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Happy, Zappy Birthday, Tracy!

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Today is Tracy's birthday, and what fun to be able to celebrate it in sunny Florida! When Papertrey Ink released "Zappy Birthday" I just fell in love with it. I decided I didn't need the stamps, just the die cuts and so far, I'm happy with that decision.

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The patterned papers are from a pad called "Comic Strip," released at the same time. The sentiment is from a W Plus 9 set, "Super Star."

Here's the inside:

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I have to admit this card took me quite awhile to put together. My desk was cluttered with all kinds of die cuts in different colors and patterned papers. I tried vertical cards, horizontal cards, and all kinds of arrangements when I finally came up with this, and I do like it a lot.

I made a second card for my niece's husband, Kevin, while I had all the die cuts out. This one looks more complicated, but in reality, came together quite quickly, thanks to the patterned paper.

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It's really a fun card, and Kevin is a fun guy so I hope he likes it! The sentiment is from "Sentiment Sampler" by Paper Smooches, as is the inside sentiment:

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The font of this set seemed to fit the playful nature of the card.

Off to celebrate!

Swoosh! It’s a Birthday!

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As soon as I saw the dies and stamps designed for Papertrey Ink's anniversary by Maile Belles, I knew I'd be adding them to my collection. I also purchased her new paper pad, "Watercolor Wonder," and some of the gold adhesive paper they released. With these three products and a few sequins I got several March birthday cards created.

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All the colors in the Watercolor Wonder pad coordinate with Papertrey's cardstock, so matching it to a card is so easy.

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This gives you a better look at the gold adhesive paper which makes using these die cuts a breeze.

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I needed a couple cards for guys as well, so I made two of these. I thought the colors were more masculine, and there are no sequins to be found.

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This paper pad is going to get a workout! All the designs are printed on beautiful linen cardstock that's a great weight for "bumping out." I used to use dimensional tape to do that, but after watching Jennifer McGuire use "fun foam" from Michaels, I've started using it. It's a much better for mailing, pretty economical, and easier!

 

Christmas Gifts?

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I was looking through some Christmas Pinterest boards this morning (another nice thing about vacation), and remembered I wrote this post before I left. Hard to think about Christmas here, but as far as I know there's still plenty of snow left in Rochester.

Well, yes, it's March, but I never shared the Christmas gifts I made. I didn't want to post them before the recipients received them, and then time slipped away from me. Every year for the last three or four years, I've made calendars for friends and family. They're fun to make, and seem to be enjoyed by everyone. Here's this year's version:

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The first couple of years, I didn't include a list of where the photos were taken, and everyone wanted to know. Now I type up a list and include it with the calendar. I found these little white bags in the bakery section at Michaels. They're the perfect size for the calendars which slide into a 4X6 picture frame.

JanFeb

January: snow in Highland Park; February: tulips on my kitchen table

MarchApril

March: still life of Rainier cherries; April: Clivia at the Dutch Collection at the George Eastman House

MayJune

May:  Morikami Japanese Garden in Florida; June: The George Eastman House gardens

JulyAug

July: Grand Haven Lighthouse, Muskegon, MI; August: Sunset at Bailey's Harbor, WI

SeptOct

September: Cana Island Lighthouse, WI; October: Pennisula State Park, Door Co., WI

NovDec

November: Oak Leaf Hydrangea; December: Christmas tree ornament from the Biltmore Mansion

Every time I'm at Sarah's it seems they need some sewing done. She doesn't have a sewing machine, and the only sewing tools she has are those tiny sewing kits you pick up at some of the nicer hotels. I've seen lots of these on Pinterest so I put one together for her. I have to admit it took two tries to get the pincushion lid just right.

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I was really happy with it, and I think she was glad to receive it. No surprise, I was mending Caleb's blanket within the first two days of being there!

Pairs: Morning and Evening

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One of the great pleasures of being on the beach are morning and evening walks. Although I took my DSLR on one walk, most photos are taken with my iPhone which I always have with me. These are both iPhone photos.

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Now that we're on Daylight Savings Time, the sun doesn't come up as early. On this morning we were walking before the sun came over the horizon.

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Last night after the sun had slipped past the horizon.

Linking up to Helena's meme, Pairs. Check them out.

Pairs: North and South

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I'm late posting my Pairs for Helena's meme this week, but intentionally so. I took a photo on Wednesday morning as we pulled out of the driveway, and one again this morning, our first on Longboat Key. I was pretty sure the contrast would be striking.

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Let me just say, I'm happy to be in the South for two weeks, and I'm pretty sure the piles of snow won't have melted completely by the time we return.

Many Thanks!

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There were so many people who contributed to Sarah's wonderful Ordination service that I needed to crank out some new cards. I have several "Thanks" die cuts, so pulled them out, and die cut them all in black. With that and some patterned papers, I was able to get quite a few done in an afternoon. I made duplicates of a couple of these when I had enough of the patterned paper.

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This one uses a die cut and stamp from Simon Says, "Bitty Box" paper from Papertrey Ink, and a heart from my stash of left-over die cuts.

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Another die and stamp set from Simon Says, "Sending," and patterned paper from the "Plus One" by Amy Tangerine pad by American Craft.

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I just received my order from the Papertrey Ink Anniversary celebration, and you're going to see a lot of these "Swoosh" dies and stamps. The patterned paper is also from Papertrey Ink from their Comic Strip collection. The orange enamel dots are MME.

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This is another patterned paper from the "Plus One" by Amy Tangerine paper pad and a die and stamps from W Plus 9's "Hand lettered Thanks."

And last, one of my favorites. I would have loved to make several of these, but here was only one sheet of this paper in the "Plus One" pad.

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This is one of the easiest cards ever: adhere the patterned paper to the card, die cut "Thanks" from the Wet Paint series by Papertrey Ink, and adhere it to the card. I'm sure you could replicate the patterned paper with some watercolor paints, but it would be a lot harder!

I wrote this post before we left town. Yesterday I had the great pleasure of meeting up with Cheri of Scrap Dreams and visiting the Philadelphia Flower Show. Photos from that visit are forthcoming, but probably not until we actually get to our final destination this weekend.

We made it as far south as Raleigh, NC tonight, but it was NOT a fun drive. Another winter storm ripped through the east coast from southern New York/New Jersey through Virginia. I wasn't sure we ought to even leave our hotel this morning, but Tracy is an awesome driver and because so many schools and businesses were closed there was a bit less traffic. We saw quite a few cars and trucks off the road, but we made it here without any problem. Tomorrow night we'll be in Florida, and the winter weather should be behind us at least until we head back north in a couple of weeks.

Sending Thanks

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Tracy looked out our kitchen window one morning this week, and saw a large package sitting on the front step. It was a fabulous box of oranges sent directly from Florida from friends of ours who are there visiting now. Some of the oranges had frozen, and we were afraid they'd be ruined. But fear not, they are delicious! 

Many months ago, I signed up for Kim Klassen's Be Still 52 class. Like some other classes, I never got going with it. Seeing Rinda's photos from the new edition of the class prompted me to get going, and I'm working backwards on it. Today I came across a prompt – "Citrus" – use some citrus fruit to tell a story. So here's my still life of the fabulous salad I made for dinner tonight.

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I had time today to get a thank you card made to send to our friends. They'll be coming home while we're in Florida ourselves, and I wanted our thanks to be waiting for them.

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The Phrase Play #6 die from Papertrey Ink seemed perfect for a sunny thank you card. After die cutting it, I backed portions of the die with strips of Pure Poppy, Harvest Gold, and Orange Zest cardstock. "You" and the stamped portion of the sentiment are both from Simon Says. When I laid the finished piece on the orange card, it seemed to need something more, so I scored three lines and then adhered the die cut piece.

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The last two days before we head off on the road trip to Florida are filled with appointments and errands. Fortunately, it was a pretty quiet weekend, so I'm well-organized and almost packed for the trip. It snowed again all day, lightly—only a few more inches, but the thought of green trees and warm breezes gets more and more attractive as the winter drags on.

 

Good News

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You've seen many cards over the last six months that were created for a friend who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. The prognosis was rather iffy, but this week she got great news. The chemo has halted the progress of the cancer, and she doesn't have to go back for another CAT scan for three months. So this time it was a "Happy Hello!"

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You'll be seeing lots of this patterned paper by Papertrey Ink called "Watercolor Wonder." I just love the spring colors, and it's definitely a bright and cheery card for such good news. The die cuts are from Papertrey, too, "Wet Paint" and "Life is Beautiful." It's my favorite butterfly die. Behind the butterfly, is a "Circle Scribbles" die cut from vellum.

Here's another cheery "hello" card that I sent off to a friend awhile ago, and never posted.

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I laid down a couple of strips of Washi tape, and die cut Mama Elephant's "Hello" from an OLD Cosmos Cricket pad, "Jolly By Golly." The stamp is from W Plus 9's "Hand Lettered Hello," and the enamel dots from MME.

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It's so nice to be able to send cards to celebrate good news!

Happy Birthday, Matt!

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Today is Matt's 32nd birthday. He's celebrating with his three favorite girls, Betsy, Skylar, and Ella in Niagara Falls. They're staying at a hotel overlooking the falls with a swimming pool, and have plans to visit the aquarium and perhaps, the butterfly garden nearby. It's a weekend retreat from the winter weather here. They'll get to see Niagara Falls frozen over, which is a rare event! 

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I took this photo yesterday when I delivered our gift and card to him before they left. For the first time in either of our memories, I bought him a birthday card rather than make one. He's been into brewing his own beer in their basement, and I found the perfect "Hoppy Brewday!" birthday card at Trader Joe's a few weeks ago. Here's another shot of Matt with Skylar on their way out to play in the snow. He's a great husband, dad, and son, and we are so proud of him!

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Even though I didn't make Matt a card, I do have a couple birthday cards for guys that I haven't shared. The first one was for a friend in Denver.

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A piece of woodgrain patterned paper from MME, a die and stamp from Papertrey Ink, and three wooden embellishments, also from MME, and it was done.

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Lots of gold embossing on this one. The triangle background stamp is from Hero Arts, and the sentiment is one of my favorites from Winnie and Walter's "The Big, The Bold, and The Happy."

We're off in a few hours to celebrate Tracy's and Tom's birthdays (both occur in March). For the last several years, we've gone out to dinner with Jill (Tracy's sister) and Tom to celebrate. Usually we go between their two birthdays, but we won't be in town on Tracy's birthday, and Jill won't be here on Tom's so tonight's the night. (Both their cards are finished in and in my tote bag to be given–or mailed–on the appropriate dates!)

 

 

Pairs: Open and Closed

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Two posts in one day is unusual, but I'm already a day late for Helena's wonderful Pairs meme. Those of you that have been following me through several winters know I rely on grocery store flowers to get some early spring into the house. Trader Joe's had bunches of daffodils this week for $1.49. Grabbing two bunches of them was a no brainer.

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I've been fascinated with all the different pairs that have shown up on Helena's blog. I keep meaning to make a list so when I'm at a loss for a pair, I can channel someone else's genius.

Pile of Postcards

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It's been a week since I've posted and I really can't explain where the time has gone! It's not for lack of content. I have quite a bit to share, and hopefully, will get most of them drafted before we head south next week. 

I thought I'd received all my postcards from Sian's wonderful Postcard Swap last week, but it turns out I was one of the lucky ones to receive an extra from my friend, Cheri. If everything goes as planned, Cheri and I will be meeting up next week for the first time. We've been trying to figure out a way to meet for several years now, and we think we've done it. More on that soon, I hope! So one advantage of procrastinating with this post, is another card arrived on Tuesday, so now I can share them all.

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I love that Alison managed to find an adorable postcard of a puppy that looks like hers, relaxing by the side of a pool. Hopefully, I'll be right there with him in about 10 days! Cheri's postcard features a great quote.

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Laura (not a blogger) created her own postcard with a wonderful vintage sticker, and Ruth sent me this great collage of images from London. 

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These next two cards seem to go together perfectly. Julie sent me the one of The Ladybird books. They are unfamiliar to me, but the covers of these remind me of the orange-covered biographies I loved in elementary school. I have no idea who the publisher of those were. My sixth grade teacher had a whole bookcase filled with them, and I think I read nearly all of them that year. The Dickens Festival card from Jane sends me right to the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario where we go every fall. 

And last, but definitely not least, is another fabulous postcard of the iconic double-decker red buses of London with some landmarks as well, sent to me by Sheena.

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Many thanks, Sian, for all the organizing you did to pull off another great postcard swap!

If all goes as planned, I'll be back tonight with my Pairs for Helena's meme — already a day late for that as well!

Family Cards

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In my continual rant against the weather, it is -4° this morning, with a wind chill of -22°. Really? Worse yet, we discovered ice damming in several places yesterday, which can cause all kinds of damage. The last time it happened, we had to have three rooms repaired and repainted. Since then we've had the roof replaced. We also have cables on the roof which usually take care of the problem. This year it's just been too cold for too long. The icicles on everyone's homes are amazing. Beautiful, but a potential sign of problems to come. Tracy has a call into the man who came many years ago, but all the folks who deal with these problems are overbooked. Two weeks from today, we'll be in Florida,, although it's even chilly in Florida (they were predicting lows in the 30's this week), but it's surely better than here. I'm actually glad to be here right now, so we can keep an eye on the ice damming.

Well, on to more pleasant topics. I don't usually leave making a card to the last minute, but for Sarah's ordination, I did exactly that. I made it the evening before, just before we gave her a stole. (I never got a photo of that either, but I will on Easter Sunday when we'll be celebrating at her church.) But she immediately said, "Nice card!" I think she's partial to CAS as well.

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It couldn't have been simpler. White cardstock, a piece of patterned paper from the Studio Calico "Print Shop" pad, and a die cut from Penny Black in gold.

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And somehow, when I posted about Caleb's birthday from Chicago in December, I never shared his birthday card.

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Caleb LOVES cars, and this little car die from Savvy is one of my favorites. I cut it three times in Limeaid Ice, Pure Poppy, and Hawaiian Shores and mounted them on a piece of Summer Sunrise (all Papertrey Ink). It's been ages since I used any of my 12X12 scrapbook papers, but I found a piece of map paper and cut two banners. I can't remember (and didn't record) where the "happy, happy, happy" sentiment comes from. 

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On one final note about the weather, it's sunny today! Makes going out a little less onerous. I'm going to lunch with two friends from college, but otherwise I'm staying inside!

Three Pairs

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I have three pairs to share with you today for Helena's wonderful meme. Yesterday afternoon Adam's parents, Tracy, and I spent the afternoon at The George Eastman House. After we saw the new exhibit on Technicolor, we took a tour of the mansion. Luckily, it was one of my very good friends who was our docent, so we got a great tour. Every year, the Eastman House is filled with Dutch bulbs. George Eastman had three greenhouses and from November to April each year, he had wonderful Dutch bulbs blooming in his home. Excellent records were kept, so the staff at The Eastman House knows what kind of bulbs he ordered. Rather than have a few bulbs over many months, they flood the house with gorgeous blooms from the middle of February to the first of March. Needless to say, the residents of Rochester are very grateful for a breath of spring during our long winter—this year in particular!

Outside and Inside:

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Upstairs and Downstairs:

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Zoom In, Zoom Out: 

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This is just a glimpse of the gorgeous flowers we saw, and the exhibit on the development of Technicolor was also wonderful.

 

Ordination Weekend

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It’s been a whirlwind around here for the last few days. Sarah, Adam, Caleb, and Sadie (their dog) arrived on Thursday as did Adam’s parents from Chehalis, Washington. We all gathered for Sarah’s ordination service yesterday at Third Presbyterian.

The weather could not have been much worse. We’re well over 3 feet of snow, and there were five fresh inches in the morning. Worse yet, it was 1°, with a wind chill substantially below that. Nonetheless a lovely group gathered during the 10:45 service for her ordination. It was truly a beautiful and moving service. I, of course, am very biased, but many members of the congregation said the same. We have a large and wonderful choir who sang during the service, and both Tracy and I were members of her Ordination Commission and participated in the service. 

Our pastor, however, engaged three photographers to take photos during the service. We will eventually get copies of all of them. For now, I have an iPhone photo taken by my friend, Jane, after the service, and three gorgeous black and white photos takes during the Constitutional Questions and the Laying on of Hands by one of the photographers, Jenn Poggi, a professor of photography at Rochester Institute of Technology.

The ordination service is a somewhat scripted event. Sarah wrote all of the liturgy except for the sermon. There is the Reaffirmation of Baptism, a set of Constitutional Questions, the Laying on of Hands (by all ordained elders of the church, past and present—over half the congregation in this case), and then the Charge to the Ordained and Presentation of Symbols of Ministry. 

Here is a photo of Sarah answering the Constitutional Questions.

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And two of the Laying on of Hands:

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Sarah is in the middle kneeling. It's a pretty emotional event even when it's not your daughter! 

It’s been a long road to ordination. Sarah completed a Masters of Divinity at Columbia Seminary seven years ago, completed a Masters of Theology degree at Princeton Seminary, and then began work on a Ph.D. in Spiritual Theology at GTU in Berkeley.  In April of last year, she decided to let the dissertation go, and left as an ABD (All But the Dissertation). It was a wonderful decision in many respects. And now she has received a call as Associate Pastor for the Winnetka Congregational Church. Yesterday, she officially became The Reverend Sarah Walker Cleaveland. We are so proud.

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Adam and Sarah are now officially a clergy couple–both Associate Pastors at churches in the same community which is really amazing in itself.

After the ceremony there was a lovely reception at the church.

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And this was the gorgeous, and delicious cake:

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Afterward, we hosted a casual luncheon at home for about 30 of our friends and family. I was really worried about where everyone would park with the high snow drifts, but it all worked out fine. The only photos I took were of grandchildren after everyone else had left. 

Sarah, Adam, and Caleb headed back to Chicago this morning. Adam's parents are still here for a couple more days. We saw "Still Alice" this afternoon, a heartbreaking story of early onset Alzheimer's Disease, and then had a lovely dinner at TRATA. Tomorrow we're headed for the George Eastman house. Hope your weekend was a good one!

Let’s Hear It for Animal Valentines

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I have the rest of the family valentines to share today. All of them feature animals. And all of them qualify for the Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: "All Creatures Great and Small" and the CAS-ology "Love" challenges.

The first card doesn't feature any stamps. I drew the hedgehog from an image I found online. Despite a search on Pinterest and Google, I haven't been able to retrace where I found it. If anyone can direct me to the original, I'd love to credit it. Sarah's a huge fan of hedgehogs so it seemed to be the perfect image for her valentine.

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After drawing the hedgehog with a fountain pen, I use a combination of Copic markers and watercolors to color the image. The red and pink hearts make this card qualify for the Simon Says Monday "Red and Pink" challenge, as well. I made the frame by layering two Papertrey Ink "Stitched Rectangles" on Pure Poppy cardstock. It's all adhered to a Fog (Simon Says) card base.

The next card is for Adam. I purchased the W Plus 9 "Knock, Knock Valentine" set for future use with grandchildren, but I decided it would work for Adam when I discovered the iguana (TPC Studios) in my stash.

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I stamped the sentiments, and layered it behind a Pure Poppy frame created with a Nestability Small Classic Rectangle frame, stamped and cut out the iguana and added it with some dimensional tape.

The last card was inspired by this card by Kathy Racoosin. I already had the "Quite the Pair" set from Simon Says and loved how she sat the frog on the paper airplane.

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The heart was cut from some "Kiss, Kiss" patterned paper from Crate Paper that came in the February Simon Says card kit. The cardstock for the card base was also in the kit. The frog and the paper airplanes were stamped and cut out, and the clouds are die cuts from Papertrey Ink. I colored Mr. Froggy with Copic markers and added some googly eyes for fun.

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I hope you have a wonderful Valentine's Day. I'm delighted to be spending it with family!