~ Merry Christmas ~

This has been a very different Christmas season this year. My little sister Angela and I have become much closer as a result of our dear mother's passing a few months ago. I have inherited some of my mom's precious jewelry items and I wear the occasionally to have her close to me. In order to heal from the grief that all this has brought up, I created about 60 Christmas Cards this year. One of them is posted next to or near this blurb.

Last night, I attended my Dine n Swap group's Christmas Party. It was awesome! Everyone was so giving and friendly. We exchanged some wonderful gifts and cards and chatted away in between dinner, bites of chocolate, dessert, and coffee all coordinated by our gracious moderator Renee Nowell of Tempe, AZ.

For next year, I decided to stay with the group and also joined the Secret Sister monthly exchange. I also look forward to learning new techniques, making new friends and simply enjoying our get togethers and sharing new ideas and whatever else comes to pass.

My DH and I will be hosting a Christmas Dinner for about twelve people. We will be serving a roast leg of lamb, several side dishes to accompany and of course, dessert...my DH plans to make Chocolate Eclairs from scratch. Sure wish that you could all be here with us :) Maybe next year.

~ Time to Give Thanks ~

With Thanksgiving being a few days away, I thought to check-in with my blog and post a short update.

These past four months since my dear mother has made her transition have been a whirlwind of emotions, probably why I have not posted regularly. I am grateful that I have not fallen into a deep depression, my life overall is very good. I am thankful to have a wonderful husband, two healthy young men as my sons, and friends far and near that I keep in contact with regularly.

Lately I have been re-organizing my Chateau de Papier (Paper Studio) which has helped me to cope quite well emotionally with my feelings. My DH put together a beautiful stamp cabinet in which I have neatly organized all of my loose rubber and clear stamps. Bookshelves were moved around in order to incorporate a shabby chic daybed for my little sister Angela's visit next February. She, my nephew Thomas and her significant other are planning to purchase a vacation condominium in Prescott sometime next year. That is something that I am very excitedly looking forward to. I made a trip up there a few weeks ago to scope out some properties that she and her realtor had planned for me to look at. The trees were turning and it was 20 degrees cooler there than here in Phoenix.

And, so to speak of Thanksgiving...my DH and I have been graciously invited to a mutual couples' home for the day's festivities and will bring along a wonderful Black Forest Trifle that my DH will make from scratch.

As for the weekend, we might do some shopping locally in anticipation of the forthcoming Christmas holidays. I look forward to decorating our Christmas tree, which will probably go up around the second week of December. Although I do not over-do the rest of the house, I am still mesmerized by the beauty, lights and decorations, along with all of the memories that a Christmas tree holds.

Drop me a note to let me know how you are doing this time of year. Perhaps if you live in town, we can meet for a cup of tea at one of the Tea Houses in Glendale to share our love of rubberstamping, card making or simply sit and chat.

~ Peace ~

It has been a while...

...since I last posted on my blog. My life has changed dramatically.

In July I received a frantic phone call from my sister in New York telling me to come asap, hat our mother was in the hospital with pneumonia and was undergoing some tests to determine the underlying cause of her condition. I made an airline reservation that evening, flew out the next day, got there and my life will never be the same without my mom. She passed away, peacefully and painlessly with my sister, brother and myself taking turns to make sure that she would not be alone when her time came. She went in her sleep.

It has been almost two months now and I still can not believe that the woman whom I shared so much of my life with for the 51+ years that I am alive is not longer available to call and tell her how much I love her.

My faith in God is steadfast and still I am feeling the loss so deeply. This is something that I have no idea how to handle, only to do what I love as much as possible...which, of course, is to stamp and create cards and send them out to people that I care about and others through the RAK group at Splitcoaststampers.com.

All of my close friends have been very supportive at this particular time in my life. I have received nearly a hundred cards from friends, relatives and fellow card crafters.

What else can I say? Life goes on...

The most recent card that I created was from a Stampin Up set Summer by the Sea. I reminded me of when I was little and our family would go to the beach for the day and picnic, swim in the ocean and have fun.
Those are wonderful memories that I have from my childhood growing up in New York with the best parents anyone could ever want to have...both of them gone now...forever...together...again...in Heaven.

~ Dine and Swap ~ Celebration ~

This past Wednesday evening, June 20, I attended my Dine and Swap group gathering for the month. It was held at our coordinator's home and what a splendid home she has. Along with creating some very precious and beautiful cards, she also paints. These were display throughout her home. Her speciality in that modality appears to be rugged western scenery. Truly awesome!

We all had a great time. She cooked delicious burgers along with salad, beans and lost of treats!
The cards that I received in trade are fantastic! I am so inspired by these get togethers to create more on my own to send out to family and friends in Celebration of our great country's Birthday!

My DH and I are planning to have an Italian evening this Saturday. It is a small dinner party and we enjoy having some of our closest and dearest family and friends over to enjoy my DH's favorite hobby of gourmet cooking. He will be making lasagne, not your ordinary one though :)
And I will be creating an antipasto dish...one that I remember fondly while growing up in Brooklyn, New York and Bay Shore, Long Island, New York.

Although I might not have much stamping time this weekend, I will be thinking of what to do with what I have in anticipation of my next themed swaps and projects...ABC and Paper Dolls.
So, if any of you have any suggestions, I would definitely appreciate your comments.

Au Revoir!

~ Fleur de la Dame ~

Now that I have learned a little more French, I decided to name this post "Flower of the Lady".

Over the past few weeks, I have been extremely busy with getting cards ready for a few swaps that I am involved in, beginning with the Music cards with the little birdie in the middle. I had so much fun with creating those cards, they came together quite effortlessly.

Then on to another project of creating red white and blue themed cards for my Dine n Swap group which will be meeting this coming Wednesday evening in celebration of the 4th of July.
I am very excited to see what everyone else has created. This is a group of very talented card artists and all of the swap events that I have attended were so much fun!

And, to top it all off, perhaps I have saved the best for last...a stamp that I truly love and dedicated this blog post to...Flowahbella!!! I joined a Bella swap on splitcoast and these lovely ladies are ready to be sent off to other bella loving card artists. I have to admit that this little lady is the most loved of all of my stamps...perhaps she and I have something in common...well, some of you may already know how much I love flowers...truly, I do. I was able to use some scraps of floral backgrounds for these cards, therefore there is some variety to this set. I find it difficult to create too many cards all exactly alike.

That's about it for now. I may need to rest my weary little fingers for a few days, perhaps making a card here or there. My DH and I and another couple are taking a trip to Telluride, CO in ten days to participate in the Wine Festival there. We are so looking forward to the cooler temperatures and fresh mountain air.

Hope that you all are enjoying Life as much as I am...

Au Revoir!

~ Birthday Thank Yous ~

These are the ~Thank You~ cards that I have been working on today.
They will be going out in the mail in a day or two to all whom have
celebrated my "29th" Birthday with me again this year :)
P.S. It is not over yet...there is another celebration this Sunday...

TTFN,

Linda

Happiness Is...

...a perfume which you cannot pour on someone without getting some on yourself."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~

That is such a profound quote. When I came across the stamp with those very words etched upon it, you know I just had to have it! I enjoy using it over and over as a sentiment in the cards that I create. Those are the words that resonate in my heart as I create cards for family, friends, and loved ones.

~ God Bless You All & Keep You Safe ~

Linda

~ What a Week! ~

This week started off somewhat slow and easy paced as I intended it to be ~ after all, I am another year younger :). I enjoyed a nice, relaxed morning with my stamping buddy, Anne.
We met at a local stamp shop to do their make and take, a rooster! She came out cute. When I got her home, I really dazzled her up with some stickles, one of my favorite embellishments, among primas, ribbons, brads...the collection is reaching proportionate heights...literally :)

I do not think that I have ever received so, so very many birthday cards for one birthday in my entire life...I will have to count them all...any of you that read this can take a wild guess???
In the next few days, I am hoping to take photos of some of my latest creations and one of the collection of birthday cards. I also enjoy sending birthday cards to people from the varying circles of friends that I belong to, and also randomly on the SCS website: www.splitcoaststampers.com It is a wonderful way to meet people whom enjoy the same hobby.

Well, it is getting late and I need to wind down another great day of living in the sunniest state in the country.

TTFN ~ Linda

Sassy Stems ~ Wedding Wishes

Bon Jour!

Another fun project completed this morning! Tomorrow night my Dine n Swap group meets and each of us were to create eight wedding themed cards to swap. Not wanting to over do the card, the photo to the right is what transpired. I enjoyed the entire process, as always.

My DH got me Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0 this past weekend. Yea!!! Another toy to play with. I need to spend some time learning what it can do...what I really wanted it for is to create my own personal watermark. Alas, I am happy than it can perform so many other wonderful, creative tasks, along with organizing some photos to place into my scrap books.

Au Revoir!

Dotts...to my Stampin Buddy

Yesterday I was in the mood just to have some fun with paper. I thought of my stampin buddy, Anne and came up with the Dotts card. Enjoy!

~ Dedication to Mom ~

This morning when I awoke, bright and early in anticipation of the landscapers coming to do some very much needed yard work around here...I gazed around my studio and thought to myself that I would use the time wisely and sit quietly and create my Mother's Day card for my beloved Mom.

The photo to the right is what came to be. The entire project came together quite effortlessly, which is sometimes amazing to me, because I know that I can take days or weeks to come up with a design for a card at times. I enjoyed working with Stampin Up's Provencal set, my Big Kick embossing template and gold embossing along with some pretty paper and fun embellishments.

The next project are some wedding themed cards to share with a group of lovely ladys at our Dine n Swap get together next week at My Big Fat Greek Restaurant in Mesa.

Will keep you all posted.

Happy Stampin...Au Revoir...

Notes de Chateau

Another day in Paradise, oops Arizona, where the sun shines more than three hundres days a year. I did not take very long for me to get used to the abundance of sunshine here just about fifteen years ago when this was to become my permanent home, more than likely for the rest of my life.

And, it has also brought much happiness into my life in ways that I could not imagine. As you all know, one of my recent discoveries has been this paper hobby that I am truly enjoying!
Recently, I am intertwining it with my love of France. I am thinking of creating some French phrases and putting them on a few cards that I am about to create for a few swaps in the near future. One of the phrases is: "Joyeau Anniversaire" which means Happy Birthday.
I already own a few Stampin Up sets that reflect French themes and contain a few familiar verses such as "Merci" and "Bon Jour" and "Mon Ami".

So, there you have it...a new tangent that I am embarking on in the next few days which could possibly lead to...who knows what else...which makes creating so much fun and an adventure truly unto itself.

Happy Stampin...Au Revoir!

~ Tagged by a Stampin Buddy ~

Since I have been tagged by a fellow stampin buddy, I will need to share seven things about myself that some of you may not know...ok, here goes ~

1. The first time I fell in love was with a first cousin of mine when I was four years old.

2. Through most of High School, I was a real nerd. I think that I still am in some ways, oh well :)
I can not seem to get over my book/paper addiction :)

3. Listening to 80's music reminds me of when I was a mom with my two sons, Artie and Joseph.

4. Before I visited Arizona for the first time in 1991, I had no idea what it would be like, except
for having watched the Road Runner and Wylie Coyote in the cartoons...how's that one?

5. I am currently married to the Love of My Life, Ken. It is the marriage of my dreams, truly.

6. Friends may come and go, but the memories live forever in my heart.

7. Since I have started stamping seriously, I feel that I have opened up my life to some greater possibilities in that respect, that I had not discovered before. This is only the beginning and I am excited about the journey.

Now, if you have read through this, I am tagging you in turn. Send it to your friends and see what happens, you may get to know them a little better!

Au Revoir!

Spring in France

This morning I have been creating away with lovely papers, ribbons, primas, and ink, as is quite normal for me. Since I am studying the French language, I thought to myself, I need a new name for my blog and hope that you enjoy what I have come up with.

I am also thinking of having a blog candy contest, much like other papier artisan bloggers have on their sites. It will more than likely happen sometime towards the end of May.

So, if anyone happens to read this blog, leaves a comment, please also leave your current e-mail address and I will save them all and randomly choose the lucky winner! Of course, it will involve papier crafts :)

I am sooooo looking forward to this trip to France. I have read somewhere that recently there was a huge Stamping Convention over there, so I am assuming that there is a treasure grove of stamping and paper items just waiting for me to discover them.

TTFN ~ Love to You All...Au Revoir

Thoughts of France Influence Delight in Life Card

Yesterday morning, bright and early my DH and I went to meet our traveling friends to book our airline and car rental reservations. I was sooooo excited! I still am and will continue to be until and probably wayyyyy after we have our French experience in late September 2007.

Between the four of us, we have compiled a mountain of travel manuals, maps, books, information on France and the areas that we are planning to visit. Later this evening, our friends emailed us the hotel that they reserved for us to stay at while we are in Paris. It is lovely!!!
It is in the heart of the city, walking distance to most of the major attractions.

The only other few times when I have been this excited were when I gave birth to my two sons and then married my DH just a little over two years ago.

So, I was inspired to make a couple of cards this evening with some pretty yellow embossed paper and work with the Delight in Life stamp set from Stampin' Up. A dear friend of mine told me today that about two weeks ago, it was her birthday and I also needed a pretty flower card for my new Secret Sister.

I am honestly delighted in life right now. This morning in church everyone in attendance affirmed for themselves that "Each and every way and each and every day, my life is getting better and better and better." I am grateful that this statement is true for me in my life in so many ways.

Love to you All!

Tea Tyme

After reading through my emails, part of my daily morning routine, I uploaded some Tea cards that I created for a swap to Splitcoaststampers.com. One of the images is to the right of this post. Hope that you enjoy it!

My DH and I and another couple are planning our trip to France which is to take place at the end of September, grap harvest. We had dinner together this past Sunday evening and had maps and books galore spread out all over their kitchen island. I have never been more excited about a trip before, as you see, this is my first trip to Europe! We were letting our fingers do the walking on the map, tracing our route from Paris, where we will begin, through the Loire Valley, then into the Bordeaux region and possibly an overnight trip to Barcelona, Spain. All of this is to take place within a two week period. All four of us are wine connoiseurs as you may have already suspected, so we are also planning on visiting some of the Chateaus in the various regions. Another friend of ours, who has been so gifted to have lived in France for several years, sent us an email with some photos from the Chateau Fountainbleau. How spectacular!

Some of us are going to make an effort to learn the French language so that we may converse with the people and although we may not become experts, I know that we will all have a wonderful experience while visiting.
More to come, along with card making adventures in the days to come :)

Moon Goddess Card

Ok, one more thing to add...
I made the Moon Goddess with all good intentions to send to a friend.
However, I could not part with her, she is so pretty. I just sat down the
other morning with this stamp and some pretty paper and she just went
together, just like that! Sometimes it can take me days to figure out a
layout, but this one went so easily and effortlessly, I was amazed.
Please enjoy! Maybe oneday someone will get a likeness of her in the mail.

Time to Blog Now

Although I have not posted here in a while, be sure that I have been busily stampin away...
And, on top of stampin, I went to the Japanese Friendship Garden here in Phoenix, AZ for the first time this past Saturday, April 14, 2007 with my Red Hat Group ~ The Cute Tomatoes.
It was wonderful! A lush green oasis in the desert. What eye candy to behold. The day was a little warm, not too hot, with some cool breezes. I took many photos and sent some out to close friends and family to show them that there are green things here in the desert.
Our group also attended the Formal Tea Ceremony. We drank macha tea, it was good, good for me and tasted like super green tea, along with a little Japanese sweet treat.
After that and trying to battle the traffic downtown that midday, our group went to a Japanese restaurant called The Cherry Blossom. We were there for about three hours, chitting, chatting and getting to know each other. What a group of awesome, spirited, adventurous women!
I look forward to out little outings which are planned by our Queen Mum, Cherrie.
Hats off to all Red Hatters around the world. I am overjoyed to be part of such an elite and
joyful group of women.
Have to go now to get ready for the CKC Scrap Book Convention tomorrow bright and early.
My dear friend Anne and I will be volunteering at one of the classrooms. I hope to be inspired and return home full of artsy ideas for papercrafting projects.

Flowahbella Party Time

This past Saturday, at my home, there were 6 super stampin ladies stamping their lovely hearts away! Can you imagine that? I can. We had the dining room and living room filled with STUFF.
Unfortunately my camera was on the blitz, all it kept saying was that the battery was dying :(, so I have no actual proof to show you. But the memory is etched deep in my heart :) , and the hearts of my dearest stampin buddies, which is really all that matters.

I was not sure of what I wanted to create that afternoon, but, piece by piece, I went into my craft room and retrieved an item here and there and suddenly Flowahbella asked me to take her to meet my friends. Well, that is just the beginning of a 6 card love affair with a new friend.
You see, I adore flowers...and to keep Bella company on her card, I gave her her own unique flower made from Primas.

Needless to say, I was exhausted at the end of the day, but happy...oh, oh, oh...I never knew how happy one could be when totally immersed in the all absorbing world of creating through stamping, paper crafting, card making and having friends who love the same all together.

Cards? Cards! Cards& Cards+

Yesterday, my best stampin buddy Anne and I went to Creative Quest in Glendale to participate in their 10 card extravaganza. Wow! I was in for a wonderful surprise.

We both decided to go ahead and make all 10 cards which were mostly Easter/Spring themed.
We were there, met some very nice ladies, whom we both would like to get together and stamp with at some point in the near future.

We wandered around making our cards, moving from station to station, playing...stamping...gluing...arranging...re-arranging the format to suit our liking of our cards.

We were there for what seemed like an instant...but, actually lasted for about 3 1/2 hours.
Time does not exist in the world of card crafting/stamping, enjoying what we love to do.

When we were done, we bought a few items that piqued our interest, left and finally realized that it was near dinner time and we should get something to eat.

We mosied on down to The Gaslight Inn Bed & Breakfast in downtown Glendale. They had a nice light menu and some delicious hot/cold coffees that we each decided to order.

We sat there and chit chatted for a while, when Anne realized that it might be time to head home. It was getting a little dark outside. The evening was quite cooler than the afternoon.
Here in Arizona, there are not too many little towns/villages for us to walk around, like most people have in other parts of the country. Glendale offers that type of hometown feeling.

Well, here it is the day after a great day of stamping. And, can you guess what I will be doing this evening? :) Attending a dine and swap event in Tempe at a ladie's home where we will exchange our stamped cards with the theme being - Tea Time or Tee Time (or both).

That's about it for now. Just thought that I would keep you all updated on the adventures of a
Happy Stamper!

It has been an extra busy weekend, with both fun and work.
I am writing this post in my new office/craft room. The transformation
is almost complete. The hard part is over. I have been very excited at
having my own room for at least the last month when I have been
outgrowing my little corner stampin spot in the master bedroom.
Out of necessity, I have had to keep on task because my "stuff"
is reaching epidemic proportions in the little spot. I have a large
portable table along one wall, dedicated to my work area and my
computer desk adjacent to that. Being that so much of the new office
furniture is way beyone what I am willing to spend currently, I will
just have to wait and see what comes along in the way of a lovely, gently
used table that I can possibly decorate to go with the theme of the room,
which will be somewhat Old World French Country/Victorian Style.
With that being said, I look forward to the coming week, there are a few
stamp gatherings, one on Tuesday, Wednesday evening and a get together
of some friends at my home this Saturday, to celebrate Springtime here
in lovely Phoenix, Arizona.
Happy Stampin and Happy Spring to you All!
~Linda

Spring Stampin'

Hi All,

Lately, I have been in the cleaning mode. Spring is just around the corner, but here in Arizona, the temperatures have soared to 90 degrees, a jump of over 20 degrees in less than a week.
So, while it is still "cool" (ha), I am making the best of the weather and preparing to transform my spare bedroom into my Hobby/Craft room. I have a vision of having my computer on one wall and adjacent would be a large table so that I can spread out my projects ~ cards, scrapbook pages, pictures, toys, etc. I want to faux paint the wall that faces the door that opens to the room in a soft pink/beige/gold tone.
My temporary spot in the master bedroom, which is quite cozy is overflowing with "stuff", so now is the time to prepare this new space.
The St. Patrick's Day cards project went easily and effortlessly, they are simple in design.
There is also a project for Tea themed cards which were a tad bit more challenging, but I finally sat down one evening and pulled them together...they are waiting for the final touches.
Happy Stamping Everyone!
~Linda

Great Day for Stampin ~ Lately Every Day Is...

Hi All,
Today was a fun day of stamping. Meeting up with some fellow enthusiasts at a shop, The Creative Quest in Glendale. Some of us made a cute doggie card, some shopped and some enjoyed a lovely lunch together.
I stopped at a few places on my way home and could not resist looking for paper related products, especially those that are on sale :)
I received some beautiful fairey paper dolls in the mail today that I purchased from Overstock.com. I have not had paper dolls since I was a wee child of about six or seven.
I will probably use them as a guide for coloring some other stamp/card/paper projects and copy some into my computer files and then send them on to my "little friend" Shealyn. She is my son's fiance's daughter, six years old and a sweet girl.
Well, I just thought that I would take a break before my DH gets home from work.
My doggies, Sean and Bebe are right here beside me, as always.
Later...Happy Stampin!
~Linda

I've Been Tagged

I've Been Tagged!
A - Available or Taken: Taken
B - Best Friend: Anne Snider also my matron of honor
C -Cake or Pie: Red Velvet Cake
D - Drink of Choice: Mocha Cappuccino or tea
E - Essential Item You Use Everyday: Water Bottle
F - Favorite Color: Steel Blue
G - Gummy Bears or Worms: Bears
H - Hometown: Long Island, NY
I - Indulgence: Gourmet Chocolate Chippers
J - January or February: January, Ienjoy getting ready for Valentine's Day and carry on into February and beyond, as long as possible
K - Kids & Names: Artie - 32, Joseph 25
L - Life is incomplete without? Family and friends....ok, chocolate and stamps are good too.
M - Marriage Date: February 12, 2005
N - Number of Siblings: 1 sister, Angela & 1 Brother, both younger than me
O - Oranges or Apples: Apples - Honey Crisp are favorite now.
P - Favorite Pet - Bebe, my little silky terrier, she is 5 years old now, my little girl.
Q - Fave Quote: Start by doing what's necessary, then what's possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible. ~St. Francis (that is how I earned my Master's degree)
R - Reason to Smile: Having a good life and a wonderful husband that God has given to me.
S - Season: Spring, because it follows February and into May. I celebrate the entire month of May. My husband and my birthday are towards then end and Mother's Day in between.
T - Tag 3-4 People: Looking...
U - Unknown fact about me: Funny, I can't think of one.
V - Vegetable you don't like: none, I like them all
W - Worst Habit: What would DH say? I have a tendency to be slighty late. DH get anxious about this.
X - X-rays: I think my most recent ones were from the dentist's office.
Y - Your Fave Food: Pizza NY style.
Z - Zodiac Sign: Gemini: the Twins

Sending out Wishes Today

Over the weekend, I decided to grant 9 wishes from the Wish Rack Forum at Splitcoaststampers.com. You have to be a member to participate in this forum.
I am going to send them out today, after addressing them and affixing proper postage.
I enjoy giving and receiving things in the mail and email.
Since becoming an active and playful participant in the Stamping community, I have
made so many connections with lovely, kindhearted people and I am elated to be a vital part of it all.
Since JoAnn's is having a huge sale on papercrafting items, I will be heading out in that direction as a mission. I went to a store near the Metrocenter mall last Friday and found $1 clear stamps.
They were very low on inventory, and I bought the last 5 good ones that were left. I will also be on the lookout for more of these, as they are very easy to stamp with.
TTFN...Linda :)

Welcome ~ Hi

Hi Everyone,
Since this is my first post and I do not have the time to do more than say hello and welcome everyone who reads here, it will be very brief.
I am new to blogging and may not visit this as frequently as most do, as I enjoy being away from the computer as much as possible, but only when I have an insatiable urge to research something or answer my email buddys.
So, TTFN.
Linda aka Paprrrlady