As some of you have noticed, I have been missing in action. It has definitely been a stressful week, marked by the end of first semester and stacks of tests to grade. As those of you who are teachers know, you are under the gun to get grades calculated and posted. It was also stressful since it was time for Brady, my son, to return to college after having spent a wonderful month-long break at home. I so thoroughly enjoyed my time with him, and I will miss him. And at this already stressful time, I received sad news about my Aunt Margie.

I was named after my Aunt Margaret, my father’s sister. At age 82, Aunt Margie has been placed in hospice care. Her kidneys have shut down and she has elected to receive no treatment. I was called and told that she may not last the week. So it was with a heavy heart that I visited her yesterday. It was hard to fight back the tears, knowing that this would probably be the last time, barring a miracle, that I would talk with her. We reminisced about family. We talked about Brady and how she always loved hearing Brady play the trumpet in church. She told me tell him she was proud of him. We talked about when I was a little girl and would stay at her house. We talked about watching “House Hunters” on HGTV, and the beautiful homes that she had seen. We talked about quilting. We talked about the little dog who was laying faithfully beside her. We talked about the trivial happenings of a normal day. And we talked about the inevitable. As I got up to leave, I held her hands in mine, and said, choking back the tears, “Bye, Aunt Margie. I’ll see you later this week. I love you!” One should always believe in miracles…

Thank you for allowing me to share this with you. Sometimes sharing helps. I will be back on Thursday with my Pals Paper Arts challenge. Until next time…

It’s Thursday and that means that it’s time to play @ PPA. This week we are hosting an Inspiration Challenge. Mmmmmm! Chocolate! What could be better inspiration than that? As I looked at today’s inspiration photo, I saw red…literally. So I selected Real Red for my focal color for this quick and easy card. Whisper White mimics the candy wrapper, while the Dove symbolizes Dove Chocolates. Of course the Chocolate Chip cardstock is self-explanatory. Did you notice how the small Chocolate Chip Epoxy Brads represent the drizzle on the piece of chocolate? OK…maybe that IS carrying my inspiration a bit too far! Have fun with today’s challenge, and remember, as Forrest’s mamma always said, “Life is like a box of chocolates.”

The Stampin’ Schach Design Tips:

• It’s all about the texture! First, textured Chocolate Chip and textured Real Red card stock form the background mats. Next, we have Whisper White which has been zipped through the Big Shot with the new Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Folder (one of my new favorites). Finally, a Real Red Scalloped Heart of Heart Embosslits completes the “texture-fest”!
• Oddly enough (pun intended), embellishments look best in “threes”! Three new Chocolate Chip Epoxy Brads fit perfectly above the sentiment…and I really did select them because they reminded me of the drizzle on top of the chocolate!
• ‘Tis the season! Sometimes out-of-season sets hold the answer to a design dilemma. This heart was aching for something to keep it company. Enter the “Love Dove” from my secret stash of stamps. Oh, all right…It’s just the Dove from Gifts of Christmas. Snipped out and popped up on a Stampin’ Dimensional, it provided the finishing touch that this quick and easy card needed.

I don’t know about you, but all of this card making has made me a wee bit famished. Let’s see, do I want M and M’s….or Snickers…or Peppermint Patties…or a Butterfinger…or Hugs…or Kisses…In the meantime, while I try to decide on a chocolate confection, let me know that you stopped by for a visit today. Leave me a comment and let me know what you think about my “Dove Chocolate” card. Your comments are important to me and so are your questions. Please, do not hesitate to email me if you ever have a question about the cards that I make or the techniques that I use. Until next time…

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Stamp Sets: Gifts of Christmas (115372), Well Scripted (W 117072, C 118601); Inks: Chocolate Chip (100908), Chocolate Chip Stampin’ Write Marker (100071), Real Red Stampin’ Write Marker (100052); Paper: Real Red textured (108698—Bold Brights assorted), Chocolate Chip textured (108697—Earth Elements assorted), Whisper White (); Tools: Scallop Trim Border Punch (118402—Sale-A-Bration), Stampin’ Up! Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Folder (117335), Scalloped Heart of Hearts Embosslits Die (117332—Occasions Mini), Lots of Tags Sizzlits (114508), Big Shot (113439), Sponge Dauber (102892), Stampin’ Dimensionals (104430); Glitz and Glam: Chocolate Chip Sending Love Epoxy Brads (117272—Occasions Mini)

Welcome to the Pals Holiday Hop! If you’ve arrived from Kalshelia Lloyd’s Stampin‘ Fabulousity, I am Stop Number 2 on the hop! Hop along with me and my fellow Holiday Hoppers, and we will direct you through the entire hop of wonderful creations! Should you become lost along the way, you may access the entire Holiday Hop Line-Up at the end of today’s post. Since there are several more stops to make, let’s get started with what I have created for you!

Vintage Valentine

Doesn’t this card conjure up visions of the Victorian era? Some of my favorite items from the Occasions Mini are showcased in this creation.

The Stampin‘ Schach Design Tips:

• It’s all about the texture! Very Vanilla card stock was passed through the Big Shot with the new Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Folder, while Always Artichoke and Regal Rose card stock kept a date with the Scalloped Heart Embosslit. And where do little embossed hearts come from? From bigger embossed hearts by using the new Small Heart Punch! I simply made an extra Regal Rose Scalloped Embosslit Heart and punched out the small hearts from it.
• Combine the old and the new! See how perfectly the new Pinking Hearts Corner Punch pairs with the Photo Corner Punch? By itself, the Photo Corner Punch was too Deco, but when coupled with the hearts, it takes on a whole new look!
• Snip! Snip! Snip! Sharpen up those Paper Snips and get out the Stamp-a-ma-jig! The Vintage Vogue wreath was created by lightly tracing a 3-1/2″ circle onto Very Vanilla card stock. This is the perfect size to accommodate five Vintage Vogue Vines. The Stamp-a-ma-jig ensures perfect alignment every time! Ink up those vines with Always Artichoke and Regal Rose Stampin‘ Write Markers!
• The perfect font! In keeping with the Victorian look of the card, I selected a sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes. This is the perfect size to get the message across without over-powering the wreath focal point.

• Get coordinated! The beauty of all of Stampin‘ Up!s designer series papers is that the patterns in each collection coordinate so well with each other. In this case, the With All My Heart stamp set further connects both patterns. The result is a polished, rather then fussy, look!
• Pop those images right off the page! Stampin‘ Dimensionals pop up the flower (snipped from a third Sending Love pattern) and the sentiment, “Love You Much”, from the Well Scripted set. Chocolate Chip ink, applied with a Sponge Dauber to the edges of the sentiment and the flower, defines the edges and increases the dimension.
• Don’t forget the texture! The new Pretty in Pink Corduroy Brad provides texture and contrast as the center of the red flower, as does the Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon. As much as I love the new Stampin‘ Up! satin ribbons, the quirky, country feel of the card dictated grosgrain.

“No Template-No Worry” Box

Once again, the Sending Love Designer Series Paper is featured in this twist on the 5-in-1 Template box made without the template. It is large enough to fill with candy and even cookies, making it a wonderful choice for Valentine’s Day! Since I do not have a “5-in-1 Template”, I simply tweaked Beate’s tutorial Located Here. If I can do it, you can do it!

The Stampin‘ Schach Tips:

• Making reference to Beate’s tutorial, I began with a 4″ x 4″ square. I then set a compass to 2″ and added half-circles on all four edges of my square. (I re-cycled a piece of cardboard from a package of designer series paper to create this template!) I traced the template onto a piece of Sending Love Designer Series Paper and snipped it out. No compass…No problem! Simply use the Circle Scissors Plus!
• Pink Pizazz! The scalloped corners were made using the Big Shot and the Scallop Circle die. A little “Chocolate Chip” ink accents the scallops, which have been pierced with a Paper Piercer. The rest of the tutorial is just as Beate wrote it. How easy is that!
• Flower Power! Make flowers in minutes with the Big Shot and Bigz XL Flower Fold die. Alternating patterns from Sending Love DSP coordinate perfectly to form the petals of the over-sized blossom which adorns the top of the box. The 1-1/4″ Circle Punch was used to create the center of the bloom.
• Glitz and Glam! A few snippets of 5/8″ Chocolate Chip Satin Ribbon completes the package. Although it does not show up in the picture, many of the patterns in the Sending Love collection are pre-glittered, and so pretty! Extra glitz is not required! If you have any questions about making this box, please do not hesitate to email me.

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