If I Coiuld Freeze The Picture and Make it Last Forever

Morning Friends,

Nothing says winter like snowflakes and icicles!  But here in beautiful Southern California we don't get too much of either,  so a little "make believe" was in order to pull off this winter wonderland.

Missy Loves Bird Watching

To start things off, let me introduce you to my lovely fur baby "Missy."  She is a large Maincoon and just turned 12 years old over Christmas.  She's a momma's girl, but likes to socialize so she'll come out to say hello when company comes by.   Her favorite past time is bird watching.  In the mornings she sits with me at  the desk while I catch up on blogs, make comments and enjoy my coffee.  She's been a godsend this past year as I've finely made the transition to a happy empty nester. After all who could be lonesome with this loveable face following you around every day? 

To create this layout I used: 

~Teresa Collins "Dec. 25th" Cricut Cartridge for the snowflakes, swirls and birds.  
~ Krylon's "Silver Marker" to color the tree and ice cycle ledge.
~"Diamond Dust" to create the snowy ice cycles.
~Teressa Collins "Summer Stories" Paper Collection for the sentiment card, matting and back ground paper. 
~Tim Holtz's "Branch Tree" die.
~ Spellbinders "Icicles" die.
~ Martha Stewart's Punch Around the Page "Snowflake Set."

I Wish I Could Freeze the Picture and Make it Last Forever

Here are a few more snowflake close ups:

Right Corner with Prima Diamond Flower Centers

Left Corner with Prima Diamond Flower Centers

Well friends wherever you're visiting me from today, please stay warm and cozy!   Thanks for dropping by and may I wish you a happy day dear friends!   Hugs to All ~ Dawna

 

Birthday Card Club - January Creations

Morning Friends,

One of my favorite things is to get 'happy mail."  While this tradition has almost gone by the 'buggy whip' there are still a few of us who really appreciate the time and effort that goes into letting someone know your thinking about them on their special day.  To make sure that something more than bills come in the mail this year, a few of us at sb.com have started a Birthday Card Club.  There are twenty of us signed up to participate which means we'll all be taking turns creating and receiving happy mail throughout the year.  Here's a sampling of what I sent out for January celebrations. 

This card was designed by Linda Bradbury (one of my favorite card designers) and is for my friend Lorna who celebrated her birthday on the 1st of January:

Sweet Wishes Outside Card Cover

Sweet Wishes Inside Flap

Next came my friend Bren who celebrated her birthday on the 9th of January. Again these are Linda Bradbury cards I learned to make in class with her last year and I just love these wonderful creations!

Gather Together Outside

Gather Together Inside Note Card

Gather Together Outside Note Card

Then for the last of my January cards, my friend Donna celebrates a very special milestone this year as her 60th birthday is on the 21st.  Here's the card I created for her:

French Bird Card Cover

Inside Sentiment - Oh yeah, I did get it glued down! 

Sun Flower Close Up

Well there you have it!   When it comes to creating something from the heart, it really doesn't matter what you chose to do.  Just enjoy discovering your creative process and share it with others so we can enjoy your create journey too.

Thanks for dropping by and for those that have a minute, I sincerely appreciate hearing from you.   Make it a happy day friends!  Hugs ~ Dawna

Saint Valentine's Wedding Day Gift

St. Valentine's Wedding Day Shadow Box

Hi Friends,

Catching up this morning with a few year end posts.  This is a gift I made for our friends Kathy & Charlie who were married on St. Valentine's Day in 1987.  Kathy and I met in 2009 and one of our favorite pastimes is browsing around the antique shops in Old Town Temecula to see if we can find something we can't live without!  lol

 

 Well over the years Kathy has given me many special crafting trinkets and I took this opportunity to use a few of my favorite ones on their special wedding layout.  Among them is this beautiful tatted cameo and these wonderful gold quilted heart buttons. 

To create this layout I used Webster's Pages "In Love" and  "Post Cards to Paris" paper collections.  I framed the  background by using a piece of black textured cardstock then punched around the page with Martha Stewart's Tear Drop punch and used a Krylon pen to distress the edges in gold.   Then I framed the outer punch work with gold foil cardstock.  For the inside page, I used Martha Stewart's Vintage Lace punch and backed it with red cardstock.  Then finished the inner page off with a bit of zigzag stitching. The dark red and hot pick flowers are hand made rolled flowers and the remaining mulberry flowers are from Wild Orchards web site.

Fir the key to my heart element, I embossed a Kaiser Craft filigree heart and key with gold embossing powder, added a vintage label (with the title work printed from my computer) and did some picture matting for a nice clean finish.

Thank you for dropping by my gallery and if you have a minute, I always appreciate hearing from you.  Make it a happy day friends!  Hugs ~ Dawna