birthday

Perspective

/ Jodi / 11 Comments

Moon Lake Thoreau What You See

Today is my brother’s birthday, and this is the card I made and sent to him.  He is a purist and likes simple and uncomplicated things.  He is also a deep thinker, so though this card may not be a “stunner” in the creative artistic sense, I think it is perfect for him.

The StampinUp Moon Lake stamp is stamped onto white paper.  I then overlaid it with vellum that I stamped the sentiment on and stitched it to the white (so you can lift it to see the boat and tree clearer – kinda symbolic of the message if you get my drift).  I added a few clear star stickers to embellish just a bit, framed it up with black and then blue card stock and adhered to a white card base.

I’m thinking of my brother today and wishing him a year full of simple, uncomplicated pleasures and happiness.  I love him dearly.

What do you see today?

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

The Little Things

/ Jodi / 30 Comments

sheltering tree and hello life

Isn’t it true?  It’s the “little things” that mean so much!

Next week at this time, I will be in (hopefully) sunny, warm Florida with one of my besties, Janet, celebrating “the little things” that have sustained our friendship for 40 years!  And seriously – I’m not sure how that is possible when I am [ahem] barely past 40, but Janet is my oldest – really meaning “longest” together – friend.

I can’t wait to just spend time with my sweet friend doing the “little things” that have sustained our friendship through the ages, miles and miles, and extended periods of separation (Janet lived in Alaska for about a million years).

Janet is my sister and her family is my family. 

My hubby, Marty, gave me the BEST birthday gift this year.  He’s sending me off to spend time with someone I hold so dear.  And I can still hear the squeals when I called her on New Year’s Eve (my birthday) to tell her the good news.  And we are going to get to celebrate her birthday, which is just a few days after my visit.

We will talk, walk, laugh, likely cry, eat, drink, reminisce, reflect, discover, and just “BE.”

No matter how much time or space has separated us, we have always enjoyed “the little things” that make life and our friendship so precious.

So this card I created is dedicated to my Janet.

It is made from the Stampin Up Sheltering Tree and Hello Life Stamp Set.  It is clean and simple (CAS), because the message is so powerful:  Love the little things – for they are what make up the greatest joys in life.

Wishing you a wonderful day filled with many reasons to celebrate “the little things.”

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

Warmth: @ 51.364

/ Jodi / 36 Comments
Weekly Photo Challenge: Warmth - Candle Glow & Christmas Lights

Weekly Photo Challenge: Warmth

Warmth….  Awwwwhhh….  Such a cozy thought this time of year as we begin Winter and prepare for the coldest months of the year here on in Mars.

There’s nothing like curling up on the couch under a fleece blanket by the glow of candlelight and a crackling fire – especially during the holidays with the twinkling reflection of Christmas tree lights adding additional warmth to the living room.  Add a nice glass of dry red wine – maybe 7 Deadly Zins or a nice Cab – or maybe even a stiff Bombay and tonic with a twist of lime or a glass of sweet syrupy Port or some brandy over ice (oops – I digress!).

We were talking about warmth – right?  (that’s this week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge).

All of this is such a lovely scenario until IT hits….

Most women out there 45 years + likely know what I’m talking about….

The family is sitting together all snuggly – watching TV, reading, looking at our computers/iPhones/iPads – and IT happens all of the sudden – out of nowhere.

My face becomes flush from the neck up, the fleece gets thrown off, the ceiling fan goes on, and I say (every single time – completely shocked and surprised – as if it were the first):

“Is it HOT in here or is it just me?”

Warmth is an understatement when IT hits!

But then, usually in less than 2 or 3 minutes, IT is gone.  The blanket gets pulled back up, another log on the fire, another sip of…..

Oh the joy of HOT flashes as I celebrate life,

New Year’s Eve,

and my (GULP!) 52nd birthday…

Today!  🙂

Warm Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

PS Why 51.364?

Well, unless you are reading this close to midnight on 12/31/14, I am still 51 – and hanging on to it as long as I can…

According to ancient folklore, I was born very close to midnight – almost 1/1/63 – – –  8 minutes or 12 minutes or something close to that.

So, I’m much closer to 52 for my Australian friends than my Martian friends.

But really – 51 – 52 – what’s the difference really?! Especially when IT hits!

New Birthday Balls

/ Jodi / 25 Comments

I have to admit.  I love a good theme.
Party that is.

birhtdaygiphy

Birthday, holiday, any ole’ special occasion.

You would think I’ve had my fix raising my two sons, celebrating birthdays, creating Halloween costumes, being homeroom mom every elementary school year.

But nooooo – my boys are in their twenties, hubby in his fifties, and I’m still “theme”ing it up when I can.  They always harass me about it, but “I’ll betcha a nickel,” (as Pap used to say) they would be disappointed if I didn’t….

So when Marty said all he’d like for his birthday this year is some new RED felt for a beautiful gently-used pool table Nick helped him find on Craig’s list for the “man cave,” I couldn’t resist going with it.

The kids came over one evening while Marty was at a meeting and did an amazing job re-felting the table from an ordinary green to an extraordinary burgundy red.  (and saving me $300+ labor to boot!)

pool table red felt

Going with the theme, the boys bought Marty some beautiful new balls (which we had fun with all evening) 🙂 and some other pool table accessories.

pool balls

Of course I made a pool ball cake…

pool balls cake 1

…which consisted of RED velvet cupcakes (they don’t make red felt cake mix) decorated as stripes and solids (even if not the exact colors and numbers to match as was pointed out to me – and THEY give ME a hard time about my themes!?!) with white Necco wafers I numbered with black icing.

And you don’t want to know how many rolls of those things I had to go through to get 15 whites – that were NOT broken!?! 🙂 I now have a pint jar full of all the other colors if anybody has any creative ideas for using these little disks of hard sugar that pretty much taste like nothing.  (C’mon Jill – I know you’ve got something in you!!)

And by the way – no need to purchase all the different colors of sugar.  Did you know you can simply add a couple drops of food coloring to a scoop of sugar in a jar, shake, and Voila! – colored sugar!

pool balls cake

And, of course,  I had to make a little card to go along with the theme too.

pool table cake

I got lucky and won ONE game of pool….

and ZERO games of “Smart Ass” – but we sure had a lot of fun.

Happy Birthday Merv!

Cheers & Hugs & Lots of Love,
Gert

A Happy Birthday Money Cake!

/ Jodi / 244 Comments

money birthday cake Jake 27

Monday is my son, Jake’s 27th birthday.

First of all – how did that happen?  Where did the time go?!  I feel like I’m still 27, so how could my “child” be 27?

Anyway – when trying to decide what to get Jake for his birthday, we thought money was what he would appreciate most.

But I hate just writing a check or enclosing money in a card.

I need to be a bit more creative and personal than that.

So here is what I made for Jake.  A birthday money cake!

I think this is a cake even pie lovers would like – right?!

money cake Jake 27

It really was quite simple to make.

The layers are stryofoam discs with rolled dollar bills pinned to them.

I then made a “bow” from a $20, a $5, and two $1 bills to represent 27 years.  The layers are covered with 100 $1 bills.

money cake making

I used an 8″ piece for the bottom “layer,” then two 6″ ones glued together (they were not as high as the others, and I wanted to create more height), and the top is a 4″ piece.

I finished it off with some ribbon and poked 27 candles in too.

money birthday cake Jake 27

So – is Jake going to love it or is he going to want to shoot me for making him work so hard to take it apart to get his money???

I’m guessing the latter, but that makes me smile.  🙂

And I think Colleen will get a kick out of it.

Yep – these are the things I do at

life in between.

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

 

Tic-Tac-Toe 3x Three in a Row!

/ Jodi / 12 Comments

PP211

Remember playing tic-tac-toe as a kid?  Hangman?  Dots and Boxes?

tictactoe                              hangman                              dotsandboxes

Such simple pleasures and cherished smiles revolve around those less complicated, simpler times….

But life moves on….

Times change…

Do kids today still play tic-tac-toe?  On paper?

I love technology, but I also love paper – – –  For example – with books and reading … I sometimes read a book on my iPad, sometimes I listen to a book through Audible on my iPhone, and other times I love holding and turning the pages of a real book!  And sometimes I do all three with the same book – especially when I need to get through one for a book club deadline! 🙂

Anyway – we can dwell on the past reminisce or go with the flow and change with the times.

So it was fun to see The Paper Players offer a Tic-Tac Toe Challenge this week.  My first!  You had to choose any three items combined across, down or diagonal to make your card or project.

And my goal was to see how many ways I could get three in a row in one card!

Here is the tic-tac-toe challenge, and I got Three in a Row THREE ways with this card!

Can I get a WOOHOO?

pp211 tic tac toe

And here is my card challenge submission:

PP211I got:

Birthday – Yellow – Patterned Paper:  First Row Down

Birthday – Green – Button:  First Row Across

Patterned Paper – Ribbon – Purple:  Third Row Across

Fun stuff – eh?!?!  🙂

Ok – I know I know – I’m easily amused…

But the best part is that I get to send this birthday card to a very special someone who has a birthday coming up next week!

And to that special lady – I wish for her to know that you can never have too much happy.  I also want her to know what happiness she has brought to my life!

pp211 2

Love ya Joyce!  May you smile, giggle, laugh, and enjoy your day and year!  xo

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

Birthdays are for the Birds

/ Jodi / 21 Comments

child birthday card punch art birds on wire

Birthdays were so much fun when we were kids – right?

And even more when my boys were young and we could do (what they eventually came to dread….)

THEME parties!

I recall parties themed with pirates and magic shows, and Barney the purple dinosaur………

jake 5 cake jake 5 pirates 2 jake 5 pirates

Oh the days….  (I can’t believe these were over 20 years ago now!)

Nick 3Nick 3 2

So I was excited to see The Paper Players Challenge #209 this week be a child’s birthday card.  Gave me a chance to be silly and fun.

pp209

Leanne Pugliese, of The Paper Players Design Team, is celebrating her granddaughter, Cassidy’s, 4th Birthday this week (Happy Birthday Cassidy!), so she chose a Clean and Simple (CAS) Child’s Birthday Card for #PP209 Challenge.

child birthday card punch art birds on wire
My card is a “punch art” card.  I’ve seen some amazingly creative critters created out of punched out shapes.  They range from puppies and turtles and hippos, lions, elephants, and monkeys to caterprillars and lambs and bears and birds – silly birds, angry birds, real birds.  There are some awesomely talented artists and designers out there!

I saw little birds similar to these somewhere at some point and thought they would make a fun child’s birthday card – especially for a “wee one.”  My “birds” are cut out using SU framelit circles and the bird builder punch for the wing and nose.  I sponged them with some pumpkin pie ink, glitzed their feathers a bit with #WinkofStella, cut out party hats from SU DSP, added some Crystal Effects to their beaks, and popped on a candy dot for the eye.  The background is done with a cloud embossing folder, the “telephone wire” is made from baker’s twine, and the Happy Birthday sentiment is from the Bloom with Hope stamp set.

I can’t wait to share this card with a wee one on their birthday.  As for me – no more birthdays please…  Birthdays are for the birds!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

 

Blessings Jar – Thankful for one of the Best Gifts Ever

/ Jodi / 6 Comments

blessings

So it’s the Day After #GFC2014 Weekend, and I’m still feeling so thankful and so blessed!  Relaxing with Marty on this Sunday evening, and a teensy glass of red wine :).

For some reason, I was reminded of one of the best (birthday) gifts I’ve ever received.   And it made me realize what a great Wedding Gift this could be during wedding season, so I wanted to share.

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My BFF, Jill, gave me this gift on my birthday a year ago, which just so happens to fall on New Year’s Eve, so coincides beautifully with New Year’s resolutions and new habits to create for the new year.

You see, “best gifts ever” don’t have to be expensive or elaborate.  The best gifts ever are from the heart and those that create memories for a lifetime.

My gift was a jar filled with blank colored  index card sized pieces of paper.  In explaining the gift, Jill encouraged me to write down blessings throughout the year and things I am thankful for.  She said we could then reopen it the following year, and revel in the wonderful experiences of the past year.

I still have the jar, and I review the notes occasionally.  Sometimes when I’m feeling blessed and happy, and sometimes when I need a lift.

In my happiness and afterglow of the blessings of this past weekend, I decided to revisit the jar and read some of the blessings from 2013.  It doesn’t need to be New Year’s or Christmas or a Birthday or Thanksgiving to be thankful.

Let me share just a small sampling of some of the little notes I scribbled throughout the year.  Some of them are BIG – like my oldest son, Jake’s wedding, my youngest son, Nick, getting a new job….    Some are very small – like planting tomatoes or a phone call from a friend.  But ALL of them bring a smile to my face and heart, bring me joy, and make me realize how fortunate, thankful, and blessed I am.

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January 1, 2013:  “Celebrated the first moments of 2013 with some of the people I am closest to – Marty, Jill, and Todd. This was our FIRST year when all the kids did their own thing – be we savored the moments, the friendship, the blessings, AND we texted with the kids!”

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January 7, 2013:  “Received a beautiful card from Joyce and Rob thanking and celebrating our recent reunion.  A reminder to consider perception becomes reality until clarified, and can result in boundless blessings.”

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May 4, 2013:  “Jake ran and finished the Pittsburgh Marathon!  26.2 miles in 4 hours, 53 minutes.  Such a amazing accomplishment!  So proud!  Jill and Todd were there with us to cheer him on!”

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May 8, 2013:  “Pam called today.  Had such a nice talk.  Good friends are such a blessing.”

*****

May 13, 2013:  “Nick got a new job.  Starts 6/10/13.  So proud and so happy for him.  I know he will be a great SUCCESS!”

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May 25, 2013:  Planted tomatoes.  Can’t wait to watch them grow and enjoy the bounty!”

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May 28, 2013:  Girl’s Day Out with Janet – manicures and pedicures and bridal shower shopping!

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June 1, 2013:  Today was Colleen’s Bridal Shower!  It was a great day to celebrate a very special young lady we love!”

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June 1, 2013:  Jake brought flowers to the shower for Colleen, Teri, and me.  So proud of him and love him dearly!”

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June 13, 2013:  “Marty got a ride in the autonomous car!”

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July 12, 2013:  “So thankful for best friends ever helping with Jake and Colleen’s Wedding Rehearsal Dinner – Janet, Jill, Dawn, Tracy, even Todd and ” Baby” Jake – LOVE them all!”

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July 13, 2013:  “WEDDING DAY for Jake and Colleen!  AMAZINGLY WONDERFUL DAY!”

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August 15, 2013:  “Matt and Judy came to visit and stay for the weekend.  GREAT time catching up and reminiscing.  Love them!”

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September 1, 2013:  “First invitation to dinner at Jake and Colleen’s.  So good to be with them in their new home.”

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September 17, 2013:  “Card-making class with Colleen.”

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October 12, 2013:  Wonderful GFC Weekend with Pam, Jill, Janet and Joan!”

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November 16, 2013:  “Marty’s 55th Birthday!  Fun time with family and Hendy’s – lots of love!”

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November 22, 2013:  “Jackie and Matt ENGAGED!  YAY!!!”

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November 28, 2013:  “WONDERFUL Thanksgiving – Johnny came to visit – SURPRISE! with Nancy – and it was GREAT to hug him!  Then a lovely dinner with Dad and Carole.”

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November 29, 2013:  “So Thankful for my Marty.  His heart and mind are my ROCK!”

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December 22, 2013:  “Christmas with the Hendy’s at Jake and Colleen’s House!”

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December 31, 2013:  “My birthday lunch with my Dad.”

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You see – there are so many things to be thankful for!  BIG and small!

Wouldn’t a Blessings Jar or a Thankful Jar be a great wedding or birthday gift to give a friend or loved one?  Hardly any money, but it will create a lifetime of memories.

Appreciate the moments at Life in Between…

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

 

Birthday Cake Cookies with LOTS OF SPRINKLES

/ Jodi / 3 Comments

birthday cake cookies with sprinklesThere’s another birthday in the house this week!

Happy Birthday Liz!

Since I’m more of a cookie baker than a cake baker (at least currently) – thought I’d take the traditional SPRINKLY birthday cake mix and make some cookies with them.

EASY PEASY!

Start with just a box of your favorite sprinkly birthday cake mix (I used Betty Crocker Party Rainbow Chip), 1/3 cup oil, and 2 eggs.

bd cookies 1Then it NEVER hurts to add some MORE SPRINKLES!

bd cookies 2Refrigerate a bit to firm up, roll in tablespoon size balls, flatten with a flour-dipped cup, bake for about 8 mins, frost, add MORE sprinkles – and VOILA – Birthday Cake Cookies!

birthday cake cookies

 

Hope you’re having a sprinkly kind of day – at life in between.

Cheers and Hugs,

Jodi

 

You are a Fabulous Work of Art

/ Jodi / Leave a comment

Easel Work of Art Jill Birthday 2014This week was my BFF Jill’s birthday, and I had so much fun making this card for her.

Jill is one of the most creative people I know.  She is one of the most generous and giving people also, so a special card was in order.  

Goal was to embody creativity, artistic expression, use primary colors (Jill’s faves), and show lots of love.  I like how it turned out.

For my crafting, card-making, and StampinUp friends, this card featured the following SU stamps: Hardwood, Work of Art, Banner Blast.
The chalkboard sentiment is white heat embossed.

This might also make a great teacher appreciation or end of school year card.

Here are a couple more featuring the new “Work of Art” stamp. It’s a little more abstract than I am used to working with, but fun to break out of the usual.

For this one below, I used some of the new muted shades of Mossy Meadow, Lost Lagoon, and Hello Honey stamped in a masked circle, then heat embossed the new blended bloom flower stamp with gold, dabbed with Gorgeous Grunge and added a few sequins.

Work of art and gold embossed blended bloom with gorgeous grunge dots

For this chevron and heart one, I added some blackberry bliss and tangelo twist and blinged it up with a couple of rhinestones.

work of art chevron and hearts

And finally, I love the brushstroke look of the Work of Art stamp and how simple yet unique it can make a card.  Gold embossing “glammed” it up.

fabulous work of art card

That’s some playing around in my craft room at … Life In Between.

Cheers and Hugs,

Jodi