End of school - Happy Summer!!

I made this for a friend who works at an elementary school. I'm sure she is glad summer is almost here and school is out :).

All stamps by Amuse

I made this card for Ms Jewell the kindergarten teacher who Emily has been interning with this semester

I'm not sure who will miss who the most ...

Will Emily miss Ms. Jewell more or will Ms. Jewell miss Emily more? Emily has been in her class since January and has loved every minute of it. Emily hopes to intern in her class again one day if she can transfer from UNCP to UNCC so she will be closer to home.

Happy Birthday to Pam!!!

Pam and I have been pen pals for many, many, many years. I'm not even sure how long really. We have never met in person but I would love to meet her one day. She lives in Washington state. I stamped this girl image on 3 plain address labels then stuck them on the card. I always forget about this "technique" but I really like it when I do it.

Orientation at UNCP

We had orientation this morning at 8 am at UNCP so Emily and I stayed at the hotel across the street last night so we didn't have to leave at 5 am. There were 200 other kids at the orientation this morning so it was "a little hectic". As soon as we got there, she checked in and she went one way and I went another. The parents all went to the auditorium and listened to different speakers for about 3 hours. They told us all about housing, loans, grants, rules, all about the campus, etc.

After the parents were done, we were to find our kids and then eat lunch. They had a great buffet of chicken tenders, rice and gravy, baked ziti, green beans, salad, rolls, cheesecake and brownies for dessert. Well, I waited and I waited and I waited for Ms Emily to come out. 2 hours later, she FINALLY comes out from picking her classes and she was literally one of the last few students to get done. I'm still not sure what took her so long. She did meet a girl who lives about 45 min away and they signed up for some of the same classes. We had about 10 minutes to eat our lunch before they put the food away and then we had to rush to get her photo id card. Got all that done (dessert was all gone by the time we got there and we got the last of the baked ziti. I literally ate two noodles). lol

Here is her schedule:

Mon, Wed, Fri 8-8:50 Sociology
Mon, Wed, Fri 11:30-12:20 English 1050
Mon 4:30 - 5:20 water aerobics
Tues, Thurs 9:30-10:20 Freshman Seminar (MANDITORY FOR ALL FRESHMEN)
Tues, Thurs Introd to Psychology
Tues, Thurs 3:30 - 4:45 World Geography (mostly online but an occassional class)
Fri 12:30-1:20 Fitness Walk

6,000 kids go here (one of the smallest public colleges in the state) but ONLY 1,700 live on campus. I was shocked to hear ONLY 1,700 kids lived there. I thought it was alot more than that.

Move-in is Monday August 16th at 8 am (I wonder if we need a uhaul) and her first day of classes is Wed August 18th.

Lesa and Joanie are coming to the Carolinas

And I had to make a cute card for each of them. They are coming in July and we will go the rubber stamp convention in Winston-Salem. We are hoping that Paula, Ellie, Michelle, Charity and anyone else who wants to go will meet us there on Saturday July 17th. WOO HOO!!!

Stamp by: Pure Innocence

Calendar printed on my calendar and reduced to size

Paper piecing done on her dress

Birthday wishes in purple

This purple card is for someone who loves the color purple so I made it purple from head to toe. LOL

Stamps by: Kraftin' Kimmie Krafts, Amuse

Paper by: Paper Studio

Background: Copic marker airbrushed

Nestie #9

Stickles glitter

Here are a few more pics I forgot to download ...

These statues can be seen all over Fairfield and Hamilton, Ohio.

1) Puppy Love

2) The Family

3) Yellow rose

4) The Classics

5) Learn and Grow Together

Our pics in Cincinnati

I am just now getting around to uploading our photos from Ohio.

The dog belongs to Joanne's son's family. I forget his name. There Debbie and I are with Aunt Mickey. She is our grandma's sister who is 88 yo. She still looks great!! The other pic is our Aunt Mickey and her 2 girls, Jill and Joanne and us. They took us to Texas Roadhouse and it was yumm-o!!

Graduation party invitations

Happy Belated Birthday to Erin

I was in Cincinnati when Erin's birthday rolled around so she got this card late. I did find this stamp in Cincinnati and its by Impression Obsession. Aren't these 2 dogs adorable? Here's the inside too. I colored the dogs with chalk.

Smooch Spritz

So I managed to get to Stamp your Art Out in Cincinnati before I headed home. I bought 3 stamps and this Smooch Spritz. You just spray it on your paper and it dries instantly. I have been wanting this Whipper Snapper stamp ever since I saw it and this store had it so I bought it .. What do you think? I also got the little postage stamp too (Make an Impression).

Dance recital card

My godchild's dance recital is this weekend and I made this card for her. Her favorite color is purple so I dug out my purple paper and purple markers. I used a free digital image that I found on the internet and then I used my Big Scallop Nestabilities. I stamped out Mindy's name using Hero Arts letters and the Its your Day stamp is an old retired stamp by Stampin Up. For the background, I used my Copic airbrushing system. I hope she likes it!!

I am not able to go to her dance recital because its our 19th wedding anniversary!

Happy Anniversary Charlie!!

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful moms out there!!

Graduation is coming quick.

I can't believe it but the graduation announcements will be sent out to family, loved ones and friends in the next couple of weeks. Graduation is coming fast - June 12th is the date. These last 12 years sure have gone fast!!! I wanted to send announcements out to those who have known Emily for awhile but not necessarily kept in touch with and I wanted it to say something about not feeling like they had to give a gift. I put a note over at the Stamp Shack asking what I should say and Charity came up with this saying so I am using it:

This is a joyous occasion and we would love to share it with you. We want you to know what a blessing it has been to have you along the way throughout Emily's journey. No gifts please other than your warm friendship or a heartfelt card. Those are the gifts that last in our hearts for a lifetime.

Isn't that nice? I love it!!

My sister and I are in Cincinnati for a few days helping out our Aunt Charlie. Our Uncle Jimmy had a pretty bad stroke over a month ago and they were in the process of moving into a new house when it all happened. Debbie and I are helping her unpack, get organized and just help out with whatever she needs us to do.

Emily's last soccer game (home)

This was Emily's last home soccer game and it was also Senior Night. There are only 4 seniors on the team and they and their parents walked out onto the field while someone announced their name, how long they've played soccer and where they are going to college. The girls each got flowers and they had a professional photographer there taking our photos. We lost 4-2 but the girls still played a great game. Emily has decided NOT to play soccer at college which I'm ok with.

Seniors in high school sure are expensive now-a-days!!!

I wish I had kept track of everything we've spent on Emily's senior year. But then again, maybe I am glad I didn't! LOL It has been a very expensive year. First, it starts off with senior pictures. Those were taken the summer AFTER her junior year. In fact, I think Emily had hers the week of her birthday last summer so that means its a whole year BEFORE they actually graduate. I really don't like this at all and even though her photos were wonderful, she looks more mature than she did when they were taken (and she has matured alot in this last year!). It was also at that time that we ordered the graduation announcements, thank yous, cards, cap and gown, etc. Next, we had homecoming in November. She was on the homecoming court again so we had to buy another dress (she could not be seen in a dress she has worn in previous years. No way, no how!). After that, we had the Senior Project she had to work on for the first semester. This WAS a NC must-do item to graduate and this cost was supposed to be minimum but when I added everything up, it came to close to $100 (she had to buy a new outfit to wear for her presentation) plus all the supplies, gas and time we spent going back and forth many hours to the mentor's place. Of course, AFTER she completed hers, the state has decided to drop the senior project for 2 years due to the budget. This brings us to the beginning of the year.... Prom was late April. Again, new dress, new shoes (prom dresses are not cheap and we could not find one under $300!!!!), limo ride to the prom, hair done, nails done, corsage, prom photos and the prom ticket itself was $50 per student. Next, we have college so I guess I can say the expenses are JUST STARTING, huh? :)

A Keith Urban birthday

A friend of mine loves Keith Urban!! So what's better than a birthday greeting from Keith Urban and myself?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BETSEY!!!

Nicholas turns 15!

Nicholas had a birthday yesterday. 15! WOW!! He will get his drivers permit as soon as he takes the driving part of the course. He has to drive 6 hours so he will do that 3 times x 2 hours each. Here are a few photos of Nicholas.