Then and Now.......Happy New Year!

1970 - New York City - Times Square - I was there watching the ball drop - an experience everyone needs to do at least once - and while you are young! Forty years later I am still watching that ball drop only now it's from the vantage point of my easy chair. No complaints though, I'm quite content with this view. I dressed up my card with Night and Day Designer Paper just to wish you all a Happy New Year. The wonderfully scrunchy flower is made from 8 scallop circles also cut from the designer paper. (The idea is from the uniquely talented Lydia Fiedler - Understand Blue Paper Arts. ) Thanks to all of you for being so supportive of my blogging endeavors this year. Looking forward to 2010 and wishing you all the best!

Welcome Eveline Lily........

A beautiful Rose Red ribbon set against Tall Tales Designer Paper is perfect for a special baby card. Eveline Lily arrived yesterday and I can't wait to meet her. I have known her mother since the day she was born and something tells me that Eveline Lily will definitely be a special little girl!

Holiday Greetings...........PPA22.....

Using Margaret Moody's sketch to guide me for this PPA challenge, I broke out the traditional Christmas colors one last time. Merry Christmas!

They Say It's My Birthday!

I tried to pretend it wasn't going to happen - but yesterday it did - I entered a new decade. And what a grand entrance it was! I went to see Wicked with some family members and then we stopped for dinner. Little did I know what awaited me at the restaurant - more family, friends and a beautifully set table! My friend Barb made these favors (using the #2 box) which also served as place cards. They are filled with chocolate covered cherries - my favorite. She also created the card for me keeping with the color scheme. Beautiful! The play was terrific and the dinner was a wonderful surprise - lots of fun. What more could a birthday girl want?

Sleigh Bells Ring!.......PPA21...........

Pals Paper Arts Challenge this week is Winter Wonderland..............reminds me of a song! I love sleigh bells. I have some hanging on a cupboard door in my kitchen all year round. They say good morning to me every day when I take out my mug for tea. Something about that sound just makes me smile. There's nothing better than watching little kids jingling bells during a Christmas concert! So I am pleased to report that this simple little card jingles. When sleigh bells ring, I listen!

Pen Pals.........PPA20........

My niece's daughter is 4 and just learning to read and write. There is nothing sweeter than a card from the heart of a 4 year old. I received a wonderful note from her the other day and decided I had best reply right away. PPA's challenge this week is to use Old Olive, Soft Suede and Crushed Curry. Elements from the Write Stuff DSP were perfect for the challenge - and for the note card. I also used Soft Suede Ribbon and DSP and Crushed Curry card stock. The message is simple and the card has plenty of room inside for me to print a note and include some alphabet stickers. Nice to know that there's more than one kind of pal!

Snow Day Mojo.......116.........

I love snow days and we had one today. It's so quiet when it snows - life just slows right down. Nothing much moved around here until very late afternoon - including me! Perfect day to organize the craft room and finish the Christmas cards. I cleaned, I sorted, I wrote. And I found these ornament tags that came in an SU order long ago. How convenient that the present day Merry & Bright rub ons fit inside them perfectly. I decided to stop everything then and put together a Mojo Monday card. The tags also worked well with Holiday Lounge DSP and silver cord. It was a wonderfully lazy day but it's time to set the alarm for tomorrow - the real world calls..........

Inspiration Note Card....PPA19.........

PPA's inspiration picture was absolutely lovely today. I drew from the design and color scheme and used Merry Moments DSP along with Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Real Red and Very Vanilla. The Little Leaves die worked to make mistletoe along with some pearls. Once I finished I changed my mind (of course) about using this as a note card. It is going to be a mini album cover for Christmas pictures I put together every year for relatives in England. I had better put this little creation aside to rest for a few weeks because it has a long journey ahead!