Elizabeth's "Table-Toppers"

Here are the table-toppers that I made for each table at my sister, Elizabeth's, wedding reception. I had plans to make them on the Friday before (she got married on Saturday the 18th), but when I walked in my mom's house there were a bunch of people there for a surprise shower for ME! Of course they all took a long time to gush over Daniel, and Daniel made the shower last a little longer too with being super hungry that morning. When you breast-feed no one else can do it for you :) So, I ended up not getting to stamp that day and had 36 table-toppers still to make.

Elizabeth wanted them simple, but even as "simple" as I kept them, they were still pretty time intensive because of the layers under the numbers. I only took a picture of one of them, but as the numbers increased so did the size of the white card stock that they were on, so my layers were not just a simple one-size-fits-all kind of project. Clear as mud? I had four different sizes of layers to work with, and two colors I was putting behind each of them (pretty in pink and basic black), so I ended up getting TWENTY MINUTES to get myself ready for the wedding. Good thing no one was looking at me ;)

The recipe was pretty simple: white CS, basic black CS, pretty in pink CS, printed-out numbers from the computer, flourish stamp from the Baroque Motifs stamp set and some black ink!

Pictures from Elizabeth's Wedding

My beautiful sister got married on August 18th and it was the best day of the whole year that she could - it was my birthday! I will forever remember her anniversary and I think that was the secret reason she chose it ;)

Emma and Sarah were her flower girls, and Elizabeth's colors were white, pink and black. She looked gorgeous and this first picture is of the girls admiring her while the photographer was taking some pictures of her and Aaron, her groom (a.k.a. Uncle Rockstar - he is a man of many talents - he could have gone to Law School but declined his acceptance and was in a band that actually recorded a CD and did some touring around the US, so the girls call him that).


This next picture is of the girls, aren't they cute?!?!?


This next one is of Elizabeth. Isn't she just so beautiful (not a question)!!!


Lastly, this is a photo of the whole wedding party.


I feel like a moron, I didn't get ANY pictures of me with her, or of my family, or of anyone with Daniel (even at the baby shower) while I was there. I hope that her photographer got some good ones and that I get some copies!!!

No Camera....

I've been looking, and looking for our camera since we got back from Kentucky. I can't find it. That doesn't mean it's permanantly gone, but I do have to get my hubby to try to find it since he's the one that put it in the car, or brought it in the house, and put it wherever it is. So, I couldn't take a picture of any of the cute cards I got or upload any pics I've taken of the wedding or projects I made then. So - I hope that Peter will find my camera this evening when he gets home from work. I called him before he took off with his student and he couldn't remember where it is, but says he's seen it. I guess that's a good thing :) Check back later this evening for (hopefully) a picture or two. Take care!

I'm Back...

We got back in town on Saturday and in my mailbox were several cards waiting for me. It was such a surprise and I'm so thankful. I hope to get a picture of them today to post tomorrow. I appreciate them so much.

I am still running around with my head cut off though, and my in-laws are coming to town for Daniel's baby blessing in 2 weekends, so that gives me that much time to get things squared away for their visit. We haven't recovered yet from me being in San Antonio for over a month, then coming home with a new baby, and then leaving after 3 weeks to go to my sister's wedding. There is luggage and clothes and all sorts of things from the 2 trips all over the house! So much to do!!!

My sister's wedding was incredible. I can't imagine everything my mom and she went through to get ready for it. The few days I was there it was crazy so I'm sure the months of preparation weren't dull. My mom even threw me a surprise baby shower the first day I was in town (the day before the wedding) and I must admit it's the FIRST TIME I've ever been successfully surprised. I'm one of those :) You can't usually slip something past me :)

So, stay tuned for some pics of some really cute cards, and also once the results are out in September about the design team I submitted for (I'm quite sure I WON'T make it, but you never know) I will show you the four projects I submitted to them. That and the table toppers I made for my sister's wedding are the ONLY stamping I've done since having Daniel. I'll share a pic of the table toppers too. Take care!!!

Thank You!!!!!!!

I wanted to take a second to say thank you to everyone for the baby cards, gifts, and the birthday card for me. It's my birthday next Saturday, but I won't be posting from after today until sometime after the 25th because my sister is getting married on my birthday and we are driving to Lexington, KY for the wedding. Anyway, here are some pics of the items I've received from some really sweet ladies out there. Thanks so much, and I will post as soon as I can once we're back in town at the end of the month. Thank you for your support and take care!!!

This first card is from Laura Barefoot. Isn't that chipboard neat and I love the background paper!

















These booties are from Tracy Harford (all the way from Canada!!!) and she said that the pattern was from Heather Bailey.

















This card is from Julie Masse. I love how she colored in the stars and circles with a "sparkly" pen.

















This last card is the one that was a RAK for my birthday from Nancy Elrick. It's got one of those cute Bella images on it and I love the colors!! Would you believe that I still don't have any Bella stamps?!?!? My life has been so crazy that it's been all I could do to "stay" a SU! demo and buy what I needed to do that, much less any "extras" from other companies! I'm kind of getting tired of being a demo....we'll see what happens with that as time goes on. SU! is not as appealing to me anymore as it doesn't meet the expectations I have for it and how I had hoped it would evolve as different aspects of crafting have become popular. I'll stop now... :)

Emma's Journal

Here is the journal that I made for our 8 year-old friend Emma. She got baptized last Saturday and I thought a journal to start keeping at this time was a neat idea. I asked her mom what her favorite color was and her mom said light blue, so that's what I went with.

I started with a regular composition book from Wal-Mart that I took the cover off of (peeled the printed paper off of the chipboard cover). Next I covered both the front and the back of the journal with mod podge and adhered the bashful blue sheet of DS paper from the Spring Showers DS Paper pack. It has some slight white lines on it that I oriented vertically. On the Spring Showers paper, I stamped the flourish from the Baroque Motifs stamp set in Whisper White craft ink along with the Bashful Blue flower you see from the Looks Like Spring stamp set. This flower image I felt coordinated well with that paper that was in the Summer Mini last year (I can't think of its name) which is along the spine of the journal and on the "e." I covered the "e" with that same paper by putting mod podge on it and then putting the pre-traced and cut out "e" piece of paper on that. I like to use mod podge instead of glue because I can paint it on and get good coverage on the paper so that it sticks really well. The other elements on the journal are pretty self-explanatory. It has some ribbon from last year's Seaside ribbon pack, some SU! rhinestone brads, some gingham and grosgrain ribbon, and some of the un-dyed Elizabeth "Fancy Fibers" from SU! too. I used the Doodle alphabet for the word "journal" and used my SU! making memories font CD to create the tag with "Emma" on it. For the tag I also put an eyelet on it with some linen thread and tied it on the "e". Clear as mud? I did also make her a pen using a piece of left-over Spring Showers paper that also had my stamped images on it, by rolling the paper and putting it in one of those clear RSVP pens. I think it all looks really nice and I sure hope she liked it!!! Let me know what you think.

As for today's appointment, it did indeed confirm that Daniel has acid reflux (duh - we knew that) but the doctor wouldn't do the 2nd test that our Pediatrician wanted because he said Daniel is too young for it. It was a lower bowel test or something like that. Oh well, hopefully the change in dosage of his medicine will continue to show improvement with him and that's all we'll need. He does in fact seem to be a little better since the doctor upped the dosage of his Reglan. We'll keep our fingers crossed and continue to pray that he'll "outgrow" this as soon as possible. Thank you for all of your thoughts, suggestions, and prayers!!! We appreciate them so much - truly.

As Soon as We're Back From the Hospital

I got a call at 8:00 this morning from the clinic on base that I need to go into town by 9:30 to take Daniel in to get an "upper GI" done at the hospital. I think it's purpose is to basically diagnose the acid reflux for real, and see what's going on in there. With that said, I've got to run, but I wanted to let you know I'll post the journal as soon as we get back. Oh, and everyone's making me feel like I promised to show you some AMAZING piece of art!!! :) It's nothing spectacular, so don't get upset when you're like, "that's not special!" It's just a gift I made a little girl :) Take care, and I'll post it when we get home.

Check in on Monday!

Sorry for the teaser, but as most of you probably know that even when I'm posting "daily" it doesn't include Sundays. I take that day off for church and family. Today we went to the baptism of both a friend's husband and an 8 year-old girl whose family are members of our church. I was so happy for my friend that her husband has finally committed to taking this step in his life, and of course it's always exciting for a child to take that step too. I didn't make anything for Dan (the man getting baptized) but wish I had because he could have used the same gift I made for Emma (not my daughter, Emma, but the 8 year-old who got baptized). I made her a journal. I didn't have time to upload it yet so the point of this post is to promise to show it to you on Monday. I made her a pen to go with it but I didn't take a picture of that 'cause they're not that exciting to look at. Anyway, check back in Monday to actually see a stamped project!!! As a heads-up, I won't be able to get back into my regular posting because my sister is getting married next Saturday so we are driving to Kentucky on Wednesday and will be gone for about a week and a half. Have a great rest of your weekend!

Stamps for a Cause

Please check out Gina K's blog Stamps for a Cause and look at the amazing samples she has created with her newest stamp set for a cause. This time she's giving $7 from the sale of each set to the Make a Wish Foundation. What a great organization to support!!! I can't imagine the courage and strength it takes for a child to deal with the "adult" problems that some of them have to deal with in the case of serious illness, and the Make a Wish Foundation is so wonderful for making these little one's wishes come true. Please check it out, the stamp set is so versatile and the images are great!!!!

Poor Baby....

I only have a moment to post (he's already screaming again). Poor little Daniel has acid reflux and so unfortunately 95% (at least) of his waking hours are spent crying because he's in pain. The medicine the doctor gave us isn't work (at least not yet) so it's been kind of miserable in our house. I hate not being able to do something to help one of my children, it's hard.

I just wanted to say thank you to Tracy who sent some CUTE CUTE CUTE little booties for Daniel and Laura who sent an adorable card (aka Stampin' Soldier). Thank you so much. Also, thank you Lynda for the thoughtful e-mail. I'm still here, just trying to get through this with the baby and not totally neglect my girls. I have done a TINY bit of stamping (out of necessity - too bad it wasn't just 'cause I wanted to and had the time!) so hopefully I'll be able to share that soon. Take care everyone, and I'll get back to posting as soon as I can!!!