The End of an Era

Having a mommy moment today.....this weekend my daughter had her Grade 12 prom night and with it came the closing of an era and the beginning of a new one.  Seems like just yesterday I was registering her for pre-school and now she is a beautiful, intelligent and gifted young woman who will be stepping into the next phase of her life as she heads off to university.

She has grown, matured and gained much wisdom as she navigated those not-so-easy high school years, and those experiences have built in her a depth of character and convictions that will carry her a long way in life.  I am extremely grateful for some amazing teachers who have left their fingerprints on her heart and given her the confidence she didn't always have in herself.  We have been blessed with their being a part of the village raising her :)

Watching her spread her wings and begin to soar is beautiful to watch, albeit difficult at the same time!  My mama heart yearns to keep her close and yet also knows my most important job is to ensure the strings are let out more and more and ultimately cut so I can sit back and watch her become all God created her to be and do for His glory.  SO blessed to be her mom!!    Love you with all my heart sweetheart!!

Unfortunately dad and baby brother had to be at a soccer tournament this weekend so we missed out on family photos this night.  So, to make up for it, we are all going to get dressed up and go out for a wonderful dinner to celebrate :)  Can't wait to see her in her dress again - these pictures do NOT do it justice!!  She got it in Paris last year when she went on a two week school trip to Europe and they hit the summer sales just right!  She got this gorgeous designer dress, cut on the bias and inlaid with lace for 75% off the original price!  It is a classic and I wish I had been there as I would have gotten one in my size for myself I love it that much!!

Two Russian/Slavic girls with high cheekbones :)

 

Dress envy - she absolutely loved her friends pink dress.

 

With her best friend.

 

Two buddies since elementary school.

 

A fellow Manchester City fan - they often wore their jerseys on the same day and always stuck together in supporting their team during the Premier League play offs.

SO blessed to have you as our daughter!!  Love you sweetheart!!

  

Beautiful, inside and out...!

Thanks for indulging me :) 

Mojo Monday #454

I love Monday's as they are Mojo Monday time and that is always a fun wat ti start your week :)

Went with some soft pastels for my card this week and this fabulous Psalm 143:8 verse from Good Work and butterfly from Die Sidekicks along with the matching All Aflutter butterfly die.

All the challenge details are over on the Mojo Monday blog and you can also view all the wonderful Mojo Makers samples.  Should you wish more details on the Mojo Maker's cards, you can also visit their individual blogs noted below.

Julee Tilman (Owner)

Justin Krieger

  Lori Tecler  

Marisa Ritzen (that's me)

Sarah Biglow

Teresa Kline

Wanda Cullen

Have a fabulous day and I look forward to seeing your creations in the gallery :) 

  
  
What Is In It?
Stamps:  Good Works, Die Sidekicks (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  Pretty in Pink, So Saffron (Stampin' Up)
Ink: Black
Accessories:  All AFlutter Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve), Doily Die (Top Dog Dies), 1" Green Grosgrain Ribbon (Michael's Dollar Bin), Sequins, Button, Twine, Glue Dots, Dimensionals 

Mojo Monday #453

Time for a Mojo Monday sketch and I am using Julee's limited time free digi called Three Cheers which she created for the Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop.

I used the colours from the hop's banner for my card and the iced coffee cups from Three Cheers!  Coloured them with Twinkling H2Os and added my beloved Chicken Wire embossing folder.

All the challenge details are over on the Mojo Monday blog and you can also view all the wonderful Mojo Makers samples.  Should you wish more details on the Mojo Maker's cards, you can also visit their individual blogs noted below.

Julee Tilman (Owner)

Justin Krieger

  Lori Tecler  

Marisa Ritzen (that's me)

Sarah Biglow

Teresa Kline

Wanda Cullen

My kids are now out of school and all they have left to do are their English provincial exams at the end of the week, followed by my daughter's Prom evening next weekend.  Excited for this new stage in her life, but still in a bit of mommy denial that my first born is now out of high school LOL!  

 

Have a fabulous day and I look forward to seeing your creations in the gallery :)   

  
  
What Is In It?
Stamps:  Jeremiah 29:11 Plain Jane (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  Recollections (Michael's), Cool Caribbean, Sage Shadow (Stampin' Up)
Ink: Black
Accessories:  Flutterby and Sprightly Sprigs Dies (A Cut Above by Verve),  Copper Blush Sequin Mix (Verve Stamps), 5/8 Red Grosgrain Ribbon (Michael's Ribbon Bin), Button, Twine, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge - Tasty Tropics

Welcome to the second Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge for June.   This inspiration picture is particularly close to my heart as I grew up in the tropics and we often drank "pipas" :)   As kids, I remember trips to the beach and being mesmerized while watching a man/boy climb up a palm tree with a machete between his teeth, get to the top, cut a few coconuts down and then come back down the palm tree.  Then, he would use the same machete to cut the top off the coconut, insert a straw and give it to us so we could drink the fresh coconut water in the coconut.  And that was years ago before coconut water became all the rage LOL!  Use the inspiration photo however you wish and by whatever inspires you.

For my card today, I had to go with that gorgeous orchid and surrounding colours to create my own tropical flower.  Used PTIs flower die, added a doily to pick up the brown and two yellow banners for the yellow center in the second flower.  Bold and bright and my tribute to the tropics :)  

TASTY TROPICS

Guest Designer

 Sonja Kerkhoffs, The Art of Stamping

Amy Kolling

Amy Tsuruta

Betty Wright

 Kim Singdahlsen

Laurie Willison

Leigh Penner

Lisa Henke
Lori Tecler 
Lynn Magnan

Marisa Ritzen

Maureen Plut

Melody Rupple

Monika Davis

Sheri Gilson

Stacey Schafer
Tara Godfrey

Tracey McNeely

Have fun with the challenge and I look forward to seeing your creations in the Curtain Call gallery.





 

What's In It?
Stamps:  Frilly Flowers (PTI), Best Yest (Stampin' Up) 
Paper:   Tan and Yellow (LSS)
Ink:  Orchid Opulence, Green Galore, Black (Stampin' Up)   
Accessories:  Frilly Flower Die (PTI), Doily Die (Top Dog Dies), Stitched Rectangle Die (Lil' Inker), Button, Twine, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

Mojo Monday #452

Love Monday's as it means it is Mojo Monday time and I love working with a good sketch - and Julee has the best sketches!!

Jeremiah 29:11 is one of my favorite verses and it is wonderful to have it in stamp form in Faith Medley.  I paired it with my beloved Flutterby butterfly die and the Sprightly Sprigs die set.  A doily for a bit of softness and a scatter of sequins from the Copper Blush Sequin Mix to fill in the sentiment panel a bit.

All the challenge details are over on the Mojo Monday blog and you can also view all the wonderful Mojo Makers samples.  Should you wish more details on the Mojo Maker's cards, you can also visit their individual blogs noted below.

Julee Tilman (Owner)

Justin Krieger

  Lori Tecler  

Marisa Ritzen (that's me)

Sarah Biglow

Teresa Kline

Wanda Cullen

Love my local scrapbooking store, as they hold an annual garage sale where vendors can pass on their  unloved supplies to others.  I have been a vendor for five years now and it is wonderful knowing someone else will be enjoying things you no longer use :)   A total win/win.

We are also entering the last week of school - where did the year go?!!  It will be a busy week with class finals and then each of my kids has an English Provincial exam to write the following week, followed up by my daughter's Prom and all night extravaganza at the YMCA.  

Hard to believe summer is almost here!!  I remember my mom telling me when I was younger and complaining that I was bored, that one day you will wish I was bored.  Didn't believe her then, but am living proof of it now LOL!  Carpe Diem!




  
  
What Is In It?
Stamps:  Jeremiah 29:11 Plain Jane (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  Recollections (Michael's), Cool Caribbean, Sage Shadow (Stampin' Up)
Ink: Black
Accessories:  Flutterby and Sprightly Sprigs Dies (A Cut Above by Verve),  Copper Blush Sequin Mix (Verve Stamps), 5/8 Red Grosgrain Ribbon (Michael's Ribbon Bin), Button, Twine, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Verve Diva Inspiration Hop - June 2016

It's time for the Verve Divas to bring you our monthly Diva Inspirations Challenge and Blog Hop! 

There are TWO $30 gift vouchers to the Verve store up for grabs this month and two ways to win! First, comment on the design team's blog hop posts (linked below) for an entry in the first giveaway. Then to be entered into our challenge prize drawing, go get inky and link up your take on the challenge. You have until July 5 to link up. Feel free to play along with the challenge as many times as you like. Verve stamps aren't required to play, but we do smile a little brighter when we see them!

Summertime is on the way and a soft beachy vibe is our inspiration this month. Soft neutrals and bold pops of color are sure to bring a bit of summer flair to your projects. Take your inspiration from the graphic or follow the color pattern, just have fun stamping. We can't wait to see what you create!

Click here to link up your challenge entries
Challenge deadline: Tuesday, July 5.
Prize: $30 gift voucher to the Verve online store!

If you have come here from our newest Lesley's blog you are right on track.  If not, you can go to the Verve blog for the hop list to get caught up.

What a fun colour combination!!  I love orange and turquoise together, but in this case, I have a bit more grey than turquoise because that is the way my paper patterns worked!  I used this week's Viva La Verve sketch for my card, and since I am desperately low on birthday cards, I pulled out one of my favorite birthday stamps, the Happy Birthday Plain Jane.  Used the Stitched Pennant Die Set for the turquoise banner, and the smallest leaf die from the Beautiful Flowers Die Set to help create a bit more sustenance to the butterfly and upper half of the card.

Need a little inspiration? Check out the blogs linked below to see what the other Divas did with the challenge! It's sure to be a treat, and speaking of treats, we're giving away a $30 gift voucher to Verve to one random commenter along the hop.  Just leave a little love as you hop about for a chance to win!

	1. Julee	7. Marisa
	2. Betty	8. Maureen
	3. Charmaine	9. Stacey
	4. Christyne	10. Susan
	5. Laurie	11. Teresa
	6. Lesley

Time to head on over to Maureen's blog to see her take on the inspiration photo :)







What's In It?
Stamps:  Happy Birthday Plain Jane (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  On The Bright Side (My Mind's Eye), Recollections (Michael's)
Ink:  Black 
Accessories:  Beautiful Flowers and Stitched Pennant Die Sets (A Cut Above by Verve),  Lacy Square and Square Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Butterfly and Daisy Border Punches (Martha Stewart), Twine, Black Half Pearls, Dimensionals 

Mojo Monday #451

I can not believe it is June already!!  At the rate this year has been flying by it will be Christmas before I know it!!  Hoping things slow down a bit over the summer because it is always a blur from September until Christmas.  At this rate, my birthday won't catch up with me and I won't be another year older LOL!

Fun sketch from Julee today and with it being the first Monday of the month, that means it is contest time over on the Mojo Monday blog!  Them ore that enter, the greater your chances of winning so come on over and play along - you don't need to use Verve stamps to join in - but if you have them we love to see them :)

For my card I used some Divinely Sweet paper by Bazzill Basics and pulled the rest of the colours from it.  Out came my beloved "U" die from I Heart You Die Set.  Added the "thank" word die over top of it in black as the paper was quite busy and no other colour really stood out.  Sorry about the picture...missed my best "photo time" due to having to be out and about a good part of the day. 

All the challenge details are over on the Mojo Monday blog and you can also view all the wonderful Mojo Makers samples.  Should you wish more details on the Mojo Maker's cards, you can also visit their individual blogs noted below.

Julee Tilman (Owner)

Justin Krieger

  Lori Tecler  

Marisa Ritzen (that's me)

Mary Fish

Sarah Biglow

Teresa Kline

Wanda Cullen

Got to watch my son be the center ref this weekend and it is great to see his improvement over the last time I watched him ref.  He is very diligent in applying what he is taught at his reffing clinic each week and I love the passion he has for the job :)   Who knows, maybe one day we will be cheering for him as he refs at a FIFA tournament!




  
  
What Is In It?

Paper:  Divinely Sweek (Bazzill Basica), Real Red, Wild Wassabi, Kraft, Black (Stampin' Up) 
Accessories: I Heart You Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve),  Word Die Set (PTI), Stitched Circle Dies (Lil' Inkers), Butterfly Punch (Martha Stewart), Half Pearls

Graduation Time

Hard to believe my daughter will be graduating from High School this year!!  On one hand, my mommy heart is in denial, and on the other, I am excited for a new chapter in her life to begin!

Many of you have seen these on Facebook, but if not, here you go :)

The graduate!!

Celebrating :)

 

My beautiful, intelligent, caring girl - love her to bits!!

Daddy's girl too!

 

Baby Brother taking front and center instead of the graduate - always the ham!

Proud parents!

 

Having fun :)  Hair still wet - yikes!

 

We needed a photographer for the four of us as my son took this selfie because he has the longest arms!

 

Best friends.

 

Where did the years go??!!  Blessed beyond measure to be her mom.  Love you more than words could ever express, sweetheart!!

Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge - Sail On

Welcome to the first Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge for June.  With summer quickly approaching and with sunshine, warm weather and water are a delightful trio, our challenge is called Sail On.  Use the inspiration photo however you wish and by whatever inspires you.

For my card today, I used some Down By The Shore paper by Fancy Pants.  Used the corner of a piece that had a whale on it  (as per the pillow) and another piece that reminded me of waves.  A few nautical die cuts, a doily and a few pops of red completed the card.

SAIL ON

Amy Kolling

Amy Tsuruta

Betty Wright

 Kim Singdahlsen

Laurie Willison

Leigh Penner

Lisa Henke
Lori Tecler 
Lynn Magnan

Marisa Ritzen

Maureen Plut

Melody Rupple

Monika Davis

Sheri Gilson

Stacey Schafer
Tara Godfrey

Tracey McNeely

Have fun with the challenge and I look forward to seeing your creations in the Curtain Call gallery.





 

What's In It?
Stamps:  Strong Anchor  (Verve Stamps) 
Paper:   Down By The Shore (Fancy Pants)
Ink:  Black  
Accessories:  Nautical Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve), Tag Die (PTI), Doily Die (Top Dog Dies), Twine, Brad, Button, Glue Dot, Dimensionals