Hot Air Balloon Fun

I had this idea to make a hot air balloon while looking at the platform from Melanie's new set Jumping for Joy upside down - I saw it looked like a hot air balloon basket so the idea was born. A few weeks before I realized one of my co-workers used to be a hot air balloon pilot. Larry said the best thing that came out of his career was his daughter (the result of meeting his wife). He used to fly them in France and even did it in Austin and almost collided with a plane at the old airport when he needed to do an emergency landing. He was not in the radar of the control tower. Scary, huh?

Unfortunately, my idea was not executing quite right so I left the idea for a few days and came back to it. Sometimes that is the best thing to do so you don't frustrate yourself too much. Soon it was turning into a hot air balloon ride for the 4th of July by adding fireworks from Gina K's Woo-hoo! set then it was DH's idea to put people in it. So I grabbed my All in the Family set and now started to think about our 11th anniversary which is coming up on July 6th.

John and I wanted to get married on the 4th of July (I was heading back to CA from vacation on the 8th and wanted to do it before I left - it's a long story) and when we went to Rusk County (East TX) to get our license, we realized there was a 72-hr waiting period so it allowed us a few days to plan better. We ended up getting married about 8:40 on a warm Sunday morning and we only had 6 family members in attendance. John's grandfather officiated the ceremony in their garden. They lived on 300+ acres and it really was a beautiful ceremony. We had a cake his grandmother made from scratch and spent a few days together before I had to leave.

I had only met him IRL 10 days before we got married; but I knew that I knew that I knew he was 'the one' God had prepared for me. After being with him for about 3 days, I didn't want to leave his side which is why I decided we should get married before my vacation came to an end. It seemed like the right thing to do. So after 11 fun, productive, memorable years I see us with more living to do; work to accomplish, great memories to make, people to bless, a dream home to build & perhaps children to fill it so I am excited about the future!! I love you, Honey (I think he still reads my blog).

All Dressed Up & Somewhere to go!

Olympia the Ostrich (that's my name for her) meaning heaven-like is All Dressed Up (DCWV style) in pink & black! She found her matching accessories (hat, purse & comfy shoes so she could spend an afternoon with friends shopping & having coffee. She was colored with twinklin h20's - one layer watercolor card but her tail feathers are paper-toled for dimension.

BIG HUG & a tag!

Aren't there days when you want to hug someone but you can't because you are not close enough to? Well, this image & sentiment from Jumping for Joy will come in handy if you want to send someone a 'squeeze' in the mail! I know I will soon - I'm going to send this card to my niece! When I talked to her last week on my birthday, as she was saying good-bye she hugged herself to show her Mommy she was giving me a big hug (this is a new one) and mwah - big kiss (she's been doing that for a while). Oh how I long for another one of her squeezes! She may not really know what this card is all about now, but I hope that her mommy will keep it so when she starts to read (and understand) she will be reminded of her Auntie's Love!

Edited to Add: Last night I called Gabby (after she enthusiastically said uh huh! that she wanted to talk to me), I said "Hi Gabby" and when I heard her little voice say, "Auntie Donna - miss you" I choked up, in tears! That was the first time she said it on her own to me! After I got off the phone, I had to ask DH if that's what HE heard too (and it was not just me WANTING to hear it) Sure enough, he said that's what he heard. What a moment to remember for me.

The bear was colored with primas/oms and my bling & dazzle flower outline by Gina K was colored with copics. My ribbon is the one from Lee! This is Beate's weekend sketch 51 (that I didn't upload in time). I made this right after the Seals in Love because I usually try to make at least 2 cards from dp that I have out before I put it away.

Random stuff tag by Monika M.A.D. Stamper

10 years ago I was: A newlywed (11 months), having moved into our first home the month before, raising a puppy & working at a civil engineering firm as receptionist.

5 things on my to-do-list today: attempt to catch up on 500+ posts in Google Reader, read (currently My Sister's Keeper), upload more BRAKS rcvd, rest

Snacks I love: String cheese, dark chocolate, sunflower seeds, Nutter Butter cookies, ice cream

Things I will do when I am a millionaire: quit working full-time, buy a home in CA and spend 1/2 my year there and 1/2 here so I can be around my family more

Places I have lived: Bay Area (CA), 3 different cities in the Central TX area

I'd like to know this stuff about the following people because I didn't know them 10 yrs ago:
Angie Tieman
Melanie Muenchinger
Jennifer Love
Deborah Wood
Christina Fischer

Seals in Love

My sister Deana & DH Frankie will be celebrating their 14th year of marriage this year so I thought it would be perfect to make a seal card with them holding up their love. They are a great couple, lots of fun, generous, loving. Last year she surprised him with a trip to Mexico on a cruise for his birthday!

A few months ago I got a mirror image stamp for 1/2 price at Michael's because sometimes you either have to make an image the opposite way or in this case, make 2 of the same image but facing each other and this is the way to do it!

I didn't realize until after I uploaded the card that I failed to 'ground' the seals but I didn't have the desire to do it all over again. All coloring is with my Prismacolor pencils & OMS and the reason I put the pretty in pink splatter from itty bitty backgrounds is because there was a smudge on the main image that I noticed after I finished coloring. What a great stamp to fix those kind of boo-boos. I think it really adds to the fun factor of the card. The little heart brads are from Melanie (I believe she got them at Joann's). The seals are from Jumping for Joy & the heart & love from Just so Hippy both illustrated by Melanie Muenchinger you can purchase at Gina K Designs. I forgot to take a picture of the inside...I combined greetings from Just s Hippy and Hip Hop Accessories - 'Hippy Anniversary to the Hoppiest Couple'

Rockin' Ostrich

Melanie has been having so much fun with her Ostrich (and the others too from her Jumping for Joy set) so I had to dig deep to get my MOJO back last night! After making a few cards for a CHF blitz, I started chatting with Lee on yahoo messenger (although I am not much of a late night stamper unless it's the weekend and I had an afternoon nap) I was determined to make an Ostrich card.

Here is my first Ostrich card (still thinking of a name I like for her to be called). When Lee and I were chatting, she inquired about my method to making a card - first I pick my DP (and this blues & greens one was calling me) and realized that Wild Wasabi and Tempting Turquoise matched wonderfully, I also knew I would have black accents. I also gathered a few embellishements I thought would match (like the glitter, some wasabi & black brads, the hemp because I knew I wanted to make a glitter star balloon) and started coloing her in. That took a while because I realized I may have some Twinkling h20's to match and I did! score! Here is a close up of all the sparkle they have.

The last touches were my ribbon (used black velvet & changed the brad to a square ice rhinestone because she needed mre bling)!

Update on my lunch with Melanie yesterday: It was great!! Although my morning Dr. appt made me abut 30 mins later than I would have liked! She took me to Kona Grill at the Domain (outdoor shopping area I had never been to and it's been there for over a year). The food was yummy & we shared a free dessert - Passionfruit Creme Brulee which was quite tasty. In addition to treating me to lunch, she gave me a stamping goodie bag and the DCWV 8 x 8 All Dressed Up stack which I have been wanting for a long time but the Hobby Lobby by me hasn't had! Thanks, Melanie...you are so sweet!!! I enjoy our friendship & appreciate the quality time we had yesterday.

Sammy the Seal came out to play...

Here is the first card I made with Melanie's Jumping for Joy set by Gina K Designs. I LOVE this set - well, I love ALL of Melanie's sets and this is no different! I just want my MOJO back so I can make more cards!!

This card is on its way to a special blogging friend - she should get it any day now!! I found a pkg of cute red, white & blue star brads at Hobby Lobby that fit perfectly on the platform (drum?)-which was colored with Prismacolor Pencils along with the star balloons (my favorite). I colored Sammy the Seal with copics - see how badly my Mojo is? I mixed coloring mediums without realizing it until now! ugh - the red dp is Basic Grey Cupcake