A bittersweet Mother's Day....

This is the first Mother's Day of my life that I will not be able to wish my Mom a Happy Mother's day, send a card, give her a hug or a phone call.  My mom passed away on January 2nd and my mind and heart are a jumbled up mess of sorrow and blessing as I think of her. I know so many of you can relate as you have journeyed on this road ahead of me.  I am very grateful for my memories, photos and stories.

While death is part of life, I am overjoyed to also be a mom and am so grateful to the Lord for blessing my husband and I with three amazing kids, now adults, who make up our family. They have impacted me more than they will ever know!

In a recent class, I wanted to offer a Mother's Day card for those who have need of one. Several people chose to make it suitable for a mother-in-law and others chose an aunt, friend, sister, etc. Here's our card:

This was a tri-fold card using a base cardstock layer that was 4.25" x 12".  It was scored at 4" and 8".  We used the retired heart framelit (2nd from the largest) to create the first panel in the shape of the heart. This is not hard to do, but a little complicated to explain in a blog. It's a show-n-tell sort of technique. It involves not putting the upper acrylic plate all the way over the heart on the Big Shot. Ask me to show you sometime! The rest of the card was decorated with a variety of DSP papers and punches, framelits and stamps.  The supplies are listed below.  My inspiration for this card was a sample project I made at On Stage last month.  I've placed my first order for new products from the 2016-2017 Annual catalog and UPS says they will arrive on Monday so watch for that unveiling!

I hope you have a great weekend and a meaningful and blessed way to honor your Mom!
Sarah

WooHoo!

Sadly, one of my all-time favorite stamp sets is retiring, Bravo!  It has a zillion different ways to congratulate somebody from serious to playful to funny. I have loved it and used it alot!  Here's the latest card I designed for a card class. I have to tell you my inspiration... while we were packing for our house move, I came across several things that I have saved for no immediate reason and decided to use or purge. This party garland was one of those things!  I cut it in smaller strips and used it on the inside of the card!  Here's the pics:

If you are curious about the card mechanics/measurements, I took a 4.25" x 11" piece of cardstock and scored it at 3-1/2", 4-1/2" and 5-1/2".   I punched small holes in the 4-1/2" score line and then taped the first two score lines  together AFTER securing the garland in the holes. I used random DSP paper to decorate all the faces of the card. this was really fun!

I have a few left over that are heading to some graduates this year!
Happy Stampin'
Sarah

Some last views of some fun products!

I'm continuing to sort through my stack of sample cards and showcase some things that are retiring... always good for a last look and some needed inspiration!  Here's what I found:

Do you have lots of birthdays to celebrate in your life? Everyone has one, right!  The Birthday suite products are the best and you can't run out of ideas! There's a huge stack of paper, some great stamps, washi tape and more!  Check it out and get it before it's gone on May 31st!

Today was a special day for demonstrators with Stampin'Up!  We got to preorder some new product from the new catalog which starts on June 1st. If you are feeling left out, it's easy to join! For $99, you can choose up to $125 worth of product and be on your way!  The commitment is only purchasing $300 per quarter and that includes anything you buy for yourself or anything others order from you.  There is no obligation to continue for any specific length of time so if you decide it is not for you, you can quit with no strings attached. This is one of those times where you can "try it to see if you like it"!  Contact me for all the details!

Hope you week is going great so far!
Sarah