Coffee... My Favorite Thing

Wanted to share some cards with you made with "My Favorite Things" set called "Hot Stuff." I have several coffee and/ or tea sets, and I'm always looking for just the right one! I love this one because of the cute cups/ mugs, and the sentiments! The brown polka dot card says "Coffee and Friends" on the outside, and "The Perfect Blend" on the inside. The1 3/8" holes are punched through the DP, and then another set of holes is punched with the smaller punch (1 1/4") is punched through a layer of chocolate paper and then lined up underneath. That was tricky. The mugs are stamped directly onto the vanilla layer, which is also scalloped with scalloped scissors, and watercolored with ink from the lids of stamp pads and the aquapainter, before being attached to the chocolate card base.

Next is a double fold card. It opens UP with the main coffee image, and then it also opens DOWN, to reveal a large writing space. You could also include a coffee gift card very easily. The caramel shadow around the image is made with 4 post it notes attached around the edge of the white layer and then colored with markers. Have a great week!

Stamping Like Crazy

Last week when it was SOOO hot here in SoCal, I took a little table into my own bedroom, where I had an air conditioner, to stamp where it was cool. Well, it's now freezing cold outside, but that table is still in my room! I've been busy with several new stamp sets: Wild About You (Stampin Up!), Hot Stuff ( My Favorite Things) and Small Fruit (Stampendous). Life is Good!

Lakewood High School's Grease

I forgot to post some pictures of Emily in GREASE at Lakewood High School a few weeks ago. It was the last weekend of April and the first weekend of May. In between the first 2 shows and the 2nd 2 shows, I flew to Atlanta for the Orange Conference and BACK, so I was able to squeeze it all in and still see her opening night, and closing night. Of course, she was fabulous and had the best time ever. She really made some good friends through the experience too. Emily had the part of MARTY MARASCHINO.... remember her? The one with all the boyfriends in the Marines? Sang "Freddy My Love"...

She is a born NATURAL on stage... so confident, so happy, so talented!
I love this picture of her Grandma Scheevel and her 2 cousins Jessica and Kayla who came to see her show on opening night! Four Blond Beauties! The four of them have a very special bond, and I'm so glad we all live close enough to each other to spend time together.

Now we're in the all the final rehearsals, set up, costume fittings, load in, etc. for "Annie Get Your Gun" at Biola Youth Theater, which opens June 11 and runs through June 21. She's pretty tired already!

For my Fantastic Mom

Here is the mother's day card I made for my mom... I made it a few weeks ago when I first got this new set from the Occassions Mini, but thought I'd better wait to post it til after she opened it. Don't you just LOVE this Berry Bliss Paper? I know I sure do. And I'm so glad I bought this pomagranate ribbon at Christmas time. The set is "Time for You" and the baskets of flowers are from the bicycle in the set and are popped up with dimentionals. Happy Mother's Day Mom... I'm so lucky to have you as a mom... I don't know what we would do without you.

Georgia on My Mind

Heidi (one of my assistants who leads our KidStuf program at church) and I went to Atlanta a few weeks ago to attend the "Orange" conference, sponsored by ReThink and Northpoint Community Church (Andy Stanley's church). It was an amazing conference. I will have more about it on my other blog: http://www.lakewoodkidconnection.blogspot.com/ But after the conference, I was able to stay a few extra days to visit old friends from when I used to live in Georgia. It was a bitter sweet time. I have such a mix of memories from Georgia. My kids were born there. I was involved in ministry at 3 amazing churches: Piedmont, Woodstock, and Faith Community, and have dear friends from each of those 3 churches to this day. But it is also where my marriage disolved and I began the journey of single mom-hood, and much of my energy during the last 2 years of living there was spent on that journey. But life moves on no matter where we are, and going back to Atlanta occassionally is good for me. It shows me that God is still faithful, that He is on His throne, that He took care of me THEN and continues to take care of me now. All the kids I had in my ministry then are all grown up and getting married and having kids of their own, so it's a great reminder of why I do what I do.

Me and Pam... the most amazing friend in the world. She was also Emily's 4 year old preschool teacher! (We met when we were both teachers at Woodstock Baptist Preschool.) This is taken upstairs in her new house in her CRAFT ROOM/ office, counseling room, quilting room, former home school classroom. It's bigger than my kitchen and FULL of fun stuff. I could live in this room for a long time and be very happy!

This is Connie McLemore, me and Terri Nordine. It's hard to believe that they were among there very first people and friends I ever met in Georgia, way back in 1988, and we continue to be great friends and have such a wonderful time when we get together (every 3 or 4 years!) This is taken at a Lebonese restaurant in Marietta, where Terri likes to hang out, and she also painted the Mediterranean scene behind us! Terri serves on the staff of "Middle East Bible Outreach" (http://www.mebo.org/) and I admire her heart for reaching the lost in an area of the world that is in so much turmoil! We all have teenagers that used to be babies together, so it's so fun to compare notes about our kids when we get together. We had grape leaves, hummus and baklava together... how great is that!?

And finally, this is Jim and Denine Wolden and their daughter Elena. They are actually OLD friends from California (I first met Denine when she was still Denine Plant back in 1982 when I first came to work at FBCOL.) Jim and Denine moved to Acworth Georgia 4 years ago, after I had already moved BACK to California. Small world isn't it... that they would end up just one town over from where I used to live so I could come and visit them whenever I was in town. They always open up their home to me when I'm in town and Elena gets SO excited! Elena, thanks so much for the wonderful saxaphone concert. You are amazing! Keep up the good work. Jim and Denine, thanks for dinner and for taking such good care of me, and making sure that I got back to the airport safely and on time! I love my Georgia family. I only wish they would come to California once in a while to visit us here!