Forest Friends

Hi, Everyone!

Wow, we're into April this week! Yay! And that means - Easter! Easter is a tremendously significant religious holiday for me, but as a little girl, it meant - a new Easter outfit! Oh, yes, new dress, new shoes,a new spring coat, an "Easter bonnet" and even new little white gloves! Oh, my, it was exciting!

And of course, the Easter Bunny came and hid eggs all over the house and yard - it was positively fabulous! Except that I could never figure out why it was an Easter BUNNY who brought the eggs and Easter baskets and not an Easter CHICKEN. It completely baffled me!

This year I've been participating in several swaps with my Swappers Anonymous sisters, and lately I've been working on gifts for our Easter Bunny Swap. So I can't yet show you the things I've made, but I'm so excited about some of the items and will be posting them in two weeks, after our big "reveal"!

Meanwhile, here is a card I made with the darling set Forest Friends - isn't that little bunny just the cutest thing?! And the Designer Series Paper is the new "A Walk in the Park" from Stampin' Up's Occasions Mini Catalog. This paper is so fresh and new and utilizes a sophisticated color scheme of Baja Blue, Pretty in Pink, So Saffron, Kiwi Kiss, and Going Gray. I've never used Going Gray before, so this was a challenge for me! But I love how these colors went together, and I've already gone through two entire packs of the paper!

Oh a personal note, Ken has been very sick again this past weekend with another upper respiratory infection. He has never really been well since January 7, with recurrent bouts of this all winter. He never complains, but I know he's getting discouraged. Here's hoping a fresh new month will bring a fresh new bill of health for him!

Hope you all have a great week, and thanks for stopping by!

Cinnamon Apple Coffee Cake - Yum!

Hi, Everyone!

Got another recipe for you! This is a recipe I received from my sweet sister Debby about 30 years ago, and it's my go-to recipe whenever I "need" (translate that as "want"!) a coffee cake. It's delicious!

I made this recipe page for a swap I'm in with some of my bestest friends and swappin' pals! I hope you enjoy the recipe - and the picture! I used the beautiful Bella Rose Designer Series Paper, my new eyelet border punch, and that little flower in the corner? Made with my awesome Big Shot and a Sizzix die - love, love, love my Big Shot!

Wishing you God's blessings this week, and thanks for stopping by!

Cake: 1 cup flour 1 ½ tsp. baking powder ½ tsp. salt ¼ cup butter ½ cup sugar 1 egg ½ cup milk 1 cup chopped apples Topping: ¼ cup flour ½ cup brown sugar 2 tsp. cinnamon 3 tablespoons melted margarine Mix dry cake ingredients and set aside. Beat shortening, sugar and egg until creamy. Add dry ingredients and milk alternately to creamed mixture. Add chopped apples. Mix only until blended. Pour into greased 8” square pan. Sprinkle topping over batter. Bake at 350 degrees until done.

Spring is On Its Way!

Spring is in the air! Today when we went to play tennis, the sun was shining, the breeze was warm, and the park was full of people enjoying the lovely day!

Little girls in sparkly red costumes were arriving for baton lessons; big boys were double-dog-daring each other on the skateboard ramps; Little Leaguers were warming up for the first game of the day.

And everywhere, the birds were chirping a lively spring song: Spring is coming! Spring is coming!

Here are two cute little birds to sing a spring song for you! They're from the new set Cheep Talk by Stampin' Up. And do you just love those corduroy buttons?! I'm crazy for them!

Hope you enjoy these little fellas, and may this coming week bring you warm and happy days!

More Secret Cupid Gifties!

Hey, Everyone!

I missed you all, but I was sorta busy with the birthday thing, and my grandbabies, and lots of fun family stuff! Ahhh, life is good, isn't it??!!

But I don't want to move on without showing you the rest of the AWESOME gifties I recieved from my Secret Cupid - LISACAT!! She is just the bestest!!!

On Day Two she sent me a beautiful tin full of chocolate candies, a decorated package of popcorn - my favorite food in the whole wide world! AND another Starbucks card! Woo-Hoo!

And on Day Three, as if she hadn't already completely OUTDONE herself, she sent me this outta this world little "milk carton" thingy - a handmade carrier with four little adorable "milk cartons" all filled with candies! It is the most gorgous thing and I am going to case it for sure!!! AND another Starbucks card!!!! AND a clear stampin block cuz she remembered that I went unmounted! AND a foam pad for stamping on!!!!! LisaCat, you totally ROCK!!!! Thank you for all the beautiful, fun and yummy stuff!

Secret Cupid Swap Day One - I Am Not Worthy!

Hi, All!

Today is Day One of our Swappers' Anonymous Secret Cupid Swap! I have been so excited since my box arrived on Tuesday, and this morning when I opened Day One, I was simply bowled over!

Did I receive one adorable item from my Secret Cupid? No-o-o. Did I receive two adorable items from my Secret Cupid? No-o-o. I received FOUR absolutely fabulous items from my Secret Cupid PLUS a gorgeous card!!! SOMEONE really rocks!!! Ohmygosh!

First I received the CUTEST little matchbox filled with yummy chocolate candies - oh those will be gone before breakfast!

Then I received the cutest little Top Note box filled with more yummy candy! (Saving them for lunch! ha, ha!)

THEN I received a stunning acetate box filled with INDIVIDUALLY WRAPPED caramels - how awesome is that????

And if all that weren't enough, I received a gorgeous gift card with - woo-hoo! a STARBUCKS card inside!!!!

And to top it all off, the most beautiful Valentine card from my Sweet Cupid! OK, whoever you are, you have awed and amazed me on Day One! Can you believe there are still Days Two and Three to open yet??? Thank you, thank you, Secret Cupid!!

Stationery Box a la Jackie Topa

Hey, Everyone!

We made it through January! Blizzards, ice storms, colds, flu - hopefully the worst is behind us and we can start to anticipate warm weather and good health for all! Anyway, February is wa-a-ay better than January because - it's my birthday month! Woo-hoo! And this year I'm celebrating in a big way because my sweet sons are throwing a big birthday party for me - now how awesome is that??!! LOVE those boys! And my sweet daughter-in-law, too who is probably doing most of the work and planning! She is an ANGEL!!!

So perhaps you have all seen those gorgeous stationery boxes that everyone is making. I don't know who started them, but I learned how to make them from my upline Kelly using Jackie Topa's tutorial. These things are so fun and easy to make and I love how they turn out! Take a look at this one I made for my dear friend Ruthie - I love it so much I had a hard time giving it away! But, I can always make more, because even though they look like a lot of work, they come together really quickly.

Hoping you have a great week - hugs and blessings to all!

Pics from CHA!

Hi, Everyone!

Thanks to my sweet friend Christy (hi, Christy!), I was lucky enough to get to attend CHA, the Craft and Hobby show and exposition in Anaheim on Sunday and Monday. Wow, was that fun!It's still going on, but, back to work today for me.

Being a Stampin' Up girl, I'm not that familiar with all of the other products out there in the crafting world. So I'm not looking so much for the newest, latest thing, but I'm looking for crafting ideas - and there were plenty of those! The exhibitor booths were gorgeous and the make and takes were so fun!

The first day I just went up and down every row, taking in the beautiful exhibits. Yesterday I joined my dear friends Carol and Kelly (hi, you two!) and we had fun doing make and takes. Our favorites? Darling little bound books using the Bind It All and a yummy chipboard book embellished with lots of beautiful dies from Sizzix. Can I say I am SO happy that Stampin' Up has teamed with Sizzix to give us beautiful new dies and texture plates?!

And guess what Sizzix is coming out with??? 3-D dies!! Think pop-up cards with a little house on the inside of the card - fabulous! And oh, the beautiful things we can do with our dies - I really want to use them with fabric to make quilts, decorate kitchen towels - the possibilities are endless, and there were examples to die for at the Sizzix booth! But sorry, Sizzix doesn't allow pictures, so I can't show you any of them.

But here are two pics of items made with other products that I am going to make using my Stampin' Up products. One is a cute little wall-hanging thingy and the other is a beautiful book that I could make using my Top Note die.

Wish you all could have come with me to CHA - it was awesome! And thanks, Christy!!