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"When you recover or discover something that nourishes your soul or brings joy,
care enough about yourself to make room for it in your life."
Jean Shinoda Bolen
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December 24, 2009

Blessings

Christmas is upon us and although we're celebrating the holiday away from our families, we were fortunate to see a good number of them at a pre-Christmas party at Gary's brother's house. I met Gary's other brother & his wife & kids for the first time and we had a delightful time. We saw the newest member of the clan again (haven't seen him since August!), and he's growing fast and just a little sweetheart! I was quickly warned to remove my glasses and earrings and sure enough, this little guy was quick to discover both! Gary's mom was trying to count all the great-grandkids and we all decided that as far as grandkids, Gary has all his siblings beat for the largest number of grandkids (10 & 2 more on the way)! This is actually a tough time of year for me, missing my dad who died December 23rd 13 years ago. This was his favorite time of year because he usually got to spend time with two of his three kids. I made it through yesterday with the help of a new "penpal" on line (Merry Christmas Nancy!) and my dear, sweet husband, who kept a close eye on me. My late husband was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor Christmas night 2005, which just adds to my sadness this week. I'm very thankful for such a wonderful new husband by my side. The only company we have this Christmas season is Dixie, our neighbor's dog from across the street. She's twice the size of our schnauzers and although she doesn't actually harm the kitties, she is totally fascinated by them. The only time she's exposed to cats is when she's staying with us. It's a challenge keeping them all safe. Dixie usually settles in after the first day. If she doesn't, it's going to be a very long 10 days! Poor little Abby doesn't know what to think of this big, strong dog, who keeps picking on her favorite Varmint kitty. Not to worry, Varmint does know how to use those claws! Abby is very much a dominant female and doesn't take kindly to anybody playing with HER kitties or toys. There's been some snapping, but I think they'll settle in. Dixie is such a sweetheart and Dixie has a brother who is a schnauzer, in fact I got Prince from"grandma." Unfortunately, grandma has MS & it would be disastrous if rambunctious Dixie knocks her down, so Dixie's here with us. (Besides, when you have 3 cats and 2 dogs, 1 more dog doesn't make a lot of difference!) Blessings to all this holiday season. Stay safe, warm, and remember dear ones both close and far away. It only takes a minute to pick up the phone and wish your most distant relative or friend a Merry Christmas!

December 19, 2009

Christmas Puzzle Card






This was a huge challenge for me! I was okay with all the cutting on the Cricut and all the gluing, until I figured out I was going to have to cut around all the puzzle pieces to separate them! I sure hope my husband likes his Christmas card! The explosion box is just the outside shell in place of an envelope.

SUPPLY LIST

December 7, 2009

Aim 4 the Zone Birthday Card



Here is a combo card using stamps and my Cricut for one of my great nephews, who is really getting into "guy" stuff, like his bow and target practice. I used the shadow feature for all the letters to make them pop a bit more, then mounted them on puff tape.

SUPPLY LIST

Flaky Friends Christmas Card


Here is our second Christmas Card for 2009. It's an old SU set, and I decided to try some non-traditional colors (Always Artichoke & Bravo Burgundy) and really liked the results. I was really sick of cutting out snowmen from the other card and decided to make an easier card for Christmas!

SUPPLY LIST

All Decked Out for Christmas


This is one of our 2009 Christmas cards. Although I had it done in May, I'm just now adding it to my blog. I actually have a snowman display in my house every year and just fell in love with the stamp set from Close to My Heart, since it has a variety of hats, scarves, faces, & sizes in the set.

SUPPLY LIST

December 2, 2009

Choo Choo Birthday


Thanks to Denise January (SCS) for the original idea for this card. I tried to make HER card, but I used a different train stamp set and the engine faced the wrong way, so I changed the card a bit! This if for a 3-year-old little guy who loves Thomas the Tank Engine. I hope he enjoys it!

SUPPLY LIST

Still Knitting!

I'm still knitting! The above card is the first card I've made for a while, and I'm forced to put down my knitting (socks), and concentrate on some fun card making for our family's December birthdays. Last night we had our last stamping class, super fun it was, too! Tonight is my monthly 10-club for Stampin' Up, so I'll get some more ideas for cards & get to order my last set of marvelous Watercolor Wonder Crayons!). I hope everybody had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that each of you is looking forward to the colder weather in December (I know we're starting to keep the fireplace running around the clock). My computer mouse has finally given up the ghost! The left button refuses to work, so it's off to the electronics store for a new one very soon. I use a laptop, so I've still go a "mouse," but it's not my favorite means of mousing around my computer!