Happy Mother's Day, Mum!

It's Mother's Day this Sunday....over in Great Britain.

'Mothering Sunday'....it's called and this card is getting

ready to go in the 'post' today.

(I am now channeling my husband)

I believe my mother-in-law will love this bright and cheery greeting...

at least I hope so.

If you BOO like I do, you may recognize this DP

from Making Memories...yep, it's 'Chloe's Closet'.

I just used a variety of border punches including 

Martha's Eyelet and Fiskars.

I used a little 'weathered wood' Distress Ink

from Tim Holtz around the edges 

to give it a bit of depth.

The crochet flower is GCD's Artsy Urban

and the center is My Mind's Eye.

Finished off with a few rhinestones and ribbon

with a sentiment from Studio G.

I apologize for the quick post...I am working on

the design team announcement and challenge over at

The Play Date Cafe which is very exciting!

I noticed that we have had a record number of

players this week!  YAY!

There will be a very fun opportunity for you to

win a fabulous prize, so stay tuned to this station!

One more thing....I SO appreciate your comments,

please let me know you were here.

A simple 'hi' will do   : )

Getting To Know You...Part 3....Artful INKables Blog Hop Next Post Down

Again, I can't say enough about the response I have had to the upcoming Play Date Cafe Challenges that will be starting ONE WEEK FROM TODAY! The response has been wonderful. The first challenge colors have been distributed to the designers and 'word on the street is...' they are excited as all get out to share the first color combo with YOU!
Speaking of which, it is time to introduce our next designer.

For those of you who are regular readers of my blog, Sarah may not be a stranger to you. She lives in the North of England and the way we met was quite extraordinary...to us, anyway. If you are interested, you can read that story dated June 21, 2009 (for some odd reason, I can't link to it). Sarah has been published in a number of UK crafting magazines including a cover article of which I am the proud owner of an autographed copy.
I will let her fill you in on the rest.

Sarah writes: I grew up in a very creative household with a Mum who was always making things. We were popular at parties as we always took a homemade soft toy as a gift (LOL) and some of those friends still have them as treasured possessions to this day! I am very proud to have my Mum as one of my number one fans now. I studied art at secondary school and for a year at college (I had to choose between Maths and Art and chose Maths as you can always pick up Art in adult life!)

But...I then discovered rubber stamping on a trip to the states at age fifteen. I was fascinated, but it took a number of years for it to come over to the UK so it could become a favourite hobby. I describe myself as a frustrated machine embroiderist as I'd love to do textiles at college, but in actual fact, I enjoy the speed in which you can achieve texture in your work
with paper, paint and a bit of heat.

I met my handsome husband on the way to school at age sixteen and we are very happily married with three children aged 12, 13 and 14. By day I'm a teacher in a special school, a job I adore as it's so rewarding, and I'm challenged to teach creatively every day.

When my own children were younger and I taught part-time and was able to write for Crafts Beautiful magazine, one of Britain's leading magazines. I've had work published in Somerset Studio as well as Stampers Sampler. I've taught workshops at the Stampman in Yorkshire, and continue to teach workshops and demonstrate at HSNW for Paddy's Stamping Place.

Well...THAT's my Sarah!
Hope you feel like you know her just a little bit better.
Tomorrow...I will finish off the designer series
with a little of yours truly,
as I am designer #4.

BLOG CANDY GIVEAWAY...Just a reminder! If you haven't grabbed your Play Date Cafe button yet, there is still plenty of time. You will find it to your right, the one that says 'I Play at the Play Date Cafe'. Copy and paste it to your sidebar, leave me a comment and let me know...that's it. The 'candy' is a surprise, but I promise, YOU WILL LOVE IT! Even more importantly, we hope you are planning to play along when the challenges start and PLEASE...share the news with your friends. Deadline for the blog candy is Wednesday, October 21st.

Back later with Julie Ranae's Thursday Night Favs! FINALLY!

How Time Flies......

I thought I would share with you dear friends that my husband Paul and I will begin celebrating the 20th anniversary of our very first date. It's a definite milestone but it's a time that we celebrate each year. You see, Paul and I met, fell in love and spent a very short time 'dating' before he had to go back to the UK to continue at university. In the span of 3 weeks, we charted the course for our life together in just 13 days. It would be nearly 2 years later before we would be married.

Yes, I absolutely believe in love at first sight...I've experienced it. God has blessed me with my soul mate and this is a time to be mindful that we should never take our lives for granted.

This card says it all....it's the title of one of my favorite old songs and I think I will give it to my wonderful, sweet husband. Believe it or not, I don't give Paul handmade cards all that often but tonight will be an exception.

I just have one question....how can something that just happened yesterday, already be 20 years ago? Here's to the next 20 celebrations!

And the Winners Are.....

Yes, that's right....we have 2, because it was TOO HARD to pick just one. Actually, before I end the suspense (and I know there is nothing stopping you from reading ahead), I want to just say that it was fun getting to know so many new people through this little competition. The cliche 'you're all winners' really could apply, but I only have enough 'stuff' at the moment to make shoes for two of you.

Congratulations to Cathleen at Crooked Card Creations and Julie H at Huxter's House. I enjoyed your blogs very much for many of the same reasons, but also for different reasons, which I think is important when you are being who you are. Cathleen is from my home state of Illinois, in fact, she only lives, oh, about 90 minutes from me. Julie H(my maiden name initials, go figure) is from a bit of a distance. She is from the UK where my hubby is from,but she is in South Wales(he is from Manchester...no where near one another). I hope you will take a moment to visit these ladies' blogs and leave a comment to let them know you were there. In fact, I hope you will check out all of the blogs that were linked in my comments. Of course, don't forget to scroll down my 'favorites' list as well.

One thing is definitely for sure....you all love shoes! Have a great night!

My Favorite Friend from England

You've read many times little bits about my friend Sarah. She created this lovely little fairy and sent it to me along with a fabulous collection of fun things to play with in my own artwork. I will post a photo of those things tomorrow.

I love Sarah. She and I met in, what at the time, seemed like a most unusual way. Now it's the way most of us meet new people...the internet. I'll try for the short version.

My store was hosting it's first paper arts retreat and I was searching the web for different ways to promote the event. I went on to a website that had a place for people to leave comments after their own visit. I read some of the posts, and there was one from a woman named Sarah from the UK.

Well...being married to someone from the UK, my curiosity got the best of me and I decided to email this total stranger, just to ask her where in England she was from. Low and behold, she was from the Manchester area, where my husband Paul is from. Over the next several weeks, we emailed and found out that we had so much in common, it felt like divine intervention, which we still believe to this day. After 'getting to know one another' for a year or so, she arranged to attend our 2nd annual retreat, and she was able to spend a week with me in my home. The last time I saw Sarah was nearly 3 years ago. We made a trip to Banbury to spend 3 weeks with Paul's mum(that's for you, sweetie) and we took the train up to Manchester to see Sarah and her family. I spent 3 great days at Sarah's 'manor'. I am hoping to have an opportunity to see her again in next February. So, Sarah and I have been friends for nearly 10 years....and the rest, as they say, is a fabulous history!

My life has become so enriched by our friendship. Today the internet plays such a huge role in people connecting. I mean look at this moment now....you are reading my blog and there's a good chance we haven't even met. I think that's one of the reasons Sarah and I both have blogs because it just makes sense....it's become a natural transition at this time of our lives.

Please visit her blog and leave a comment....and tell her hello for me! Sarahanderson1.blogspot.com