Happy Birthday Card with Gift Card Holder

Brandy has made a commitment to make a couple (at least!) each month and anything not used would then be kept in the stash for those emergency birthday wish opportunities.  These two cards are her January 2019 effort.  The front pockets were created to hold gift cards using Papertrey Ink Mix Ups Pocket Tag dies, a recent addition to the stash.

I love that Brandy made a masculine and feminine version.  Both have their own charm, but we'd have to say - a fantastic design and execution.  Happy January!

Andie for 

Paper Piecing - Would a Cupcake Help?

I decided that I would do some paper piecing.  This note card set is a result of that endeavor.  I stamped onto various patterned papers to create these cards and used some solid cardstock from the stash to create a very simple design.

These cards are lovely for many occasions - birthday with a handwritten sentiment, encouragement after a bad day/week/month/year, get well, etc.  I meant to keep the designs neutral - most of them are good for both boys and girls.

I just really like how most of these turned out and it was a lot of fun.  In the end, a great pick-me-up from the holiday rush of activities and busyness.

I'm linking up to City Crafter Challenge Blog as the challenge is to Give Piece a Chance.  Come join the fun.

Speedy Recovery - A Card for Encouragement

Brandy shared with me this wonderful card of encouragement she made using her WPlus9 Get Well Gang stamp set.  This stamp set is so adorable, the card came together in a very short time.  Gotta love a stamp set that makes a lovely card in short order.

A Special Tribute to My Grandma - A Gift for My Grandpa

As I posted earlier this week, I have made it a tradition to create a scrapbook calendar for my grandma as a Christmas present each year.   I always make one for my immediate family and one for my grandma.  Since my grandma passed away this year, I debated whether to make one for my grandpa - who would appreciate it, but not nearly as much as my grandma.  When I found a pile of old photos of my grandma, I decided I would make an extra special calendar of the photos of my grandma.

A 1970s Christmas photo - my grandma and grandpa taken by one of the kids - poorly done, but remember how you got the picture you got and didn't know until you developed the photos much later?  This photo makes me laugh, so I included it right at the start.

A very old photo of my grandparents - early 1960s...

My grandma as an infant...1929 or early 1930

It is hilarious how many photos were taken at the Continental Divide.  This one of my grandma is classic.

My grandma and grandpa with their kids.

My grandma, grandpa and my grandpa's mother (my great-grandmother) with their four girls.

My grandma and Aunt Betty circa 1944 which would make my grandma around 16 or 17 years old...  She was a pretty girl!

I couldn't resist including this photo of my grandpa immediately after the war - 1944 or 1945.

My aunts and uncles - all six kids.  Top left to right - Beth, Sue (my mom) and Nancy, then Bobby, Kenny and Becky in front.

A very snowy photo at the Continental Divide - my grandparents again!

My Uncle Keith (my grandpa's brother, Beth, Nancy, my grandma, Sue (my mom) and my great-grandpa Frank (my grandpa's dad).

One last Christmas Photo.  You probably can't see my grandpa's face in the darkness of the photo, but we laughed heartily - it looks as though it was a long Christmas....  I loved making the album and my grandpa enjoyed and will enjoy the calendar for long time to come.  It was a pleasure to make and I hope to have opportunity to do so in the years to come as well.  Time seems to pass quicker as I get older, yet time seems more precious than ever.

My Annual Scrapbook Calendar

This will be my seventh post.  Previous years are found here:

2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2017

In year's past, I used the Basic Grey calendar kit.  Sadly, Basic Grey has gone out of business so I no longer get the pleasure (and help!) of using their kit. The pictures are from the previous year so they end up being a condensed scrapbook of sorts and I always cut them out of the binding and put them into a scrapbook at the end of the year.   I always make one for my immediate family and one for my grandma. 

Sadly, my grandma passed away this year.  I decided to make one for my grandpa - an extra special version with pictures of my grandma when she was young.  I'll share that later this week as I have multiple pictures to edit and get posted.  Today, I'm sharing photos of the calendar I made for my family.

I'm hoping that I can continue this tradition, even though my grandma has passed on.  My daughter, Katie, made one for herself this year.  I decided to let her retain her privacy and am not posting here.  But, it give me hope for our future!

Happy New Year!