It’s My Birthday!

Yes, today is my birthday. I’m 39 today. My last year in my thirties. Next year I’ll be in my forties. My life is half over. Sigh…

And what a birthday it’s been so far. My son Matt has pneumonia and is home from school until Thursday. Matt is a great kid – he’s just a little….let’s just say ‘chatty’ (can’t imagine where he gets that from!). And he’s on steroids and nebulizer treatments every four hours. Which makes him SUPER chatty. There hasn’t been a single moment of silence in my house today.

And the nor’easter that came through yesterday flooded our basement. So much so that my husband stayed home from work yesterday to try to keep up with the water.

The weather has been absolutely horrible since Sunday morning – which means that my attempts to housebreak our new puppy have failed miserably! She hated going out in the rain – and when she did go out, we’d have to stand there with her to make sure she didn’t escape under the fence (not a problem in a few weeks as she gets bigger, but for now, she can fit right under).

So I’m out there at 6:00 AM in the cold, driving wind and rain with my robe and slippers on (note to self – don’t go outside again wearing slippers during a nor’easter – they’ll soak right through), carrying an umbrella to take the puppy out. And all she wants to do is play in the mud. And as soon as we go back inside….BOOM! She poops on the floor. Every single time. At least she’s consistent, I guess.

I did manage to sneak a few moments of crafting in yesterday, though.

I’ve been working on a ‘flag book’ based on an idea I received from a fellow demo during a swap at Leadership. It’s kind of a play on the accordion book, but the pages are small rectangles that fold each way. I haven’t put photos in the book yet, but here’s the book closed and open:

I’m going to do a class on this, I think – probably at the end of April or beginning of May.

It’s also my friend Denise’s birthday today (a link to her blog is on the right) so I worked on her card and gift this weekend too.

DENISE – DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER UNLESS YOU WANT YOUR BIRTHDAY SURPRISE RUINED!!!!

I made her a card that’s basically very simple, but classic. I, of course, forgot to take a photo of the card before I sealed it, but here’s a similar card I made to keep for the idea:

The card is a Fabriano card – the paper is absolutely beautiful and is so luxurious! I stamped the image with black StazOn ink and watercolored it with re-inkers and a blender pen. Then I took my new favorite toy – a glitter pen – and outlined the flowers and vase. Not sure if it comes through in the photo, but it looks like a vintage postcard when you add the glitter – and it is SO easy and fun to do!

I first got hooked on the glitter pen when my friend Jennifer bought one at the Stamp & Scrap Art Tour – then she used it on a card during our Stamp Club’s Shoebox Swap.

The glitter pen is called ‘Gelly Roll’ and I ordered it from Impress Rubber Stamps (one of my favorite companies – other than SU!, of course). It’s better than any other I’ve used – the ink comes out in a smooth fine line and when the clear ink dries, you’re left with just the glitter.

I also used a blue Fabriano card, a simple seashell image and the Gelly Roll pen for this card and envelope:

Very simple, but very elegant.  Not sure if the glitter comes through nicely in those photos, but in person – it’s a great accent.

But back to Denise’s present…I’m giving her what I’m calling a “Box O’ Stuff”:

I found a vintage jewelry box at a yard sale and I filled it with various crafting items including charms, ribbon, a vintage photo, dominos, vintage cigar labels, a vintage charm bracelet, vintage compacts, punchinella, watch parts, paper weights, muslin dolls, compasses, buttons, felt flowers, ephemera…you know – all the stuff we love to play with! I’ve been picking up stuff for her for a while now and just keep adding it to the stack. I ordered bunch of stuff from SkyBluePink, Outside The Margins, and DollarScrapbooking as well as eBay and numerous yard sales, thrift stores, and flea markets.

I wrapped the box in cellophane and tied it with a pretty ribbon – I hope she likes it! I’m certain that I would like to receive this as a present, so I think she will too.

And..here’s another photo of Daisy – the reason I’m not able to get much done lately…the little stinker (and I mean that in the most loving way)! Sorry – she’s just so adorable – I had to add another photo! 😉