Finally I Am Back

It was a year from yesterday that I started this blog to share ideas from different people that have been kind enough to send/give me hand stamped items and cards as well as things that I have stamped. Unfortunately a year has gone by and I have not posted any new creative works of art. Of course this does not mean that I have not made anything or received anything for a year. I have signed up for different Random Acts of Kindness (RAKS) and swaps that have given me the opportunity to use my creative juices. In return I have received lots great ideas and have met many new friends some of which I have become good friends with. I continue to thank the Lord for my hobby of stamping to help me to relax even though it is often done very late at night or in the early morning. I also thank Him for how He has used what I have made to be a blessing to to others.

It would take me much too long to post all the cards/projects that I have made so here are only some of them.

I folded these stars during my 4 hour card ride back from our vacation along the coast for our anniversary at the end of July. While Benson and I chatted and listened to Hawaiian music, my fingers were busy folding these stars. I decided to surprise a good friend from church with a container full of the the stars.

This is what I made for the girls in my class at church that I teach on Friday nights as their end of the year gift. Along with some store puchased items, I also made them each a card and book mark.

Here is a close up picture of the card that I made for my class. It was simple card to make, but very time consuming because I had to make 12 of them. Then it took some time to write a personal message in each of them.
This is the card and goodies that I made for some stamping friends that I met on the East Coast. I made it as a special "thank you" to Cathy P. for some goodies that she surprised me with. The other set that I made was for Susan T. for her belated b-day gift. Each one received a card with the die cut of a daisy that I made using my Big Shot along with matching a daisy flower long stem lollipop) and a daisy magnet. (The daisy a die from Sizzix.)

I made these two cards as my swaps for several different trades that I signed up for. I stamped the background of the paper with a leaves and flowers and colord the big flower with Copic markers. (Stamps from for the background and flower are from a set from Stampin Up called "Embrace Life." I have had these markers since April as a gift from my kids for my b-day, but this is the frist time that I have used them at home. They are so much fun to use. Using them to color with makes images look so much more realistic. How do you think I did with my first attempt to using the markers?
I have some good friends that left for church camp today to be couselors for the 3rd to 6th grade kids. I decided to surprise each of them with a gift and a note of encouragement.

Each clipboard was stamped using things that the people liked and of course they were done using their favorite colors. In the center of each one I stamped a verse. The verse is covered by the card.
This is a composition book that I covered with designer paper for one for Pastor Ken who is going to be one of the couselors this week at camp. I made him a matching pen and a book mark. (I used the left over paper and rolled it up to put inside an RSVP pen.) (The die cut is the Top Notch Die from Stampin Up and the stamps I used are from a company called Our Daily Bread.)

I wrote a card of encouragement and stamped Hello Kitty images on a piece of paper and rolled it up to put in the pen for my friend Anna. She likes Hello Kitty just as much as I do.
This is what I sent to my Aloha RAK kindness partner this month, Tracy H. in Canada. We were actually matched up with each other once before last year in September. I hope that she likes what I made and purchased for her. The handstamped item with her initial on it is a magnetic book mark.

Here are some of the awesome cards/projects and purchased gifts that I have received. I truly appreciate all the people that have sent me goodies and have loved all of them. I of course am not able to post all the goodies that I have received. Just because you do not see a picture of what you sent to me does not mean that I did not like it.

These are the items and ATCs that I received from my first secret sister from the Stamp-Shack- Terry H. We are asked to fill out a questionaire and our SS is asked to pick things to send us for 3 months that we like. All the goodies that she sent to me were awesome. God allowed her packages to all arrive on the right days to brighten up my long days after work. :) Thanks again Terry for being such an awesome, thoughtful, and generous SS.

All these goodies and cards were given to me by my second SS- Patty T. Boy, am I fortunate...I always get such generous and thoughtful SS. Patty told me in one of her e-mails that she felt like she was shopping for herself when she picked out the items for me. Thanks again Patty for all your awesome gifts.

Just as a little "thank you" to Terry and Patty, I sent them each a stamped card with a giftcard to one of their favorite stores.

Above are the cards that I received from the Stamp-Shack Flood swap. I was chosen as one of the people to be showered with cards in July. It was like Christmas receiving all the cards. All the cards that I received were wonderful. (In the first box the following people made the cards for me- from left to right: Amy S., Sarah P., Kathy M., Nancy A.,Angie R., Joanie A., and Jennifer E.) (In the second box from left to right-Becky R., Marie J,.Joan P., Jeanne S., Sherri T., and Joan L.) (Last box from left to right-Debbie G., Cheryl P.,Vicky M., Sally B.,Pene, and Jennifer W.)

These are the cards that I received so far for Teri's One Card Swap. Each month you are assigned with a partner and you are asked to send each other a hand made card. Aren't all of these just so great. (The gals that made these cards from left to right are as follows: Joni H, Manlo H., Leanne, Penny M, Ilissa W., and Janice.)
Here are the Aloha RAK that I have received. A gal named Jennifer that lives in Hawaii has sign ups each month and partners us with a different person to send goodies to. It has been so much fun making things for others and receiving things too. I have been participating in this for a little more than a year. Aren't all the goodies that I received pretty nice?

This is from Michelle U.Before I end I would like to share some of the crafts that I have prepared for the girls in my class at church on Friday nights to do to show their love to others. All the girls in my class are very creative and did very well in making the projects. I am a little sad that the church year with this set of girls is over. I truly thank the Lord for each one of them and pray that God was able to use me this past year to help them have a deeper relationship with God. Here is a picture of my class. Two girls were absent.

These are the gifts that my class made for the 6th grade promotion from our fellowship group. I taught them how to emboss a light house for the bookmark and taught them how to cut a sun flower using the scallop punch. They were all amazed at what they made. All of the wanted me to make the bookmark, but we did not have time to. So I surprised them each with one as part of their end of the year gift. Besides making the above things, they also decorated a frame for Mother's Day, made a goodie bag with a Hawaiin topper and a card shaped like a Hawaiian shirt for Father's Day, and a bookmark with a Chinese girl on it to remind them that they are wonderfully and fearfully made. They also wrote letters and drew pictures for a Lt. that is stationed in Cuba as a doctor. Her mother is one of the people that I have met through stamping. She gave me information regarding her daughter as well as pictures of her to show the girls. The girls so happy to get a chance to write to her. I put all their letter and pictures in an accordion book. It was huge.

Thanks for your patience in waiting for me to post again. I hope that from now on I will be able to post every month with some fun projects to share.

Be sure to come by and check once in awhile to see if I have posted anything new.