TbT- You've come a long way, baby!

 

This was one of the first cards I made after my stroke. I had the stroke at the end of November 2012 and I held stamp club again in February as a way of motivating myself and seeing my friends.

I remember showing them this card and showing a nicer one on my laptop saying, "Here is what it is supposed to look like...!"

Mine was so crooked due to my right hand tremor.. Look at the bike from the Feeling Sentimental set... It looks as though it's on a bumpy road instead of a nice level path! LOL

Well, this card is in my stamp room and it serves as a reminder of just how far along I have come in a year and half.

It also reminds me that I have such special people in my life!

Friends who have stuck by me through thick and thin.

Friends who didn't care that my card was sub-par(!). They just came to see me.

I am so blessed and this card reminds me just how much!

"Throwback Thursday" - Easter cards

Today I was getting ready, making sure I had enough Easter cards to send to family next week. I had some recent ones from stamp clubs but I was short two and I had to go into the cardbox (a.k.a. "the stash").

I came across these two beauties that we made at least two years ago in a spring punch class:

I think I will send the "bunny butt" card to our nephew Sam. He will get a kick out of the soft cotton tail!

The bunny butt itself is made from basic circle and oval shapes.

The sky is sponged using a cloud stencil. Stampin' Up! no longer sells that stencil, but you can do the same thing using a piece of paper punched with the scallop circle!

The fence is made from strips of white card stock, but the tops of the vertical posts are actually pieces punched with the jewelry tag punch. You can't see that they are just little pieces of paper - the horizontal fence post hides the fact that it is separate!

You'll see variations of this card still around on the Internet. In fact, I think we made a similar version last year ) or the year before) with the bunny hopping into what looks to be a hole in a tree.

Too cute!

The second card shows a flower native to Hawaii called Heleconia.

Believe it or not, this flower was made with the bird builder punch! 

Look closely... The bottom three sections of the flower are actually the bird without a head! The top section of the flower is made with the wings of the bird!

 Amazing what a little sponging around the edges can do, huh?

I hope you have enjoyed these "throwback" cards! Now they are finally being sent after collecting dust in my stash! It's about time! Isn't that why we make cards? To send them?

Jenn....?

"Throwback Thursday"- Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Since Monday is the annual Irish holiday of St. Patrick's Day, I thought I would feature this cute box for "Throwback Thursday":

Behind his smirking Leprechaun face is a little gift box!

In the past, I have offered two classes called "A Year of Big Shot Boxes". We used Big Shot dies to make two different kinds of boxes (If memory serves me correctly, they were called "box #2" and "scalloped- top bag"). Most of the designs were made from the Top Note shape and punches, (like the one you see here).

Over the years I have presented small gifts in the boxes so many are now gone.

Here's what I have left:

Aren't they cute?

The designs came from several sources.

If you took one of these classes you know that we made a box for every month, January through December.

The ones that I have used  -that are now gone - include: a Thanksgiving turkey, a fall pumpkin, a Halloween mummy and Frankenstein, a sunflower and "baby New Year" on a clock with the hands on 12 o'clock.

Here is a closer look, from left to right, at the boxes that we made for December, June and December (the second time around):

The Leprechaun box was, obviously, for the month of March during the first class.

Here are some boxes representing April, May and July:

They all look so dear when presented with a cellophane bag filled with seasonal candies.

Remember, it doesn't have to be a big gift when you're doing a "random act of kindness" but my motto is: "presentation is everything"!