The Stars Align.......

1. I love Susan Raihala's blog, Simplicity.
2. I love red.

3. I love to read.

When Susan had a 10 day Rainbow Mojo giveaway recently, I had to enter on Day 8. It was red day and the comments pertained to favorite books and authors. I am delighted to report the stars aligned and I won! Susan sent me an envelope full of red ribbon, red accessories, red flowers and red sparkles.

If you have never been to Simplicity - go now - I'll wait...... Susan has an artist's eye and a wonderful clean and simple style. She also has an endearing fondness for bling. I promised her a thank you card made with some of her goodies and here it is. I tried to keep it clean and simple and I added some of the splashy bling she sent me. Unfortunately the envelope with her return address on it was recycled before I copied it - so Susan - this one's for you!

Happy Easter.........

Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry and the Saturday Sketch from Stamping411 provided everything I needed for this Easter card. If only life were always that simple.......

Starting Point........PPA34....Sketch Challenge....

Margaret Moody's sketch for the PPA Challenge this week was a wonderful starting point for my card today. Next come all of those other decisions - colors? papers? stamps? But the question that helps me the most is - Who will be receiving this? I am a hobby stamper who likes to make things with a specific someone or specific occasion in mind. The cards I make are usually in the mail or on a gift within a week of being posted. My mother's birthday and Mother's Day are a few days apart so I'll be starting another card for her soon. For this card I used Rose Red and Certainly Celery paper. I inked the branch from Thoughts and Prayers with Chocolate Chip, Rose Red, Ruby Red, Certainly Celery and Old Olive markers and used a sentiment from Well Scripted. I'm a plain Jane kind of gal - which you may have noticed - but my mother loves bling so I broke down and added some pearls :)

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Top o' the mornin' to you!

Get Well Wishes........SSC142....

Selene Kempton posted an interesting sketch this week at Stamping 411 so when I needed a get well card I thought I would give it a try. I took her advice and checked out my scrap pile - lots of kraft hanging around from my PPA card this week. Perfect for a masculine card! But it was like putting together a jigsaw puzzle until I saw those helpful measurements from Gretchen Barron. When the good Lord handed out patience he skipped me and definitely gave my share to Gretchen - I do appreciate her helpful hints. I added some Soft Suede for a bit of contrast and the card was ready to mail!

Nope I'm Not Irish........

There's Irish green all around these days! My husband has been a Callahan all of his life and has celebrated his St. Patrick's Day birthday with his twin sister for over 60 years! My daughter's name is Erin and my son is Michael O'Neil. Even my French poodle is sporting a shamrock bow these days in honor of the occasion. I have been a Callahan for 37 years so that should count for something. But I took it easy on the shamrocks and played up the greenery (using the tree top from Thoughts and Prayers) for PPA's and Stampin' Royalty's color challenges this week since I will be sending this card out to my mother - who is definitely not Irish! She was born with a Yorkshire brogue and raised across the Irish Sea on that other British Isle. Now I will break out the shamrocks for the rest of the family........

Waiting for Spring....PPA32.....

We still have snow in the northeast. I have yet to see a robin or some real spring green but I am hopeful - any day now! Therefore I left my spring card for Pals Paper Arts this week clean and simple. Some textured white and a piece of Cottage Wall showcase the silhouetted bird - we await the return of color!

Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge 58....

What a Sweet Sunday it is when you invite Good Neighbors in for a Chit Chat!