My Birthday Cards

I celebrated my birthday last week and I squealed when I received this card from Chris and Damian. Isn't it the cutest little scene? OMG, that squirrel from Lawn Fawn's Let's Go Nuts was clearly made to play the drums from Julie Ebersole's Twelve Days! It's pure genius!!

The sentiment combo -- one of them masked and partially stamped -- and the cheerful bunny are from Brandi Kincaid's Backyard Party and the dancing squirrel is also from Lawn Fawn's Let's Go Nuts.

The beautifully coloured pile of leaves is from Lawn Fawn's Let's Go Nuts and the oft-used widgeon is from Technique Tuesday's Duck Swan Goose. The stage from Forest Feast makes a great anchor for the scene. My husband did all the colouring and arranged the scene with guidance from my son. They make a great team, don't they?

I also received a bunch of gorgeous cards from crafty friends -- and a surprise visit with food from one -- which made me super happy! On the top, from left to right, the cards are by Lindsey, Tracey and Angela. On the bottom row, from left to right, the cards are from Heidi, Angela and Lori. Thanks so much, dear friends!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Supplies: 

10th Anniversary Card from Hubby

Just a quick share today. My husband and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary this past week and this is the card he made me using Sweet Hearts and Good Gab from Paper Smooches, plus Honey Bunny from Mama Elephant. I'm impressed with his fussy cutting skills! I gave him this one.

I haven't been very good about sharing the cards my husband has made for me in the last two years. I used to post them every time he made me one but life gets busy. Ha! I just uploaded the most recent ones into his album on my Splitcoast Gallery so you can have a look if you want to. ;) I also included one of the cards my son made for him and I'll be featuring both of those shaker cards in a video very soon!

Sources:

InLinkz.com

Father's Day and a Few RAKs

I hope those of you who celebrated this weekend had a wonderful time with your fathers. I celebrated twice this weekend. On Friday, we treated my husband at Uncle Betty's for the first time and the food was so good. We will definitely be going back there! On Saturday, my son made this Octonaut-themed card for his Dad.

He chose all of the different elements, including the colours and shapes, but he asked if I could assemble it for him. Here's the inside. He's particularly proud of the colouring he did here and he dictated a super sweet message for me to write to his Dad.

My parents were here for dinner tonight for the usual salmon steaks and I paired them with caesar salad and stuffed pasta. I baked blueberry oatmeal bars and my Mom brought a couple different desserts, too. We were stuffed! I presented my Dad with this card.

Ever since I got the new Stepping Stone Alphabet stamps, I wanted to try them out so this was a perfect opportunity to do that. As I've mentioned before, my Dad has a massive garden but this is the first year he couldn't care for it because of an inoperable hernia. I made sure to put a flower on his card. I added a photo of me, my Dad and my sister from the 70s to it and that was the part he loved most. Everyone thought it was really cool. I guess having a printer is a good thing! ;)

Since we're on the subject of Father's Day, I realized that I didn't post two of the cards my husband made for me in my last Cards from Friends post. Several of you had asked where they were so here's the one he made for Valentine's Day. It's from him and our son, hence the two penguins. Heehee.

This is the card he made me for Mother's Day. It's his home made Octonaut scene using stamps (whereas the one our son made this weekend was printed). Our son calls himself Captain Barnacles the polar bear, my husband is Kwazii kitten and I'm Peso penguin because I'm the family medic. LOL

And if you'll bear with me, I've received a few more cards from awesome friends so I'll share them, too. This first one is from Glenda Wyatt. Her sweet card is full of yummy Hero Arts stamps and washi tape! I love the little button and tiny clip, too.

This next card is from Jen Wills whom I had the pleasure of meeting last summer. I can't wait for her next trip to Toronto or maybe I will end up in Bermuda instead. LOL I love the beauty of this card and the meaning behind it.

Next up is a card from Angela H. who happens to be the Growing in Unity Gal this week so hop on over to her blog starting tomorrow for loads of aweome Unity projects and a chance to win stamps! I love this clean and simple scene Ang created with embossed Hero Arts houses.

This last card is from Caroline Bredeson who also sent along a bundle of flannel with penguins on it! She wanted my son's Pinguini to have a little blankie of his own. Isn't that the sweetest? Caroline's card is so pretty! I could never make a card like this so I love having one to hold and admire in person.

Thank you, friends, for gracing my home with your amazing creations! Your mail hugs mean a lot to me.

Many Cards from Friends

I've received a lot of cards these past two months for various reasons and I'd like to share them with you. I love all of these ladies for so many reasons. Their talent amazes me and I'm honoured to call them friends.

I received this fun card from Jocelyn Olson for my anniversary. She knows I love bathroom people. LOL Jocelyn has an incredible hydrid cardmaking style. Maybe now that I'm going to own a printer, I can emulate her skills. ;)

This card from Glenda Wyatt came to congratulate me on becoming a Hero Hostess. She wanted to celebrate with me. :D

Here's another card from Glenda. Her sympathy card was the first to arrive after the news of my miscarriage. I love that it's not a traditional sympathy card. The beautifully paper-pieced hot air balloon made me smile.

I love this beautiful, uplifting card from Annette Allen. That is the most perfectly tied jute bow ever.

Isn't this the most gorgeous bouquet card you've ever seen? My Stampin' Up demonstrator sent it to me. Grace Lin is truly one of the best.

This delicate and soothing card from Lai Yoke van der Wal felt like a big hug. I loved this card when I saw it on her blog and was absolutely delighted to hold it in my hands.

I have to apologize for the bad lighting on this photo. It was difficult to photograph this bottle of wine that Lindsey brought but I had to show you the beautiful tag she made. Not only did she bring me a bottle of wine, she brought homemade rhubarb streusel muffins and Legos for my son!

I was furious with my mailman when this dazzling card from Karen Dunbrook arrived soaked to the core on a very rainy day. Lucky for him, it wasn't too damaged except for the wrinkles. ;)

I was speechless when I received this card from Cheiron Brandon. Still am. That heart is amazing!

This sweet card from Jessi Fogan reminds me of the best times I have with all my friends. It makes me want to meet more of you in person.

I feel like I've known Erin Thiem for a lifetime. She has the best outlook on life and the sentiment on her card couldn't be more perfect.

Every time I receive a card from Alice Wertz, I get giddy. Can you blame me? This time, it was my son that went nuts. He's really into the Octonauts right now and he absolutely adores this card. If you look closely, the mermaid's tail is super sparkly and the bubbles have glossy accents on them. My son loved feeling the bubbles. He didn't realize the girl was a mermaid and said it wasn't good that a big fish was eating her. LOL

A Kim Hughes original! That's enough to make me smile.

Stamping Royalty winner and new Avocado Arts teammate, Vera Yates, delighted me with this lovely card. The colours and patterns are just perfect.

Do you think talent by osmosis is possible now that I own one of Cristina Kowalczyk's cards? I remember seeing this awesome card with the microbead centres on her blog but I never thought it would be mine someday.

I totally swooned over this card when I saw on Lisa Arana's blog. She's a master when it comes to mixing and matching patterned papers. This is one of those cards I wish I had made!

Thank you, ladies, for all the smiles, your thoughtfulness and for your friendship. It's not just what you see on the front of the card but the kind words and personal stories you shared with me on the inside. I feel very loved.

Cards from Friends & Family

It's time I shared all the cards I've received from friends and family in the past three months. This includes the Valentine and Anniversary cards from my husband that you've been begging to see! There are a lot of cards to show so I will try to keep my yapping to a minimum. ;)

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First up is this cutie from Alice Wertz. Eeek, penguins on a toboggan! My son tried his best to acquire this card for himself. He begged several times saying that it was for him, that my friend definitely sent it to him because it featured pinguini. Well, what was I supposed to say to that? No, I just couldn't give it to him! I told him I would put it up on the window ledge or the mantel and he could look at it from afar. He was really not happy with that. LOL

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This royal beauty is from Gay Peplow. The photo doesn't show it very well but the red border is velvet ribbon and the flowers are embellished with red glitter. The central embellishment is beaded and sequined. It's simply gorgeous!

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Next up is an awesome Chinese New Year (of the Dragon) card from Angela Hathikhanavala. She even included the dragon stamp from a•muse! I just love that glitter cardstock tucked in under the chevrons.

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I laughed when I received this Chinese New Year card from Meg Craig because she used the same dragon stamp that Ang used! I love that big silver embossed sentiment and the red woodgrain cardstock.

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Here's a super cool digital card from Lindsey M-P. How cute are those polka-dotted lanterns and the little dragon?

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I swooned over this Valentine's Day card from Emily Keaton! The cardstock is gorgeous and I had to ask her where she got it. DeNami Design was the answer. Isn't her stitching just perfect?

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Here's another card from Lindsey. Isn't it lovely? I love the shape and the way she used the kissing technique on the teapot and cup.

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This Valentine's Day card from Angela is so pretty! That border of tiny heart sequins is amazing and the airmail twine works so well with the sentiment.

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Sometimes when my son asks to stamp, he's not entirely in a 'do-it-himself' mood. In this case, I helped out a bit. He made all the cardstock and ink colour choices, and did the stamping of the bike and skunk. I did the die and fussy cutting of the bike and skunk, stamping of the speech bubble and hearts (with his instruction on where and how many LOL), plus the adhering. He said he didn't want a typical Valentine's Day sentiment and told me what to write. It was also his idea to make a skunk riding a bike and add washi tape. He loves that tape 'cause there are squirrels on it! On the inside, he wanted a heart of his choice and the scribbles say, "I love you." He gave this card to his Dad.

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This is the Valentine's Day card I threw together for my son. For some reason when there's a lot of red on a card, I can't get it to photograph well. I used the Paper Smooches bunny from A Little Lovin because it's his favourite. He said, "It's really, really, really cute!" and then tried to rip the bunny off the card.

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Here's the Valentine's card from my husband! That's supposed to be him and our son. So cute! I love that he mixed and matched penguins from The Stamps of Life and There She Goes! This isn't the first card he's decorated a corner with washi tape. You can see the other one HERE. Maybe it's going to be one of his signatures. :P

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This gorgeous vintage-style card is from Dawn Lotharius. I really love the burlap, label and beautifully coloured plants!

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Look at this stunning clean and simple card from Glenda Wyatt. Glenda and I have been enabling each other big time lately. I think we've both placed multiple orders with the same three stores this month? Even with this card, she makes me want those Spellbinders flower dies and Hero Arts sentiment set.

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Finally, here's the anniversary card from my husband! Just like he did at Christmas, he used a stamp I hadn't even inked up yet. This is Party Pals which was a Paper Smooches CHA release. Who can resist that smitten kitten with the ridiculously silly bunny? I love that he popped the balloon and I just noticed now that used my corner chomper! :O

Thank you for all of your wonderful cards!! I'll see you again tomorrow with some Paper Smooches goodness!