Cristabel - and Roses Are Red, Violets Are Blue

Hello my friends.  I just haven't felt up to being here on the blog for a while.  We had to say a very, very difficult farewell to our beloved cat Cristabel on January 13th.  She had been an asthmatic cat for years, and we made sure she received the bimonthly medicine she needed to keep her airways clear.  In December, she seemed off, and that medicine did not help her.  After a visit to the vet on 1/4 with antibiotics that did not help, we took her to the hospital on 1/11 (same day I started radiation treatments), and discovered that her lungs had worsened badly, very rapidly.  The vets were not sure if it was pneumonia or cancer, or maybe both.  None of the treatments she received helped.  Oh how our hearts broke to watch her labor to breathe, and to know it was time to say goodbye.  She was a good friend and companion, and a special family member to us. 💔

Here's my card for today....

Precious Remembrance Happy Mail envelope, postage stamp; Flourishes Roses Are Red rose, sentiment; pearls

And a couple more of our precious Bel...

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Matthew 5:4

Give Thanks in ALL Circumstances

Hello friends!  A bit of time has passed since I was last here on the blog.  Life got crazy.  Health issues developed for me and it has been quite a whirlwind of tests and doctor appointments, and then surgery.  I am a private person and I've struggled with whether to share here or not, but the Lord has put it upon my heart that I should share.  

Not even a month ago, I was diagnosed with stage 1 invasive ductal breast cancer.  There is no family history of it for me, nor was I having any problems.  This was found on a regular yearly mammogram.  I skipped having a mammogram in 2020 because of the pandemic.  My surgeon told me that timing is everything, and that if I'd had my mammo last year, it likely would not have been big enough to be seen.  This year, it was.  

God's hand has been on me the whole time during this process, as it is every second of my life.  Within a week of my diagnosis, I had a consultation with a surgeon who is a top doc, in our insurance network, AND she is a good friend of my cousin.  I got permission to go on vacation, which was already planned, and I went to see my mom and spend time with her.  It was just the perfect timing, because everything He does is good, He is never late, and He works all things together for our good:  Romans 8:28 - And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

That vacation was refreshing and it was so good to see Mom. 💗 We went to Hobby Lobby, so you know it was a highlight for me!  Got some cool stamps and patterned paper.  But I digress...

Altenew Painted Flowers; Papertrey Ink A Cheerful Heart sentiment Proverbs 3:5-6; Lifestyle Crafts Nesting Pinking Squares die; white ribbon

Spellbinders Large Deckled Rectangles die; Stampin' Up! mushroom patterned paper; Papertrey Ink New Every Morning sentiment Psalm 118

Memory Box Classic Tags dies; Martha Stewart Hydrangea punch; Spellbinders Fancy Tags Two die; Inspired By Stamping Fancy Alphabet stamps; pearls; hemp twine; dictionary page

I had a lumpectomy this past week, and I feel pretty good, all things considered.  The tumor was removed, and so was one lymph node.  Both of those are being biopsied, and I'll have results next week.  Those results will determine if I need chemo and how long radiation treatments will be.  I tell you friends, I am trusting Jesus that I will NOT need chemo, and that I will need only the shortest amount of radiation treatments!  He is my Great Physician.  He has got me so close, I can feel Him.  In fact, before I went for my first mammogram in August, I felt these words in my spirit:  Do not be afraid, Do not be afraid.  I thought it meant that my mammogram would be fine, but of course it was not.  Those words were firm and gentle.  And I take them seriously:  I am not afraid.  Overwhelmed at times, yes!  And sad in the beginning, yes, but afraid?  No.  I trust Him.

I'll come back here and visit again as time allows.  

Thank you for allowing me to share such a personal testimony with you.  We are here on this earth to help one another.  Perhaps there is someone reading this who will be touched by it, or someone who has put off having a mammogram who needs to go get one.

1Thessalonians 5:18

give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Cristabel looks out a window

Hello! We're baking here in NJ: not in my kitchen, but outside. Man, is it hot! This morning, before the heat became too unbearable, I spent some time weeding, deadheading and watering in the garden. Then, because I'm just plain ol' crazy, I cleaned all the windows on the bottom floor of our house. My girls helped a little, and I am grateful for that. We have tilt-in windows, the ONLY way to go, as far as I'm concerned! Makes the cleaning job much easier. 

Speaking of windows, how about this paper version?

Looks like our Cristabel, peering outside! I used a Memory Box Madison Window die, and backed it with a plain piece of white cardstock that had been sponged to resemble grass and sky.

See the tiny pawprint inside the card? I always like to stamp something in the card, and then do a matching image on the envelope.

See the resemblance? :-)

Hope you're keeping cool, wherever you are!  

Stamps: Cat's Meow - Papertrey Ink Paper: white, kraft, True Black - Papertrey Ink Ink: Tumbled Glass, Peeled Paint - Ranger Accessories & Tools: Large Sitting Cat, Madison Window dies - Memory Box

Christmas Paperwhites

Hello.  :-)  In the years before I had children, I used to force paperwhite flowers to give as Christmas gifts.  It's really easy to do, and makes an incredibly lovely presentation for someone (even yourself). I would scour thrift stores to find vessels for the bulbs to grow in, but the one I always used for myself was from my dad.  It's a decent size, made of glass, and Dad told me it was an antique battery holder.  It's one of the few treasures I have of his, and reminds me just how much he loved shopping for antiques (though, at the time, I thought it was just old junk; what did I know?).

The Christmas cards I'm sharing today feature a Flourishes set, Paperwhites.  I was lucky enough to win it one November a few years ago.  Each of these two cards have the same color palette:  warm grays and cream.  Even the same Copic markers were used on each one, but with quite different results.

The first is my favorite, and that of my 13 year old daughter, as well.

A smidgen of a vintage book page peeks out at top and bottom behind the main panel.  A vintage button and thread adorn it.  I've stamped the "Season's Greetings" sentiment from the Paperwhites set across the bottom, over the flower stems.  Finally, a coating of crystal glitter over the flowers gives it a subtle, festive feel.

I used a colorless blender pen by Copic to create some random dots amidst the background.  Love how it turned out.

On the next card, I used a smaller bouquet stamp from the set to create a background for the card base.  The main panel was colored with the same markers as above, but see how much different it looks when on cream cardstock?

Same greeting, stamped in the same way, but this time I also stamped it in black on a mini circle tag. It was popped up on foam dimensional stickers, and tied with the vintage thread.

Which one do you like better?

Before I go, I just want to share a pic of my girls when they were younger.  Why?  Because this mother's heart is bursting with gratitude to be entrusted with these precious lives.

I love my girls so very, very much.

Thank you so much for visiting me today.  I really appreciate it!

Stamps: Paperwhites - Flourishes Paper: Sahara Sand, Basic Gray - SU; Vintage Cream - PTI; vintage book page Ink: Sahara Sand - SU; Memento Tuxedo Black - Tsukineko Fibers: vintage thread Accessories & Tools: Classic Tags die - Memory Box; Copic markers; vintage button; Crystal glitter - Martha Stewart

Seize the Sketch #27 - Trick Or Treat

Hello friends!  =D  I had so much playing with the current sketch (#27) at our LAST (sniff) Seize The Sketch challenge, another card popped out of me.  Lo and behold, it's a Halloween card!

The retired Stampin' Up! set, Window Dressing, was staring at me from its place on the Ikea book shelf in my studio.  It never saw much ink, and I felt bad for it.

The kitty and window are from that set, the pumpkin is from Family Accessories, and the sentiment (colored with markers) is from Holiday Best.  Boom!  A Stampin' Up!-only card!

Here's the sketch again, and before you say, "What?  Her card looks nothing like the sketch!", take a peek below.

Sure, maybe I took a little creative license with the sentiment and bow, but the bare bones are still there!

My family and I just got back from a trip to the Outer Banks of North Carolina for a quick break before school resumes.  It felt good to play in the surf (before the waves became too rough due to the offshore Hurricane Cristobal) and just let go for a while.

The sunsets are so gorgeous there, my camera just clicked away.

Me and my youngest, doing a selfie.

Thanks so much for popping over, and if you'd like to join us at STS, click HERE for details!

Stamps: Window Dressing, Holiday Best, Family Accessories - SU Paper: kraft, white - PTI Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black - Tsukineko Fibers: Argentina seam binding - Hug Snug Accessories & Tools: markers - SU; circle punches; Copic markers

A Tale of Two Shoes & Las Vegas pics

Hello, friends!  It's been a while since I sat at this keyboard to blog.  There were many posts scheduled ahead of time lately, and now I am coming to you 'live' for a change.  =D  At the end of this post, I'm sharing some pics from our recent Las Vegas vacation, but first, I'll start with the cards and a big THANK YOU to my new subscribers!  I am delighted that you like my stuff enough to sign on, and hope I will continue to inspire you.

Long post alert -- I am feeling very chatty today and have many photos to share!

A while back, my friend Rebecca sent me a whole bunch of goodies, just because, and the Stampin' Up! set, Fabulous You, was in the box.  Fiiiiiinally, I inked up this adorable shoe and started with a muted color scheme.  I outlined the butterflies and the shoe with W01 and W00 Copic markers to give a subtle shadow.

(here's that box of goodies -- honestly, it was like Christmas morning! Rebecca, thank you again!)

After a pastel version, I pumped up the colors.

Entering the above card at CASology:  'Glow'.  These colors are so bright I can see the Chiquita Banana lady wanting to wear it!

photo credit

I learned how to merge two pictures with my photo-editing software (GIMP - it's very powerful, and it's free), so I could see the two shoes side-by-side.  It looks like I just sat the cards together in one pic, doesn't it?  happy dance!

Our trip to Vegas was fun.  That is truly a city that never sleeps!  We're not gamblers, really, but took in some shows and a trip to the Grand Canyon.  Hope you enjoy these pics:

Family selfie, first night in Las Vegas.

We saw an amazing show by David Copperfield.  I didn't know that he is from New Jersey, too!

We stayed at the BEAUTIFUL Venetian hotel.

Venetian hallway.

Amazing gilt work and frescoes lined the ceilings.

I never tired of seeing the beauty in our hotel.

Venetian hotel lobby.

Even the pools at our hotel were amazing.  This one looks like an ancient Roman garden.

My sister-in-law is really into succulent plants, so I took this shot for her.

This is High Roller, a reaaaally big Ferris wheel that we could see from our hotel room window.  We did not go on it, because a couple of us are quite unhappy with heights.  (me being one of them!)

Inside the Venetian are shops that make you feel as if you are outdoors, but all in air-conditioned comfort.  We ate lunch at Canonita.  Yummy, yummy fish tacos and fantastic spicy salsa.

There's a gondola ride inside the hotel, and another outside.  This one is indoors.

We ate another lunch at Otto, owned by chefs Mario Battali and Joe Bastianich. Oh, my goodness, the food was divine!

One night, we took the monorail to the Paris hotel for dinner.  We did not go up into the Eiffel Tower:  it was late, we were still on East Coast time, and had been running all day.  Oh, and the line to go up into the tower was pretty long.

From a gift shop where Bally's meets Paris:  yes folks, you can own your own jewel-studded hamburger.  (!)

The Strip is really something to see at night, with all those lights.

Hubby and I in front of the Hoover Dam.  We stopped for 20 minutes on our bus tour to the Grand Canyon.  

We passed through a 'forest' of Joshua trees.  These looked like cactuses to me, but they are trees.  If you cut into a trunk, you will not see rings like with average trees.  The way to roughly determine how old each one is:  count the branches and multiply by 10.

Let me tell you folks, even dry heat, at these temps, is HOT!! LOL

Can you see the eagle, with its wings outstretched, in this rock formation?  We visited the west side of the Grand Canyon, where the Skywalk bridge is located.  It is located on the land of the Hualapai Native Americans.

The red dirt and rocks remind me of Kauai, Hawaii.

Can you see a white speck on the top of that one rock pile?  That's my husband, daredevil that he is.

There's water down there - the Colorado river - but it looks almost the same color as the rocks surrounding it.

These black birds (ravens?) rested in a tree on the very edge of the cliff.   I used my camera zoom to get this pic.  Ain't no way I'm going any closer to the edge!  It makes my stomach flip just thinking about it.  ;)  The birds sat with their mouths open.  I'm guessing it's how they perspire.

Here's the Skywalk Bridge, hanging 4,000 feet above the base of the Grand Canyon.  Hubby is in the white shirt with his arms raised.  It has a clear glass floor so you can see to the bottom.  Um, no thanks.

Sitting with his booties on, 4,000 feet on top of the Canyon.

The Bellagio hotel, with the fountain show beginning.

Inside the Bellagio hotel lobby, a ceiling full of glass poppies.

The Bellagio has BEAUTIFUL gardens indoors.  I spied these hydrangeas.  Love!

A large hand, made from greenery.

A whimsical, larger-than-life garden tool and poppy.

A lighted obelisk.

A cute snail, covered with flowers.

Inside the Bellagio, a French pastry shop features a train covered entirely in candy.

From the Bellagio, it was another great shot of the Eiffel Tower in its entirety.

At Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum, I met a really handsome young man named Elvis Presley.  ;-)

Thank you so much for your visit, and letting me share my vacation pics!

Stamps: Fabulous You - SU; 'for you' - Cherish - Inspired By Stamping Paper: white - PTI; Summer Sun - SU Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black - Tsukineko Accessories & Tools: Copic markers; circle , corner rounder punches