Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Beginnings and Endings

Here it is New Year's Eve!  And guess where I'm spending it?  I have managed to hack into the Penny Black Blog and took it over for today!  Be sure to check out my blog post here.

New Year's Eve is a good time to talk about beginnings and endings. 

April 14, 2013 marked a beginning for me.  That is the day I received an email from Jill Foster inviting me to join their first ever "Stamp Squad".  This card is the one I made for the Penny Black blog the day I was introduced. 
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4309L Singer's Muse; 4308K Field of Poppies; 30-173 Charms

That was the beginning and here I am at the ending.  They say "all good things must come to an end", and this has truly been a good thing!  I have been encouraged and inspired by my fellow stamp squad members Penny, Lin, Greta and Rosemary.  Jill Foster and Elizabeth Allan have continued to be excited, enthusiastic and encouraging about my work.  I have learned so much from these very talented ladies, not all of it stamping related!!  Penny Black headquarters has been very generous in providing stamps and dies for us to play with.  I thank them all for an amazing experience.

And here is the ending:  my last card as a member of the Stamp Squad.

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Retro Pattern 40-086; Free Flight 30-117
Tomorrow is the beginning of a new year.  I wish for all of you a year filled with good beginnings and many happy endings.  Happy New Year!!

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Evie and Grandma



Oh, how I miss this little one already!!  The butterfly rocker (from Zulilly) was a huge success.  Evie received so many presents and I was so glad to know she liked the rocker from Grandma and Grandpa! 

Evie is an amazing baby!  She was diagnosed with a pretty serious ear infection just before we arrived, but you would never have known it.  She enjoys life to the fullest.  She does not waste time fussing or crying.  She loves whoever is holding her; eats for whoever is feeding her; and smiles at every one and every thing! 

We all thanked Scott and Sara for hosting the family for Christmas, but most of all, we thanked them for Evie ... it was like getting a new dolly for Christmas.  The downside was that we all had to share. 

We arrived home Friday afternoon and after a few minutes of panic at the airport because the car keys had been lost in my purse,  we drove directly to pick up Cooper.  While he greeted us wildly, we know he misses his two doggy pals.  We do play with him, but it just isn't the same!!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas!  I love spending time with my adult kids.. they have turned into such interesting and fun people.    Thanks for your visit.


Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Peace on Earth ... Penny Black



I wish all of you a Christmas filled with all those things that make Christmas so special!  Take time to contemplate this incredible Gift! 

Merry Christmas!  God bless us every one!!

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Evie's Christmas present ...

Evie's Christmas present ... by judkajudy
This is a Mo Manning digital image that I colored with Copics and fussy cut and mounted on a tag. I used distress inks on the tag; a HA music stamp and a Penny Black Christmas tree stamp on the tag. I added store bought lace and a flower hand crocheted by my friend Sallly. Some glittery wooden stars, some twine and I am happy with the result. This tag is more than a CASE of the sample on the Mo Manning Digital Penicl site; it is almost a copy! I fell in love with the image when I first saw it and thought of Evelyn Rose and her first Christmas. This is just a small gift from Grandma; her big gift was sent to her house weeks ago!!

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Jolly Friends by Penny Black

Jolly Friends by Penny Black by judkajudy
Who can resist a snowman? This is an image from Penny Black's transparent set Jolly Friends. I've colored him with copics and matted the image with traditional red and green. The sentiment is from the transparent set Yuletide Greetings. I used only the last two words in order to fit.

Only a few last minute tasks to finish. They involve the kitchen, so have been put off to the last minute! How come when I melt chocolate chips the chocolate gets onto everything?? And it really shows up on the white cupboards.

Hope this last week before Christmas finds you doing what you need to do and some of what you want to do!

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Christmas is Coming!!


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What could be merrier than red and white polka dots, a banner of hearts and a little hedgie singing carols!

This little guy is from Penny Black's transparent set "The Wonder". I've colored him with Copics, mounted him on a circle and added another circle for the sentiment. Jill Foster has a way with circles which I haven't quite mastered, obviously!

Started and finished my shopping this afternoon. Left to do: sending cards, mailing a couple of packages and baking some goodies to take to Wisconsin. I'm feeling pretty optimistic at this point!

Enjoy this time of preparation, if you can. Christmas seems to come and go so quickly. Thanks for your visit!!

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Build a Snowman by Penny Black

100_5836.jpg by judkajudy
If one snowperson is good, two is better!! When you have Penny Black's Build a Snowman set, there are endless possibilities.
I stamped two snowpeople using a masking technique and embossed with clear embossing powder. I made appropriate hats for each, cut everything out and created a snow scene just for them. I added Joy from Penny Black's creative die set Love and Joy. I sprayed the finished card with Perfect Pearls and sorry to say, the pigment looks a little like smudges in the photo. Love the sheen in real life!
Had a great weekend in Atlanta.  Granddaughter Lauren's Cheer Sport team came in first I their division and topped it off with the Grand Championship for the highest score of the day!  It is amazing to see hundreds of teams and thousands of young girls (and boys) performing their routines with such precision and excitement.  Scary for grandparents to watch, though. 
Christmas is coming!!  It doesn't seem to matter how early I start ... I am always playing catchup at the end! 

Monday, December 9, 2013

Merry Christmas!!!



Who needs anything else for Christmas??  Evie is almost 6 months old!!!

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Merry!

Merry! by judkajudy
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This sweetie is one of the images from the Penny Black Transparent set Love at Christmas. She is probably lighting the way for Santa!

I used Copics to color the image and stitched the matting together. There's some glitter glue and sequins for some sparkle. And "merry" has been cut with Penny Black's Creative die Love and Joy.

We will be traveling to Georgia this weekend. First to Hawkinsville, Georgia to be present when my grand nephew Michael receives the key to the new home built for him by Homes for Heroes. You may remember that Michael was a Marine and lost his legs in an IED explosion in Afghanistan.

From there we travel to Atlanta where my daughter from Minneapolis will join the Atlanta son and family and us for a visit and to see Lauren's competitive cheer performance. Seriously, it is hard to believe what those young girls can achieve!! And sometimes it is hard for this grandma to watch!!

Cooper will be at Doggie Vaycay having a good time with his friend Deuce. We are so delighted to have found a place where he is treated like family; so much easier to leave him than at a kennel.

Have a great weekend!! We are experiencing crazy warm weather today ... should cool off by Saturday. It is hard to know what to pack!!

Monday, December 2, 2013

Snowlight by Penny Black

Snowlight by Penny Black by judkajudy

Sometimes a girl just doesn't have time to create an interesting background. So she reaches for her patterned paper instead and stamps and embosses right on top of it. And then she matts with silvery glittery paper and puts on some red heart gems and calls it finished! Quick and easy and beautiful .. Penny Black did the real work ... love this snowflake Christmas tree!

Our tree was up before Christmas and also includes little red hearts for decoration.

The holiday season is in full swing! We travel to Atlanta to visit with our Atlanta grandkids and parents and our daughter who is flying in from Minneapolis. Hope we have warm weather for her visit!

Thanks for your visit today .. happy Cyber Monday.