clean and simple

Charlie’s Thank You Card

/ Jodi / 48 Comments

PP267 Leaves thanks

This week’s Paper Players Challenge #267 is a Clean & Simple Leaves Theme.

I needed a thank you card to send to Charlie‘s “Aunt” Tracy who babysat him while we were away at Krautfest last weekend.   (After all, the sweet “Aunt” that she is, she even let him sleep in bed with her – and hog the covers – and woke up at 6am with him on a Sunday morning to go for a walk!)  THANK YOU my dear friend Tracy!

So this was a great reason to turn my CAS leaves Paper Players Design Team inspiration card into a special thank you card.

Charlie Falls Leaves

Charlie in the Fall Leaves

Trying to keep it “clean and simple,” I chose the StampinUp “For All Things” stamp set with oak leaves that stamp in a watercolory kind of effect.  I stamped them in Crushed Curry, Pumpkin Pie, and Cajun Craze Ink colors, and stamped the sentiment in Chocolate Chip Brown Ink.

PP267 Leaves thanks

Charlie and I wrote her a note of thanks inside, where I also stamped some acorns, which should remind her of the acorns Charlie likes to chomp on our walks and that I like to crack and smash when I step on them to hear that awesome crunching sound.

PP267 leaves thanks inside

You see – Tracy has been my walking partner for the past 20 years or so!  We are neighbors with a path through the woods to each other’s homes now and were neighbors before these homes!  Wow – another testament to how time flies!  We have been walking together all this time and neither of us is skinny yet!  LOL!  But we sure do enjoy the company and the “therapy” our walks provide – both physical and mental.

So thanks, Tracy, for your great friendship.

And thanks to all of you for visiting today.

In all things give thanks, for there is so much to be thankful for!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi (& Charlie)

Punny Father’s Day

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PP250

My Father’s Day card for hubby was inspired by The Paper Players Clean & Simple (CAS) Summer Treats Theme (PP250).

pp250 1

I love this punny stamp set from WPlus9 , and I have featured it a couple of times in the past here and here.

pp250 inside

What better summer treat is there than fresh ripe juicy tomatoes, and what better summer celebration than to honor our Dads for Father’s Day.

I’m looking forward to sharing the day with the family.

Wishing you a day spent with those YOU love from YOUR head to YOUR toes!

Cheers & Happy Father’s Day Hugs,

Jodi

The little things

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PP241 Clean and Simple Watercolor Butterfly

Long walks on country roads and chats with neighbors along the way.
Raspberry lemonade sipped from a straw on a chaise lounge in the sunshine.
Sunday boat rides with your lifelong partner and a furry companion.
Simple suppers of sausage and potatoes and salad.
Red wine to sip while painting and creating.
Cool breezes and light showers at bed time.
These are the little things,
That are really the big things.

It was a great weekend….  full of “little things.”  So I ended it late Sunday evening by creating this Clean & Simple Watercolor Card for The Paper Players PP241 Challenge this week.  How could I resist a watercolor card?!  🙂  I knew exactly what I wanted to do.

pp241

I’ve been dying to do something watercolory with the SU Swallowtail stamp.  I’ve had it for a while.  It is a very large stamp, and just begs to be watercolored.  I envisioned it offset a bit, and the watercoloring loose and abstract.  I kinda love how it turned out.  A few splatters in blue and the sentiment from the SU Hello Life stamp set that says “the little things” just added the perfect finishing touches.

So Happy Monday!  Enjoy the little things that this day and week brings.

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

Celebrate Today

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Happy Birthday Nick Celebrate Today

Celebrate today!

Celebrate every day!

Hey – it’s Friday…

and it’s a birthday weekend around here!

My “baby” turns 25 in a few days.  How did that happen when I am only like (ahem)….  Hey – I just realized as I am typing this I am the exact reverse number…. 

In my current “clean and simple” (CAS) mode, I made this card using the StampinUP Celebrate Today stamp set.  It is so fun and festive!

After stamping the birthday balloons in Pear Pizazz and Marina Mist, I heat embossed the stars inside the balloons, as well as the birthday greeting, with silver glitter.  A few star sequins and some white baker’s twine for the balloon strings finished off this card.

I am so looking forward to spending time together with my family and celebrating.  I’m not sure how I got so lucky having two wonderful sons, an amazing daughter-in-law and a dear girlfriend, and a hubby that puts up with my shenanigans… but I’ll take it and run with it!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

The Little Things

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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

Do More of What Makes You Happy

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PP228 happy life

Time to get HAPPY!  Right?  Enough whining about the cold! 🙂  I’ve made the turn and thank so many of you for your support and great tips.

And it is Friday!

What’s making you happy today?

A while back I wrote my Top 25 List of Things that Make me Happy – and those are still tops and all still apply, but today in particular, let’s see….  What is making me happy today?

  • A good hot flash to take the chill off  (just thought I’d throw that in there, because my guys say it is all I ever talk about – – – AND it makes them crAAAAzy!)
  • Spoonfuls of molasses with black pepper, warm salt gargles, steam vapor, hot team with honey, lime jello (and all the other tips and home remedies you all supplied over the past few days… I tried ’em all!)
  • Hearing a “ding” on my iPhone that means I’m getting a note from one of you!
  • Mars Pizza delivery (it’s our Friday dinner tradition)
  • Movie night – will I get to pick – and will I stay awake?
  • The gift of another day – to be happy – and maybe make a few others happy too!
Marguerite's Mom's Cure for a Cough - spoonful of molasses covered in black pepper

Marguerite’s Mom’s Cure for a Cough: A spoonful of molasses covered in black pepper

I really enjoyed making this card for The Paper Players Challenge this week PP#228 (and just in the nick of time!).

While on the couch this week, I caught a great video tutorial for this watercolor technique by Kristen Werner.

I love how clean and simple it is – a technique I strive to excel at that I often struggle with.

The challenge this week is to make a card where the sentiment is the focal point and to keep it clean and simple.

pp228

I used the Stampinup Happy Life Stamp set, watercolor paper, some Tim Holtz Distress Inks and assorted sequins for this card.

pp228 happy life flat

So as I am writing this post, a song is running through my head and making me smile.  Music is so remarkable like that – right?  Almost everything reminds me of a song.  Can anyone relate?  So who remembers this one? Kinda silly, but hey – c’mon get happy! 🙂

Who’s wigglin’ with me?  🙂

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Thanks & Giving

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Neat and Tangled Thanks and Giving

‘Nuff Said….

(This card was created for The Paper Players Clean & Simple Thank You Challenge #PP222)

Cheers & Thankful Hugs,

Jodi