Happy Mother's Day....

MD008

This is a Mother's day card that I made for my Mom hehehehe.....It's her favorite color.....peach and orange colors :). I was trying to hide it from her so that it would be a surprise for her on Mother's day but she caught me taking photos of it this morning! Acckkkk! So the surprise is gone now huhuhuhu......Maybe I will make another one for her soon heheheheh....

As you can see at the close up photo, I've decorated the front of the card with plastic beads. I love those beads. I have been using them for my beaded bookmarks. I have plenty of them available and thought of trying out this new technique.....I've thought about using the beads this way for the cards for quite sometime now but never had the chance to do it yet. So I thought this is the perfect time to do it. There is nothing that complicated about this design....it's quite simple really. But as usual it's always time consuming because I like to decorate a lot of things on it...hehehehe. And this time around I used a new craft punch I just bought a couple of days ago which is the tiny heart shape craft punch. I'm always a fan of the heart shape craft punch. It's super cute and it can be used for a variety of card designs, so it's definitely worth the buy :).

For the pop up inside the card, I tried again to use the weaving technique to weave the hearts sides by side. So I had to glue the hearts on strips of thick pink paper in order for it to stand up straight.  It's just like what I did to my flowers in my previous pop up cards. I didn't want it the strips of  paper to bend. So it's important to use a slightly thicker paper for this technique. I added the tiny flower sequins of various colors on the hearts. It's the same flower sequins I used to decorate the front of the card. I love the shine it gives when it hits the light :).

Some people feel that for Mother's day cards, we shouldn't put too many heart shapes.....instead we should use more of flower motifs. But for me, I feel it's ok to use a lot of it because it helps to show our Mother how much we love and care about them. :) 

Read More

How to Say Dog in French.

A conversation between Isaac and his Bobo (grandmother):

Isaac (in all seriousness): Bobo, I know how to say dog in French. Do you want to hear it?

Bobo: Sure. How do you say dog in French?

Isaac: Poodle!

(Bobo then laughs so hard she could wet herself.)

Isaac: What!? That is how you say dog in French! I know it.

Bobo (through fits of laughter): Ok, ok ... Well, tell your Mom you know how to say dog in German now.

Isaac: But how do you say dog in German?

Bobo: Shepherd! (continuous fits of laughter followed by a phone call to me to recite the conversation).


Man, I love this age. Actually, I love EVERY age of childhood. Keep the laughter coming Isaac. You rock.

Love,
Jodi (Mama)

Read More

Please vote for my May 2010 Blog Giveaway!!

Hello everyone!

I made a poll recently to see which card type you would prefer to win for my May 2010 Blog Giveaway. I placed the poll right beside the blog posts.....it's at the top part of the blog on the right. Can  you see it?? :)

You see....I had a hard time deciding what type of card to giveaway next month. huhuhuhu.....funny huh?? SERIOUSLY......I am lost for ideas here. So I need your assistance in helping me decide what card type that you most desire to win. For example, if the poll results show that "Happy Birthday card" is the most desired one, then I will prepare 5 birthday pop up cards for 5 lucky winners! At least this way, I can tell what  type of card you guys really really want. 

Well, this is just one of the ways of  helping me decide. If you guys have any other suggestions, do let me know ya! Write your comments here so that I can find out what type of card you most desire to get. If it is something that I can do for you, then I will give it my best shot. :) 

So please VOTE VOTE VOTE at my poll here or write comments at this post for your suggestions. I really do appreciate your help! Thank you again everyone!! Take care and have a lovely day ahead!

XOXO,

Lin

Read More

Learning to Milk my Goats ... via web videos.

* Milking a goat without any stands, stools or other equipment:

More likely the way we are going to do it:

Someone else learning too:

Any other suggestions from my fellow goat farmers?

Love,
Jodi

Read More

Selamat Hari Lahir Nurdini Atikah....

HB073

I think by far, this is the most colorful card I've ever made hehehehe.... :). It's for a 9 year old kid....Nurdini Atikah. This design was something that I wanted to try out and at first I did something that was a little different at the top of the card, then I took them out and replaced it with those foam confetti. I love those....it has that raised effect. I just randomly arranged all the square gift boxes at the bottom of the card and place colorful metallic strings on it that I've formed into a ribbon shape.

I was not sure of what kind of pop up I would do on the inside of the card.....then I thought of doing a pop up of the birthday girl herself. Although I've never seen her before, I just randomly chose to do her in this attire and with that shape of  face. It was done spontaneously. I just did whatever came to mind. All I thought was, I wanted it to be something different and different it was indeed. :)

Read More

April 14th.

21 years ago now. My first date with Halis was April 14th, 1989. We went on a double-date to an arcade. I went on a dare. I couldn't stand Halis. But that night, he kissed me goodnight ... and I felt something ... I felt connected. And here we are ... all these years later ... and I still feel that inexplicable connection. And my heart still skips a few beats sometimes when I look at him.

Incidently, April 14th is also the date that Halis left for Haiti ... 4 years ago now ... to retrieve our son and to bring him home for good. In a way ... April 14th is the day that our family was created ... both in 1989 and in 2006. I love that day :)

Thank you for that goodnight kiss in the backseat of your VW rabbit, Halis. It was the beginning of the rest of my life. I love you.

Love,

Jodi

Read More

Closed for commissions in month of May & June 2010...

Hello my lovely readers! Good day!

I have a really important announcement to make to all who are interested in ordering my handmade cards in May & June 2010.....I'm so sorry to announce that I have to stop taking orders for at least 2 months because at the moment my hands are already full. I have so many pending orders to finish up during my leave.

Another reason why I'm making this announcement is so that whoever has interests in ordering cards from me can make plans in advance. So if you need my handmade cards starting from the month of July please book/confirm your order earlier to ensure getting your cards at the time that you wished for. If you book your order now, you would probably receive your order a lot later. Which means you would have to wait and be in the waiting list. I make the cards based on first come first serve. I do not have anyone to help me out with the card making and managing my business. It's a one man show. So I do hope you would be so kind to understand and consider my situation at hand.

I also would like to inform that I do not make card samples for my customers......this is regarding custom made cards.....I do not have the time or budget to make samples for everyone. Making the card itself, especially custom made cards are so time consuming......and time is so limited these days. Plus, to make the card samples that includes personalized wordings on it is not good for me because if you don't like the samples, then I can't use that card anymore because if it has someone's name of it. In other words, I lose time and money there. When ordering, all you need to do is inform me your color of choice, size of card you prefer, provide me the wordings of your choice, what type of theme you prefer, and whatever you wish for to have on that card, when you want it.......just email me the details......then we can work out on a design that you would love. Please do not SMS me when you wish to discuss on the design. I would prefer that you email me or YM me (if I'm online) whenever you would like to discuss on the design. Once the design is confirmed, then payment must be done before I start making the card for you. I'm so sorry that I have to mention all this here, but I think it's necessary to inform, because I do get a lot of inquiries regarding this matter and I feel that it's best that I mentioned it here so that everybody else can benefit from this information.

To those who have confirmed their orders with me and have made your payments, please do not worry, I shall  be completing your orders as planned. Thank you so much for your kind patience and understanding. :)

XOXO,

Lin

Read More

Thank you so much Mas!

TY004

How sweet is this sweet color combo?? I love the sweet soft pastel colors here. I was requested to do a thank you card for the same customer who ordered the Chelsea FC card. This card is for her dear friend Mas. I was the one who suggested a pop up inside but at the time I had no idea what to do yet....hehehehehe.....I only had the idea of doing it as sweet looking as possible....cute, adorable like what my customer wanted. Something with soft pastel colors and feminine looking.

I realized that after so many times making a handmade card that is quite big in size, now I find making a card that is small quite in size quite difficult to do...hehehe....funny huh??? Well, that's how I felt when I made this card....I felt like there is not much room for decoration.....and it was quite difficult to make a pop up inside....especially a pop up like the one above. Perhaps for small cards like this, it's better to make simpler pop ups. Hmmm.....it's a lesson learned for me this time. I guess I was too adventurous in trying. ;P

But all in all I love this sweet looking card no matter what......I am so in love with the colors.....I would love to have a blouse with these colors on them.....so girlish hehehe......so like me!!! :D

Read More

Chelsea FC themed birthday card!

HB072

Phew! Made it just in time today to finish a couple of cards for a customer.....she's been waiting for her orders for quite sometime now....huhuhuhu......I was thinking that I could get them done by tomorrow and post them tomorrow instead but since she will be on leave soon, so by hook or by crook I had to get them done today and get them posted. I was worried like God knows what.....coz I was so afraid if I couldn't make it on time for delivery. Luckily for me, God was on my side and I remained calm throughout the whole process and managed to deliver the cards just in time before the post office closes at 5 pm....phew! Thank God!!

Ok! Now lets talk about the design.......this design was a request from my customer for her BF's birthday. She wanted the birthday card to have a Chelsea FC theme and with a pop up of her BF inside......color combination of choice was BLUE and WHITE. But I added some red, silver and black to it and a tiny dash of gold  coz those colors exist in the Chelsea FC logo, except for black and silver of course.  I tried my level best to make sure that blue and white was the major color for the card.....so the rest of the colors were there to enhance it. 

She emailed me a few photos of her BF so that I can use it as a reference for me to do a cartoon character of her BF. I tried my best to make it look as similar as I possibly can. :) I suggested to her that I do her BF wearing a Chelsea FC jersey.....because then it would be more interesting hehehe.....well, I guess it would suit the theme if he wore it in my opinion. ;) I even printed out a teeny weeny Chelsea FC logo and glued it to his blue jersey....can you see it???? hehehehe! I thought that was cute! I just wanted it to look as close as I can to a Chelsea jersey ...so that's why I did that. I even made the soccer ball from white foam and drew the pattern on it to make it look like a soccer ball hehehe.....love that one. I tried to make it look like he was holding the ball close to his body with his arm wrapped around it. Gosh that was hard to do.....I'm still learning about the human anatomy hahahaha......it's pretty hard for me to draw it coz I'm still in the learning process. Hopefully in time I'll be better at this. :)

Read More

Thank U to a #1 Teacher

TD009

I wanted to share with everyone one of my Teachers' Day cards today. It's a design I made just a little while back but never published it here before. It was an order I made for a customer. I made two for her but she only bought one. This particular design is not that big....it's just a 13cm x 18cm size card. No pop ups.....just decoration on the outside. 

The words THANK U was done using the alphabet rubber stamps, the big size ones. Stamped it one by one and layered it with another paper. It's just a lot of work....hehehe.....well, I guess most handmade cards does require a lot of time making them. That's why they cost more. It's just time consuming. :) 

I do have plans to make more Teachers' Day cards this year.....but, hmmmm....when when when.....when will I do it....huhuhuhuhu......so many things to do...yet so little time. But I'll give it my best shot this year. We will see how it goes! ;)

Read More

Dedicated to Inspector Papa...

HB071

It's done! I can't believe I managed to get this order done in the end! It was a tough one! I am feeling a bit sad because I have to post it today to my customer and I just don't want to part with it! LOL! This card was a request from my customer whose fiance' is an inspector. It's his birthday today! Happy Birthday Inspector!! hehehe! Unfortunately he will be getting this card only by tomorrow....yeah, a little bit late....just a little! ;)

My customer was the one who requested me to do a cartoon of her holding a pistol.....I quickly thought of James Bond! So that's why I did the silencer hehehe......kinda cool though if I did that one instead of the usual pistol hehe! I asked for her photo and also a photo of her fiance'.....and she wanted me to do a cartoon of her fiance' wearing that uniform.... Love it! So, I made it look exactly like the one in the photo she gave me.

It was really tough thinking about the color combination too.....it took me quite a long time to figure it out. The layout is not as great as I want it to be.....but at the moment that is all I can think of.....I wish I knew some other better layouts but....sigh..... :( . The pop up inside was done as simple as can be.....coz time was running out and I thought this is the best way I know how. She specifically requested the cake to have the wording on it.....but I try to add the candles anyway.......luckily it was possible to do that.....coz I didn't want it to look like a wedding cake. So the candles had to be there no matter what! hehehe! I do love the coffee color paper on the background though.....it really looks good with dark red. Love that combination! ;)

Read More

You. The Goat.

You is such a little sweetie. Yes, her name is You. Aren't we ridiculous? Since we have a goat named "Me", it seemed all too right to name one "You" ... so I could call them into the barn by yelling, "Hey You, Me & Emily!"

Sadly, we did have another little sweetie named "Mini-Me" that we purchased at the same time ... but she passed away in my arms only 30 hours after I brought her home. After a midnight visit from our local farm vet, we discovered that she was suffering from Shipping Fever and the Scours. The vet did his best ... but she passed away just hours after he left. Isaac and I cuddled her before she passed ... and we tried to heal her with love ... but she left ... and Isaac took it very well. Better than I.


Anyway ... now little Miss You is a spoiled goat. Because she is missing a fellow kid to grow-up with (the older goats don't count, as they are not liking her quite yet) ... we have allowed her the occassional run of our house ... and some bed snuggles. She is fond of all of us ... and is just an all around sweetie. She wags her tail quite a bit and enjoys a good romp outside.

The farm we bought both kids from is going to replace the goat we lost sometime next week. So You will have a new friend soon. But until then, we are enjoying her company as she follows us around the house. Hopefully soon the older goats will take to her too.

As the old-time Maine famers say, "Ain't she cunning?"

Love,

Jodi

Read More

Quilling

I've wanted to do this and add this quilling technique into my card collection for a long time already. I've done this technique before....yup.....long long time ago in a galaxy far far away hahahaha.......which means, I haven't done this technique in quite a long time. Back then when I first started learning how to make cards, I didn't even have the proper tools to do it. I just rolled up the strips of paper and formed it into different quilling shapes.

Last couple of months ago when I made a trip to Kuala Lumpur, I went to search for craft tools and stumbled upon this quilling tool set at Scrapbook Memories in One Utama, Damansara. You should have looked at my reaction when I first saw it! I almost jumped up with joy! Tried to contain myself from screaming and doing the dance of joy! hahaha! I never thought I would find it there. I thought I might have to order them online someday......never occurred to me that it would be available in Kuala Lumpur. How ignorant of me! huhuhuhuhu.......oh well....at least I got it at last!

But till now I have not yet made any designs from it.....huhuhuhu......the flowers you see at the photo above is the only thing I've done so far. Sigh.... :I.  I've been so busy, that I don't have time to try out this new technique. I need to study how to do it as well......thank God for the online tutorials!! Yup, there are lots of them online....at Youtube and other websites. Just Google and you'll get a lot of websites that gives a lot of great step by step instructions on how to start quilling.

One thing though that I realised.....without that small little tool......you'll find it hard to do it....yes indeed. Coz I've tried doing it before without the tool and it was so slow! This tool definitely helps making it fast and easy. If you wanna know more about quilling....check out the websites below. There is a whole bunch of great infos there for us to start quilling. :)

Below is a slotted quilling tool that I am currently selling at my blog:

SLOTTED QUILLING TOOL
BRASS NEEDLE SLOT WITH PLASTIC BLUE MARBLE PATTERN HANDLE
SIZE OF TOOL IS ABOUT 12CM IN LENGTH

Just email me at inaabdul_21@yahoo.com if you wish to purchase this slotted paper quilling tool. Thank you! :)

Watch the videos below on how to quill :)

Read More

April 2010 Blog Giveaway Winners!!!!

Good afternoon to all of my lovely readers! At last I am done checking all the names of participants of the April 2010 Blog Giveaway and have randomly picked 4 lucky winners!! This time around, there were not many participants as last month. There were only 15 people who participated in this month's blog giveaway......hmmmm I wonder why....perhaps because they didn't like this month's prizes?? huhuhuhu, I donno....but I'll try to give something more "interesting" for everyone next month. Perhaps a pop up card next time around......I really would like to do that.... :) There will be 5 winners next month....so, looks like more and more people have more chances of winning something from Lin Handmade Greeting Cards soon! :)

Ok! I am so happy to announce the names of the winners for my April 2010 Blog Giveaway. Check them out below:

Mama Zharfan 

http://suzie284.blogspot.com/

.
.

Mamalyna

http://ejanblog.blogspot.com/

.
.

Zai kulim

http://zaikulim.blogspot.com/

.
.

Nea Flerida

http://neaflerida.blogspot.com/

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF YOU!!!! Please email me  as soon as possible your full name and complete mailing address plus your active contact number for mailing purposes. I will post the prizes to you on next week! 

Heartfelt thanks to all who have participated in my April 2010 Blog Giveaway. I really appreciate your effort and all your lovely wishes......I'm overwhelmed by them! Thank you so so much! For those who did not win this month, do try again next month for more interesting prizes to win! 

XOXO,
Lin

Read More

Selamat Hari Lahir Mohd Ibrahim...

HB070

Does this design look familiar to you??? hehehehe! Well! Of course it does because I've just made one the other day that had a similar layout as this one except that the background of the card was black. This card is made for my Mom's friend. She ordered this for her husband's birthday. The background  color of this card is metallic bronze. Looks like this color suits the same colors of the heart shapes I made for the black card. I wanted red and white heart shapes to be mixed with dark brown instead but the dark brown paper I had was not as pretty as this one so I choose to do it with this metallic bronze paper instead.

I suppose the most obvious difference in this design is the pop up I made inside the card. I made some changes with the pop up this time. I'm always trying to make it different. But after it was done I realized that the big hearts I pasted on the side of the birthday cake kinda look like it had wings attached to it!! Me and my imagination! LOL! The birthday cake looks like it's going to fly! LOL! The heart shapes were cut freehand by the way.......I just cut them up using my faithful old scissors and carefully arrange them side by side......and made smaller ones and scatter them at the back. Those shiny confetti looking thing scattered together with the hearts are actually made of ribbons that I cut up piece by piece. I really hope she likes it! :)

Read More

Where to get your craft supplies ....

I've been receiving a lot of inquiries from fans of my handmade cards recently......and honestly I would love to answer or reply all your emails but I think it's better I just reply here where everyone can benefit from it. :)

A lot of people who wrote to me were under the impression that I am using very high tech machines or tools to make my handmade cards. Which is kinda funny because I don't! hehehe! What I am using now are the basic tools and materials that most crafters use to produce their handmade cards. At the moment I simply can't afford to buy these machines like for instance the die-cut machine or like the Craft Robo that can do more than just cutting up shapes but can also cut pop ups. I can't even afford to buy all the craft punch that are available in the market. I only buy the ones that have complicated shapes and are extremely hard for me to cut out the shapes myself. For making simpler shapes, I prefer to just cut them using plain scissors.

Most of the tools I buy for my card making are not bought at one particular shop or craft store. I had to search for my tools in different shops at different locations. Some shops have tools that others don't. So basically I had to do some research online and sometimes I get tips from friends on where to get the supplies. For me, the best place to get supplies for card making can be found in areas located in Kuala Lumpur and Damansara. Now that I'm staying in Alor Setar, it's a little difficult sometimes to get supplies, therefore I would have to make trips there whenever I can and buy them in bulk. But only for supplies that are not available in Alor Setar.

Places that I usually go to for my supplies are at these places below. Go to the craft stores and also search for the stationary shops there. A lot of shopping complexes and even hypermarkets that have stationary departments, sell stationary items that can be used for card making. They even sell craft punches there.

1.    Sogo, Kuala Lumpur
       - Stationary department
          Level 5

2.    KLCC
        - Isetan & Kinokuniya  
          Stationary department

3.    One Utama, Damansara
       -  Scrapbook Memories
           Lot S51, 2nd Floor, Old Wing
           Tel: 03-77250063

       -  Craft Haven
          Lot S211, 2nd Floor
          Tel: 03-77273541

4.     The Curve, Mutiara Damansara
        - Papier Love
          Lot 161, 1st Floor, 

         The Curve, Mutiara Damansara, 

         Malaysia.

         Contact: 03-7725 4815

5.     Midvalley Megamall 
        -  Art Friend
          The Gardens @ Mid Valley City
          Third Floor Lot T-213
          Lingkaran Syed Putra
         59200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
         Tel: (603) 2284 7777
         Fax: (603) 2284 7577
        Opens Daily from 10am to 10pm

6.    Tesco 
      - Stationary department

7.    Jaya Jusco
      - Stationary department

8.    Other small stationary shops 
Go and search in all the small stationary shops that are nearby your place to get the best price for your paper supplies, glue and other items for card making. To get them at a much cheaper price, you should buy them in bulk.

9.   Wedding stores
Go to craft shops that sells items for weddings....this is where you can find buttons, sequins, beads, ribbons for the embellishments.

You can also buy them online at the online craft stores website links I provide at the right hand side of the blog.

Have fun shopping there ya!!

XOXO,

Lin

Read More

PRESS RELEASE: 2010 Pet Portrait Contest to Benefit the Bangor Humane Society

Studio 36
128 Hammond Street
Bangor, ME 04401
Phone (207) 385-3940

Press Release
Contact: Jodi Renshaw
Phone: (207) 385-3940

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 13, 2010

2010 Pet Portrait contest to benefit the Bangor Humane Society.

Bangor, ME, April 14, 2010: Studio 36, a photography studio of downtown Bangor, is pleased to announce their first annual Pet Portrait Contest to benefit the Bangor Humane Society. All pets are welcome to participate – from cats to iguanas to horses.

To enter the contest, pet owners need to make an appointment to have their pet photographed by Studio 36. They will be asked to give a donation to the Bangor Humane Society of any amount greater than $5. The pet owner may then choose which picture from their pet portrait session that they would like to enter in to the contest. All portrait sessions must take place before Monday, May 17th. Please call 385-3940 to make an appointment.

The winners will be chosen by public voting. All pet photos will be on display throughout Studio 36 - at 128 Hammond Street - for public viewing beginning Monday, May 24th. The Studio will be open to voters each evening from 5-7pm beginning Monday May 24th through Friday May 28th. Winner will be announced on Sunday, May 30th. Each vote will cost the voter a .25 cent donation to the Bangor Humane Society. The pet photo with the most votes wins.

First prize will include a portrait package from Studio 36 (to be used for people or pets) valued at $150. The winning pet’s picture will also be featured in the Bangor Daily News.

Second prize is a $75 Gift Card to Pet Quarters, 744 Stillwater Avenue in Bangor. Third prize is an original art work portrait of your pet by D. Marie of Brewer, ME.

Pet owners are also able to purchase copies of their session photos from Studio 36, with a portion of the sales also going to the Bangor Humane Society. Thanks to all who choose to participate.

http://www.studio36bangor.com/ / 207-385-3940

Picture attached:
Cat & Dog Photo: “Two area pet participants in the 2010 Pet Portrait Contest to benefit the Bangor Humane Society”.

Read More

A Pet for Meg.

For those who do not know, our sweet Meaghan has moved in with us permanently. We are overjoyed by this, but sad at what Meaghan has had to go through to get to this point. With the exception of 1 day, she has now been with us for over a week ... and we are all adjusting to our new way of life.

As a young girl and teen, I always had a pet that I could turn to in times of need. A pet I could cuddle, cry on, go home to, take care of, etc. I - and other Moms I have spoke to - believe that this is such an important thing for teenage girls ... especially those who have experienced trauma. So, I have made it my mission to help Meg to find the perfect pet for her.

We have spent the last couple of afternoons checking out the Bangor Humane Society, local pet shops, and our Blue Seal ... as well as comb through the Uncle Henry's Guide. She was leaning toward a cat ... and then a Guinea Pig, but has now settled on a Holland Lop bunny.

Aren't they so darn cute !!?? And they actually STAY this cute. I think I am falling in love with this idea. Imagine the photo shoots I could get out of a sweet bunny :)

Halis told Meaghan that she has one month to prove to him that she can care for a bunny in her room ... by making sure that her room is clean and that she keeps up with all of her personal responsibilities. I am SO rooting for her ... as I would love to see her add a cuddly bunny to her life. I think it will be so good for her to have something ALL HERS that she can love and care for.

So --- come on Meg --- you can do it! I so want to see you and your new bunny snuggling together --- and to sneak my own cuddle time in now and again :)

Soon Meg and I may be as bunny crazed as these two:

I can even imagine seeing this sort of thing going on in our house:

Then Maybe Meg and I could make ridiculously stupid videos such as these:

GOOD TIMES!

I so look forward to this :)

Love,
Jodi

Read More

My heart belongs to you.....

HB069

Yes! It's done! Finally! I'm loving it too! I received a request to do a design similar to V021 but was also given the permission to make some changes here and there to make it different. And so I did some changes  in the layout and I added something to it that is similar to another one of my card designs I did before.  Which is adding the foam hearts with glitters on it. A lot of mix and match here I must say hehehe.  I made it look like as if all the hearts are trapped in boxes hehehe.....can you see it?? ;)

This design was pretty time consuming, but fun to make....as usual all my card designs takes a lot of my time to make.....and since I work very slow, it's even more time consuming hahaha! All the hearts were cut by hand....each and every one of it....even the tiny ones in between the bigger ones. No craft punch was used for this particular design. Oh! Except for the teeny weeny white hearts on the envelope! That one I used a  heart shape craft punch! hahaha!

For the pop up, I was given the choice of either doing a pop up like the one in V021 or in HB055 and I decided to do something like the one in HB055. Still, I made some changes to it. Always trying to make it look different.....just some little changes though....not that much :). I made it look like the 2 tier birthday cake was sitting on the gift boxes....surrounded by them! :) 

What I like most about this type of design is that I can change the color combination if someone where to request it so. It's easy to change it unlike other designs. It is always a good challenge though if it was difficult to do so but I don't mind if I get to do something easy once in a while :).

Read More

Poor Truck.

Poor Truck. Halis and Meaghan were at the Hampden Rifle Club ... installing some plumbing after shooting off a few rounds ... when all of a sudden, Meaghan spotted that the truck was aflame. They called the authorities ... but their was no rescuing the truck. Thank God they weren't in it when the fire started! All is well that ends well. No one was hurt. Halis will surely get a new truck ... so life will continue as before.

Just another example for Isaac (and for us) of how important the fire department is to our communities. They helped save the building ... and they cleaned up the gas and oil spoils so the local stream would not be contaminated.

Thank you Hampden Police and Firefighters.

Love,

Jodi

Read More