You're my 'mane' man...

Talk about down to the wire! I posted this just before the weekly 10:00 pm deadline on Hambo's Challenge Blog. I didn't participate last week because I wasn't home with all my card making stuff. I went to GA to take my daughter to visit her friends while she was on Spring Break. 

This week's challenge is to make a masculine card (check) using LION (check) and one of the coordinating sentiments(check), AND also have stripes somewhere in your design (check).

My class is over (yay!) and I made an A in the class (yay!).... I'm taking a little break because we have a lot of things happening this spring. My niece is having a big anniversary party/wedding reception that I have to travel for. My daughter is graduating from college in GA in May. Big big deals... Not that I look old enough for either of these milestones to be happening in my life! (shhh let me have my delusions, it's all I have left. )

I'm still purging and unpacking. Now that school is over, I can concentrate on that. I've made some big decisions concerning my my card making/ scrapbooking and general craft stuff  and purging... Get ready for an even bigger sale than I had last summer. I have less space this time and I realized that I had a lot of stuff crammed in that room that I never use because it's inaccessible. Sooooo ... I'm getting rid of most of the wood mounted stamps and a bunch of the unmounted stamps. Yup. I just said that aloud, so it just be true. I'm going to post this stuff here first, then a big yard sale. Whew. Who needs 38 paper trays anyway? 

Anyway, if you want to see my (former) room click here for part one and here for part two, or to see pictures of my various rooms over the years as we've moved around go to this album on my Flickr account. If you see something you've been looking for and can't find it anywhere, give me a shout. I just might make you a deal. 

Well... I'm going to shut up now. I didn't sleep too well last night and my bed is calling me... I'm hoping to post more frequently now that taking a break from school. So as always, choosing joy! Jacki Marie. 

Sorry, I'm late...

My entry in Hambo Hoedown for this week... I used Pelican Digi colored with Copics. The two part  message is from the Fractured Funnies line also of Hambo and Basic Grey papers. 

School is over! I'll be back later, eventually... with something, but for now, I'm just trying to get this in by the deadline.

Top Secret Admirer

 Another entry in Hambo's weekly challenge on the Hambo Hoedown...

I found a few minutes to color late last week and this is the result here in the frame. Then in true spy fashion, he went missing. My room is still is a state of chaos because I'm only able to do a little at a time. Anyway, at some point I must have moved him from this picture frame.

So on today, the last day of the challenge, I had to start over.
I colored him again and this time before he could get away, I made a card from him. :) The challenge also requires that you include an additional heart so I put it inside with the sentiment. :)

This is Spy- digi from Hambo Stamps colored with Copics.

Game On

This is the first card I've made in a long time. :) I'm afraid it took all the creative energy I had.  I tried to make two, and it just didn't work. :(  This is my entry for the Hambo Hoedown. Especially with all that I have going on,  I'm looking forward to at least making one card a week... but hopefully more.

Football Girl- Hambo Stamps, Football- Hero Arts, Message-computer generated, paper-Basic Grey, colored with Copic markers and Prismacolor pencils. 


BUT, I am doing great in my class despite the move and and the unpacking etc... I'm already in week 6 of 8. I'm still waiting on my grade for week 5, but my cumulative grade after week 4 was 98.5... just sayin'. I hope to finish just as strong. I'm working on "the Big Excel Project" this week. We don't get step by step instructions, but we have to put together all that we've learned so far.
The unpacking is going a lot slower than in previous moves because this is the first house we've moved into over the last 20 years that was actually smaller than the last. I'm also in a major purging mode. I've finally decided to get rid of stuff we don't use. I am going to have a massive garage sale as soon as spring arrives and whatever doesn't sell is going to leave via donations or dumpster. I'm even getting rid of most of my stamping/scrapping stuff and selling it. I want my room to be as uncluttered as Colleen Schaan's. She definitely inspired me. I don't know if I mentioned it before but she moved two doors down from me last year and I was sooo sad to leave her behind in GA.

Anyway, I must return to my school project. I hope you go to the Hambo Challenge blog and participare in the challenges. The first image is free to start and then you get a new free image just for participating each week.

Choosing Joy...  Jacki Marie

Belated Birthday

As I was sorting stamps the other day, I was reminded of the many belated birthday stamps I have. I've talked about how I oftentimes make a card for someone's birthday well before the date, but then never write in it and mail it? I'm not sure what the cause of that is, but I'm hoping with a lot less clutter, and a lot of determination, I'll be able to improve this year.  I love sending and receiving cards, always have.
I've decided that I need to make up a few belated cards too-- since I have so many stamps of that nature.

Here is one made with a couple Hambo stamps-- from the last release I think. The message is in two parts and the inside says "I didn't want to talk with my mouth full."

I'm going to post some more pictures of my room later today or maybe tomorrow. So far, and this is without sorting through the paper, I have 14 flat rate boxes full of card making supplies and 16 boxes full of stamps ready to be sold.  There are a few other things that I'm going to sell individually like a couple of paper trimmers, embossing powders, travel containers and bags... It was all in there and for the most part, organized-- but overwhelming. Just too much stuff that I will not ever use.
I took a break from cleaning this morning, but now I must get back to work. Either that or I'll take my girls out for a little while. :)

My sister sent me this clip in an email this morning and it is so inspiring that I thought I would share it.
It is the Valedictorian from Booker T. Washington's 2010  graduating class.   You will be inspired too.
Be blessed today. For those of you who today means the end of your work week, Happy Friday to you!

Inspire

I colored this a looooong time ago, but today it finally became a card. The dog and the Henrietta are two Hambo digital images that I merged to create one image. *Inspire* is a regular rubberstamp from Hambo Stamps.  I don't have much to say today so I won't. :) Just thought I would let you know that I'm cleaning my room.  Cleaning means I find stuff on the desk that inspires me and I will be in here for days... Talk to you later! 

Choosing joy, Jacki Marie

coco moo cow

My boys call chocolate milk "coco moo" and they drink it all.the.time.  As a matter of fact, we consume a gallon of milk a day in this house. And I use the term "we" very loosely.  My daughter and I may have a bowl of cereal now and then, so it's mostly "them".  I shouldn't surprised seeing how much they are growing! The Boy is officially 5' 8" at 14 1/2. yes.. I'm looking up to him, thank you.  The Other Boy is staring me in the eye and he's only 11.  It's only a matter of time...  I know it's something I have to accept, I am just having a stinkin' hard time with it.  It wasn't as bad with the girls, who are all a little taller than me.  I guess it's because the boys are my babies.  Oh well.  I guess I'm going to have to go back to wearing heals like I did in my early days.

Anyway about this card, when I decided to color this cow, I made him 'chocolate' in honor of my boys and their "coco moo" drinking selves.  

The paper is Basic Grey and this is Happy Cow a Hambo digi image. The message is also a Hambo. 

On a Personal Note:

What's going on with me? What isn't going on with me? I have a daughter graduating in a few weeks. I say that, and I still can't believe it.  As a matter of fact, I still haven't created her graduation announcements yet, and they should have been mailed at least a week ago.  

I am officially a college student.  Yep.  I just said that aloud and I can hardly believe that myself. I mentioned a while back that I was ready to re-enter the work world.  I realized that since it's been a "couple" of years since I worked full time, it was time to get some training or re-training. So, I did it.  I started classes online this week and I'm realizing that the old brain has a few cob webs that need to be shaken off.  People in college just over-think everything... oh I'm sorry, that's called "Critical Thinking" :) 

The good news is, I got the results of my MRI last week and I DO have a brain.  No worries there.  They wanted to rule out other possible causes for my headaches which we are now certain are migraines. The lovely thing is this time of year my headaches are more frequent because of pollen.  This year the pollen has been unusually high.  Very very high. I'm on a new medicine which makes me sleep.  The good news is I feel better and the headaches are less severe.  The bad news is I sleep all the time.  Remember I said I have college courses and homework and essays to write?  Unless someone can tell me how to do it in my sleep, this isn't going to work for me. :) Headache? or Sleep?  Hmmm....   which should I choose? ... and so the saga continues... Until next time, and I have no idea when that'll be, I'll leave you with my verse/motto for the week. 

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Phil. 4:13

Be blessed! Choosing Joy! Jacki

Wee Henrietta Reads...

 Wee Henrietta became a card last week. I made this for a teacher, and I'm wondering if I need a message on the outside.  What do you think? 

Have a Happy Mother's Day!

I need to get my eye's checked.  It shouldn't take blowing the card up on the computer screen for me to see the flaws.. And no, I am not going to point them out to you.  I only made that statement for those of you who are perfectionists like me. 

Anyhow... This was one of my clean designs.  The vase image is on pop dots so that the message can dangle freely. 

And below is a peachy version of the Happy Birthday cards I showed in the last two posts.  I'm on a roll with those cards. One of the reasons I've loved those Design Block stamps since they surfaced was the potential for a quick card. 

I am actually making a lot of stuff in The Card Castle today.  I'd been in a slump and not feeling very creative. So I need to get back in there while I'm in the mood.  later y'all. Choosing Joy! 

Floral (Lockhart Stamps), Mother's Day Message (Hambo Stamps), Happy Birthday Designblock stamp( Hero Arts) 

Wee Party

There is nothing fancy about this card design, but it was so much fun to make. If I had the patience, I would duplicate this for a party invitation.  It would make a cute birthday card too.   I actually made this with no intended goal in mind, except to use Wee Henry, Wee Henrietta, and Wee Mitch together.
The message is a Hambo stamp ( the non digital kind... remember them? ) and the balloon was used as an embellishment since I happen to know that someone over there at Hambo loves balloons.  I just cut it from the (digital image) Happy Cow.  The paper is from Basic Grey.

That's all I have for today.  Be Blessed!

Welcome to the Neighborhood!

This card is for my new neighbor, Colleen. The house is a Hambo digital image.  The ability to flip them is one of the advantages of digital images. 


I'm not really happy with the coloring on this one, and I'm not sure why.  I'm not even sure why I'm showing it to you, because I don't think it's finished. I must be thinking aloud again. 


Anyway, I printed the images on Kraft card stock and then colored every single centimeter so I'm wondering why I even bothered to print it on Kraft.  I'm going to look at it for a couple more days and maybe even start over.  I'll let you know if I do anything different. 
In the meantime I've gotten a couple new images to color.  Still working on them. : ) Let's see if you recognize this kid. First click >here<..  and then scroll all the way down to the bottom.  Wee Henry not only has a "sister" Wee Henrietta, but he has a friend, Wee Mitch! I can't wait to color him. I've been working on the Wee Henrietta bookworm today... but I think my coloring mojo is asleep. If you happen to read this in the next half hour, today's Hambo digi special on  is Wee Henrietta... She's only 1.50.  Check their site each Thursday for a wonderful deal. 




****************************
So let me update you on the stuff going on in my life. 


Grandma is at home with a back brace.  She's doing well. My mother was with her for several weeks, and now my sister is hanging out there for a few days.  


I have tennis elbow thanks to my vigorous exercising with weights. I should've known I'd be the one to hurt myself. LOL  My elbow isn't actually hurting right this minute because of the wonderful steroids I'm on because I have is a nodule on the vocal chord or vocal fold.  Remember how I said I couldn't speak last time?  I finally went to the Dr and now I'm not supposed to talk for 3 weeks! Based on when/how it happened, I think it was caused by all the violent coughing I did when I was sick. I'm already susceptible to injuring the vocal folds because of the Laryngopharyngeal Reflux.  You might remember, if you knew me back in 2004, that I've been on this road before and I'm praying that the drugs and vocal rest and maybe speech therapy will help like it did before.  Then again, I learned so much last time I went to speech therapy, I may just do all my exercises once he clears me to start. The good news is, I'll probably actually accumulate some roll-over minutes on my cell phone instead of using them for the next couple of months. Ha Ha! 
So to bed I go! I hope your days are blessed with joy! As you know choosing joy is my motto.  I stand by it even with all that is going on in my life.  I may not be able to control my circumstances, but I can choose how I deal with it. 
Where does this attitude come from? 



 ⁷ I will  praise the LORD, who counsels me;
       even at night my heart instructs me.
 ⁸ I have set the LORD always before me.
       Because he is at my right hand,
       I will not be shaken.
 ⁹ Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
       my body also will rest secure,
 ¹⁰ because you will not abandon me to the grave,
       nor will you let your Holy One see decay.
 ¹¹ You have made known to me the path of life;
       you will fill me with joy in your presence,
       with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

from Psalm 16.

Talk to you soon (hopefully)!! Choosing Joy! Jacki : ) 

BTW, I'm changing my professional name to Jacki Marie.  Just warning you in case you see it somewhere. : )

Above and Beyond...

The point of this whole manly card making week was to have cards on hand that could be used for a man/boy.  This particular one is probably generic at best.  My favorite animal is a giraffe(in case you didn't know), so I was partial to this cutie.  I chose a paper that is probably manly enough so I paired it with my favorite Hambo giraffe and a clever saying and I think I could send this to a man if I needed to. It's a lot more manly than a pot of pansies, but slightly less manly than a monster truck or something like it. LOL.  Speaking of, I think my next set of cards will be vehicles.  I have a lot of stamps that I haven't used in a while. 

Update on Grandma... she's still in the hospital, immobilized, and waiting for surgery.

Turtle Carver

I think it was Sunday night when I was suddenly attacked with a massive headache. My sure fire remedy for headaches is relaxing.  I don't mean laying in the bed in a dark room relaxing. I color to relax. I know, surprising, right? I went to the computer and printed a sheet of images from a recent digital purchase. (from Hambo)  This cute little turtle sculpting a gigantic heart was the perfect choice to start my coloring, and make me feel like I was accomplishing something ahead of schedule.    I have a coloring tip for you.  This is for coloring any image not just for the manly ones, although I know we are talking about manly images this week.


Even when I'm coloring for therapy, in a card maker's world, there is a possibility that the image will someday grow up to be a card, right? So the smart thing to do-- and yes I learned this the hard way--  is to coordinate your coloring with  paper or card stock that you have on hand.  For me, the easiest thing to do is to grab a paper pad( this one is Basic Grey's Marrakech)  and take it with me to my coloring space.  In general, paper pads like this not only have several prints, but also solid colors.  And speaking from experience, there is nothing worse that completing a coloring masterpiece and then deciding to make a card only to realize that of the 279 different shades of blue card stock you currently have in your craft room, none of them will match your colored image. LOL. Now, that's another free tip I'm giving away. OK ??

So here is my manly Valentine's Day/Love card.  I'm not sure this is manly enough, but Valentine's Day isn't typically a manly holiday is it?


Today, I celebrated 'Jacki Day'.  For the most part, I did what Jacki wanted to do... for the most part. It's been a long while since I had a day like that, and guess what I chose to do? Exercise! Yes, I'm a maniac.  I went to a class in the morning, and walked 3 miles ( or so) in the afternoon. I spent the rest of the day on the phone catching up with a couple of friends.
My daughter was in NYC with her music department until tonight so there was also a trip to the airport tonight.  For some strange reason, I'm still up, but I'm about to change that. : )  I will take pictures on Wednesday of the prizes I have put aside.  I'll add them to the next manly post.


Be blessed tonight and if you don't mind, say a prayer for my grandmother.  She fell today and broke some bones and is going to need surgery tomorrow. She's 98.

I got a'round' to making a card...

I finished this card last night, but it was too dark to photograph it.  It might interest you to know that I also made a couple more cards of a manly nature.It is turning out to be a very productive weekend, if I may say so myself. Not only did I get some cards made, but I'm doing a major clean out.  I may have mentioned it before, but I am in the home stretch now.  I worked on my craft closet this weekend and now my desk area is getting attention. But I digress, back to the card... 

You probably think I work for Hambo Stamps or something with all the cards I've posted using their images over the years, (smile) but no, I'm just a big fan. This particular set of images were from the fall releases.  I used the "apple basket" and the "chipmunk" and "feel like a nut".  I stamped and masked the chipmunk and stamped the apple basket so that it appears that he is resting against the basket. I colored in the grass and the sky. The first part of the saying was stamped on vellum and attached to the front of the card with brads. The over all card is a 4 inch circle. I used Nestabilities die cuts to cut the circle for the card and for the front.  After I cut the circle for the front, I cut a folded card, placing the fold just inside of cutting blade so that I would keep the fold in a small section and at the bottom so that the card would stand up.  


This card was a result of a decision I made a while back.  I decided to make more cards to have on hand  in case I needed to send one to a man. 

I was going thru my cards not too long ago looking for a card to write a note to a young man in my family. All the cards that I have here and I couldn't find one that I thought was appropriate. It's apparent that I don't randomly make manly cards-- it is definitely something I have to do deliberately.  So...  I'm challenging myself  to make manly cards this week and I think I'm interested in having a manly card contest. What do you think? Do you have a hard time making manly cards?  What about you fellow card makers? Up for a challenge? How about some prizes? 

Manly Card Contest. Put your thinking caps on and make a card. When you make cards for the different sketch contests etc... this week,  just make it manly.  

Contest Rules

1) Post it online, your blog, your gallery, or send it to me in an email. Please include any tips you have for making manly cards. 

2) I'm giving a small prize to each entrant (while supplies last) So if you want it, you have to send your mailing address to me in an email.  Also include a link to your entry in that email. ( thecardcastle@yahoo.com) 


3) Let's allow entries until Monday January 25th. 




Manly card #2 and pictures of prizes tomorrow... 

If you give a mouse a cupcake...

He’s gonna want to top it with a hunk of cheese. (smile)


I think this image is genius (Way to Go, Tim!)  and another Hambo Digital Images. I love cupcakes images! (Remember my rant about Hero’s cupcakes?) Although I’m not a mouse person, per se, this one is cute. I printed him really big the other day in order to replace the missing cheese but then I found the one I was looking for so this was extra.  I did a little more experimenting with the Copics. I didn’t have blues in consecutive order to shade so I used what I had.  The shades were very far apart so just used very little in the areas I wanted really shaded. Then I went back to the lighter shade to blend and pull the darker color out. I did a little creative cutting to keep things interesting.  I didn't add a layer this time, I just cut around the cupcake and hat.

While searching for the perfect saying to go with this image, I remembered that I had this Hambo Stamp that says, "You're the cherry on top!"  A quick printing transformed it to thee perfect saying for this card.


I'm declaring myself an honorary member of the Hambo Stamps design team and I wanna be in the blog hop.  Let's see if I can get them to add me. Put in a good word for me, OK?


Edited to Add(ETA): ...wouldn't you know it, I found out that they indeed tried to contact me to participate and I didn't get the message.  I am honored!!!  ...and feeling stupid.
and I meant to say that this card is 5 x 7(what I called 'greeting card' size) so I printed the image really really big... 

Who Moved my CHEESE???

OK, I'm cracking myself up right now, but I'm taking full advantage of it because my kids tell me that I'm the only one who thinks I'm funny...

This morning, I decided to finish a card from the images I've been coloring. I did so and got the bright idea to make the hat and cheese and tail pop off the page.  I printed the image again and colored them. I had a lot of my coloring stuff upstairs, but I needed to get downstairs to make the card.  Somewhere, somehow, when I got downstairs to the Card Castle, I didn't have my cheese! I searched everywhere (except for the place where it was, evidently) for about an hour looking for my cheese. --this is where the funny title and laughing at myself come in.  Anyway, I finally gave up, printed another image, and went back upstairs to color it, only to find the original cheese about 2 inches from where it was when I thought I picked it up to bring downstairs...  Am I the only one this crazy stuff happens to???

And in another cheesy incident. I made my Sunshine Casserole for breakfast this morning, well last night actually--  and I realized something.  Get ready-- here is another freebie for you... When you have other cooks in the house, you really should check your inventory before you plan to cook a recipe. That way when you're out you can grab the ingredients from the grocery store! There you have it... for free. I used to know exactly what was in my fridge, but lately, my daughter has been on a Macaroni and Cheese kick.  She uses the "recipe" she learned from me which I learned from my momma. I didn't realize that she'd used  all the cheese I had. There was no way I was going back out in the icy roads last night so I had to improvise for the top layer.  I used Cheddar Cheese soup in place of the Shredded Cheddar...  Yeah, next time I'll go to the store...

OK, enough cheddar, I mean enough chatter... ( I just want to point out that I channeled Monica for a second there... LOL)  Sorry, I'm in a silly mood and I'm still cracking myself up!!!

On to the importante....  the  reason we're here... the inspiration for this whole  cheesy post. ;) Here are some details and close-ups of the card at the top.

The image is a digital Hambo. I've been experimenting with Copics. so I colored several of these babies.  As I mentioned, I printed and colored and printed again, just slightly larger, just for style.   From this second printing, I cut the cap, the cheese, and the tail. The extra chef's hat and cheese wedge were attached with Pop Dots.

 I don't do much coloring with markers, so I didn't buy a whole lot of Copics.  My color selection is very limited. I have a very light lavender color and this dark purple.  I started coloring and realized I wouldn't be able to shade the dark purple.  For depth,  where the jacket overlaps, I need one side lighter or darker. Since I couldn't go darker, I used the colorless blender to pull the color  off the paper and lighten it up just a little.
I think you can see it in the picture below.
The last thing I wanted to mention is the computer generated words.  I probably have several stamps that say something similar, but I wasn't in the mood or frame of mind to look for it. Somebody's craft space needs organizing, but I'm not mentioning names here, ok?

So, for a special person who deserves sparkly cheese on their chocolate iced cupcake... voila! the perfect card!

FYI: this card is note card size (5 1/2 x 4 1/4)

I'm also including a photo of several of the images I colored.  I imagine a marathon card making session in my near future.  All of them were colored with my limited collection of Copics except for the bottom purple-y one-- that was done with colored pencils.  Out of time for now...  Be blessed.  

I told you it was pumpkin season...

Here is another simple pumpkin card. I'm partial to items grouped in fives (wink). This was also something I colored a while back and found on my desk last weekend. I used one of the embossing folders I bought last fall and had yet to use. As you can see that olive gingham ribbon was still on my desk.

Right after this, my corner punch broke and I almost cried. (boo hoo) Ok, not really. It takes a whole lot more than that to make me cry. I'll just contact one of my favorite Stampin' Up ladies and I'll be good to go.

Sorry, I'm not too talkative today. Still exhausted. I'm looking forward to seeing my niece this weekend and I've got to do a little cleaning before she arrives. :)

Be blessed this weekend!! Remember God knows you, sees what you're going thru, and is with you. Listen to this beautiful song...

He Knows My Name ~ Israel Houghton Live in Africa.

Grounded Father's Day Card

Here is another Father's Day card that I made with Hambo stamps. I purchased this sentiment a few years ago to make a card for my dad. It was the last Father's Day card I made for him. He passed away a month before Father's day the following year. This is a set of sentiments from the Fractured Funnies line. The stamp meant for the outside of the card says, " Thanks for making me the well-grounded person I am today." The inside stamp says " Can I come out of my room now?"

My dad laughed so hard!

I made this card for my son to give to his dad.

Stamps: Mother Goose and Well Grounded (Hambo Stamps) I took the liberty of making "Mother" into "Father" :)

The clock is a Jolee's 3D sticker.

On a personal note:

I'm hanging out with Mom today. She's got some projects for me to complete, one of which is helping her with her new website. She's making jewelry and selling it. I'll post a link with my next post.

I enjoyed spending some time with my husband's family yesterday. Conveniently for me, they were getting together in Delaware, just a few miles from here.

I guess I'll get started...

Choosing joy! Jacki

Father's Day

Good Saturday Morning! Here are two simple cards I made for Father's day. Simple has been the name of my game lately. :) I was experimenting with the digital images from Hambo Stamps and comparing Copics to Prismacolor Pencils so I have one of each to show you.

This Frog Prince image on the first card (5 1/2" x 4 1/4") was colored with Copics markers. I'm pretty limited in my color choices right now, but it was pretty easy to get a good look with what I have. (I'm going to have to retake this photo when I get back home. I don't like the way it looks in direct sunlight.)

The Frog Prince on this second card (5x7) was colored with Prismacolors. I (heart) my pencils.

I don't have much to tell today. I spent 13+ hours driving yesterday ( from Michigan to Delaware) and I'm exhausted. But, I'm up early because there is nothing like waking to the smell of breakfast at Mom's. I hope you have a blessed weekend. I'm going to hang with my Gail later today and hopefully get a little more rest this morning.

You're My Lifesaver!

Hello?? Is anybody still out there? I'm sorry, I haven't been updating, I just haven't felt much like it. I did take pictures of 4 cards today and I have a couple more to do, so hopefully I'll have a few posts over the next few days.

This is a birthday/thank you card for someone who has been very supportive to me over the last few weeks. The Lifeguard stand is one of Hambo's new summer images. I thought it very appropriate for the the sentiments I need to express in this case.

I'm doing OK just busy-busy. This was camp week at my house. The Boy went to basketball camp out of state. The Girl is at youth camp. The Other Boy is in a day camp for gifted kids... which by the way starts every morning at 8:30!

I'm trying to do some assignments and projects ahead because I'm going to do some traveling in the next couple of weeks. I'm looking forward to getting my oldest daughter from college and then I'm going to see my momma. We are going to put lots of highway miles on the family van. I'll take many pictures and try to update you as I go. One of my highlights is a planned stop in on one of my favorite stamp companies-- but I'll give you those details later.

Stamps: Lifeguard stand and message (Hambo Stamps), Lines background and sea shell(The Angel Co.), shells ( Biblical Impressions)

Hey, guess what? I found a song called Purple! by Donnie McClurkin. You can hear it on YouTube by clicking >here<

When we praise Heaven responds with open arms...

Chorus

Just praise through your struggle and through your pain.

Just praise through the storm, yes, through the rain.

Beyond every dark cloud,

Beyond all fear and doubt,

There's a blessing of promise awaiting

In your praise.

Still choosing joy! Jacki Be blessed!! Thanks for checking in...