Up Up And Away....

My best friend Kelli and her husband Randy just celebrated their 20th Anniversary on August 12th. They celebrated their special day by going up in a hot air balloon. I got to go along for the ride and take pictures of their ride...




This is the card that I made for their anniversary. I found this stamp set while I was at CHA in Orlando. It's a Unity Stamp set and when I saw it I knew I had to buy it just to make this card for Kelli and Randy.



Thanks for stopping by! I hope to have some new creations to share with you soon!

Holes In The Floor Of Heaven.....

I can't believe how long it's been since I posted on my blog! Since I last posted, I've had a lot going on. On July 18th, my best friend's mother lost a courageous battle with lung cancer. Betty Barrett was a very special lady and I will miss her dearly. Below is a picture I took of Betty and my best friend Kelli just over a year ago at Betty's 50th Anniversary Party.



WALK IN SUNSHINE
May you always walk in sunshine and God’s love around you flow, for the happiness you gave us, no one will ever know, it broke our hearts to lose you, but you did not go alone, a part of us went with you, the day God called you home. A million times we've needed you. A million times we've cried. If love could only have saved you. You never would have died. The Lord be with you and may you rest in peace. Amen

Family Beach Vacation.... Not So Sunny Florida!

Well, we arrive at our annual Beach Vacation in New Smyrna Beach, Florida on Saturday, July 4th. The weather was beautiful the first two days. Yesterday and today, we got very little sun and lots of clouds and thunderstorms! Not my ideal vacation, but any time away with family and friends can't be all that bad, right?

I was able to take some pictures the first few days.. thought I'd share some with you.
When I get home, I'm looking forward to doing some creating in the craft room and hoping my Summer Magnolia kit has arrived when I get home.



This is a fun shot I took of all the kids here. They love for me to spend hours taking photos of them! They have a blast acting goofy and modeling for the camera!






This is my daughter Kristina and my hubby Bennie.




This is my daughter in the middle with her Best Friend Mallory on the right and friend Emily on the left. We have been vacationing at the same Condo on New Smyrna Beach with Mallory's family for the last 9 years. Mallory's family has been coming here for longer and told us about this Condo and beach. We just love it here.

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That's it for now. I'll post again soon I promise!!! I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July holiday!

Where Is Monica......

OMG! I can't believe it's been over a month since I've posted on my blog! I have been such a bad blogger!! Life has just taken over lately and honestly, I haven't had the energy to craft lately. I've still been putting in a ton of hours at work. I'm at the point of burnout now.

A friend of mine that I work with asked me to make her daughter some Thank You cards for her Graduation. She loved Diplomabella and thought it would make a great thank you card. So, here are the cards I made her.





I really missed card making. I promised myself tonight that I'm going to get back to making cards and posting more regularly!

My friends Lynn and Amanda and I are planning to go to CHA this year! It's here in Orlando and we are so excited!

Other exciting news on the homefront... my daughter is planning to join the United States Marine Corps! She busy studying for the entrance test and working her butt off on PT right now. I know some of you are wondering how I feel about my daughter joining the military. Well, I couldn't be more proud. She loved ROTC in High School and thrived there. I know she will do well at anything she puts her mind to. Her plans to go in in September. Keep her in your prayers as she goes through her round of tests and physical training, please!

See you soon!!

Something Exciting! Join Me For The First Ever CardsForHeroes Blog Hop!

I am participating in the first ever Cards For Heroes Blog Hop. What a perfect weekend to hold such an event as we all celebrate Memorial Day. Those of you who know me or follow my blog know that I have a strong love for our men and women who serve our country. My brother and my husband both served in the Army. My Uncle Wayne was in the Coast Guard for over 25 years, my Uncle Jim made his career in the Navy and his son Jimmy served in both the Navy and the Air Force. I've posted here before about Corporal Kevin Lowe, United States Marine Corps, who is like a second son to me. He just returned home from his tour of duty in Iraq this past March. I wish I had a photo to share of each of my family members that have served our country. I think I'll make a point to do that and post some photos of them in uniform.

CardsForHeroes is a non-profit group whose mission is to send blank handmade greeting cards to our troops so they will have cards to send back home to their family and friends.

Please visit the website and read some of the inspiring stories and then join us on Saturday, May 23rd for the blog hop!

A Few Pictures From Kevin's Visit Home!

Kevin and me. I love this picture!

Kevin and my dad.

Kevin's dad, Bob, my mom, Kevin, Debbie, Kevin's Mom and me



My Mom, Kevin and my Dad.


Just wanted to share a few pictures of our visit with Kevin when he was home from his Post Iraq trip home. We had a great dinner at my parent's house. Kevin is back in California now at his home base at Camp Pendleton. Last week, on May 7th, he turned the big 21!!

Love you and miss you Kevin!!

Happy mothers day!

Just wanted to wish you all a happy mothers day! I don't have a card to share yet but should later tonight. Also test posting from my blackberry to see if this works.

I Am Still Alive and Kicking!!

 

I can't believe how long it's been since I have posted on my blog!! Gosh..life has just totally been out of control busy lately. I have been working so much overtime at work it's unreal. I literally have had no time to even step into my stamp room. I did manage to get away last weekend to a 3 day Scrapbooking retreat. My friend Lynn went with me and we had a great time. I finally finished my daughters scrapbook! I'll try to post some of my favorite layouts soon.

Speaking of Lynn... today was her birthday. Happy Birthday Lynnie!! I hope you had a wonderful day!
I made this card card for Lynn and will be giving it to her tomorrow. This Tilda is from the recent Spring Kit. I think she's just too cute! The paper is Basic Grey and Stampin Up Regal Rose cardstock is the base. I stamped Tilda on my new Gina K Pure Luxury cardstock! I REALLY REALLY like it!!

Yesterday, I got my Gorjus Girls pre-order in the mail and OMG.. I can't wait to color them and create a card! I'm hoping to be able to do that this week if I can find the energy!

I hope you all are well! I've missed you and I'm looking forward to getting back into my regular blogging mode!

Thanks for stopping by!

I'm Still Here..

Sorry I haven't posted in over 10 days. Work has been so busy and my camera is on the fritz. I had to send it in for service. I have been creating and hope to share some cards with you sometime this week. I have kept up with my Christmas Stamping All Year Long challenges and as soon as I can I will post my creations.

Saturday, I went to a new stamp store in Lakeland and got a new set of Nesties, Scalloped Circles, two new stamp sets from Cornish Heritage Farms and a new 6X6 Basic Grey "Eva" paper pad. Love it!! The stamp sets I bought are sentiments, one for Mother's Day and the other Birthday sentiments.

I also went to Violette's Yard Sale on Saturday and picked up a few good stamps :)

My Magnolia Spring Kit finally arrived Saturday as well and the images are just adorable. I can't wait to play with them.

On a Happy Note... Kevin came home from Iraq on Thursday!! His mom and dad, flew out to meet him and Debbie, Kevin's mom sent me a couple of pictures! So glad he's back on US Soil! He'll be back home on April 3rd and I just can't wait to hug him!!!

Here Kitty Kitty....

I made this card for a very dear cousin who celebrated her birthday on Friday. Meryn is a cat lover and I knew this image would be perfect for her. Isn't it the cutest? The stamp is from Cornish Heritage Farms and I actually bought this stamp as a gift for my friend Amanda when we went to Stamp Fest a few weeks ago. I asked to borrow it to make this card for Meryn and Amanda was so sweet to let me. Thanks Manda!!

I've had a busy weekend and didn't get much crafting in at all. Yesterday, I went to the Strawberry Festival which is an annual event here in Plant City, Florida that showcases lots of Country Music and yummy strawberries! It's my favorite festival of the year. The weather yesterday was gorgeous and it was a wonderful day spent with my husband, parents and niece.

I hope to spend lots of time in my craft room this week and share some cards with you all. Thanks for stopping by!!

Cardstock: Stampin Up and Basic Grey
Stamp: Cornish Heritage Farms; Sentiment from Stampin Up Wonderful Words
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Ribbon: Michaels
Coloring: Copic Markers

Christmas Stampin' All Year Long- Challenge #6

This week Maria provided a wonderful sketch with a twist. Our card could only have one embellishment on it and the chosen embellishment was eyelets! You had to use at least 3 eyelets but could use more if you wanted.

If you haven't already visited the Christmas Stampin' All Year Round Challenge Blog, you really should go see all the wonderful inspiration over there! Each week a new challenge is posted and it helps me get my Christmas cards done early. I don't know about you, but last year I was scrambling to get them all done and it stressed me out!

This is the card I created...



This Tilda is a Magnolia stamp that I got in the Winter kit. I just think she's adorable and need to ink her up more!

Just Sitting Here....

I made this card last weekend when the girls were over to stamp. I love this Tilda. She came in my WinterKit and I had so much fun coloring her.

Just another simple card.. not much bling to it. But I like it!

Stampin Up Stamp Club...

I have a Stamp Club and I'm looking for more people to join.

What is a Stamp Club you ask??

The club runs for 6 months and with 6 people. Each month you commit to purchase a minimum of $25 in product from any current catalog. Each person in the club will get to be the hostess one of the months and earn the hostess benefits that month. You also get a free catalog of your own.

This is a great way to slowly build your Stampin Up supplies and stamp sets. If you are interested, please email me at riverviewstamper@gmail.com

I will send you the agreement form!

I promised...

I would share some photos of my craft room. I'm not finished with it yet..I do need to get some things hung on the wall and I'm hoping to go to Ikea next weekend to pick up some shelves and the racks to hang all my punches on.



This is the view from the doorway looking in.



Another view of the workspace.



This is the shelf I have DP stacks, stamps and more stamps on...





The countertops I put in were purchased at Lowes and were very inexpensive.



This is my cuttlebug and the basket behind it where I store my nesties and embossing folders.



This is another shelf on the other side of the window. Holds more stuff! (Ha- should have said junk!)



This is an extra table I have set up so my buddies can stamp with me!

Thanks for visiting today! I will have a card to show in just a little bit. I had a good day crafting today!

Missing You......

Here's another card I made last weekend. I just love this Tilda by Magnolia stamps. The card is very simple, but I really like how it turned out. I used a new corner punch I got at Joann's to insert the stamped image in. I stamped the sentiment from Gina K on the front and that's it!

Simple. Sometimes I really like simple.

I'm so glad the weekend is here. I hope to get some crafting time in and I'm really hoping my Spring Kit from Magnolia stamps shows up in my mailbox.

Thanks for stopping by! I really do appreciate all the nice comments I get on my cards! Hugs to you all!

Wacky Wednesday....

I'll tell you, today was one Wacky Wednesday! Work was beyond insane! I hope you all are having a great week so far. I'm already looking forward to the weekend so I can get some more stamping done.

Today I have Tilda with Balloons to share with you. My friend Lynn has this cute Tilda and she let me borrow her to ink up some images. I just love her. A couple of weeks ago, one of my SBS sisters, Kim, posted the cutest card using paperpiecing and she used this same stamp. You have to check out her card here.

I have tried my hand at casing her card, but don't have it quite finished yet. I hope to get it finished and posted in the next day or two.

Hope you come back again to visit.. Have a great day everyone!

Card Recipe:
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Stamps: Magnolia
Cardstock: Stampin Up- real red- Certainly Celery
Coloring medium- Copic Markers
Emellishments: Cuttlebug embossing folder
Designer paper- Basic Grey- Urban Prairie.

A Birthday Card For Becky....

One of my friends Becky celebrated her birthday on Sunday and this is the card I made for her. She really liked it! I used my Janome Sew Mini to do the stitching on the card using Basic Grey Designer paper. I just love this image from Whiff of Joy. I colored her with Copic markers and used my Nesties to cut out the image.

Well.. yesterday I asked who out there is watching American Idol. Little did I know that President Obama was speaking tonight so no Americal Idol tonight. I hope you all had a great day today!

Be back tomorrow with another card to share!

Birthday Bella

It's Tuesday and American Idol is on tonight.. are you watching this season? I'm really liking Danny the best so far. I'm so glad he made it through last week.

Today I'm sharing a simple gate fold card with Birthday Bella from Stamping Bella. I just love her! I made this card for a Birthday girl on the other side of the big pond. Putting it the mail tomorrow and hoping it arrives in time for her birthday.

Thanks for stopping by!




Card Recipe:
Stamp: Stamping Bella
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: Basic Grey, Stampin Up Cardstock,
Coloring: Copic Markers

Challenge #5- Christmas Stamping All Year Long

Well this is week number 5 for the challenge divas over at Maria's Christmas Stamping All Year Long. This week we were given the instructions to use the colors purple, pink and blue and to use the sketch shown.

These colors don't sound like they'd make a good Christmas card, but I love them together!

My image is Tilda with cap from Magnolia stamps. I am so in love with these stamps. You all will probably get tired of seeing them on my blog!

The DP is from a Christmas stack I got at Michaels. I used Stampin Up cardstock for my base and accenting cardstock.

Lauren in Love- New Paper Makeup Stamps!

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Yesterday, Lynn and Amanda came over and we stamped our hearts out. I got 6 cards finished and am so happy that I'll have lots to share with you this week.

Tonight I am sharing a card I made with a brand new stamp line that I have just fallen in love with. Katie from Paper Make Up stamps has just started her own company and she has the most adorable images. She has a pre-order special going on right now for her March Release stamps. Go check it out! You'll love her stuff. She is also starting to carry Nestibilites too!

I colored Lauren In Love with my Copic Markers. I added the grass stamp from Amuse stamps to add a little extra scenery.You can't really see it very well, but I used Angel Wing Shimmerz on her wings. The designer paper is from Basic Grey. The sentiment is from Gina K designs. I added some pink organza ribbon for accent. Other embellishments are the baubles and brads.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope everyone has a Happy Monday!

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Paper Make Up, Amuse, Gina K Designs
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper; PTI, Basic Grey, Stampin Up
Embellishments: Ribbon from Michaels, Brads and Baubles, Shimmerz
Coloring: Copic Markers

Week 4- Christmas Stamping All Year Long

Today was our reveal day for this week's challenge sketch over at Christmas Stamping All Year Long.

The sketch above was created by Maria, our fearless group leader. She does an awesome job each week of motivating and inspiring us to create our Christmas cards early!

This is the card I created for the challenge.



Go check out the rest of the Diva's and the cards they created this week to inspire you!

Meet Vivian!

If you follow my blog you know that Saturday I spent the day with friends at StampFest. We had such an awesome time and I spent way to much money! I'll be working overtime to help me pay for the damages! LOL

Today I am sharing a card I made with one of my new images from Sparkle and Sprinkle. There's a whole line of these images...beautiful ladies. I fell in love with Vivian and had to have her! Isn't she beautiful???

I stamped her with Brilliance ink and heat embossed the image with clear embossing powder. I then colored her with copic markers and cut the image out with my scalloped oval nesties. The designer paper is Basic Grey and the sentiment is from Gina K Designs. I added a Prima flower for embellishment.

Hope everyone had a great weekend! I have lots more to show you this week!
Have a great Monday!

We have a winner!!

As promised, I used random.com to choose the winner of my Blog Candy!


Here are your random numbers:

5

Timestamp: 2009-02-16 04:02:48 UTC

Katie C said:

congrats!!!!! i love the candy up for grabs! i posted ya on my blog! :)

February 9, 2009 8:53 AM

Thanks to everyone who participated!! Katie, I'll be emailing you shortly for your mailing address!

Stay tuned.. I have a couple cards to post yet tonight.

True Love....

Happy Valentines Day Everyone! I hope you all have a wonderful day with your sweetheart, loved ones and friends!

Tonight when I got home from work, I found this waiting for me from my Husband! Isn't it Go-jus???



I also had some new stamps waiting for me when I got home! I ordered the new Leanne Ellis stamps from Sugar Nellie - Funkykits.com. I fell in love with these when I saw them. I decided to make a card with one tonight and this stamp is called True Love.

I used Copic Markers to color the image and then used some Tim Holtz distress inks to duab on the background. The designer paper I used was from Basic Grey and the card base is Chocolate Chip from Stampin Up. I added some ribbon from CTMH. I used Taylor's sketch challenge as inspiration for the layout. It's not exactly to the sketch but I liked the different pieces of patterned papers in this weeks sketch.



Here's my card:


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Have a great day everyone! I'm heading to StampFest in just a few short hours! I'll be back tomorrow night to share more stuff!

You Mean Everything To Me....

Happy Friday the 13th!! I hope everyone has had a good week! One more day for me to wait until StampFest!! I am so excited about going on Saturday. I'm taking along 4 friends, including Lynn, Amanda, Becky and Kim. StampFest is an all day event with lots of stamping vendors exhibiting their products for us to buy! Last year when I went I had only been stamping for about 3 weeks and I was overwhelmed. I'm just plain out of my mind excited now.

I'll be sure to take my camera and share some photos with you all.

My card today is a Whiff Of Joy stamp- Melinda holding Heart. I just love her!! I colored her with Copics and the Designer Paper is K&Company. I used a sentiment stamp from Stampin Up and the ribbon is CTMH.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope to have more to share tomorrow night.

Come And Join Us!!

A few months ago when Paper Craft Planet started to make it's boom, I created a group there for all the Magnolia Stamp Lovers. We've got over 250 members there and continue to grow. We're starting some fun new things too. I also created a new Yahoo Group for the Magnolia Stamp Lovers United (MLSU). If you like to participate in challenges, swaps, RAKS and chatting about these cute stamps, come join us! Tell your friends to come join too!

Click Here to join us!


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alt="Click to join MagnoliaStampLoversUnited"/>

Click to join MagnoliaStampLoversUnited

Christmas Stampin' All Year Long- Challenge #3

This is the card I created for the challenge this week at Christmas Stampin' All Year Long Challenge Blog. Maria created this blog and a group over at Paper Craft Planet to inspire us to make our Christmas Cards early!

Each week we get a sketch to go by and then upload to the blog. I'm one of the challenge divas and I'm really enjoying this. Here's the link to all the cards the other divas made. Check it out and leave some love if you can!

Happy Sunday and Blog Candy!

I hope you all had a great weekend. Mine was busy but I did get some crafting time in.
Last night Lynn and I went to a co-worker's 40th Birthday party and after we left I went to Lynn's and colored. Lynn's daughter Ashleigh has been really getting into cardmaking in the past couple of months. She is 14 years old and is an amazing colorer! Lynn has a few of her creations over on her blog.



Today, I spent some time at my parents house and colored some more. I'm finished coloring my images for my Valentine cards but I don't have them put together yet to share with you.

Today's card I am sharing was made almost a year ago. I got this sweet Sugar Nellie image in a swap with my SBS-15 sisters.

Tomorrow I will have more to share. Now on to the fun stuff...blog candy!

As you know I celebrated my one year blogaversary last month. I'm just getting to post my blog candy.



Here's what is up for grabs...

Hero Arts Decorative Birds Stamp Set
Magnolia Stamp - Stylish Tilda
Cuttlebug Embossing Folder - Merci
Recollections Decorative Brads (Pinks,Browns and Orange)
CTMH Waxy Flax - Olive
Making Memories- Label Holders
Making Memories- 6x6 Paper Pack Funky Vintage Lizzie Collection
7 Gypsies Wire Album- great for altering!

To enter the giveaway, comment here on this post and announce my blog candy on your blog. Please leave the link to your blog in your comment. I will use the random integer to pick the winner on Sunday, February 15th.