Crafty Chick Birthday

Some cute little birdies came along this week with a sweet colour combination at 4 Crafty Chicks!  I used some Hero Arts stamps and a PTI sentiment to make a birthday card which I'm also going to enter over at this week's Create challenge.  Lots of fussy cutting here and more background stamping.  I love the subtle effect of stamping with Versamark.  I'm also loving my Doodlebug gems lately.  Each colour comes in 4 different sizes which is so handy. Gonna have to place an order for some more soon.  *Sigh*  A crafter's shopping is never complete!  :)   

Supplies: CS: Bazzill, SU; Stamps: Hero Arts, PTI; Inks: VersaMark, VersaFine; Gems: Doodlebug

The cleaning frenzy is still ongoing.  We worked on the kitchen yesterday.  Pulled everything out of every cupboard - cleaned all the cupboards, weeded out stuff we don't need.  It's scary how fast things accumulate and how quickly you forget it's even there. We've got a ton of stuff put aside to take to The Barn (our local charity shop) and a few things for the dump and I'm feeling good about streamlining.  Luis keeps asking when I'm going to have a clear out in the Craft Cave!  Ha!  Silly boy...  

A Smile is a Laugh That Bursts

Good morning, Crafters!  I have a card for two challenges today - Jay Gee's challenge and Picture Perfect Creations.  Lots of purple going on in both and for some reason purple makes me think of laughter so I though this little quote would go nicely with the colours.  I stamped the background with a few other stamps from the set and used embroidery floss to attach the tag.  I wanted to use a ribbon but it turns out I have no cream coloured ribbon.  Pretty scary considering how much ribbon I do have. Might need to rectify that situation...

Supplies:  CS: SU; Stamps: Fiskars; Inks: SU & VersaMark; Embossing Powder: Ranger; Gems: Doodlebug;  Dies: Nesties; Embroidery Floss: DMC

Got a bit of carding in yesterday afternoon during which time we had a fantastic thunderstorm and lots of wonderful rain!  After all those months of nothing we've had quite a bit of the watery stuff these last few weeks and our once charred lawn is now growing faster than Luis can mow it!  :)  It's a beautiful sight! 

Back on the Rock

Hello hello, Bloggie Friends!  I've been back on the rock for about a week now and am only just getting back into carding.  Work has been a little nuts this week as a new computer system was installed last weekend so we're all scrambling to get the hang of it and work out all the kinks.  On the home front, there's something about coming back from a trip that always sets me on a bit of a cleaning frenzy so the apartment has been getting a top to bottom scrub down and clear out.  Only the kitchen left to complete...


Our trip to Toronto went well and I had a better time than I expected given my dislike of dresses and weddings!  LOL!  The wedding and reception were events to behold. Portuguese bride + Italian groom = 1 huge party and enough food to put a Carnival cruise to shame!  :)  Luis got to catch up with family he hadn't seen in ages which he really enjoyed and I got to meet those I hadn't on met on the last trip.  


The best part of the trip was last Friday which was my birthday.  Luis and I went into Toronto and spent the morning puttering around and shopping.  Then later in the day we went to meet Emily Leiphart!  It was so cool to finally meet in person after becoming blog buddies.  Emily presented me with this gorgeous card using the Twinery's new colours.

She also gave me a sample pack of Twinery twine as I only have a few strands of it (that, ironically, I won on Emily's blog awhile back) so now I have some of each colour!  So sweet of her.  We hung out with Emily and her adorable son for a while.  Emily and I chattered away about cards and blogs and such while I poked around in her craft stash and we played trains with the little guy.  Once hubby came home we all headed out for a bite to eat and we got to watch Little Speedracer on his awesome bike.  Boy can he move!  He was all decked out in his helmet and fingerless gloves and looked too cool shooting off down the sidewalk.  Then at dinner he entertained up with a one man dance party!  It really was an awesome evening and hopefully the next time we're in Toronto we'll be able to spend a little longer together - not to mention we'll get to see the new house!  :)


Before I go I also wanted to also share this adorable card I got from Jenny.  We recently did a stamps for die trade when we realised we each had doubles of some items and tucked in with the Tim Holtz die I received was this adorable card:

 I love how the embroidery floss is threaded through the little needle!  Awesome!


Okay, off to produce some cards of my own.  See you again soon!  :)

Starry Congrats

Supplies:  CS: Stampin' Up; Stamp: Paper Smooches; Ink: VersaMark; Embossing Powder: Ranger; Impression Plate: PTI; Gems: Doodlebug

I wanted to get in on the ColourQ challenge this week with it's bright, fun colours.  I'm loving my PTI star dies and have been using them a lot.  They make life much easier in the star department.  Remember this card when I was complaining about trying to cut stars to size by hand?  They were pretty rough looking now that I check them out again!  LOL!  I'm going to add this to the Gallery Idol line-up as well.   

The photo inspiration for ColourQ prodded me to finally have my first swim of the year.  I think I'm getting old though.  As kids, my brother and I would race down to the dock and leap right off the end of it into the water.  We'd then tease my mom mercilessly as she eased her way down the steps into the water, stopping on each step for a moment to "acclimate". Why not just jump in and get the initial shock over with quickly?  Well, I am now officially an "Acclimator".  I caught myself going in one step at a time today.  I was horrified although not horrified enough to just leap in - maybe when it's a bit warmer.  Once we were all in (Luis, dogs and I ) we paddled around for a good hour or so.  Luis and the dogs are now crashed out on the sofa and I think I may go join them...  Have a great evening! 

My Favourite Boys

Since Colin Farrell has yet to take me up on my invitation to come visit I only have pics of 3 of my 4 favourite guys to share.  :)  

Oh, okay, I can't leave My Colin out altogether!  :)

The Plague Lives

Seems like I'm not the only one who has suffered from the summer plague lately!  Aside from that floating around there have been a few odd illnesses and accidents occurring so I was playing around with some Get Well cards today.  They're not for any challenges - just for the sickies in my life!  :)

First up is that adorable Paper Smooches Chubby Chick!  Poor guy has come down with chicken pox (tee hee) and he's got a little thermometer in his mouth to check his temperature.  I had originally envisaged him in a little bedroom scene tucked up against a fluffy white pillow.  Sadly, my artistic flair just was not flairing and my attempts were quite sad.  So instead he's sitting on a scalloped strip of Cosmo Cricket paper.  (If anyone else can conjure up the original picture in my head then go for it - I'd love to see it!) 

Next we have a little dinosaur from Unity's Bella Blvd. Mr. Boy set.  I think he looks kind of sad and decided it was maybe because he isn't feeling well.  Poor little guy!


And poor me!  Luis and I made a yummy dinner tonight - Fiesta Chicken - and there was just enough left over to take to work for lunch tomorrow.  Someone had other ideas though. I left it on the counter to cool before putting it in the fridge but I  just went into the kitchen and found a bowl with a few stray bits of rice, Atticus licking his chops and Jem looking mighty pissed off!  Poor Jem can't reach the counter like Atti can and I'm sure Atti made no attempt to share his delicious find.  *Sigh*  PB&J for lunch it is then!

Congrats - You Did It!

Another lovely but very dry weekend.  Luis finally broke down and mowed the lawn although there wasn't much to cut except weeds.  What's left of the lawn is yellow or brown and very crunchy when you walk on it!  I had friends visiting from the US a few years ago and they commented on how the yard was just crabgrass - they had battled all the crabgrass out of their yard and had nice, lush, fancy grass.  I would love to do the same but since we aren't able to water the lawn it seems a bit of a waste.  So crab grass it is for now!  :)  The ants are also going completely mental at them moment.  They too are desperate for water and keep heading into the house in long trails to find it.  Yesterday I finally went out and sprayed around the entire exterior of the house and they seem to have backed off - for now.  They'll be back before long - they're stubborn little creatures.  Hmmm... I was just thinking that with my stories of spiders and ants I'm not painting a great picture for visitors!  And I haven't even shown you the giant centipedes and flying cockroaches yet!  LOL!  

OK, enough with the bugs.  Onto my entry for CAS-ual Fridays.  The theme this week is graduation.  

Supplies:  CS: Bazzill Basics & PTI; Stamps: Lawn Fawn & PTI; Inks: VersaFine & VersaMark; Gems: Doodlebug; Die: PTI

This was another one of those rare occasions where I had the idea pretty much set before I started.  It's got 2 of my favourite things on it - stars and polka dots - so it makes me happy.  :)  Hope you've all had a happy weekend!

Luis

In the fall semester of my sophomore year of university I developed a huge crush on a guy named Luis (but everyone called him Lou).  We shared one class - French Speaking World. I noticed him the first day and thought he was kind of cute.  Over the course of the semester we slowly got to chatting and he helped me out now and then with classwork.  The more I got to know him, the more I realised what a wonderful guy he was.  He was sweet, gentle and kind - always willing to help people out with anything they might need.  He was a senior education major and would be starting student teaching in the spring.  He was an active member of his church and regularly volunteered at a soup kitchen.  He loved ice hockey and Led Zeppelin.  


On the last day of the semester he stopped by my dorm to see me.  I was suffering with a nasty cold and was quite pathetic but he sat and we chatted for a bit.  We exchanged Christmas cards and promised we'd send each other a postcard over the holiday.  Before he left he gave me a huge hug and my heart melted.  This was one heck of a crush.  Maybe after Christmas break I'd have the courage to let him know how I felt.


On January 5th, 1995 I received a postcard from him and was like a giddy school girl.  When I got back to my dorm later that month the first thing I did was call him.  A guy answered the phone.
"Hi, can I speak to Lou?"
Long pause and then a reply.  "Who is this?"
"This is Jen, his friend from school.  I just got back from break."
"Didn't anyone tell you?"
"Tell me what?"
"Lou was killed in  car crash on January 5th."


Lou was driving with his parents when their car was struck by a 16 year old who lost control of his car.  Lou was killed instantly.  His dad was in hospital for a long time and his mom suffered minor injuries.  The guy on the phone was Lou's brother.


I was destroyed and struggled with the loss for a long time.  For years after, whenever there was a wish to be made (birthday candles, shooting stars), I wished that Lou was still around and in my life.  


Fast forward to 2007.  I was finally coming out of a wretched 2 years.  I was a mess after my marriage ended and found myself in a number of very unhealthy relationships (with guys and with alcohol).  In January 2007 I broke up with the latest guy and quit drinking. I spent the next few months focusing on me.  I finally overcame the desperate fear that no one else would ever love me.  I reconnected with girlfriends but also spent a lot of time with my dogs just rediscovering the world around me and my own company.  I even started to enjoy the freedom of being single.  


In May 2007 we were having renovations done on our building at work.  Most of the crew were Portuguese guys from the Azores (there's a big Azorean Portuguese community here in Bermuda).  One carpenter in particular caught my eye.  He was tall and a bit skinny but he had the biggest, cheekiest grin I'd ever seen.  After a few weeks of winks and shy smiles we finally had our first conversation - sort of.  He barely spoke English and my Portuguese was limited to a few words.  At the end of our "chat" I asked his named.  "Luis," he said before writing his number on my hand and walking away.  


I didn't know if I should call him.  I mean, what did I think we would talk about?  However, armed with my Portuguese/English dictionary we began to meet up and ever so slowly get to know each other.  He, like my other Luis, turned out to be a kind and gentle soul.  He is one of the most selfless people I've ever met and would do anything for those he cares about.  His family is hugely important to him and his mother and 3 sisters trained him well - he can cook and clean with the best of them and, thankfully, is as tidy as I am!  He is also an animal lover and, unlike with my previous boyfriends, my dogs adored him from day one.   


Everyone (including me) thought I was nuts and that clearly I was still going through post-divorce lunacy.  But the weeks and months rolled on and we spent more and more time together.  When he invited me to the Azores to meet his family I knew he was serious about me and in November 2009 we got engaged.


Today is our 1 year wedding anniversary.  Luis is still as sweet and loving as when we first got together.  We still make each other laugh every day and speak our own little language of "Portuglish".  I am so very blessed to have found him.  I feel like maybe Lou had a hand in helping me make it through those rough times and in leading me to Luis once he knew I'd be ready to accept him.  For that, I'll be forever grateful.

Lou

Luis