Life is a Beach Challenge

WOW today is my 17th Anniversary and I didn't even remember it. A friend called this morning otherwise I would still be in the dark.

One of the 3 monthly challenges at Card Creations & More by C is to use the Life is a Beach cartridge. I don't own that one (I know I heard the gasp lol) but Smiley Cards has some really cute beach related cuts so I used it for this challenge.

I used Stickles on her lips and the water and did a lot of stiching. Other than that this was a very simple card. The sentiments are from My Pink Stamper's "More Punny-licious" and "Even More Punny-licious" stamp sets.

Circle Step Card

Denise's Scrapbooking Room had a free download for this card and it is so elegant. I love trying out new cards ideas so I thought I would give it a try.

The doily behind everything started out white and I used homemade glimmer mist to turn it a tea dyed color along with the 2 little fairies. The sentiment is from K. Andrew Designs "Positive Thoughts" stamp set.

Back 2 School Bookmarks

The grandkids are starting back to school on Thursday so I thought it would be nice to make bookmarks for the whole school. Our granddaughter will be in preschool and our grandson will be in 1st grade. They are going to a Christian elementary school and there are less than 40 kids in the whole school. (I love-love-LOVE that fact!!)

Bryce went there for preschool but then went to public school for kindergarten. He is a bit hyper and I think his teacher was not equiped for 20 students so their mom has decided that private Christian school is the best fit for the kids. Hide sight is 20/20 and personally I wish he would have gone to the Christian school for kindergarten also but this overprotective Oma was out voted. :-)

I started out with 60 bookmarks but through trial and error ended up with 44. The laminating process did not work out the way I wanted it to and I ruined a few trying to figure things out. In the end I used clear contact paper and ran it through my laminator and they turned out great.

The cut file is from SVG Cuts "Back to School" collection.

I am trying to finish "Teacher" word books for all the teachers so they can take some memorable pictures this year and fill their books.

I am entering this is the Celebrate the Occasion "Back to School" challenge, Simply Sunday "Treats" challenge and the Creative Cutter Room "Back to School" challenge.

What A Croc

Crafty Sprouts is having a Tent Card challenge and she has a fabulous video tutorial. This is such a simple card to make I can't believe I have never seen one before.

I have had this cut file for quite a while and have been wanting to make it but just haven't done it. I am so glad I finally made the time because it is such a CUTE file. It comes from Alisa's little pieces and she has the most darling cut files. I used Craft Essentials Mini Bubble Alphabet for the sentiment. The baker's twine is from The Twinery.

Box Card

We have been gearing up for my parents 50th anniversary party this weekend and lots of out-of-town relatives coming in tomorrow so I didn't get my planned post posted last night because I was exhausted so I am getting 2 posts done tonight.

Amy at Love To Crop is having a Box Card challenge. These cards are really pretty fun and very simple to make. They are great for giving gift cards and after they open the card it can be used to hold some treats also.

I used a EK Success border punch but I'm not sure what the name is (one of my first punches and I didn't make note of the name). The tag is made from a digi stamp from Bugaboo Stamps. My grandson asked if this was a picture of "me". Sometimes I probably do look like this but I could only hope to be this thin. lol

 The sentiment is from K. Andrew Designs "Positive Thoughts" stamp set.

Mail Call

I received my Chomas Creations pen holder set in the mail a couple of days ago. I won this pen set during the Operation Owl Thank You blog hop that the K. Andrew Designs DT held in honor of Kristal.

Card Creations by C is having a challenge which involves making your own background paper so this was such a cool opportunity.

I placed a bunch of swirls in SCAL and then used my new pen tool to draw them on the paper. The cuts are from the Smiley Cards cart and I hid the faces so that I could use my Peachy Keen Happy New Year faces.

The sentiment is from K. Andrew Designs "Positive Thoughts" stamp set. This stamp set benefits the Storefront Shelter which is a homeless shelter for kids. Purchasing Kristal's stamps makes me feel so proud because I am a stamp-a-holic and I can't help myself from buying stamps so when I purchase K. Andrew Designs stamps I am also helping people that need it. Kristal is such an amazing woman. Generous, kind, inspirational, faithful are only a few words that describe this woman and she is a true friend to everyone.

Teepee Card

Ok everyone I have to say that I think Teepee Cards ROCK.

If you would like to know how to make your own, check out this video.

I made this card for this weeks Simply Sunday "Positive Things to Come" challenge at Getting Cricky.

All of the cuts for this card are from Lettering Delights.

The sentiments all came from the "Positive Thoughts" stamp set from K. Andrew Designs Art Stamps.

This stamp set benefits the Storefront Children's Shelter (a homless shelter for children & Youth).

My family and I have had months and months of Positive Thinking and the Lord has blessed us tremendously. My daughter is going through a divorce and we got the report from the guardian ad litem saying that she recommends my daughter have permanent physical custody. We have had many prayer warriors at work. At times it was hard to stay positive because it was always in the back of my mind that the counselor would not see things the way we all do but every time those thoughts popped in I would repeat to myself that I had to put my faith in the Lord that he knew what needed to happen. We have 3 little ones that we need to stay positive for and trying very hard to not let them feel the stress of what is happening right now.

My mom is coming home from Florida tomorrow and we are having a huge family reunion this weekend for my parents 50th anniversary with family we haven't seen for a while. Life is GOOD!!!