RIP My Darling Angela

Where to start... my heart still aches... I still can't believe she's gone.  Our beautiful daughter, Angela, passed away this past May and we are still devastated and in disbelief.  I can still see her smiling face... hear her voice... hear her laughter ... see her in various stages of her life from infancy through that fateful day in May when God called her home.

Angela with her Babies

Boot Camp Picture

Angela had just returned from a tour of duty in Afghanistan this past November and we had so many things planned together.  She was a Certified ZUMBA Instructor and was teaching classes, had  been accepted as a student at Le Cordon Bleu here in Atlanta (aspirations to become a personal chef), had just been hired by Gwinnett County PD (her job was 'Security Forces' in the Air Force) and was formerly a Police Officer in San Antonio, TX).  She had just moved back home (Georgia) and into her new home.  She had so many things on her To-Do list but God had something more in store for her.

Stretching Before Running (2013)

I still don't know how to answer questions on questionnaires that ask for number of children because I will always have two children ... God blessed us with two beautiful daughters and Angela was our first born ... she would have turned 43 this past September 16th.  Getting through her birthday was heartbreaking ...  it was the first birthday that I was not able to talk with her... sing 'Happy Birthday' to her... give her a birthday gift... send her a 'Happy Birthday' card.  Now I have no more hugs from her...  no more birthdays with her...  I love and miss her so.

Getting through the Thanksgiving and Christmas season is going to be so lonely without her.  Our other daughter and her husband are expecting a second child, a daughter, and she is scheduled to be delivered on November 11th... they are giving her Angela's middle name.  I love that they are going to do that... November 11th is Veteran's Day and Angela really loved Military life.  She was Active Reserve and was planning to re-enlist this past June for another six years, then retire. This just wasn't to be.

RIP My Darling Daughter
TSgt Angela Monique Steger
16 Sept 1971 - 27 May 2014

Birthday Greetings

Due to personal tragedies, I have been out of my craft room for the past few months. The worst tragedy was the death of our beautiful daughter...  DH and I are still in disbelief. She had just returned from Afghanistan this past November.

I finally decided to get back to work in my craft room to occupy my mind with things that I love doing.  She always loved getting cards from me.  Now I will craft with her in mind.

My project on my first day back is for today's SCS color challenge and this is a card that I have been wanting to CASE for quite a while; I admire any and all cards made by Karen Barber (http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/ga...p;thumbsonly=0).  I changed mine up a bit and cut around the flowers so that I could tuck the sentiment under.

Stamps are by Stampin' Up!: Simply Sketched (Hostess); Wetlands; Delightful Dozen (Inside Verse)
Card Stock: Garden Green, Crushed Curry, Elegant Eggplant
Ink:  Garden Green, Crushed Curry, Elegant Eggplant 

Enjoy your birthday card, Sharon... It's on its way to you.  

Toilet Tissue Mini Book

The Challenge:  
Mini Books from toilet tissue holders.

Stamps: 
My Friend, Loving Thoughts, Blessed Easter. 

Papers: 
Watercolor Wonder DSP

Card Stock: 
Island Indigo; Whisper White

Ribbon: Daffodil Delight 

Each tage/tube has a different saying on it.

Framed Photograph Card

This is National Photograph Month and the challenge was to create a card that looks like a photograph by putting a border around the image and making the image glossy. 

I used window sheet for the glass effect on  my project. I cut my frame by using the Bigz Top Note Die. 

Score This - Pyramid Card

The Stampin' Up! Creative Crew's challenge is a Catalog Focus: scoring tools.  Use all or one of these scoring tools--Simply Scored Tool, Simply Scored Borders Plate and/or Simply Scored Diagonal Plate to add interest to a gatefold card. 

For my project, I made this Pyramid Card.  The interesting thing about this project is that you can make it as large or as small as you want as long as you start with 2 square pieces of card stock.

The card unfolds so that it can be inserted into an A2 envelope if you use 4" x 4" squares.  I used magnets to hold my piramid card together.

Embossing Folders: Square Lattice, Fancy Fan.
Stamps: Loving Thoughts, flower Shop, Blooming With Kindness
Punches: Label Bracket, Pansy
Dies: Beautiful Butterflies Bigz Die

Stretching My Creativity

As part of the Stampin' Up! Creative Crew, this month we were to use a technique of our own and to choose colors that imitate the Stampin' Up! watercolor wonder designer papers.  

My project is a Gatefold Easel Card.  I stamped whisper white card stock with one of the SU! Flower Shop stamps to imitate the SU! Watercolor Wonder DSP & adhered it to the center of card Gatefold card.


Stamps: Blooming With Kindness, Flower Shop
Inks: Daffodil Delight, Island Indigo, Gumball Green, Smoky Slate
Card Stock: Island Indigo, Whisper White
Ribbon: Daffodil Delight
Punches: Artisan Label, Pansy 



Here's another view.

With Sympathy

Sympathy card for a friend who lost her brother.

Happy Birthday Mother

This is a card I made for my mother and mailed to her in celebration of her 94th birthday this month (she turned 94 on Wednesday, March 19th).  We will have the large family gathering on Sunday at her home and I plan to make another card for that occasion.

Sunday will be both a celebration of her birthday and a time when we will reflect on the life of my brother who passed away last month.  We are all still mourning his loss but our plan is to share our memories of him in an effort to bring smiles to the faces of our mother and our sister-in-law.

I CASE'd this card from Karen Barber's gallery.  I am a huge fan of hers and admire each and every card she makes.  Her card can be found Here.

So Much Sorrow

I've been absent from my Craft Room lately. My 2nd youngest brother passed away in February and this has been one of, if not the lowest period in my life... the loss of the first sibling in the family. It was a deep loss when my father passed away but my brother's death hit me in a way in which I cannot explain...

My sister-in-law asked me to prepare the program for his Home-Going Service and working on this program helped me get through the days that followed.  As I scrolled through the pictures of his life... his toddler years... his school years... his years in the US Army... his wedding pictures... his years as a father and grandfather, I felt every emotion imaginable which ended in acceptance of that which I did not want to accept - his death...

I love you Richard.  I will love and miss you for the rest of my life.

Beautiful People

Our beautiful niece has been going through some serious health issues the past few years.  She was dealt a really devastating blow this past Monday and our nephew (her husband) wanted to do something to cheer her up.  Her birthday was Friday (2/8) and he decided to put together a last-minute surprise birthday bash for her.  It was beautiful and she was caught completely off guard.

I wanted to make a really special card for her to go along with her birthday gift. Thank you, Laura, for sharing the instructions for the 'Building Block Card'.  Instructions/Directions can be found Here.  The card is really easy to make.  The most difficult thing about making it is deciding how you would like to decorate it.  I had to pull out a lot of stamp sets to find the sentiments that fit the occasion as well as the size of the stamping area.


Card Recipe:  All products are from Stampin' Up
Card Stock: Very Vanilla, Island Indigo
Inks: Island Indigo, Always Artichoke, Crushed Curry, StazOn Black, VersaMark
Stamps: People Like You, Happy Watercolor, Express Yourself, Bloomin' Marvelous (Retired Sale-A-Bration), Field Flowers, hodgepodge Happiness, Vintage Labels (Retired Sale-A-Bration), Papillon Potpourri
Punches: Elegant Butterfly, Decorative Label
Stampin' Up Jewels

Swirling Butterfly Sympathy

Sympathy cards are ones we don't really want to need but they are necessary.  I am always caught off guard and, as a result, ending up making one at the last minute.  I really love this stamp set from Stampin' Up! because it makes a quick and easy card with minimal coloring.  It's been a while since I've used the Center Step Fold method and this stamp set seems perfect for it.  This is for one of the ladies in our church choir who recently lost a family member.

This is the outside of the card.  Below is a view of what the card looks like inside.  The image is colored with Island Indigo and Pear Pizzazz markers and the sentiment is stamped in StazOn Black.  I stamped the butterflies in VersaMark ink then embossed in white detailed embossing powder.  I used the Honeycomb embossing folder also.  Card stock: Very Vanilla and Island Indigo.

Thank You

Just playing around with one of my new stamp sets as I participate in a few challenges.  I remember reading a statement from Karen Barber a few weeks back that not enough members participate in the SCS Color Challenge and I made a decision to try to be more diligent in participating in more challenges, whether I am pleased with my finished results or not.

This card is for the following challenges: SUO, SUO Challenge #89 - No Layers, CAS, CC463 Coastal Saffron Tango,


Stamps: Peaceful Petals, Blooming With Kindness (Inside Sentiment)
Inks: So Saffron, Tangerine Tango, Coastal Cabana, VersaMark
Clear Embossing Powder, SU Jewels
Key Words: SUO 89, CAS

Get Well Soon

This card is not for a challenge... sometimes I like making cards just to use my supplies.  I purchased this stamp (Summer Afternoon) from Stampin' Up! and it retired before I used it... matter of fact, this is the first time I've used it.  This is also the first time I've inked up my 'En Francais' stamp and it was one of my 'Had-to-Have' stamps.

I've got so many more 'retired' stamp sets that I've purchased and never used.  I've also got packs and packs of retired, unopened DSP.  My mission this year is to use those 'retired' stamps and that 'retired' DSP on projects and cards so that I can free up space in my craft room for current products.

This is today's project using some of those unused products... a card using the old (retired) and the new/current.  One of the members of our weekly Noonday Bible Study group was hospitalized last week and I've made this card to send to him.

Stamps: En Francais, Summer Afternoon
Inks: Marina Mist, VersaMark. pear Pizzaz, Wild Wasabi, So Saffron, White Gel Pin
Other products: White Embossing Powder, Black Embossing Powder, Sizzix Thinlits, Candy Dots, Piercing Pack

Whoo Hoo! We Got Snow Today!!!

Tulip Blessings

It’s really cold here today and the SCS WT463 Challenge was to use Cool or Warm Colors... if the low temperature of the day is 32 degrees or below, use cool colors.  The current temperature  is 22... we had a low of 12 last night.  The challenge can be found here

I combined this with WT462 found here. The challenge was to use tape. I  used washi tape to create a background for my card.  I cut off pieces of  tape, pressed it against my VersaMark pad, pressed it on my card, removed it, poured clear embossing powder over, heat set, then sponged the colors on.

This is also for SUO Challenge #88 - Fun with New Toys found found here.  My new toy is my Blessed Easter stamp set from Stampin’ Up!.  I separated the image from the sentiment in order to make the stamp set more versatile.

For You

Today is my husband's birthday and this card/money holder is for him.  My plans are to prepare a nice breakfast for him, then treat him to lunch/dinner at a really nice restaurant later today.  Our daughters are banding together to treat him to some type of  'Biggie Surprise' tomorrow.  They won't give me a clue as to what they have up their sleeves.  I can't wait to see what they have planned for him.

This project is also for the SCS WT460 Challenge... Crafty Goals 2014.  One of  my goals  is to make at least one project per week and my husband's birthday gave me the incentive for week one... one down, 53 to go.

Chalk Talk Stampset & Framelit Die
Inks: StazOn Black, Always Artichoke, VersaMark
Card Stock: Always Arichoke, Naturals Ivory
TIEF: Square Lattice, Fancy Fan
Ribbon: Always Artichoke Seam Binding

2014-2015 Calendar

For our final challenge, we were to make a calendar, to do list, booklet or journal for a friend to use in 2014.

I altered, rather than making a calendar.  This time of year, you can pick up these 2-year calendars for $1.00 and I grabbed a bunch to alter and give away as last minute Christmas gifts. The shaded section on the Crumb Cake card stock on the back of the calendar is from the gloss of the plastic holder.

Stamps: Everything Eleanor & Wetland
DSP: Soho SubwayDSP, Season of Style DSP,  Crumb Cake Card Stock
Inks: VersaMark, Chocolate Chip
Embossing Powder: Clear; Cherry Cobbler
Neutrals Brads

Chocolates For You

Holiday Focus:  Since December 24th is National Chocolate Day, we were challenged to make a card using chocolate chip on it.  I CASED this card from Grannytranny's gallery.

Since my card has 'pretend' chocolate on it, I decided to make a mug and fill it with real chocolate (DH's fav).

Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, & Crumb Cake Card Stock;  Chalk Talk & Chalk Talk Framelits; Stripes & Fancy Fan TIEF; Neutrals Candy Dots & Brads; Inks: Chocolate Chip, VersaMark & Clear Embossing Powder

Imagine

This SCS Creative Crew Challenge was to copy someone's artwork who loves brads or candy dots; we are to use candy dots generously on our projects.  I CASE'd Jan Tink's 'Papillon Potpourri meets Hello Lovely & World Map' found here.

Stamps:  Papillon Potpourri; Loving Thoughts, Very Vintage Wheel
Punches: Bitty Butterfly; Elegant Butterfly
DSP: Modern Medley
Card Stock: Very Vanilla; Basic Black
Neutrals Candy Dots; VersaMark Ink; Black Embossing Powder

There's You

This is a card I made for my daughter who is currently serving a tour in Afghanistan.  If all goes well and her tour is not extended again, we will celebrate Christmas with her this year.

As part of the SCS Creative Crew, our color focus is the Modern Medley Designer Series Paper (Stampin' Up!) or  Stampin' Up!'s Basic Black and Very Vanilla card Stock.  We were also to C.A.S.E. (Copy And Share Everything) someone we admire and give them credit.  I CASE'd the very talented Karen Barber.  I love every card she creates and this is the card I chose to case.

Karen used the 'Elements of Style' stamp from Stampin' Up!.  Since my daughter is so far away, I used the Stampin' Up! 'World Map' background stamp.


Stamp Sets: 
World Map, Chalk talk, Wetlands

Inks:
Black StazOn

Papers:
Very Vanilla, Basic Black, and Vellum Card Stock

Other Supplies:
Very Vanilla Ribbon; Lacy Brocade TIEF; Large Pearl Basic Jewels