Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Blog Candy Winner

The winner of my blog candy from this weekends "Make Your Own Holiday" Blog Hop hosted by KarelJ, (which I am actually still rounding up & will post a picture of before sending it off) is ……

First, I contacted Karel’s friend “Randy” (Random.org) and asked him to help me draw a winner. He drew….

Drum roll please…..


Marianne Fiskateer #6708

Congratulations Marianne! I have sent you an email for you to send me your mailing information.

Thank you everyone for your wonderful comments & be sure to stop by again. Our next blog hop is KarelJ’s Toadily Frog Blog Hop on April 23rd & 24th.

Please stop by again. I appreciate your comments & your visits. Enjoy your day!

Monday, March 28, 2011

Copic Marker Journal

Some time ago I found these pages online that have tips for Copic Markers, a chart where you can keep favorite coloring combo’s, hair combo’s, skin combo’s, as well as the Copic Marker chart. I decided to take all of this & make myself a Copic Marker Journal that I could carry in my purse so that when I am out on a buying trip or even an online shopping spree, I don’t replace or buy what I already have.

I used a cereal box to make the covers. Sized the pages to the size I wanted. Added binder rings, (I still have to add some ribbons) and viola… I have a Copic Marker Journal to carry in my purse. Surprising enough, I’m even using it. Lol

TFL! Have a wonderful day!

KarelJ’s “Make Your Own Holiday” Blog Hop Thanks

Thanks Karel for all the hard work you do in putting together these fabulous blog hops & allowing me to participate. Your hard work doesn't go unnoticed. I really appreciate all the hard work you put into making these blog hops such a huge success.

I also want to thank all of you who stopped by, are now followers as well as left such wonderful, encouraging comments about my projects.

I’ll be back with the blog candy winner from the weekends comments as soon as I can. Thanks again to everyone who stopped by & I hope you’ll continue to visit. Have a great day!

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Karel's Make Your Own Holiday Blog Hop Day 2

My holiday is…..

“Who Do You Think You Are Day”

Welcome back to Day 2 of Karel’s “Make Your Own Holiday” Blog Hop. I don’t know about you but I was absolutely floored by yesterday’s projects posted for this hop. These girls really knocked themselves out and I was so impressed by the various projects. My holiday, “Who Do You Think You Are?” Day is all about discovering and sharing your roots. I believe that it’s important for our children to know their families history and to know the hardships that their ancestors went through so that they can live the lives that they have today.

If you arrived here from Bonnie's blog at A Scrap Above at http://ascrapabove.blogspot.com/, your on the right track. The next stop on this 2 day hop is Nicolette's blog at Beyond Scrapping at http://www.beyondscrapin.blogspot.com/. If you get lost along the way, please go back to Karel's blog at http://www.kareljcreations.com/ for a complete list of the blogs participating.

Ok…first I’ll tell you about the blog candy and then on to my holiday post.

“Karelj (http://www.kareljcreations.com) is offering an over-all blog candy for those who are hopping along with us. She thought it would be fun to have some holiday-themed candy for this hop--but, of course, made-up holiday items were hard to come by! She decided to do a whole bunch of *regular* holiday themed stamps for you to enjoy. From Fiskars, there is an assorted holiday set; there's an alphabet from All Night Media, a set of 100 plus clear stamps and a storage case from Family Memories, and 5 sets of clear stamps from various dollar bins in big box stores. How to win them? Follow along the blog trail, leaving a comment on each and every blog. On Monday, Karelj will ask her buddy Randy (random.org) to select a blog number (from the list), a day (Saturday is one, Sunday is two), and a comment number from that blog. Please make sure you have left a reliable way to contact you (email is best, in the safe format of **** at **** dot com) so you can be notified by her personally. If you don't, she’ll have to select another winner.”

I will also put together something for blog candy. I'm not sure what yet but I will pick one winner by random over the two day postings to win a prize. I'll try & get a picture posted soon.

If you get lost along the way, the list for the blog hop is on yesterdays post.
When I first started researching my family tree it was before I had a computer. I made several trips to the local cemeteries, the local museum where they have a genealogy department that had a fair bit of information on my mother’s father’s family (Doane/Doan/Decou/Lemon/Marr & Thomson’s of South Ronaldsay, Orkney Islands, UK) who for the most part remained in this area. I went as far as I could on this line and quit for a few years. When I got my first computer in the late 1990’s I started back at it & was amazed at the wealth of information. I started researching my Thomson’s of South Ronaldsay, Orkney Islands, UK and met a friend online who helped me connect my line back to the early 1700’s. Not only did I have the names & dates of my ancestors, I also had the documents to prove that these people were my family.

After putting together my family tree, I wanted a way to showcase this information for my son in a format that would appeal to him. I decided to combine my love of genealogy with my new love scrapbooking (a hobby I picked up after a 2003 auto accident left me unable to work again). I created a mini album with a “shadow box” type display to show it off. The first mini album I created was for my Thomson’s of the Orkney Islands. Inside the shadow box I have a photograph of my Great Grandfather who immigrated from the Orkney Islands, my Great Grandmother (who died of Tuberculosis in 1887 at the age of 29 in Denver, Colorado) along with my maternal grandfather & his sister. (This is the only photograph we have of them). Also included in my shadow box is a Parish Token from the Parish of St. Mary’s, South Ronaldsay, Orkney Islands, Scotland. My GF’s husband does metal dectecting and during a time when the town was tearing up our streets to put in new sewer lines he found this Parish Token. When I saw it & told them that it was from the Parish where my Great Grandfather was baptized, they gave it to me and it is now one of my cherished possessions.

Here is a picture of the paperbag mini album with shadowbox that I created for my son a few years ago. In my album I started off with the first generation that I was able to find and ended it with my son who was the 8th generation.

I also created a paperbag mini album of my father’s paternal side going back generations ending again at my son who is the generation.

This past summer I discovered Ancestry.com and thought that I would see if I could go any further on my mother’s maternal side that always stumped me as well as my father’s maternal side. I was amazed at the wealth of information that I found on both lines. I was able to go back 6 generations on my maternal grandmother’s side and 8 generations on my paternal grandmother’s side. (I ended at my son who is single and is the end of the line following me).

Now that I have discovered all this information on my mother’s maternal side of the family, I thought that I’d make her a mini album that she could show off. I plan on adding a shadow box as well before giving it to her.

My mother is 86 and has always been interested in learning more about her mother’s side of the family, relatives that she remembers and lost touch with over the years, etc. I know that she would love to have something to show off that tells the story of her mother’s side of the family. This is going to be her Mother’s Day gift this year from me. This is the album that I have created to give to her along with the journal/journal jar. I am sure that she will love them.

Thank you so much for all your wonderful comments and for taking the time to hop with us. I hope that you’ve enjoyed yourselves and that this might encourage some of you to want to discover your roots as well.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Karel’s Make Your Own Holiday Blog Hop

Hmmm! When Karel posted that the March Blog Hop was going to be “Make Your Own Holiday” I thought that I knew immediately what I wanted to do. Trying to come up with a holiday either real or pretend was a tough one for me. I won’t say how many different holiday themes that I came up with & then over the course of a few days, changed my mind for one reason or another. One theme that I had thought of was a Princess Day but unfortunately my three little princesses weren’t available in time for me to do a project for this hop.

“You should have arrived here from Bonnie at A Scrap Above at http://ascrapabove.blogspot.com. If you just stumbled across the hop, and you’d like to start at the beginning, hop over to Karelj’s blog at www.kareljcreations.com to start at the beginning. After my stop, you should head over to Nicolette at Beyond Scrapping at www.beyondscrapin.blogspot.com to see what she has in store for you!”

Ok…first I’ll tell you about the blog candy and then on to my holiday post.

“Karelj (http://www.kareljcreations.com) is offering an over-all blog candy for those who are hopping along with us. She thought it would be fun to have some holiday-themed candy for this hop--but, of course, made-up holiday items were hard to come by! She decided to do a whole bunch of *regular* holiday themed stamps for you to enjoy. From Fiskars, there is an assorted holiday set; there's an alphabet from All Night Media, a set of 100 plus clear stamps and a storage case from Family Memories, and 5 sets of clear stamps from various dollar bins in big box stores. How to win them? Follow along the blog trail, leaving a comment on each and every blog. On Monday, Karelj will ask her buddy Randy (random.org) to select a blog number (from the list), a day (Saturday is one, Sunday is two), and a comment number from that blog. Please make sure you have left a reliable way to contact you (email is best, in the safe format of **** at **** dot com) so you can be notified by her personally. If you don't, she’ll have to select another winner.”

I will also put together something for blog candy. I'm not sure what yet but I will pick one winner by random over the two day postings to win a prize. I'll try & get a picture posted soon.

I finally decided on “Who Do You Think You Are” day. I borrowed the title from the new television show where they follow different stars while they trace their family trees. My holiday is more about remembering your roots, remembering those that came before us and celebrating them. Without them there wouldn’t be a you or I.

I’ve always been fascinated by my family history and have always wanted to learn more about my ancestors. I started back in the early 90’s tracing my mother’s paternal side of the family tree. My Great Grandfather came from the Orkney Islands in Scotland, UK and it wasn’t an easy job to tackle. With no one really knowing much about my Great Grandfather and his life in the Orknies, it was quite the difficult job. I am thrilled to say that after hundreds of hours, some help from online friends, a lot of research and quite the paper trail, I’ve been able to accurately trace my Great Grandfather’s side of the tree back to the mid 1700’s.

I also traced my mother’s paternal mother’s side (Doan/Doane) of the family tree and have accurately been able to trace them back to the late 1500’s on her side. My mother’s maternal side of the family tree has always been a mystery to her. It was always my “brick wall” and eventually I’d give up. Last summer I decided to play around on Ancestry.ca and try to see if I could trace her mother’s family tree. It was funny because I had sat down at the computer on Mother’s Day and started putting in names and before you knew it, I had found her family. I was thrilled because this has always been something that my mother has wanted to learn more about as did her older sister, my Aunt Elva, who sadly passed away in 2009. She would have been totally thrilled with my findings as over the years she was a huge help in my family tree research. Aunt Elva was 93 when she passed away from the C-Dif virus, she was an amazing woman and it’s so sad to think of all the stories we’ve lost now that she’s gone.

This got me to thinking of the stories that my mother has that haven’t been told yet. How at 86 years old it’s time for us to ask the questions and to hear the stories. Because I want to hear the stories of my families history, my mother’s childhood, her parents and siblings, I decided to make my mother a Journal Jar.

I took an old jar that I’ve been saving for just this purpose and decorated it to match the journal. I printed off over 100 questions about her family, her thoughts, memories, etc. Then I cut each question down to size, rolled them up & put them in the jar. The journal is a composition book that I picked up at our local dollar store. I decorated the front & back covers as well as the inside covers. On the front inside cover, I’ve added a pocket just in case she has a question she can’t answer right then she can place it in the pocket and answer it at a later date. I didn’t want any thick embellishments on the front cover as it would make writing on the back side of the pages too awkward. I'm still not quite finished with my jar and am still attempting to try different finishes for the top. I don't want to make it to bulky as my mother has arthritis in her hands and adding bulk to the top will make it difficult for her to remove the top.

The way that this Journal Jar works is that each day (or week) mom pulls a question out of the jar, then glues it to a page in her matching journal and writes down her memories to that question. I’ve also provided a matching glue stick for her. I also plan on adding a matching pen but unfortunately I ran out of time for this post. Then when she’s finished I’ll take her answers and put them in some sort of order in book form and pass it on to my siblings and nieces. This will be a way for my brother & sister and I to learn more about our parents and grandparents as well as our children to learn more about their roots. If we don’t ask the questions now, someday it will be too late.

One of the questions that I’ve put in the journal jar is “When and where did you meet our father. Tell us the story of how you met.” My father passed away when I was 11 ½ years old. I know bits & pieces of how they met but I’ve never asked her the question of how they met to get the story behind it. I’d love to more about their meeting, courtship and marriage.

Here are some pictures of the Journal and Journal Jar that I’ve made for my mother. I plan on giving this to her for Mother’s Day along with my project that I will be sharing tomorrow.

Come back tomorrow and celebrate more of “Who Do You Think You Are” Day and see part 2 of my Mother’s Day gift to my mom. I’m really excited about this gift for her. I just hope that I can hold off until Mother’s Day now. Lol

Thanks for stopping by and staying throughout this long post. Next stop on the list is Nicolette at Beyond Scrapping at www.beyondscrapin.blogspot.com where you can see the awesome project she has to share.

If you get lost along the way I’ve included the list of blogs participating in this hop. They are as follows:

1. Karelj at One By One The Flamingos Are Stealing My Sanity at http://www.kareljcreations.com

2. Janice at Cricut Confessions at http://www.cricutconfessions.com/

3. Summer and Jennifer at The Cricut Diaries at http://www.cricutdiaries.com/

4. Denine at Pumpkin and Spice at http://pumpkinspiceblog.blogspot.com/

5. Colleen at Col’s Creative Corner at http://www.scrappycol.blogspot.com

6. Mistyrose at Sweet Magnolia Rose at http://sweetmagnoliarose.blogspot.com

7. Ellen at Card Monkey at www.cardmonkey-business.blogspot.com

8. Rachel at Suburban Crafter http://www.rachelstampshappy.blogspot.com/

9. Monica at Scraps 2 Treasure at http://scraps2treasure.blogspot.com/

10. Jen at Young’s Scrapping at www.youngsscrapping.blogspot.com

11. Becka at Creations With Becka at www.creationswithbecka.blogspot.com

12. Jamie at Glitter, Paper, Stamps, Oh My! at http://www.jamieisacraftymomma.blogspot.com/

13. Michelle at Peanut Butter and jelly Designs at http://peanutbutterandjellydesigns.blogspot.com

14. Celeste at Touched By A Butterfly at http://touchedbyabutterfly.blogspot.com/

15. Leah at Leah’s Card Designs at http://leahscarddesigns.blogspot.com

16. Calie at Calie’s Creative Corner at www.Caliescreativecorner.blogspot.com

17. Audrey at It’s A Beautiful Life at www.audreyscardsbydesign.blogspot.com

18. Bonnie at A Scrap Above at http://ascrapabove.blogspot.com

19. YOU ARE HERE ***Diane at Crafting This Moment at http://www.craftingthismoment.blogspot.com YOU ARE HERE****

20. Nicolette at Beyond Scrapping at www.beyondscrapin.blogspot.com

21. Gina at Gina Thornton Stamping at http://ginathorntonstamping.blogspot.com

22. Kathryn at Creations With Kathryn at http://www.creationswithkathryn.com/

23. Yolie at Just Yolie, Just Create at http://justyolie.com

24. Patti at Short ‘N Scrappy at http://www.shortnscrappy.com/

25. Krista Orr at Scrapaleupagus at http://www.scrapaleupagus.blogspot.com/

26. Kay Craig at 100 Things at http://kopperhead100.blogspot.com

27. Jane Hollon at Sneezy’s Ramblings at http://sneezy1956.blogspot.com/

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Happy Birthday to my Wonderful Son

(This is an older scrapbook layout that I did of my son when he was younger. He still has my heart today!)

Today (March 19th) is a very special day. It’s my son’s 25th birthday. I have such a difficult time believing that he’s 25 years old. It seems like only yesterday he was a little boy. These years have certainly gone by fast. I was definitely blessed when he was born. Having been only able to have one child, he certainly made being a mother easy. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful son that I am so very proud of.

Happy Birthday DS! I hope that your day is as special as you are. I love you. Mom

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Happy 9th Birthday Chloe (March 13th)

(Photo from fall 2008)

Today is my beautiful Great Niece Chloe’s 9th birthday. I couldn’t let the day go by without wishing her a very happy birthday. I hope that her day is as special as she is.

Happy Birthday Chloe!! Enjoy your day!
I love you!
Aunt Diane

Ooops, I Did It Again

I do this every time it’s Daylight Savings Time. I go to bed at night knowing that I should change my clocks ahead (or back) but never do. Then of course by the time morning comes, I’ve forgotten all about the time change.

Last night I went to bed a lot later than I normally do & finally shut my light off around 12:45 a.m. (actually 1:45 a.m. with the time change). Then of course I get up at my usual wake up time of 3 a.m., not realizing it was actually 4 a.m since we lost an hours sleep with the clocks going ahead. Since my pc clock automatically changes with the Daylight Savings Time it took me awhile to clue in. It wasn’t until the sun came up that I realized I was supposed to change the clocks ahead.

I have Fibromyalgia as well as Rheumatoid Arthritis. Part of my fibromyalgia is a sleep disorder. I can fall asleep no problem, I just can’t stay asleep. This past year it has gotten worse and I’m now starting to wake up between 2 – 4 am to start my day. It doesn’t matter if I go to bed after midnight, I’m still waking up at 3 or 4 am. I know that the arthritis doesn’t help as most nights now it’s the pain that wakes me up. I’m in the process now of having pre-op testing done & will be having knee replacement surgery in the next few months. I plan on having both knees replaced this year but will do them a few months apart as long as my surgeon agrees. I don’t think I’m up to doing both knees at the same time. I’ve had a long battle with this knee pain and finding a surgeon who’d operate. Because of my age the surgeon’s have wanted to put it off until I’m around 60 yrs old. This new surgeon finally gets that my quality of life sucks because of the pain I’m in and my limited ability to walk. I don’t even like going shopping anymore unless it’s online. That so isn’t me…lol Anyways, enough of that subject. I’ll keep my blog updated as to when I’m having the knee replacement surgery.

So now since I only had 2 hours sleep, I will be dragging my rear end all day today. Arghh!!

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Punch Art Flowers

Awhile back I stumbled across Valita’s Fresh Folds blog and watched her video where she used the SU Modern Label and the Scalloped Oval to create these beautiful flowers. I immediately got busy making flowers and then put together this card.

I love how it turned out and decided to make it a Sympathy card. I always find that Sympathy cards are the hardest to make and really don’t have any in my stash.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Pipe Cleaner Flower Tutorial

Pipe Cleaner Flower

I found these cute Pipe Cleaner Flowers either on a blog or in a magazine. Unfortunately, I can't remember where. I thought that they were really cute & they go together pretty quickly. They look great on cards, layouts or even a 3D project.

Here's how you can make your own Pipe Cleaner Flowers.

Supplies:
Pipe Cleaner
Wire snips / scissors
Scor Pal Tape
1 ½ ” Fiskars Squeeze Circle punch
Brad

Using the wire snips or strong scissors, cut your pipe cleaner into 2” sections. Take each section & twist into a “U” shape. Punch out a circle using your 1 1/2" circle punch. Add scor pal tape or strong adhesive tape to the back of the circle. Stick each 2 inch section of the pipe cleaner to the adhesive side of the circle. Once you have all 5 sections attached, you can shape them to your preference. Attach a brad in the center of your flower. Trim excess circle so that it doesn’t show through.

Here’s my flower on a “Accordion File” that I made for myself to keep my extra stamped Magnolia images in.
I hope that you've enjoyed this tutorial and are on your way to making your own pipe cleaner flowers.

Thanks for stopping by & have a great day!

Friday, March 4, 2011

What Have I Been Doing Lately?

What Have I Been Doing Lately? Well, I got started on making these different types of flowers and can't seem to stop.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

My First Cricut Card

Well, I finally did it. After months of having my Cricut sitting in the box, I finally took it out & decided to try it out. I’m embarrassed to admit that I have a “Die Cut Machine” phobia. I don’t know why I am so terrified of using them for the first time. Not only has my Cricut spent months in the box, the same thing happened with my Cuttlebug, Wizard & my Sizzix. Once I get over the initial fear of playing with them for the first time, I’m ok.

For my first Cricut card I decided to start out easy. I saw this cute card on a blog (unfortunately I can’t remember who’s blog it was) that had a teapot & cups along with this cute verse. (if this is your’s let me know & I’ll give you credit) The Teapot & Tea cups are off the “Everyday Paper Dolls” cartridge & can be found on page 43.

I created another Twisted Easel card for this and also used the Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder & my Stampin Up Eyelet Border punch. I also added some blue buttons to help hold the card open. The background paper is from a pack I bought a long time ago.

Have a great day! TFL!

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

All Twisted

Lately I’m hooked on making these Twisted Easel cards. I love how they look when they are displayed & they are a lot of fun making them. Plus they are really easy to make.

The first two cards that I made use a Sassy Cheryl image. I love this image & think that she is so adorable. The cards are both Twisted Easel cards (one of my new favorite card styles) and are just a little bit different. I colored her with my Copic Markers. I love the green & purple color combo together & it goes perfect with this background paper. The verse & the circle sentiment were digital stamps that I downloaded. I also used my EK Success Wave Flourish Paper Shaper punch, SU circle punch, SU Scallop Circle punch & a MS border punch. Then I added some Prima Flowers and of course some gemstone brads.

This next card is also a Twisted Easel card and again uses a Sassy Cheryl image. I colored her with my Copic Markers. Once again I used the green & purple color combo together & it goes perfect with this background paper. The verse & the circle sentiment were digital stamps that I downloaded. Her glasses & shoes have Glossy Accents on them. I also used a Glitter pen to outline some areas to give her some sparkle. I also used my EK Success Wave Flourish Paper Shaper punch, SU circle punch, SU Scallop Circle punch & a MS border punch. Then I added some Prima Flowers and of course some gemstone brads.

Then I found this cute little dancing bunny rabbit digital stamp & had to play with it too. I colored her with my Copic Markers, used a digital sentiment, some gemstones on her headband and my EK Success Wave Flourish Paper Shaper punch.

Have a great day & thanks for stopping by. I’ll try to put together a quick little tutorial on how to create these Twisted Easel cards. They are a lot easier than they look.

Pig Personality Test Answers

Here are the answers to the pig personality test....

If the pig is at the top of the paper, you're an optimist. If the pig is in the center of the paper, you're a realist. If the pig is at the bottom of the paper, you're a pessimist.

If the pig faces left, you're fond of tradition and family. In addition, you're friendly and loving. And you never forget birthdays and anniversaries.

If the pig faces right, you're innovative and active, but you don't have a strong sense of family or tradition and you never remember dates.

If the pig faces the front (toward you), you're direct, and you enjoy playing devil's advocate. You neither fear nor avoid discussions or confrontations.

If the pig has many details, you're analytical, cautious, and distrustful.

If the pig has few details, you're emotional and possibly naive. You miss a lot going on around you, because you don't pay attention to details, and you have a tendency to take risks.

If the pig has less than 4 legs showing, you're insecure.

If the pig has 4 legs showing, you're secure and stubborn. You like to stick to your ideas.

The size of the pig's ears indicate how willing you are to listen. The bigger the ears, the better you are at listening.

The length of the pig's tail indicates the quality of your sex life.

Happy Birthday Ben (March 2nd)

March 2nd is my nephew-in-law Ben’s birthday. Ben is married to my niece Chantale & they celebrate their birthday’s one day apart. Imagine having your husband having a birthday the day after yours. At least if he forgets Chantale's birthday she won't have to remember his. lol Ben wouldn't do that as he's a pretty special nephew & we're so happy to have him as part of our family.

Ben, I couldn't let the day go by without wishing you a very Happy Birthday! Hard to believe it's the BIG 30!! I hope that you have a great birthday.
Love you
Aunt Diane

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

March 1st is National Pig Day

According to Wikipedia, National Pig Day is an event held annually on March 1 in the United States to celebrate the pig. The holiday celebration was started in 1972 by sisters Ellen Stanley, a teacher in Lubbock, Texas, and Mary Lynne Rave of Beaufort, North Carolina. According to Rave the purpose of National Pig Day is "to accord the pig its rightful, though generally unrecognized, place as one of man's most intellectual and domesticated animals." The holiday is most often celebrated in the Midwest.

A few years ago I stumbled across a blog where the lady had blogged about National Pig Day & how she had created some “Flying Pig” cards & mailed them out to some ladies who she called her “Pig Ladies”. The story behind it was that she sent cards out to ladies she knew who were survivors of serious disease or illness or who had overcome some stressful event. I really liked the idea of how she sent these cards off to encourage these women and have since adopted her tradition. (Due to health issues, I'm a bit late sending them out this year).

Currently I have 2 pig ladies that I send cards to. My sister who is a 3 times survivor of Breast Cancer and my niece’s MIL who is also a cancer survivor. Both are now cancer free.

This years Pig Card uses a digital image that I found online, colored with Copics. The verse is a digital stamp that I downloaded. I also used my EK Success Wave Flourish Paper Shaper punch, SU circle punch, SU Scallop Circle punch & a MS border punch. The DSP is from a paper pack I’ve had sitting around.

The sentiment inside the card reads:
A pig that has wings
Does impossible things!
Over clouds it can fly
In the wink of an eye!
She may tickle you pink
But she wants you to think
Of her message to each
"Nothing's out of your reach!"
I then found a new card style that I wanted to try called a Double Easel card. Again I used a digital pig image that I found online and colored with Copics. The verse is a digital stamp that I downloaded. I also used my EK Success Wave Flourish Paper Shaper punch, SU circle punch, SU Scallop Circle punch & a MS border punch. The DSP is from a paper pack I’ve had sitting around. My recommendation for this type of card is to use heavy cardstock as your base.
The next 2 pig cards that I created again use a digital image that I found online as well as a digital sentiment. I colored the pig with my Copics, used a MS border punch and some Cloud 9 paper.
Since I love pigs and was now on a roll with my piggy cards, I had to add another one. I found another cute digital pig that I just had to color with my Copics. I then found this adorable verse about the Easter Piggy and I just had to make a card. The bunny ears & basket are from the SU Sock Monkey Accessories stamp set. I didn't cut the ears off the pig, I just cut a slit over his ears & added the bunny ears. I wanted to keep his original ears intact. I also used my Stampin Up Eyelet Border punch as well as the DSP that I had stashed away.

Famous pigs: I didn’t know that there were so many famous pigs until I did a Google search. I had come up with 6 on this list without having to look them up. How many of these famous pigs do you remember.

Miss Piggy! Everybody knows the most famous of famous pigs - the feisty starlet girlfriend of Kermit the Frog from the Muppets!

Babe from “Charlotte’s Web” Who's heartstrings haven't been tugged by the courageous and honorable Babe, the sensitive-souled little pig who wanted to become a sheepdog!

Porky Pig The "Godfather" of famous pigs

Petunia Pig How could we forget Porky's girl Petunia, the first diva of famous pigs!

Piglet Winnie the Pooh's best friend

Toot and Puddle the delightful famous pigs duo from Woodcock Pocket whose lives are filled with everyday wonder, adventure and humor. These best-selling books by the famed illustrator Holly Hobbie are destined to become classics.

Pippo He is a cute little pig who's Hello Kitty's friend.

Pumbaa (Pumba) This distinguished icon of famous pigs is one of Disney's most beloved characters, admired for his comical antics and musical skills.

The Three Little Pigs Of all the world's famous pigs, these three must rank amongst the most reknown!

Wilbur How could you not fall in love with "Zuckerman's Famous Pig" after watching Charlotte's Web?

Hamm Hamm is a witty talking ceramic piggy bank with a "belly-ring" made of cork who keeps losing his change. He is one of the main characters in both Toy Story and Toy Story 2, and is friends with the famous Mr. Potato Head.

Arnold Ziffle Green Acres is definitely one of my favorite famous pigs. The show Green Acres ran from 1965 to 1971.

If you would like to see some more Famous Pigs, you can check out this site: http://www.colours-of-the-rainbow.com/famous-pigs.html

In searching online for info on National Pig Day I found this just for fun Pig Test on a blog and thought that I'd add it.

Here’s the pig test!

Get a piece of paper and draw a pig – Come back tomorrow & I'll post "how to analyze your pig drawing."

Happy Birthday Chantale (March 1st)

Today (March 1st) is my niece Chantale’s birthday and I can’t let the day go by without wishing her a very Happy Birthday.

Chantale is my sister’s youngest daughter & growing up they lived around the corner from us for about 7 years. Growing up both her & her older sister Natasha spent a lot of time at my house. Our families vacationed together & spent a lot of time together. She and my son were so close growing up and still are to this day. Chantale & Natasha are like daughters to me and I love them both dearly.

So once again if you are reading this Chantale, I hope that you have a wonderful birthday & that your day is as special as you are.
I Love you
Aunt Diane