Merry Christmas

Man, has it been a while since I have posted here on my blog.  But, at least this time  I have a good excuse. :).  I'm recovery pretty well.  I am still having a little problem with the choking thing.  In my last post I mentioned having some complications at the hospital that caused me to have to stay a few extra days.  Well, one of those complications was a choking experience.  My surgeon had warned me that I would have a hard time eating for a few days so I was prepared for that.  What I wasn't prepared for was almost dying trying to eat an English muffin.  Sunday morning, December 9th, I was eating my breakfast and took a small bite of the English muffin.  For some reason it became stuck in my throat.  I couldn't get any air.  Usually I could pull in enough air to cough whatever was stuck up, but not this time.  The little bit of air I was able to inhale caused the English muffin to move slightly and completely block my airway.  I knew I was choking.  I began to get light headed from lack of oxygen.  Amazingly, I was very calm.  I pushed the nurses button and the aid came in the room and I held my hands up to my throat in the sign of choking.  She yelled into the hallway that I was choking and nurses came from everywhere.  They ripped my neck brace off to try and get some air into my lungs but that didn't help.  They were afraid to try the Heimlich  or whack me on the back because of the neck surgery.  I remember beginning to see millions of little stars exploding and asking God to please take care of Kierstynne for me.  I knew I was going to die.  But still, I was strangely calm.  I knew that many people had been praying for me.  I also knew that God had me in the palm of His hand and that no matter what happened, I was going to be ok and so would my daughter.  Finally one of the nurses, one of my favorites, said, "Forget this crap! She isn't going to die today."  She then whacked me in the middle of my back twice and dislodged the muffin.  Air rushed into my lungs and tears rolled down my face.  I was so thankful to be alive, yet strangely disappointed.  I really thought I was going to meet my maker face to face that day and I was looking forward to seeing Jesus.  But, I was happy to have more time with my family and friends.  It was very strange.  The whole incident from beginning to end took about a minute and a half although it felt much longer.   So, because of that incident, I had to have two more tests so that they could make sure that nothing was blocking my airway or esophagus.  I was able to actually see myself eating food and swallowing it on the x-ray.  That was very cool.  I watched myself eat a couple pieces of a peach from when I chewed it up until it went down my esophagus and into my stomach.  I also had a chance to see the plate and screws that now support my neck.  Pretty neat I must say.

When you have an experience like that, it makes you rethink your priorities.  It also causes you to see life in a different way.  I am thankful for every minute I have here on this earth.  I still can't do a whole lot of anything...no lifting, no bending, no stretching, no lifting my hands above my head, no laundry, no pushing a vacuum, no washing dishes.. the list goes on.  I have to be careful how much walking I do.  I over did it this past weekend trying to get ready for Christmas.  I am paying for it now.  My shoulders are very sore and my  lower back is killing me, but I'm ready for Christmas.  I have been able to do a little cooking and my mom, Kierstynne and I made some Christmas cookies last week.  I do have a prescription for Percocet that helps a little bit and a muscle relaxer, but I try not to take them unless absolutely necessary.  After being on Morphine and Oxycontin in the hospital, I've had enough drugs to last a while.  The Oxycontin scared me.  I can see why and how people become addicted to it so easily.  I can also understand why they would break into pharmacies to steal it.  It makes you feel wonderful.  I didn't know if it took the pain away or just made me so high I didn't care about the pain.  It is a wonderful pain killer, but not something I want to take again.  I do not remember alot from the first three days of my stay.  I didn't remember Kierstynne coming to visit, I knew that my cousin Michael was there, but for the life of me I can't remember our conversation.  My mom has filled me in on some of what happened, but there are still blanks.  She said that my uncle, husband and herself had some good laughs at my expense those three days.  So, I would prefer not to have Oxycontin again.

I really appreciate all the prayers and good thoughts that have gone up for me.  I have an appointment with the surgeon on January 3rd to get an x-ray to see how I am healing.  I am anxious to see how well I am doing.  I still have to wear this neck brace for a little over 9 more weeks.  Boy, I can't wait for it to be over so that I can sleep in my own bed and get back to crafting.  I really miss my crafting and seeing all the amazing creations that you, my crafty friends, have been creating.  I hope all of you have the merriest of Christmases and a very blessed New Year.  God bless you all.

Surgery..done..Recovery..on it's Way

Good morning friends.  How is everyone on this wonderful Tuesday Morning?  I just wanted to post a little here about my surgery and how things went.

Tuesday Morning, 12/4, we had to be at the hospital at 10 am.    My surgery was to take place at 12 noon.  After a three and a half hour wait, I finally got into surgery around 3:30pm.  I ended up coming out of surgery at around 9 PM.   I spent from then until around 3pm the next afternoon in recovery waiting for a bed so that I be moved  to a room.  Originally I was to be moved to ICU, but I was doing so well, I ended up not having to go the ICU.   My incision is about 4" long and goes horizontal across the bottom of my neck in the front.  Dr. Campos went in and moved aside my trachea, esophagus, and voice box to get to the vertebrae in my  neck.   My throat is really sore and swollen, but, that is to be expected and is perfectly normal.  The surgery took about 6 hours to complete.

I  moved to Room 640 B which was right next to the nurses' desk.  I have come to the conclusion that having a wonderful  nursing staff is half of the battle when in the hospital.  I had some of the most wonderful nurses imaginable.  Christine was my night nurse n Recovery Tuesday night.  She was really nice and helpful.  Then  the 7am nurse was Rose.  She was a very nice woman.  She took really good care of me that day.  She worked really hard to get me some lunch and into a room.  I hadn't eaten since 8:30pm on Monday and she made sure I had some lunch on Wednesday.  I hated to leave her and the second shift staff in Recovery, but I was really  happy to get a room.

I wasn't allowed to eat anything hard and solid because my throat is so sore.  I ate some pudding, applesauce, milk, and soggy cornflakes.  I had to let them sit in the milk so that they got soft so I could eat them.  I added a couple packs of Splenda and a banana and it was actually pretty good.  After that first morning, the "lunch lady" would come around and get our menu for lunch, then again after lunch to plan our meals for dinner and breakfast the next morning.  Shockingly enough, the food was pretty good.  The only thing that I really didn't like was the meatloaf because it tasted kinda like dog food.  :)

I want to give a shout out to some of the nurses that I had:  Christine-night Recovery nurse.  What a phenomenal  nurse.  She was very attentive to my needs.  She never once got frustrated with any question that I had or aggravated with me.

Rose: First shift Recovery Nurse (Wednesday, 12-5-12)  Rose is from the "old school" nurses league.   I really enjoyed having her as my nurse.  She pushed for patients rights as wells as for what they need.  Rose is one who kept fighting to get me something to eat and a bed.  Thanks, Rose.  You rock!!

Liz and Rachel: MRS 6 floor nurses;  These two sweethearts are roommates here in Wilkes-Barre.  One is from Quaker-town and one is from the Phili area.  These two chicks rocked.  They were very attentive and careful.

Kevin: MRS6 overnight nurse.  Man, for a guy, Kevin was a wonderful nurse.  He made sure I had the things I needed like my pain meds and food for snacks.  It was great.

Nayda, Kim, and all the other nurses I had his past week:  Thank you guys for all the hard work and dedication to your profession.

So, having a good nursing staff is already half of the battle you will face  while having surgery and then afterwards during recovery.

I was supposed to come home on Friday, Saturday morning at the latest, but ran into a few complications which prevented me from leaving until Monday evening..more about that to come.   just wanted to let you guys know that I am home and beginning my recovery.

Thanks for all the prayers and thoughts that you guys sent my way.  I truly appreciate them.  I love you guys.

Surgery Tomorrow

Hey Peeps!  Well, tomorrow is the big day.  Surgery day.  Am I nervous?  Nope.  Am I worried?  Not a bit.   Ask me tommorrow morning and my answer may be different.  I know that there are tons of people praying for me, for the surgeon, the nurses.  I know that God is holding me in the palm of His hand and still has plans for me that I haven't completed yet.   My mom will be here with me during my recovery and for that I am truly thankful.

My daughter is staying with my very good friend this week and she is helping Kierstynne do her school work so that she doesn't get behind.  I miss her already.  It's so dang quiet here.  I'm not used to the quietness.  It's a little disturbing.  I have never been away from Kierstynne for more than 2 days.  This is going to be tough.  When we were saying goodbye last night after church, she hugged me at least ten times and gave me about twenty kisses.  I can't wait to call her later this afternoon and see how she is doing and yes, just so I can hear her voice. :)

So, my plans for today include packing my bag for the hospital, going to the library to pick up another Alex Cross novel to read while I'm stuck in the hospital, going and doing a little grocery shopping and just relaxing.  I think I am totally ready for tomorrow.  I'm at peace and it's all good.

Thanks for all the prayers that are going up for me.  Keep 'em comin'.  I will be back to blog as soon as possible.  Take care and God bless ya'll.

New Surgery Date

Hey guys.  I sure hope everyone has been doing ok.  How was everyone's Thanksgiving?  Mine was good.  We go to my sister in law's house every year, so I had no mess to clean up. :)  I had planned on making homemade yeast rolls but that didn't happen.  So, I stopped at the store and picked up some King's Hawaiian Rolls.  For those of you who have never had those...OMGoodness...they are so delicious.  Addictive.  Fantastic.  Yummy..yeah I could go on and on, but I won't.  We had all the usual fare for dinner.  My SIL makes the best stuffing ever.  She found a recipe that allows you to cook the stuffing in the crock pot.  It's fantastic.   For dessert, my MIL made pumpkin pies, pumpkin squares which are like pumpkin rolls without all the hassle.  Someone had given my SIL a recipe for a fruit cobbler with only 4 ingredients.  It was wonderful and so easy.  All you need is butter, brown sugar, a yellow cake mix and canned fruit of your choice.  That's it.  1 hour at 350 degrees and you've got an amazing cobbler.  Top it with some vanilla ice cream and your in heaven.

So, today is my birthday and I woke up to about an inch of snow on the ground.  I didn't ask for snow for my birthday. I'm not going to complain though.  Some of the surrounding areas got as much as 7 inches.  I'll take my one and be happy.  So, I turned 40 today.  I was hoping to have a big party, but my fall put the nix on that.  I wanted a real birthday party, but, I am thankful that I'm alive and can walk so I'll take it.  I got lots of cards in the mail and my MIL made me a special dinner...spagetti with meatballs, garlic bread with cheese and bake pineapple.  I didn't want cake this year.  My MIL gave me the most beautiful card and it made me cry.  It was so beautiful.  It basically said that she views me as a daughter and not a daughter in law.  It was absolutely beautiful.  Yep, I'm a sap.

On to the latest update on my surgery.  As you know, my original date was postponed because my sugar was too high.  That was my fault because I got so frustrated with the whole diabetes thing and wasn't taking my insulin like I should have.  I ended up having to go back to the endocrinologist who changed my insulin a little and this past Friday, gave me the ok to have the surgery.  I called the surgeon's office on Friday afternoon, like I was supposed to, only to find out that the scheduling department left early.  So, I left a message and they called me on Monday.  The scheduler told me that as far as she could tell that there were no openings until after Christmas.  Well, let me tell ya, I was not a happy camper.  I asked her if my neck was as serious as they led me to believe.  Was the situation really as dire as the doctor's said.  If they were willing to wait that long, did I really have to wear this brace and be so very careful?  She told me that she would speak to Dr. Campos about my concerns and as soon as she heard back from  him, she would call me.  Well, I didn't hear anything yesterday, so today I called back around noon.  The nurse said that Dr. Campos was in surgery today and she only had a few seconds to see him this morning, and that she was waiting for him to reply.  I figured I wouldn't hear anything until at least tomorrow.  At 5 pm, Amy called and said that Dr. Campos had come back to the office after surgery to look at my file.  He said that yes, my neck was as dire as he said and that I couldn't wait until after Christmas to have this surgery.  He looked at his schedule and rearranged some things and scheduled me for next Friday, Dec. 7th.  I have to be at the hospital at 6am.  I am so not a morning person, but on the bright side, I will get a 4-5 hour nap..hehe  My momma is going to be here on the 4th and will be staying for a few weeks to help me out.  I already have the plan in place for my daughter and it looks like I will finally be able to get this neck taken care of.  I am not worried at all.  I know that God has me in the palm of His hand and He will be with me in the OR guiding the doctor's hands.  I'm just glad that I am finally getting it done.  

Please continue to pray for me.  I very much appreciate all of them.  I will keep you guys updated as things move along.  Thank you so much for following along with my on my journey.  God bless ya'll.

QKD Saturday Showcase

Good Morning all.  Can you believe this is the last Saturday of the month?  Unbelievable.  I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Today's  project is a tag that I made using the Butterfly Surprise Box stamp from Joanna Bromley.  I love this little stamp.  It's so cute and versatile.

I made this tag by stamping the image 6 times on white card stock in different colors of Distress Inks.  I cut two of the main images in quarters and used them for the background.  I crinkled my tag and sprayed it with water to distress it.  I then used a direct to paper technique to add four different colors of DI inks.  I used my heat gun to dry it and then attached the images to it.  For the four little tags, I cut each one 1/8th smaller than the one before it.  I added a brad and attached them to the middle of the card in a fan.  I did ink all of the edges with DI Vintage Photo.  I added some multicolored trim to the top and added a sentiment.  There also is a little bling in the corners.

I hope you enjoyed my project and have a good time perusing through the QKD Store.  Thanks for stopping in and God bless you.

Doctor's Appointment

Hi ya'll.  Just a little update.  I go back to the surgeon tomorrow morning at 9am.  I'm not sure what's going to happen.  I do have another appointment with the endocrinologist on Friday and he said that if my sugar is still good and my numbers are good he will release me to have surgery.  I will know more tomorrow and Friday.

A friend of mine has blessed me with a trip to the beauty shop.  I'm going on Friday to get my hair cut short because with having to wear this neck brace and getting ready for surgery, it's just too hard to take care of my hair.  I want something short, easy and quick.  Shower, throw some gel or mousse in it and go.  I will upload a pic afterwards.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving.  And I say..Gobble til you wobble..you can always fast on Friday..hehe  God bless ya'll and thanks so much for all the thoughts and prayers.

QKD Saturday Showcase

Hi ya'll.  I'm here with another card using the cute Ms. Claus stamp by Sandra Caldwell.  I just love her rendition of older people.  Some of them are very funny.

Today's card is of course a Christmas card.  I used two oval die cut DPs from DCWV for the background.  I cut a piece of red card stock for a base and ran it though my Cuttlebug with the Holiday Words embossing folder. I tied a piece of white satin ribbon round the card and tie a cute bow knot.  I used paper piecing to make the focal image.  I did this by stamping the image on the white card stock and then again on red.  I fussy cut out her hat and dress and glued them on to the white stamped image.  I used Spectrum Noir pens to color in the parts that needed coloring and added alittle bit of glitter pen to the bell and the holly.  And of course I had to add some bling to the corner.

Thanks again for stopping in and I hope you will hop on over to the Queen Kat Designs Store and check out all the wonderful stamps you will find there.

Hope you all have a great day!  God bless.

QKD Saturday Showcase

Good Morning friends.  Welcome to another Showcase Saturday for Queen Kat Designs.  Today's card uses the  Surprise Butterfly Box by Joanna Bromley  I love this little box.  It could be for birthdays, congratulations, marriage, engagement, retirement.  This stamp has so many possiblitlies.

I used Spectrum Noir alcohol pens to color in the image.  I did a few spots of Sakura Glitter Pen just for some bling.  I rounded the corners or the image, inked them in DI Vintage Photo and matted on a gold card stock with rounded corners.  The DPs are all from my stash and are from K&Co.  I added yellow/gold gems in the corners.  The sentiment is from a pack that I had hidden in my stash.

I hope you all like this card and will take a hop on over to QKD shop and take a peek at all the wonderful stamps.  Have a wonderful day and God bless you.

News

Hey eveyone,

I have an appointment with the endocrinologist on the 13th.  I requested to actually see Dr. Harris.  No PAs no diabetes educator, just Dr. Harris.  The last time I went, the diabetes educator told me to count carbs.  REALLY??  I have had diabetes for 13 years and your telling me to count carbs.  Lady, I can't carbs in my sleep.  Give me something that will help me.  Good grief.

I have my next appointment with the surgeon on Nov. 20th.  I did find out that my family doctor didn't feel comfortable with me having the surgery until we get my sugar down a little.  She said I could stroke out, have a heart attack, or numerous other issues.

So, the way I see things, God knows what He's doing.  He has this whole thing mapped out.  Maybe He is going to use me as a walking testimony of healing, maybe not.  Maybe someone that needs to attend to me during surgery wasn't going to be there today.  For whatever reason, God didn't want me having surgery today.  That's ok with me.  I will just keep trusting in Him and plodding along with my new blue and white fashionable collar. hehe.

I kinda over did it today.  I tried to do some dishes, a load of laundry, and cleaning off the kitchen table.  Yeah, I paid for it.  I had a severe headache and slept all afternoon.  I have to try and remember that I am not a superwoman.  I am not invincible.  I have to take it slow and be careful.

The biggest bummer of this whole thing is not being able to craft.  It's been 5 days since I last crafted and I'm going stark raving mad.  I miss it.  I have tons of cards to make, I am following along with Kathy at Paper Phenomenon making a 31 Days of Christmas Lapbook and that's on hold.  I need to craft something..I have to figure out a way to craft while in this collar.  Anyone have any good ideas?

I will keep you updated as things progress.  Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers.  I truly appreciate them. God bless you all and have a wonderful weekend.

Latest Update

Good Morning friends.  My surgery has been postponed due to my sugar being high.  My sugar always runs higher than most for some reason, but the doctor doesn't want to do the surgery because most people don't heal well with high sugar.  I am an anomaly.  Nothing about me is normal, but you know how doctors are.  I will keep you posted as I find out more.  Thanks so much for the prayers and thoughts.  I truly appreciate it.  God bless and have a wonderful day.

Newest Information

Hello there friends,

I just had my appointment with Dr. Campos, the neurosurgeon.  I am scheduled for surgery at 11 am on Friday.  He said there was no option other than surgery.  I have two huge pieces of bone that were broken when I fell and they are pressing on my spinal cord.  They have to be taken out.

The surgery is a 4-5 hour long procedure and a 3 day hospital stay will follow.  They will be going in through my throat and moving aside my vocal chords, esophagus and bronchial tube.  I may wake up with no voice for a while because when everything is moved aside like a curtain, it becomes irritated and swollen.  Dr. Campos will remove the C4 and part of C5 and replace it with carbon fiber discs.  There will be a metal plate screwed into C3 and C5 to fuse the vertebrae.  I do have to quit smoking because smoking prevents new bone from growing.  My vertebrae have to regrow some to fuse with the metal plate.  If I do not stop, I may have to repeat this surgery and that's something I don't want to do.  So after 30 years, I am saying goodbye to Marlboro.  Friday Morning will be my last smoke on the way to the hospital. My husband said we will take the money I am spending on cigarettes and put it in an envelope and at the end of the year I can spend that money on scrapping supplies.  I'm excited.

I won't be blogging for a while.  So this is my last one until I can sit up and sit in a chair for any length of time.  I do not have a laptop, just an old dinosaur that gets me through.  I will check my blog one more time before I go to bed on Thursday night to get any messages you guys might leave.  Thanks for the prayers and warm thoughts and I will "See" ya'll soon.  God bless.

Update: Emily's Injured

Hey guys.  I know that many of you check in from time to time to visit me.  I have to tell you that I won't be posting for a while.  I fell on Thursday and whacked my head pretty hard off a dresser.  I thought I was ok, but the headache was progressing daily.  I woke up on Sunday with a headache that would kill a horse.  My husband took me to the urgent care site and after only 15 minutes, the doctor came in and said they couldn't see me.  I needed a CAT scan and they couldn't do that there.  I did have a concussion and they wanted to check for bleeding on my brain.

We headed to the ER  and 14 hours, a CAT scan, 4 MRIs, and two shots of morphine, they found out that I have cervical stenosis in my C4 and C5 vertebrae.  I am now in a cervical collar and have an appointment with the neurosurgeon tomorrow morning at 9:30.  There is a 98% chance that I have to have surgery on my neck to enlarge the opening in the vertebrae.

Cervical stenosis is a problem.  A major problem.  If I happen to hit my head or twist my neck the wrong way, I could end up as a quadreplegic.  I am not all about that.  So, I have to be very careful.  No lifting, twisting, bending over, or anything strenuous.  My daughter is such a good housekeeper at 8 years old, she is helping me out alot.  My husband took me to vote this morning and is taking me to the doctor in the morning.

I just wanted to give you guys a heads up so that you won't be worried if you don't see any posts for a few days.

Thought I would show you guys a pic of my new fashion accessory.  Cute ain't it.  LOL.  Thanks for stopping in and I will update you guys as soon as I know something.  God bless ya'll.

QKD Showcase Saturday

Good Saturday Morning.  I hope everyone is warm and having a wonderful day so far.  It's cold here.  When my husband got home last night, the heat had kicked itself on.  I have it set at 50 right now because we have oil heat and it's really expensive to fill the tanks.  So, last night our house was colder than 50.  BBBRRR.. I was snuggled under the comforters so I didn't realize it was so cold.

Today is Saturday which means a new project for Queen Kat Designs.  Today I am using a new stamp by Sandra Cadwell called Ms. Claus.  I think she's adorable.  Sandra has some of the most amazing stamps over in the Queen Kat Store.  If you haven't checked her out, you most definitely should.

I thought I would change things up a bit and make something besides a card with this cute stamp.

I started out making a circle card, but then changed my mind.  I made this into a Christmas ornament for our tree.  I used a cd to trace around for the card base and the DP. The three lacy die cuts came from friend of mine.  I stamped the image on GP #110 card stock, red card stock and green card stock.  I used the paper piecing technique for Ms. Claus.  I used a dark gray Spectrum Noir pen to color her in.  Everything else is paper pieced.  I cut her out and pop dotted her into the middle of the circle.  I used a light green glitter pen to color in the holly on the hat.  The glitter stars are die cut stars ran through my Xyron and dipped in silver glitter.  I added a red ginham bow and punched a hole at the top to hang.

All in all, I think she turned out very cute.  I can't wait to put this little cutie on my tree.

Thanks for visiting today.  Have a wonderful Saturday and God bless.

Too Cute to Spook

Good Morning Friends.   It's almost 5am here and I can't sleep.  I hate when that happens.  So, I sit here at my computer writing this post.  Oh well.  It's going to be a good day anyway. ;)

Today's card was made for the My Craft Spot Challenge.  Our challenge was to create a card with the theme, "Too Cute to Spook."  I wasn't quite sure what to do with one.  But then I found this adorable image from Cuttlebug Cuties.  When I saw this one, I knew she was the one for this challenge.

Isn't she adorable.  How could she spook anyone?  I used my colored pencils and OMS to color her in.  I cut her out and used pop dots to adhere her to the front of the card.  I also used some DI Vintage Photo to try and cover up the bright white outline around her.  Sometimes I like to leave that outline, but she didn't look good with it.

I made this paper rose with the Tim Holtz  Tattered Flowers Die from Sizzix.  I just bought it from AC Moore on Thursday on sale.  I have wanted it for a while and when I saw it on sale, it came home with me.  I filled the center with hot glue and added black seed beads.  I attached this with hot glue to the bottom left of the front.

Here is the finished card.  It's an Easel Card.  I am having so much fun making these types of cards.  I even made an Ernie one for my husband's birthday on Wednesday.  Yep, that's right.  He's a Halloween baby.  I used two different patterned papers from DCWV Halloween and Fall pad.  They are black and pink.  It's kind of hard to tell on camera.  I added a strip of bright pink card stock so that the little cutie would show up better.  I then added the sentiment which I popped up with two layers of foam tape.  The black gemstones I added for some bling.  All in all, I think she turned out pretty cute.

I thank you for stopping by today to visit and I hope you all have a wonderful Saturday.  Stay warm and God bless you.

Hebrews 4:16

Good Morning Friends.  How is everyone today?  I hope that those of you effected by Sandy are safe and  sound.  My heart goes out to everyone affected.  

Today, I am featuring a card made for Word Art Wednesday.  This challenge blog is all about using Scripture and uplifting quotes to make cards.  Cassandra Cushman is the founder of the blog and Word Art Designer, along with  Karen M who designs the Word Art also.  This is my first challenge with them because I couldn't get the art to download.  I finally switched computers and voila...I have word art.

Our Scripture for this week comes from the Book of Hebrews, Chapter 4 Verse 16.

Excuse the crookedness of the picture.  I'm still not too good at it.  I chose a pink and green color scheme just because it's one of my favorites.  I found this paper in my old stash and I do believe it's from DCWV.  I used a piece of scalloped ribbon in pink for the middle.  I matted the Scripture on three different mats and used pop dots to adhere it.  I added pink rhinestones to three corners and a handmade satin flower with pearl center to the other corner.  The flowers are very easy to make.  Just cut three graduated circles out of costume satin.  You can make the as big or as small as you desire.  Using your heat gun, hold the piece of satin at and angle until it begins to melt and curl.  Move fairly quickly so you don't scorch the edges.  You can also use a candle to do this, but I haven't mastered that yet.  Once you have your three curled pieces, attach them together by sewing a pearl bead to the center.

I do thank you for stopping by to visit today.  I hope you have enjoyed my card.  Be safe today and God bless you.

Make a Wish

Good Morning.  How ya'll doin' this cold mornin' ?   I am sittin' here with my fleecy on and an little electric heater by my side.  It's just Nov 1st and I refuse to turn on my oil furnace. It's going to have to get alot colder before I do that.

Before we get started with my card for today, I have a special request.  For those of you who pray and believe in the power of God to heal, please say a prayer for my dad, Gerald.  He had knee replacement surgery on Monday and is having a hard go at it.  He still can't put any pressure on the new knee yet and is still in much pain.  Thanks in advance for the prayers.

So, today's card was made for the Penny's Paper Crafty Challenge for this week.. Birthday's.  Penny is celebrating her 100th challenge.  Congratulations Penny.  That's quite an achievement. 

I used a cute image from Dearie Dolls  and man, is this site full of precious images.  And the best part, they are all FREE!  Yep, that's right, Maryellen gives us her beautiful creations for free.  She is one talented lady that's for sure.  I used my colored pencils and OMS to color in the image and the sentiment, which is from Birdie Brown.  I chose an aqua and grey color scheme to highlight the image.  Both DPs are from my stash and are DCWV.  The aqua card stock is Colorbok. Even though the one strip of paper looks black, it is actually dark grey.  

Thanks for stopping in for a visit.  I hope you enjoyed this card today.  Stay safe and warm and God bless.

White Delight

Good Morning.  Welcome to another Thursday.  I hope it's a good one for everyone.  Just think..only a few more hours and it will be Friday!!

Today I have a card to show that I don't make very often.  I am a very colorful person and don't do alot of tone on tone cards.  I made this card for the Digi Darla challenge for this week.  The challenge is to make a white card.  I'm not a big fan of white as a focal color.  I need the rainbow..hehe, but I gave it a shot.

Sorry for the shadows in the picture. I used an embossed piece of card stock that has words about Friends and Friendship on it.  I bought this 8x8 piece a few years ago down in Hershey, PA at Things Remembered in the outlet mall. I have been saving it for a reason, and I guess this challenge was the reason.  I cut it down to 5 3/4" square and attached it to the white 6" square card base from Colorbok.  I added a strip of lace that I got at Joann's the other week for 30% off.  The flowers I made out of costume satin.  I cut three circles in graduated sizes and crinkled the edges using my heat gun.  I then sewed a white pearl in the middle.  They are fairly simple to make, you just have to watch your fingers.  They tend to get a little hot.  Adding some white pearls to the corners finished off the card.

I hope you enjoyed my White Delight card.  Thanks again for stopping in for a visit and we'll see ya'll next time.  God bless and have a wonderful day.

Thinking of You

Good Morning Friends.  How is everyone today?  Thank you for stopping by to visit me today.  I truly appreciate it.  I hope everyone is warm this morning.  It's pretty chilly here in PA.

Today's card is a Thinking of You card that I made for two challenges.  The first challenge is over at the The Outlawz.  It was Wednesday's Sketch Challenge.  I really liked this sketch.  I think I may be using it quite often.  The second challenge this card is entering into is over at The Stamping Boutique.  They have some really great challenges and a wonderful design team.

My pictures are pretty much always crooked.  One of these days I will learn to do better, but until then, we just have to deal with it..:)  I love the way this card turned out.  It's so soft and pretty.  All of the papers and card stock came from my stash.  I think the DPs are from DCWV and I know the card stocks are from Colorbok.  The stamp is from a free set that came in a magazine I bought and I have no idea who designed it.  i love the floral images in the set.  It also came with some sentiments, just not a thinking of you one.  So, I printed out the sentiment from my computer.  I added a touch of pink grograin 5/8" pink ribbon and I was done.  I did sponge some pink ink around the flower to give it a little bit of a pop.  I cut out the image using my oval dies from Nestabilities.  I used pop dots on both the image and the sentiment.

Thanks so much for coming to visit today.  I hope you all have a wonderful day.  God bless.

Pink and Black

Morning ya'll.  It's freezing here so if my typing is off, it's because my fingers are frozen.  :)  Today's card was made for the QKR Stampede Challenge.  Our challenge was to use a sentiment as the focal image.  I chose Galatians 5:22-23 for my focal image.

I used pinks and blacks for this card.  The card base is black and is from Colorbok.  The pink cardstock is  Recollections and the DP is from my stash.  I printed out the verse from Dee's Bugaboo.  The ribbon is also from my stash and I added some black and pink pearls for accent.  I inked the edges of the image with DI Vintage Photo ink.

Thanks so much for stopping in today.  God bless ya'll and have a great day.

Friday's Sketch

Welcome back to my blog.  Today I am showing a card for the Friday's Sketch Challenge.  I'm only a few days late posting this one.

I followed the sketch but instead of having my main focal image in the middle, I colored the image from Digi Darla and cut it into squares and placed a Bible Verse in the middle.  Something a little different, I supposed.  I like the way it turned out.  It's different.  I added a few clear rhinestones and it was done.  I did ink all the edges with DI Vintage Photo.  It's my favorite color for inking edges.

Thanks for stopping in today.  I pray you have a safe and wonderful day.  God bless you.

Christmas Nativity

Good Morning friends.  Today I am showing a card made for the Hooked on Craft Challenges.  Our challenge this week was to make a Christmas card without using red or green.  I love non traditional colored holiday cards.  Like a pink Halloween card or a black and white Easter card.  For my card, I used neutral shades.

The stamped image is from Inkadinkadoo and is the Nativity.  I stamped it in Memento Rich Cocoa ink.  I cut it out with my Cuttlebug and Nestabilities.  I used a piece of Chocolate Chip card stock to cut the scalloped mat.  The DP is from my stash and is a light tan script pattern.  I used a gold pearl card stock for the card base.  I added some pearls and a sheer ribbon to finish it off.

Thanks for stopping by today.  God bless you and have a great day.

Blues

Hello.  Today's card is for the Scrappers Delights Challenge.  Our challenge was to use the sketch provided.  I decided to use shades and patterns of blue.  I used a black card base.  The sentiment focal images is from Dee's Buggaboo.

The black card base is from Colorbok and all of the shades of blue are from my stash.  I printed out the sentiment and matted it on a very light blue and a black mat.  I added blue rhinestones and a striped blue bow.  A very simple card.

Thanks for stopping in today and I pray you have a wonderful day.  God bless.

Dudley

Howdy folks.  How is everyone this morning?  I hope you guys are doing well.  It's cold here but I still refuse to turn on the oil furnace in October.  We have plenty of socks, sweat pants and blankets..:)

Today's card is one that I made for the Penny's Challenge.  Our challenge was to make a card using buttons and bows and if we used a Dustin Pike image, we will receive an extra entry.  I love Dustin Pike's little Dudley Dragons.  They are so cute.  I chose to use one for Halloween.

Ain't he just the cutest?  I used colored pencils and OMS to color in the image.  I used two shades of orange buttons and a black and orange polka dot ribbon to tie the bow.  The DP are from DCWV and the card stock is all Colorbok.

Thanks for stopping by today and looking.  I truly appreciate it.  God bless you and have a great day.

Pink Halloween

Howdy.  How is everyone?  I hope those who are encountering the storm are battened down.  We are supposed to get the worst of it after midnight tonight and into tomorrow.  I pray it decides to skip right over us.

Today's card is for the Stamping Boutique Challenge Pink Halloween.  I decided to combine Halloween with Breast Cancer Awareness Month and came up with this cutie.

This little witch is from Dude Time Doodles  and is called Bedazzled Beth.  She was offered as a freebie a few weeks ago.  I used my Spectrum Noir Pens to color the image.  I added some black polka dots to the cat and used the blender pen to add polka dots to her skirt.   I love this image.  It has just so many possibilities.  I rounded the edges and inked them with a medium pink ink.  I used a sketch from last year from Mojo Mondays.  The DP is from DCWV's Halloween pad from this year.  I love the pink and black.  I printed out the sentiment, trimmed it, matted it on dark pink and used two thicknesses of foam tape to attach it so that it would hold the easel part of the card.  The lacey ribbon is from AC Moore.  The Black Cardstock is a pearlescent black from Recollections.

Here are some close ups of the card.

I hope you all enjoyed my Pink Halloween card.  Thanks for stopping in today and God bless you.

Tool Box

Hello all.  Today are still watching that nasty storm.  It's supposed to start heavy tomorrow.  Please keep us in prayer.

Today's card was made for two challenges...The Outlawz Greeting Card challenge and Digital Stamps 4 Joy Masculine Challenge  I used a freebie image from the internet for this one.

To make this card, I used GP White #110 card stock for the base.  I inked the edges with DI Vintage Photo.  I cut a piece of ledger paper from DCWV Heirloom stack and distressed the edges and inked them.  The image I colored with my colored pencils and OMS.  I stamped the sentiment with SU Real Rust.  I added two antique brass brads to the sentiment, a square brad on the  tool box and a silver brad on the drill.  I cut out the tool box using my Cutterbee scissors and an xacto knife.  I used pop dots on the tool box.  This was a fairly simple card to make, but I think it packs a punch.

Thanks for stoppin by today to take a gander.  Hope you all have a great day and God bless you.

QKD Showcase

Happy Saturday friends.  It's pretty dreary here in NE PA.  We are in line for that nasty storm that's coming...Sandy is going to drown us.  3-8 inches of rain tomorrow and it's supposed to rain until Wednesday.  We're in for it.  They are expecting over 1 million people to be without power, so if you don't hear from me for a couple of days, I'm OK, just no power.

So, on to today's card.  I am using the cute Flying Panda for my card this week.  Sometimes we all have a friend whose pet is like a child to them.  And when that pet dies, it's heartbreaking for them.  I decided to make a Pet Sympathy card with this little Panda.  He's a flying angel panda and I thought he would make a good sympathy card for some one's pet.

To make this card, I used a marbled light blue card stock for the base.  I then cut a piece of blue heart DP as my background.  I used two pieces of chocolate card stock and a deep teal piece. These are cut to fit into a type of mosaic pattern.  I used the same marbled blue card stock for the mat for the focal image.  I used my Nestabilities Classic Scalloped Circle for that.  I stamped the panda with Memento Tuxedo Black and used two different Sakura Glitter pens to color him in..Dark Blue and Gold for the halo.  I don't think he needs any more coloring than that.  I cut him out with Nestabilities.  I used pop dots to attach the panda.  The flower is made from a light blue five petal flower and a brown five petal flower.  I used a large circle brad to keep them together and used Stickles to give it sparkle.  I hand wrote the sentiment in White Gel pen.  

So there you have it.  A cute little pet sympathy card.  Join us next Saturday for another new set of images from Queen Kat Designs.  Have a wonderful day and God bless.



Stamp: Flying Panda by Phantom Rose
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black; Sakura Glitter Pens; White Gel Pen
CS: All by Colorbok
DP: my stash
Flowers: Five Petal Die Cut
Embellies: Large Circle Brad
Tools: Spellbinders Nestabilities Classic Circle, Classic Scalloped Circle
Adhesives: ATG; Pop Dots

Two New Cards

Happy Friday everybody.  I know everyone loves Fridays.  I am taking Kierstynne on an outing for school today so I wanted to post these before we left.

I have two cards today.  Both were made for challenges.  The first one is for the Sketch Saturday challenge and the Created with Love #14 challenge.  It's a very CAS card.  The challenge for Created with Love was Something Sweet.  So, in order to follow the sketch, I chose this adorable birthday cake from Anjis Antics Blog.  She has really great images on her blog.  You should check them out...they are all free!

I used Spectrum Noir Alcohol Pens to color in the cake in shades of pink.  The sentiment I just printed out and the DP is from my stash.  I used pink rhinestones from Queen and Co for a little bling.  The black card stock is from Recollections, and I used a white card base from Colorbok.


My second card is doing triple duty. I am entering this one in the Dilly Beans Halloween Challenge, the ATCs with Attitude Challenge, and Dilly Beans Halloween Challenge.  This card uses a cute witch from Beccy Muir.  This one was one of her freebies.

For this cute card, I used colored pencils and OMS.  I like the way she turned out in purple and orange with a hint of green.  She looks so cute and creepy.  The chevron pattern paper is from Teresa Collins' new Halloween pack.  I used a strip of black card stock from Recollections and added a black star patterned paper on top of it.  I matted my image on a deep purple from Colorbok.  I inked the edges with DI Vintage Photo and used pop dots to give it some dimension.

Thanks for stoppin in today and I hope you enjoyed my cards.  God bless you and have a wonderful Friday!

Baby Easton

Howdy everyone.  It's been a few days since I have posted.  Our internet and phone lines were down all weekend and I just got everything back up and running last night.  I am very behind on blogging as well as all my challenges because of it.

This weeks Teapot Tuesday over at SCS is having their tea party in Cincinnati Ohio this week.  Baby Easton was born in August with a very rare medical condition that causes his skin to blister and peel off.  It's very painful for him.  His bandages have to be changed constantly and it pains him to be picked up.  Even his diapers can't be closed.  They have to just lay on him.  To touch him could cause his skin to come off.  We are sending out cards for Baby Easton, his parents as well as his three brothers, Carter, Logan, and Blake.

Today I am showing the card I made for Easton.

I used a sketch for Mojo Monday to complete this card.  I had a pack of collage art from HOTP in my stash and it had these cute little animals and papers in it.  I used a vanilla card base and added a very light blue back ground paper.  I fussy cut all the little animals out and used pop dots on them.  I inked all the edges of each paper, animal, and cardstock with DI Vintage Photo ink.  I used three different stamp sets for the greeting: Inkadinkadoo God Bless You; HOTP Precious Baby; HOTP Sweet Little One.  I think Baby Easton will like it, as much as a three month old can, but his parents will hopefully be blessed by the love and prayers that are being sent in this card.

Thanks for stoppin by today.  Have a blessed day.

Queen Kat Saturday Showcase

Happy Saturday everyone.  I hope you are having a wonderful day.  Today is Queen Kat Designs showcase Saturday.  Today's image is called Flip Top Frankie.  Some of you may have seen him during our 13 Days of Halloween Blog Hop that went on the first two weeks of October.  Wasn't that fun?  That was my first time participating in a blog hop and I had a blast.  I can't wait to do another one.                                

For today's card, I colored Frankie green.  I think green is a good color of Frankie, don't you?  I used my colored pencils and OMS to give him some life.  To mat Frankie, I used my Nestabilities Classic Squares and Classic Scalloped Squares.  I also used them for the sentiment.  I used an Inkadinkadoo sentiment.  The DPs are from Recollections and the card stock is Colorbok.  I stamped the sentiment in Stampin' Up's Pumpkin Pie.  I added a bit of sheer green ribbon and used DI Vintage Photo to ink all the edges.

Thanks so much for stopping in today and have a great Saturday.  God bless.

Eyeball Jar

Hello there.  I want to show a card that I helped my daughter make today for her grandmother.  She picked out the digi stamps from Wonderstrange.  I printed two copies of the jar and one of the eyeballs and resized them in my Word program.  Kierstynne colored in the eyeballs and I made the jar.  I used the first copy of the jar as the base, we cut around the eyeballs, added them to the jar and put a piece of window plastic over it.  I then cut out the center of the second jar and laid it over top of the plastic.  We glued all the pieces together.  Then we cut out the jar, laid it on a folded piece of aqua card stock.  We butted the left edge of the jar up against the fold and cut around the jar to form a jar shaped card.

The final size is 7 x 5.  I think she did a great job.  We colored in the top of the jar with a gray marker from BIC.  It looks old doesn't it?

Kierstynne loves to make cards with me and I'm glad that she does.  It gives us lots of mommy/daughter time.

Thanks for stopping in today to check out my daughter's project.  God bless you.

S is for Swans

Good morning.  Hope everyone is having a good day so far.  Today I have another card  for you.  This on is for a close family friend whose birthday is coming up.  She absolutely loves swans.  She has them everywhere in her home.  She has even tried to thin out her collection and given my daughter around 15 swans.  But, it didn't thin it out much.  She still has tons.

This card is also for the Sketch Saturday Challenge and for Digi Darla's A B C Challenge.  I used an image from a free coloring book on  the internet.  I colored in the image with colored pencils and OMS.  I used chalk to color in the sky.

I used two pattern papers from K & Co. for this card.  The pink card stock is from Colorbok.  I cut out the image with Nestabilities and inked the edges with DI Vintage Photo.   I used the Fiskar's Lacy Border Punch for the bottom pink strip.  The pink pearls are from Queen and Co.   The image is pop dotted up for depth.  I printed out the sentiment from my computer and edged it with DI Vintage Photo and used pop dots on it too.

Thank you so much for visiting me today.  I hope you all have a great day.  God bless you.

Casting Spells

Welcome back to my blog.  I truly appreciate you guys stopping in to see what I have created.  Today's card is for two different challenges.  Hooked on Craft Halloween Challenge and Penny's Paper Craft Girls, Girls, Girls challenge.

This little cutie is a digi image from Cuttlebug Cuties.  Alice has some wonderful stamps on her blog.  You should really check her out.  This one was a freebie a while back.  I used an Emerald Green colored pencil and OMS  to color her in and used a Sakura Black Glitter pen for her bodice and hat.  I fussy cut her out and used pop dots to put her on a black lacey circle die cut.  The DP is from Recollections.  I added some black rhinestones from Queen and Co.  for bling.  I printed out the sentiment and edged it with DI Black Soot.  The card stock base is from Stampin' Up in Basic Black.

Thanks so much, friends, for stopping in today.  God bless you always.

Fight Like a Girl

Good morning.  There are going to be quite a few post today because I am trying to catch up a week's worth of challenges this morning.  Please bear with me.

This card I made for Black and White with Pink Challenge over on The Stamping Boutique.  My image is from Digi Darla.  I used my colored pencils and OMS to color in this fiesty chick. I fussy cut out the image and used pop dots to give her that added punch...no pun intended.   I added some black Sakura Gel Pen and gave her a black rhinestone earring.  I used a sketch from the Outlawz to design the card.  The papers are from my friend, Jan, who lives in Arkansas.  Thanks Jan.  I added a piece of black and white gingham ribbon and tied a piece of pink in a bow.  The sentiment I printed out.

I think she looks like a strong, self confident, survivor don't you?  I am also going to add this to the Link Up for Pink challenge also.   I even added some pink to her hair.  She's all about supporting women who have survived breast cancer and those who are fighting it now.  Remember ladies, it's very important to do your self breast exam every month.  Don't forget.

Thanks for stopping by today.  Have a wonderful day and may God bless you.

Pumpkins Galore

Howdy ya'll.  Sorry it's been a few days since I have posted.  My daughter has been sick, so I haven't been doing alot of crafting.  You can always tell when my daughter isn't feeling well.  She's stuck to me like glue.  We have been cuddling on the couch and watching movies.  Poor kid.

So, I am going to try and post the cards I finally got made tonight.  I had an insomnia night, so I sat up crafting.  I needed to catch up on this week's challenges.  The first card I have is for the QKR Stampede Pumpkin Challenge  and Mojo Monday's Sketch Challenge.

QKR Stampede's Challenge was to use pumpkins.  This image is from  Anne Fenton.  I printed out the image and colored it with colored pencils and OMS.  I used Mojo Monday's Sketch 263 to design the card.  I ran the yellow sunflower DP through my Cuttlebug using the Woodgrain embossing folder.  The polka dot DP is from DCWV and the cardstock is all from Colorbok.  The sentiment is from Gina K Designs.

Thanks for stopping in today to see what I have been up to.  Have a wonderful day and God bless.

Pink Ribbon

Hello there.  As most of you know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness  Month.  A lot of the blogs that I follow are doing special challenges for BCA.
The Stamping Boutique is one of them.  Our challenge is to create a card using Pink Ribbon.

Is this not the coolest image ever for Breast Cancer?  I love it.  The sentiment totally sets it off.  This image was a freebie over on Sassy Studio Designs.  I used five shades of pink to color in this image with my colored pencils and OMS.  I used a pink Sakura glitter pen to color in her ribbon necklace.  I inked up the edges with Cat's Eye Pink ink before matting it on a piece of black cardstock from Recollections.  The animal print pink DP from Recollections All Girl collection just fit so well.  I also matted that on black card stock.  The two pink cardstocks are from Colorbok and the pink patterned strip is from my stash.  I added some pink rhinestones and a piece of grograin pink ribbon that I folded to resemble a hope ribbon.  I had that cute little pearl heart in my stash and felt it went beautifully in the center.

Thanks for stoppin by to see my sassy breast cancer survivor card.  I truly appreciate each person that takes time out of their day to stop here.  God bless you all and remember....check those boobies. :)

Mojo Monday 262

Greeting friends.  I am just a little late posting this as the new sketch comes out tomorrow.  But, I did get it completed so that's a bonus point for me. ;)

For this card, I used a free digi that I found online and cannot for the life of me find it again.  I am not sure where I found it, so, unfortunately, I cannot give props to the creator.  If any of you know who created this image, please let me know so that I can give credit where credit is due.  I absolutely love this image.  It's romantic, mysterious, exciting, and full of imagination.  With the explosion of the Twilight series and Edward Cullen, I couldn't resist this image.  Yes, I have read the entire series.  I loved it.  I am definitely Team Edward!!

Isn't this an amazing image.  He doesn't want to bite her, but feels as if he has no choice, hence to blood tear streaming down his face.  She, because she is so in love, offers herself willingly.  Ok...I gotta stop..My imagination is running wild.  hehe  Anyway..I loved this sketch.  It has so much potential.  Wouldn't it make a wonderful birthday card with all the banners?  Or even a really nice Christmas card.  How about putting a beautiful red cardinal for the focal image?  I just had to use this image because it has been sitting on my desk staring at me for two weeks.  The image is actual a square image, but I cut it down to fit the circle.  There is more to her dress and another rose at the bottom, his jacket is longer and there is much more crown molding background.  So, now I am happy.  I got the Mojo Sketch done and I used this image.  I can move on now.

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I hope you have enjoyed this card.  Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think.  Have a blessed day.

Created With Love Challenge #12

Hello my friends.  Today I have a card that I created for the Created With Love Challenge.  The theme was to create a Red, White and Blue Birthday Card.   The image that I chose to use is from Dearie Dolls.  I printed out the sentiment from my computer's word processing program.

I used a Mojo Monday Sketch to create this cute card.  All of the DPs are from my stash as well as all of the CS.  I inked the edges with DI Worn Lipstick.  I used my old stand by, colored pencils and OMS, to color in the image.  I used two mats for the focal image and one for the sentiment.  The focal image and sentiment pieces are on pop dots.  I added a red, white, and blue rhinestone for added interest.

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I truly appreciate each and every one of you who spend time looking at my blog.  Also, please remember that the blog candy giveaway is still open.  I would love for you to have a chance to play along.  If you look at the post titled: 13 Days of Halloween Final Day, you will find the instructions on how to enter.  I hope you all have a great day!  God bless you.

QKD Saturday Showcase

Happy Saturday everyone.  Whew..I have had a busy 13 days.  I am so thankful for everyone who stopped by during our blog hop with Queen Kat Designs.  It was a wonderful success.  Don't forget to check out the final day for directions on how to enter my blog candy giveaway.

So, our new stamp I am showcasing today is calledFlying Panda by The Phantom Rose Collection  Isn't she just darlin'?  I decided to make this one a baby girl card.  I colored in the panda's wings and halo and that was that was necessary.  I cut out the image using Nestabilities Classic Circles and matted it on a Nestabilities Classic Scallop Circle.  I added pink rhinestones to every scallop.  The Dp is from my stash, but I think it's DCWV from like 5 years ago.  The card base is Olive Green from Colorbok and the Pink is Recollections.  I have found that alot of people don't like Recollections card stock because it is only 65lb. weight and not very sturdy.  I do not use it for card bases, but I love it for layering weight.  It doesn't create alot of extra bulk.

I used a Mojo Monday sketch for this card.  I am so in love with that blog. :)

The sentiment is one from Hampton Arts that I have in my stash.  I used pop dots on the image and ATG on everything else.

Thanks for stopping in today and I hope you all enjoy your Saturday.  God bless ya'll.