Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in the USA today and a happy day to everyone.  I am so thankful for my family and friends and our dog, Molly. Ours sons and daughter in laws are the greatest and our grandkids are wonderful. We are so lucky to have such wonderful people in our lives. All of our relatives, near and far, are terrific. My sister in law is just like a sister and I love her and her family so much too. Even our dog, Molly, brings so much joy into our lives. I'm grateful my hubby is doing so well at this point and is still able to do some things. This year I have even more to be thankful for - You - my blogger friends! You make my days brighter and make me happy when you comment and follow. I am thankful I have such a fun hobby of cardmaking that sends joy to others and gives me something to do here at home.  You guys are the greatest!  Enjoy you day and be kind to each other.

 

We don't have snow or ice but we sure have COLD. Oh my. I can't believe I am going to get a haircut this morning then off to the grocery store in this bone chilling cold. It is now 18 with a wind chill of eight.  Then I need to finish up the cleaning.  I'm showing you my floor today. I keep all Christmas stamps and embellishments in a plastic tub and I had it all spread out on the floor these last two weeks. I had the island pulled out in the middle of the floor and stuff all over. To all my friends south of here and on the east coast be careful if you have snow and ice. I hope everyone gets where they are going safely.  I want to welcome two new followers to my blog http://mylittlesliceofbliss.blogspot.com/ who makes the cutest cards and uses washi in the coolest way and http://craftypawsbytrisha.blogspot.com/ who also has a great blog and the sweetest dog.  I'm so happy to have you along with me.

Be kind to each other and thankful.

 

Because I have let the housework go for two weeks to take the online card class I have my work cut out for me before Thanksgiving. I needed one more Thankful card so I shamelessly case'd this card from http://www.frenchiestamps.com/ so I could make it and drop it in the mail. I love her blog and she does great videos plus her accent is the cutest!

 

The second card of Debby's is the male version. The previous one is the female version. I love having them show male cards. There aren't that many male cards or stamps so I'm always happy when a good one comes along.  I forgot to put the bling on the female card in the picture I posted, but have since added it.

I'm sending this card to http://onlinecardclasses.com/hcw13/class-info/. I should tell you that the branch was done with embossing paste, then sprinkled with embossing powder and heated. I didn't have the silver so I used the embossing tinsel. It is so sparkly. That was my first time with the paste and it is very cool. The reason the embossing tinsel didn't work the other day (are you sitting down?) is that the plastic was still on the bottle. I couldn't get the lid off and I was afraid to keep messing with it. A senior moment for sure!

Todays first two cards for http://onlinecardclasses.com/hcw13/ are by Debby Hughes and I love them. I couldn't wait to get started but I did think it through first!  Since I don't have everything they use in class I have to improvise and that's not always easy for me. My one big hitch was stamping the snowflake on the white background. I tried a new Martha Stewart punch that will punch anywhere. Well, it didn't. The magnets wouldn't line up so it would not punch. I had to use the little punch I had and it is okay.  Hope you like it.  Be kind to each other.

 

Here is my last card for day four. I didn't make all of the cards for class but I am happy with the ones I did make.

This is on its way to http://onlinecardclasses.com/hcw13/ too.

Upon reflection, I think my problem yesterday was being in too big of a hurry. I started in without knowing what ink I was going to use and what stamps so when I got started nothing came out like it was suppose to. Today was okay.  This is the second card for day four of class.

I will post this one to http://onlinecardclasses.com/hcw13/ too.

Today was a much better day for card making. I watched the videos again and I was ready. This will be three posts because I can only seem to post one card at a time on the http://onlinecardclasses.com/hcw13/ site.  This card I made 3 times. I can't get the stripes to come out just right but that's okay. This was my best one!

 

Be kind to each other.

 

My heart goes out to all the people and places that had tornados or straight line wind damage yesterday. So much destruction and loss of property but no loss of life. We had 23 instances of tornado touch downs and 484 reports of wind damage in Indiana. It was not just here but in Illinois and Kentucky as well. It was a scary day for us. Our home only had high winds and rain so we were very fortunate.

I can't make a card today to save my life. First I tried the chalkboard card from yesterday's bonus. The background came out great so I know how to do that now. The rest of the card - not so much. Tried the stripes on todays video and they didn't work. Stamped the trees and they came out so cute. Then, could not find my embossing buddy. I looked everywhere and found things I had forgotten about but no embossing buddy. Finally - it turned up. I didn't have silver embossing powder so I found some embossing tinsel that was so pretty and shiny to use. It did not show up on the card at all. I am going to fix lunch and go to the pharmacy. I need a stamping break. Maybe I'll be back later.

Would you believe it's me again! I don't think I've ever made this many cards in so short a time. This was day three also. Use a stencil and mask off the paper to make a tree.  Here is my offering.

Be kind to each other. I will post this to http://onlinecardclasses.com/hcw13/class-info/.

There was a bonus class on Saturday done by three teenage crafters, two girls and a guy. It's so great that the young want to carry on cardmaking.  They did such a good job on their cards. I am posting one made by Tanner. He used patterned paper as a background. I have trouble picking out paper so this was a chance for me to do that. Be kind to each other.

 I am posting this card to http://onlinecardclasses.com/hcw13/class-info/.

This is the little tag. I'm posting on http://onlinecardclasses.com/hcw13/ page.

 

Okay, this is a repeat as will be the next post. I couldn't get all three to upload to the card class so I am doing three separate posts. Just skip this and the next one. I'm so sorry.

 

I will post this on http://onlinecardclasses.com/hcw13/class-info/ page.

 

According to the weather people we are in for a stormy day along with MO, IL, KY, TN and OH. High damaging winds and torrential rain. That sounds like a perfect forecast for stamping as long as we have power!  I'm showing you two cards and a tag from day three of class. My favorite is the plaid and I think I got carried away and made it too big. I did miss stamping a few places along the way but I love it and now know how to do it. I made little boo boos on some of the cards but it is a learning experience and I sure am learning a lot. The second card is stamping on an angle using the stampamajig. I had trouble with the embossing powder but that's okay too. The last one is a tag that is suppose to have a verse across the image and a popped up image stamped over it to match the other one. I didn't have any verse small enough to go over the snowman so I just popped up the heart. The crafters taking this class are so talented. Their samples are wonderful. So many ideas out there. Be kind to each other. I am going to post these on the http://onlinecardclasses.com/hcw13/class-info/  page.

 

 

I figured out how to do post this banner just now. It was so simple. We have been gone all day to the VA so I haven't had a chance to try the cards for day two. My first one wasn't very good so I'm anxious to try again but we are on the way out the door tonight. I love this class tho and can't wait to really get busy. Be kind to each other.

This is the second day of Holiday card class. This is my first card made by embedding die cuts into the negative space. I didn't get real ambitious and only made one layer but I'm happy the way it came out and now I have an idea of what to do. Jennifer McGuire is the teacher today and her cards are beautiful and intricate. Be kind to each other.

 

Oops, my joy is crooked and the picture isn't very good. Hopefully you will get the idea. I'm  going to post this on the http://onlinecardclasses.com/hcw13/day-2-student-gallery/ today.

 

I have part of my first day of http://onlinecardclasses.com/hcw13/class-info/ under my belt. I made the first and second card so far. We were gone most of yesterday so I didn't get started until today. I love the cards and am pleased with the way they turned out. My white gel pen would not work on the first card so I will be replacing it soon. That sets off the card so well. The second card with the banner I had a harder time with matching up the banners but I love the idea. These gals are so talented and I am learning new things. So here are my first attempts.  The first card is a gift card holder and I will be making more of these. Perfect for any occasion you are giving a gift for.  The white stitching should go under the top red tape and above the bottom red tape. I didn't have decorated tape so I had to stamp on my tape to make it look better!

I don't think I let the background get dry on my second card because it wore off on the front! I only have two background stamps so I didn't have a big choice of what to use. There are so many things I don't have that the gals use so I am using just what I can come up with. It was so much fun. This won't be the last class I take, that's for sure. 

I am just beside myself with joy. As I was reading my blogs the other day I found I was a winner of the Holiday Card Class starting tomorrow. I've never taken an online class and this will be a good one. I can hardly wait. It's just like Christmas for me. 

Thanks for all the comments about my neighbors passing. My husband will miss him so much. It gave hubby pleasure to go over and check on him every other day and take in his mail. They had both been Marines so that was the common topic of conversation. This will be hard and I appreciate your thoughts. I believe they are together again.

Today's card is my last one for Thanksgiving as far as I know. It's time to start on Christmas. I can't wait to be inspired by blogs and this class. Be kind to each other.

 

This has been a sad year for us. We have lost seven people this year. Our next door neighbor passed away this morning. He lost his wife two years ago and I don't think he ever got over it. He is a close friend of my husbands and I dreaded telling hubby about the passing. Once when hubby went over to see him, he was looking at his wife's picture and had tears rolling down his face. He said everyday how much he missed her. Such a sad love story.

Today I am posting a Thanksgiving card made for our son and his family. Just a simple piece of patterned paper with a Stampin Up stamp and their burlap ribbon. The background is a Lifestyle craft embossing folder.   Be kind to each other. You never know how fast life can change.

I am going to post this card to http://casology.blogspot.com.au/ for their cue word Brown.

 

 

We have been busy little campers. Hubby had some things that we took care of so we have been out and about. I need a day to catch up on the blogs and get in my craft room. Weather is calling for rain today and that is such a wonderful reason to craft. Todays card is one I made using K&C things I purchased years ago (like a lot of products that were put away because I just bought them with no particular use in mind). I'm learning to branch out and use different things on cards rather that just paper and ink. I learned a lesson with this card. Stamp first, then apply embellishments. The little squares are raised and the stamp didn't fit well so I had to fill in with pen on the sentiment. The bottom is a strip of washi tape.  Be kind to each other.

 

Hope everyone had a safe Halloween without rain and wind. Thank goodness they moved ours a day later. It was chilly but dry. I am so excited that I posted my first card on the CASology site with Darnell's help. She is a treasure to share how to do that. Well, she is a treasure period. I've been back to look at my card on their site three times since I sent it there. It looks so much happier there! I still can't believe it.

That's it for today. Getting ready to shower and wash my hair. I'll share that I use Philosophy bath and shower gel to wash my hair and it has never been in better shape. I don't really think of it as a gel, more the consistency of shampoo, but you will love it. We have to go to our homeowners meeting this afternoon, but I hope to work on a fall card when we get home. Be kind to each other.