card was inspired by my neighbors gorgeous hibiscus plant that is in the corner of her lanai. I don't see very many vivid yellow plants and hers is just beautiful. Fortunately, I had Stampin' Up's "Build a Blossom" stamp set along with the punch. Don't you think it's great?

The next card was made for my granddaughters. They sent me the cutest birthday card along with a glasses case that said "The Worlds Greatest Grandma". Don't you love it? I must say that all of my granddaughters are the worlds greatest!! Love them all.

I apologize for the text color changes. I have yet to figure out how to keep it consistant. Anyway.... you all have a wonderful day and weekend.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

Happy Mother's Day to all of you lovely ladies. It's a little hard being away from family when this day rolls around each year. But... we chose to live in Florida and the "kids" live in New England.

However, I received the most wonderful cards from my kids and grandkids. What a joy! I also received a very unexpected, crafted gift from my daughter. A very lovely package filled with delicious chocolates. Here's a picture along with the card she made. Haven't had a chocolate yet; waiting for tomorrow..

I hope you all have a wonderful day with lots of love. Here's a couple of cards I made and want to share. Again, Happy Mother's Day.

Happy Easter

Easter is getting close, friends, and I thought I'd share a card that I made for all the "little folks" near and dear to me. We are going RVing next week and won't be around to mail the cards, so they are going out a little early. What fun making this card. I must admit that I had to find directions on how to make the part to get the candy out without tearing the card apart, and I didn't have the latest Easter stamp to use, but I thought the "hot air balloon" worked well.

On another note, I'm trying to make some cards appropriate to send to a man and I found this stamp at a local stamp store. Just had to have it. I can't take credit for the layout; I got that from a blog I receive called Mojo Monday. What great ideas!

Hope you all enjoy the cards and have a wonderful Easter.

It's been awhile, but here I am on this fine Sunday morning. What a beautiful day in Florida!

We returned from an RV trip on Thursday amid downpours... we didn't venture too far from home due to fuel costs, etc. but had a wonderful time at the Holiday Travel Resort in Leesburg. If I were a snowbird, I believe I'd like that park for the season. There is so much to do, from mini golf, to volleyball, to horseshoes, to tennis. Plus swimming, crafting, cards, etc. Even a restaurant with home cooking on premises.

Anyway, during our walks along the river (yes, there is a marina) we saw alligators, turtles and tropical birds. Looking across the river into the swamps was like seeing the Louisana bayou in the movies. Here's a couple of pictures from our trip.

  

Our daughter and her husband had visited from Connecticut the week before. We had the most divine weather while they were here. Couldn't have asked for better.

She is an avid scrapbooker and cardmaker, like me, and we had loads of fun touring the local scrapbook/stamp stores. We have three independent stores here in Spring Hill that carry unique products not found in the big chains. Needless to say, making the rounds was so much fun.

We also got time to take them to the pool and beach. A very restful vacation for them before they had to return to the "north country".

Lacy Labels Cricut Cartrige

I bought the Lacy Labels cartridge yesterday at Walmart. Oh my, oh my! What fun I've had experimenting with it. Guessing what size to cut is the challenge, but so far (I've only made two different "labels"), I only had to resize the first once and just once.

I used the March stamps for the smaller card since I had some all colored. The larger card is a 5" x 7" and I'm loving how it works. Hope you enjoy too.

Almost St. Pat's Day

I have a very dear friend whose birthday falls on St. Patrick's Day. I wanted to make a card with a little of the holiday theme, but mostly to honor her birthday, so I came up with the following card. I must say that I'm quite proud of it... I usually use a template as I don't often come up with an original, but this came out great, much to my delight.

The daffodil is the flower for March. (I checked on the internet to get the coloring correct. There are many colors for daffodils but this was the most familiar.) Once again the stamp is from Sweet 'n Sassy, but a clear stamp this time. All other products are from Stampin' Up. (I'm working at getting all 12 months of flowers.) This card was really fun to make.