Hello there Friday! Friday is always my day to share a card I made this week, since it is #FreebieFriday for my WheretheRubberHitstheRoad gang.
(and is it just my screen or does the seashell look 3D to you? Like it is floating off the page? I think it is so cool how it looks in this shot, though there was not a good shot that I feel captures the essence of this card because it has so many elements of glitter and dimension and wet droplets, but hard to get in one shot – though it could be this amateur photographer’s lack of ability too!) 🙂
Anyway, I had so much fun making this card. I was inspired by a Stamping “Challenge” on JustAddInk’s Website (Challenge #223) when I designed this card, but alas, I was TOO LATE! The deadline was in Australian Eastern Standard Time AEST – 14 hours AHEAD of us back in little ole’ Mars, PA USA!) Oh Jodi!!!
I still love the card and can’t wait to share it with someone special to hopefully brighten their day.
Stampinup Products Used:
By the Tide Stamp Set
Lost Lagoon, Whisper White and Night of Navy Card Stock
Lost Lagoon, Pacific Point, Pool Party and Stazon Black Inks
Bubble Circle Embossing Folder
Circle Framelit Dies
Crystal Effects for water bubbles
Alcohol Markers for coloring Wink of Stella Brush for Glittering
Sentiment: Jillibean Handwritten Sentiments
Happy Weekend! We are off to some fun picnics and parties and wedding celebrations! (I’m getting a new sis-in-law Saturday and celebrating a special day with my brother, Jeff and family!!) 🙂
As some of you know, my Marty is a “Traffic Guy.” He has also been the light of my life for 32+ years. After putting up with me hosting Girlfriend Camp #GFC2014 this past weekend, I thought he deserved a little “appreciation.” After all, he did “get out of Dodge” all day Saturday, but was our hero Sunday morning preparing us a breakfast fit for… well…. the princesses we are! 🙂
I freakin’ love him – for so many reasons. So when I was in a crafty mood and found a card stamping challenge at Muse (Muse Challenge #77), I strangely thought this matched the challenge criteria. I used a fun stamp set from #NeatandTangled called Stop and Go, #Stampinup Yippee Skippee and Chalk Lines stamp sets, DSP, card stock and ink, and a vintage Stampinup sentiment stamp from 2002. My interpretation of the challenge card was in the design of a single object with a single sentiment and a simply framed layout.
What I really love about this card, and the pictures just don’t do justice is the “Wink of Stella” Brush I used to glitz up the traffic lights. Saw #JenniferMcGuire demonstrate it and am not sure if I like it more because it has the name “Stella” in it (my Grandma’s name) or the fun way it adds shimmer with NO glitter mess!
Anway – mailed this to Marty at work to let him know how much he rocks my world.
HELLLLOOOO Friday! Always happy to see you! And especially this Friday, because tomorrow is Girlfriend Camp (GFC) with a few of my favorite “girls” coming to the house. I guess thinking of GFC got me in a crafty mood (though I probably should have been cleaning or cooking for the girls this week!) I thought a sunny hello with a yellow and orange SU Blended Blossom and a denim bow was fun, and liked how this card turned out.
Since I was feeling “crafty” – I have a “Three-fer” this week on my usual Friday card posting.
This card was a fun new technique to try for my stamping and crafting friends. I first sponged some pink and blue and brown on whisper white card stock. Then I chose a fun chevron embossing folder, which I spritzed with water (on the side that does not have the print of the name on it), pressed my sponged paper in – ink against water – briefly – then dried to give this fun effect. I then layered it on with complimentary colored card stock, added my favorite “Hello” stamp from my StampinUp “Hi There” set by inking with Versamark and then embossing in gold. Finished it off with a bow of soft twine and a couple sparkly sequins.
This third one was totally just winged out of trying some new stamps. I got the Stampinup What’s Your Line and Just Sayin sets, so just started goofing around here. I stamped some of the random shapes in Crisp Cantaloupe, Pear Pizazz and Crumb Cake inks (are you hungry now?) on SU Watercolor paper (I have to say – I was trying to just use some cheaper stuff I had and can’t believe the difference in quality!). I then spritzed it all with water and put some coarse sea salt on top while it dried. I then embossed the Hey There in Gold on translucent parchment and again embellished with some soft twine – the thinner this time and gold sequins with a dab of crystal effects. Layered it up and even put a strip of the water color paper on the inside. I kind like it. It is a softer style.
Just for fun – which one do you like best? No right answer – just curious…
Today is a very special Anniversary… A day that brings back floods of memories… floods of emotions…. reflections on time missed… but celebration of time and love shared… from here on…
You see – Today is a Father-Daughter Anniversary. Today is the 4 year anniversary of my reunion with my Dad (my “birth father”).
And I thought it deserved a special anniversary card to send to Dad to help us cherish the day.
So you might think that sounds a bit odd…. Father and Daughter Anniversary???
Well – I’m going to share a kinda big chunk and pretty personal part of my heart today. So – if you’re not into that or not interested, you may just want to skip this blog.
So here goes…
On July 17, 2010, I was reunited with my Dad (my “birth father” Dad so as not to be confused with another great man in my life that I also call Dad – I know – a bit confusing – and on top of that both of their names are John!).
It was a day neither of us will ever forget.
The reason(s) for our separation for 39 years is really not the point or purpose of this story, nor do I feel appropriate to share, but the joy in our reunion is the focus here…. And oh what JOY we have shared.
For our second Christmas together again in 2012, I presented Dad with a book I wrote for him.
I called it, “The Journey Back to Daddy’s Girl.” The book is a celebration of our initial exchange of emails leading up to our reunion that covers the course of only a few short weeks, but close to 70 pages of exchanges. It chronicles how we discovered each other again – an adult daughter close to 50 years old – and an even more adult father – close to 70 years old who last saw each other when the little girl was 9 years old and the Daddy was just barely past 30.
We (well mostly I) asked each other questions (sometimes difficult ones) and our exchanges evolved from closings with “John (BF)” to “Love you, Dad”s.
Let me share the “Introduction” with you here.
———-
“Once upon a time, there was a little girl. Jodi had a Mom and a Dad and a little brother.
Life was good, until one day when Daddy left. Then Jodi just got to visit with Daddy on the weekends, until a day came when Mom introduced Jodi and her brother to a new Dad, and told her she would not be seeing her other Daddy any more.
Jodi lived a good life. Her new Dad and Mom took good care of her and her brother and her new baby sister, but Jodi always felt something was missing.
She thought of her first Dad throughout her life.
She dreamed of bumping into him on the street… their eyes would lock, and they would immediately recognize each other. Dad would tell her he loved her and missed her and was so proud of the woman she had become…..
Sometimes dreams do come true…”
———-
Marty (for those new here – the hubster), was instrumental in helping me find my Dad.
It is so much more incredibly easier than imaginable with the internet and people search software these days.
Marty has known for years – probably before I even realized – that there was a part of me missing – that there were unanswered questions – that there was a dad out there that I needed – and who needed me. He has asked me over the years about it – ever since we started dating when I was a mere 16 year old high school girl and he was a “mature” 20-year old “man.” (That story is a whole blog post for another day). When Marty realized my yearning had grown so strong, and my need was so great, he was the one that took the step to reach out for me, and the resulting reply is etched in my mind and on my heart forever:
“Hi Jodi – Yes. I am your “Birth Father.” It was an answer to prayer hearing from you. I hope that you and John are both fine. To this day, I regret the worst decision I have ever made. I was talked into doing something, but I had my own mind. At the time, I thought I was doing the best thing for your two. Can you ever forgive me?”
And so began my Journey back to Daddy’s Girl.
And now we celebrate four wonderful years of being a reunited father and daughter, which began on July 17, 2010 when my Dad showed up to my house with a huge bouquet of flowers, a face that looked exactly like mine (and resembles Tom Jones I think only to me 🙂 ), immediately telling me he loved me, and he missed me, that I was beautiful (only to him I’m sure 🙂 ),and he was so proud of me. You see – he wanted to fulfill my dream… He wanted our reunion to be the wonderful event I had dreamed about over the years…
We both cried – happy and sad tears. And we have talked almost every day since then. We’ve spent birthdays and holidays and Father’s days together. He was with me at our son Jake’s wedding. He loves my family as his own. His family has embraced me as their own. They have always known about me, and they welcomed me with open arms.
I will never forget the first time I met my Dad’s wife, Carole (aka Mom 2). The first thing she said to me was, “Your Dad always promised me a daughter, and now I have one. We’ve been praying for you for a long time.”
The epilogue of my book closes with:
———-
And so it began …….
With a simple email …
A journey back to Daddy’s girl.
And now, two and a half years later …
… we write each other almost every day
… and talk every weekday morning at 7:05
We’ve spent Father’s days together and holidays and birthdays and are part of each other’s lives again.
Our families love each other and we love each other.
‘What a Difference You’ve Made in My Life’
Dreams do come true!
this is notTHE END.”
———-
Father & Daughter Reunion Day – July 17, 2010
I hope this message will encourage those adult children who were separated from birth parents – at whatever age (birth, childhood, teenager, young adult) – for whatever reason – to reach out and try if it is something that has yanked on and ached in your heart for years.
Maybe your ending will not turn out as good as mine did (and of course there is much more to our story than I’ve shared here so far) , but can anything hurt more than the emptiness and not-knowing that you feel every day? Could the potential rejection be any worse than what you have imagined or decided or dealt with for years in your heart?
Love is worth the risk. It is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all. Closure or resolution or answers to decades of unanswered questions can let you sleep at night… can bring you peace… can make you right with yourself! I’m certainly not an educated or trained professional in this area, but I can only speak of my own personal experience.
I wish you joy. I wish you peace. I wish you resolution. I wish you wholeness of heart – no matter the ending. YOU are worth it. YOU are here for a reason. YOU are loved.
Happy 4 year “Anniversary” Dad! I love you, and I cherish you! (And I’ve been listening to “our song” again this week. I’m betting you will too.) ❤ “What a Difference You’ve Made in My Life!”
My hummingbird photo quest got me in the mood to make a card with a hummingbird on it too, so I brought out the SU Bloomin Marvelous stamp set with some pear pizazz and calypso coral inks and created this happy card for today.
Woohoo! Not only is it Friday, but it’s a holiday – Independence Day! An extra day off work and a day to celebrate.
I was inspired to make a red, white, and blue celebration card and already gave it to someone special.
I’m having fun with a more abstract look in my card making lately using watercolor paper and spritzing and splotching. I’m loving white embossed on vellum too – and touches of gold string. And lately, most every card uses the “Gorgeous Grunge” stamp in one way or another.
Hope you and yours enjoy the long holiday weekend…
The fun part about it was making the faux enamel dots. While I only needed a few, I thought it well worth making a bunch in an assortment of colors and sizes. I used a variety of punches (including the good ole’ StampinUp Owl Punch!), which has several different size circles.
After punching out the circles (and even a couple little hearts), I scattered them on wax paper and put a “glob” (such a technical term) of StampinUp’s Crystal Effects on each. Then you just let them dry to a shiny, glossy, bright and fun embellishment for future cards.
It’s so sad that they are only around for about two weeks of the whole entire year, but boy they sure do make their statement when they are here.
Though they are done for the year, I was inspired by a great stamper (and friend) who made a beautiful card recently using the SU Pleasant Poppies stamp – Cindy Brumbaugh at CindyLeeBeeDesigns.
For this card, I also used a fun watercolor and sea salt technique I learned from Patty Bennett (and her dad 🙂 ).
I finished it with one of my favorite new sentiment stamp sets – SU Hi There – for a cheery Hello.
Hello Friday!
Glad you are here, because you are bringing with you some of our favorite peeps to spend some time with us.
Your room is ready, Joyce and Rob.
See you soon Gary and Cindy and Jack and Kathleen!
the creative life in between 