Life Is A Gift

What a gift time can be. Have you ever thought about it before? Today I was given a few hours without my kids. I was able to work on things without interruption. That is a true gift. Little things people do that help others out are wonderful to receive. I used to do that for friends years ago. I was single and they had two little kids. I'd take the kids so the parents could go out and even get away for the weekend. Now someone has done that for me today and I'm truly appreciative. This is a gift that has no price, it's truly priceless. I thank God for people in my life who continue to make my life wonderful
Here are some things I've been up to this week while on vacation.

This is for Limited Supply Challenge 160:
STAMPS
3-4 stamps

CARDSTOCK & INK
white or vanilla
one piece of designer paper (If it's double sided, you can use both prints!)
1-2 additional solid colors of cardstock

TOOLS & EMBELLISHMENTS
*any*
I hope I followed the rules okay on this one. I'm really enjoying using Bloomin' Beautiful. It was watercolored using an aqua painter and ink from the ink pad using pomegranate and wasabi.


Here is another background that started out for yesterdays challenge but I changed what I did with it. This has a cuttlebug colored background. I colored the back panel not the front panel. I love working with afternoon tea design paper. I decorated the flowers with silver stickles and sakura gel pen. The flowers all have dimensionals under them.

This was a card base left over from yesterdays color challenge. I cut an edge with my edge punch. I added afternoon tea behind the edge. I colored the flowers with sky reinker and a blender pen. The flowers were stamped with black stazon. The base of the card was inked with sky and gray inks using a brayer and run through the cuttlebug. Sakura gel pen was added to the flowers.

This was made for SC169 and I wanted to try to cut something out on it so I chose the butterfly. I'm not sure I like it as it's almost shaped like a church window but I tried. Spring Garden stampes with baby pink stickles on the butterflies and flower centers. Dimensionals under the image layer and brown and pink ribbon put through double holes in card stock.

This was done for Sketch Challenge 169. I really liked this once I began to work with it. I started to see more and more sets I could use. I chose two different sets. I used the cuttlebug dotted swiss folder with berry bliss paper on top of that. Pink eyelets to go along with the dots. The roses were stamped in stazon black then colored with wwc and a blender pen. I added glue to the roses then diamond dust. The white cs was punched then the pink ribbon was added.

I just heard that my assistant's daughter just had a new baby boy. This card is for my assistant who has been so excited about this new grandbaby. I used House Mouse stamps which were just 50% off at Hobby Lobby. I love getting deals like this for our card ministry! This is for ways to use it just spray it challenge. I sprayed my caramel background with walnut spray from Memories. The images were colored with prismacolors pencils and gamsol. The pink was highligted with cotton candy stickles. Sky blue brilliance ink for the sky. caramel sponged on for the ground. Little hearts were punched out and added. Stickles was added to them as well.


This is a card I made for Ways to Use it 159-Just spray it. I masked this off and sprayed part of the ground. It was a walnut spray from Memories, but I think I need to stand much farther back than 6-8 inches. I found I kept missing! LOL Anyway, the images were colored with prismacolor pencils and gamsol. The sky and backgrounds were sponged or dtp. Basic grey paper is the background behind the images. Hearts were punched out and attached along with ribbon. These House Mouse images are so cute. I think they will work well for our card ministry.

Here's a double challenge for today. I made this for today's challenge to use a flower and something you bought but haven't used much. I also tried the out of the box technique with this.
I love sunflowers so I cut out part of one after it was colored with a blender pen and reinkers. I stamped glue onto the sunflower and sprinkled diamond dust onto it. The spraying of the white card stock was done with an empty reinker of amethyst ink. I used the card stock for the tag and the piece the sunflower was stamped on. Chipboard is what I bought but didn't use much of. So the tag is covered chipboard. The design paper and stickers are from Secret Garden scrapbooking kit. You are my sunshine is a favorite song I sang to my kids when they were little. Sunflowers bring such joy to me so they are my sunshine as well.

So to be on vacation with lots of time to do what I love to do has been great. I have tried to do some work things so that when I get back to work it won't be so overwhelming. I have state reports to do and if I can get them done now there will be less stress during my work days before the meetings. I am thankful that a friend of the family came to take the two kids out for the day. It's been a true blessing to me to be here to do what I want when I want and work without interruption. I thank God for the loving friends and family He's given me. I need to remember what a precious gift to me each are. How about you? Do you have loving family and friends that you just don't appreciate as much as you should? Why not start today? I'm going to do just that. What kinds of blessings and gifts are in your life that you might not even realize?
Hugs and Blessings,