Super cards made by Barbara S.

I want to share Barbara S.'s cards with you because they are so adorable!  Barbara is a first time donor to me, but I certainly hope she becomes a repeat donor.  Her cards are so perfectly made with attention to details that is truly amazing.  I know the kids are going to love them because I had such fun unpacking them, smiling all the while.  Here are but a few of her precious cards:

                      I adore this first one - who wouldn't love to get this from their sweetheart?

                                    And of course all of these are too cute for words!

Thank you so much, Barbara.  These are going to cheer up so many hearts.

And now my TIP of THE DAY:  On Thursday of this week, my niece was kind enough to post a message on the app called NEXT DOOR.  It is a way for members of a community to communicate with other members of the neighborhood via social media.  Anyway, she posted that I make hand crafted cards for various charities and could recycle empty printer ink cartridges, making money to offset the cost of supplies.  Low and behold, by that afternoon, I had received more than 100 cartridges from people in my area.  And they are still coming in!  One woman even called to say she did not have any cartridges for me, but she had a large box of used and new craft/paper supplies I could have if I wanted.  I couldn't say YES fast enough.  So, if you are at all phone savvy, try posting on NEXT DOOR that you can use donated craft/paper supplies or empty ink cartridges (then take them to your local Staples or Office Depot for recycling). At $2.00 store credit for each cartridge, it adds up!

                             Thanks for stopping by today.  Have a great crafting day!

                                                                      Hugs, Jill

WHOOPS! My bad.

I forgot to include a "Tip of the Day" on my last post, so I will make this all about one of my favorite card making tools, the stamping tool that I can not live without. This stamping tool allows you to stamp an image over and over in the same spot in case you need a cleaner, clearer image than first stamped. There are several brands of this tool - I happen to own not one but two of these tools. One of the large size, one of the small size.  I simply cannot stamp without them now. No, I won't mention the brand I have because truth be told, if I did not already have two , I would buy the Stampin' Up one. Unfortunately, they are not quite ready to be sold to the public, and won't be until June, but here is my TIP OF THE DAY:  My Stampin' Up Demonstrator will have one to sell next month, in February!  She will of course have plenty when they go on sale to the public in June, but the first card maker who contacts her now will get to reserve the one she will receive in Feb.  Here is her info:

                                                   Janet Bailey   bspruce2000@yahoo.com 

Please watch YouTube videos to see how incredible this stamping tool is.  So versatile!  So addictive!  You will fall in love immediately and begin to stamp more and more. 

Thanks for stopping by.  Hugs, Jill

Snow Day in Houston, 2018

I realize the rest of the country is laughing at us today - we had a flurry of a dozen snowflakes today and our city is shut down.  Schools and freeways are closed and everyone is being encouraged to stay home unless it is an absolute emergency.  Yes, the streets are icy and temps are in the teens, but still.....  Anyway, I took this great opportunity to make cards.  Most of my charities do not want actual Valentine Day cards - they would rather have general Love cards so that they can be used all year long.  I made a few of each.  Enjoy.

This one always makes me smile.  I imagine young boys will get a kick out of it as well:

And who wouldn't want a big 'ol hug from this fellow:

This reminds me of a song I used to sing to my kids when they were little:

Here is a new type of fold I just played with for the first time.  It's called a "U" card.  Once I figured out the technique and dimensions, it wasn't too hard, just time consuming:

And the one that actually says "Happy Valentine's Day":

And that's it for today.  Weathermen are predicting  more bad weather for tomorrow, so I guess I'll be crafting more cards.  Not a bad way to spend a dreary day.  Hugs, Jill