Mojo Monday 204

I almost gave up on this birthday card for my sweet friend, but I'm glad I stayed with it. Thanks for the sketch, Julee Tilman at Mojo Monday!

Some Hard Anniversaries

The end of this month marks two difficult anniversaries. Since losing my dad last August, we’ve endured lots of firsts without him. Each one has presented its unique challenges, but tomorrow will be my parents’ wedding anniversary. They would have celebrated forty-eight years together. I am more thankful than I can say for their example of committed marriage. People used to accuse me of being too picky when it came to boys, but I knew I had to hold out for someone who would love me the way my daddy loved my mama. I never once doubted my mom and dad’s love for each other—what a firm foundation for a family. In an effort to acknowledge my gratitude at this difficult time, I created this card for my mother.

I pray that she will be filled with peace, comfort, and sweet memories as she marks this first anniversary without him. I also pray for strength as we reach the one-year anniversary of Daddy’s passing next week on 8/24. I am very certain that he held on to life last year long enough to have one more anniversary with her. This year, they are apart, but because of the finished work of our Lord, they will one day be together again.

Thank you, God, for blessing me with such wonderful parents.

Just Married!

It sure makes you feel old when the little red-headed boy who was six when you got married . . .  just got married. Congratulations to my husband’s cousin’s son and his new bride who were just married last Friday. As the inside of this card notes, “May your journey of life together be one long, happy adventure!”

Happy 88th!

Last week, my father-in-law celebrated his 88^th birthday. My sister-in-law and I worked together to create a scrapbook for him of his pictures from a trip to Washington, D.C. Because he is a WWII vet, he was able to take part in the Honor Flight Program. We really enjoyed preserving those memories for him.

His birthday card was a little bit of a challenge for me because I was designing it around a couple of embellishments. My 12-year-old daughter’s craft medium of choice is polymer clay. She loves to sculpt things—the tinier, the better. She recently made some adorable mini-treats for me to use on cards and I just had to include her little cupcakes on her granddaddy’s card. I like the way it turned out.

Happy Anniversary!

A summer wedding—what a romantic notion! That is until you realize a few years later that it will ALWAYS be hot as blazes on your anniversary. For my love and me, a July wedding made perfect sense at the time. I was a teacher and had about ten weeks off from mid-June to early August. A July wedding gave me a few weeks to devote to last-minute preparations once school was out and gave us plenty of time to get our two households worth of stuff settled into my husband’s bachelor home after the wedding. That all worked out well enough until we found ourselves sweltering through the streets of Williamsburg and D.C. on our honeymoon. In recent years, we’ve taken to celebrating our anniversary with a short overnight trip here or there in April or May, but we just cannot let that special day pass us by. On July 8^th, we celebrated sixteen years of happy marriage. What a blessing from our Lord! Here is the anniversary card I tucked into my husband’s suitcase. (We actually braved a “stay-cation” on our anniversary this year, and yeah, we were melting on the streets of Marietta.)

We are not the first in the family to marry in July. Randy’s parents preceded us in marriage by almost fifty years. They celebrated sixty-six years together last Tuesday. It is so sweet the way they still hold hands when they are out together. Here’s the card I made for them:

And, last but not least, today marks forty-five years of marriage for Randy’s sister and her husband. Guess how they celebrated? Zip-lining. A facebook friend commented that many people celebrate a 45^th anniversary with cake and punch. I’m afraid I’ll take the cake and punch. After all, if the Lord allows us forty-five years, I will be 73! They were able to join us, along with Randy’s parents, for lunch today. It is always such a blessing to have family in our home. Here’s the card I made for them, which just happens to be based on Mojo Monday Sketch 201.

I love this sketch! I’m thinking about adapting it for my Christmas cards. Yes, to escape the heat, at least mentally, our minds have already turned to Christmas. And oh, I think that  stamp is a Christmas sentiment, but I thought it applied in this case, too. Inside, the card completes "wishing you PEACE, JOY, LOVE" with "and all the gifts of a happy marriage . . . Happy Anniversary!"

Another Birthday . . .

for my nephew and a milestone for Mojo Monday. What fun to combine the two!

It looks like I took the sketch very literally this time, but it just so happens that the new sketch look contains two of my nephew's favorite colors—black and green. I used some of my recent bargains on this one—Martha Stewart border punch and new ink—and one of my favorite punches, the MS party hat. And yes, if you look closely, that is a Halloween brad holding my ribbon together. If you knew my nephew you'd understand. Thank you, Mojo Monday, for providing some great inspiration and for the chance to win stamps this week. And Happy Birthday to you, Chris!

Special Birthdays in July!

Two special girlfriends have birthdays this week and I’ve managed to make a card for each. I think I’m even going to get them in the mail on time!

One card is based on this week’s Mojo Monday sketch. The recipient of this one is classy, classic, and beautiful inside and out, so I went with a vintage rose print juxtaposed with rose embossing.  Finished it up with some classic colors, some pretty cotton lace, and a fussy-cut rose. I hope she will enjoy it as much as I enjoy her friendship. Thanks to the gals at Mojo Monday for an inspiring sketch.

The other card was featured here since I entered it into the Pals Paper Arts challenge last week. This card is going to a friend I don’t see often in person anymore because she lives about an hour away, but she is forever in my heart. We shared a townhome in our single days and did we ever have some fun! I hope she’ll appreciate the whimsy of these little birds who’ve gathered on a city-block to wish her “Happy Bird-day!” (And I'm hoping her sweet little girl will like it, too).

Thanks for visiting.