Make A Gift **CCCB**

Happy Tuesday All!  Always FUn to share a new City Crafter Challenge Blog challenge with you!  Today we have Ros as our hostess and she is challenging us to MAKE A GIFT.  We want to see your handmade gifts this week (no cards please).  I wonder what you will create?  Need some ideas?  Hop on over to CCCB and take a look at the GORGEOUS creations made by our Guest Designer, Sharul and all our DT members.  Up for grabs is a chance to be a Guest Designer, yourself for CCCB!  For this week's challenge I created a "Happy Thoughts" journal for a sweet friend of mine.  She loves the cheery colors of red and yellow and I thought it might be fun for her to be able to jot down all the wonderful things that make her happy in a cheery little notebook.  Hope you are having HAPPY times today!  Hugs, Cheryl
*Sorry, I haven't been by to visit everyone's blogs...I'm down with a nasty case of the flue and am back to bed right now. 

THANK YOU!!

Just wanted to THANK YOU ALL sooooooooo much for the birthday wishes!!  It was just about the most perfect day ever.  It is funny as I think about it...A few years back I entered the Scrapbooker of the Year Contest for Creating Keepsakes Magazine.  As part of the contest you were asked to describe you version of the perfect day and almost to a "T" I described the day I had yesterday...from waking up to snuggle with my hubby, to spending time with my family.  My daughters and I literally shopped 'til we dropped (with a little lunch break in the middle) and my son took me out to dinner.  I had so many birthday well wishes from friends and it was just FABULOUS in every sense of the word.  It would have been COMPLETELY PERFECT if my daughters Angela and Amanda could have been here, too. (next year!)  So THANK YOU SO MUCH for being a part of one of the MOST FABULOUS BIRTHDAYS EVER!  BIG HUGS!

Time After Time **CCCB**

Hello ALL!  Today I am excited to be the hostess of this week's City Crafter Challenge Blog's new challenge.   I hope you have TIME to play along with our challenge this week because our challenge is all about TIME. With a birthday and a 30 year anniversary approaching and children that refuse to stop getting older...I have been thinking a lot about TIME lately. So our theme this week is Time After Time and your challenge is to use a CLOCK somewhere on your project.  For some FABULOUS ideas go check out the work of our Guest Designer, Ira,  (it is so clever) and ALL our DT members over at CCCB!  Speaking of Guest Deigners...YOU can be one, too!  The prize for the winner of the challenge this week is a Guest Designer spot for CCCB!  I hope you have a FUN TIME playing along!  Hugs, Cheryl

Buttons...Buttons...Look Who's One...CCCB

Hello ALL! So happy to back on a Tuesday with a new City Crafter Challenge Blog challenge.   Linda's is our hostess and she has a pretty simple project for you this week.
Buttons. Not just 1 or 2 buttons, she is asking us to use at least 5 buttons on your project.  For my project I used my CUTE AS A BUTTON granddaughter and adorned her cupcake with buttons.    So FUN!!  I LOVE using buttons and I suspect you all do, too...so go get out your button jar and play along with us at CCCB!  If you need a little inspiration take a peek at the FAB creations from out Guest Designer, Michelle, and ALL our DT members.  Your playing for a chance to be a Guest Designer yourself for CCCB!  Can't wait to see your projects!!!  Hope you are having a FABULOUS day!!  HUGS, Cheryl

Here's Our ONE YEAR OLD!!!

It was my sweet little granddaughter Bailey's first birthday yesterday and I just wanted to share some of the photos from her one year old photo shoot.  I know I'm prejudiced, but I think they are soooooooo CUTE!!!!  Thanks so Alyssa Ence (she is my daughter's sister-in-law) for taking these DARLING photos! 

Be Anything *CCCB-Coppelia*

Hi ALL!!  Good Tuesday Morning...and you know what that means...a new City Crafter Challenge Blog challenge.  This week it is Kirsty as our hostess.  When Kirsty lived in Manhattan, her apartment was on West 57th street, it was just a few blocks away from Lincoln Center, where there stood The Metropolitan Opera House, Avery Fisher Hall and The New York City Ballet, and she spent lots of time there. One of her  favorite ballet is Coppélia, the story of Die Puppe (The Doll) and was premiered in May 1870.  So with this in mind...she chose "Coppelia" as our theme and the challenge is to use a ballerina on your project...cause everyone LOVES ballerinas!  I know my little granddaughter LOVES all things to do with dance...so it was a DELIGHT to do a lo of her next to a ballerina representing that she can BE ANYTHING in her life.  What a WONDERFUL thing the future is...so MANY possibilities!  We never know what twist and turn life will take and it makes it quite an ADVENTURE, doesn't it!  I hope part of your plans this week include playing along with our challenge!  YOU always AMAZE me at what you come up with!  Our Guest Designers and DT ALWAYS amaze me as well.  I bet you will be AMAZED to as you check out the work of Tammy our Guest Designer and the rest of our DT!  I REALLY want to THANK our WONDERFUL sponsor of  the last four weeks...Digital Paper Shop!  Janet has generously provided our prizes and the DT with her ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS papers!  Thank you so much!!  Wishing you ALL an AMAZING week!  HUGS, Cheryl

A Simple Joy

Hi ALL!  I just wanted to share a little simple joy of mine with you today.  I'm not ashamed to admit I'm a simple kind of gal and take pleasure in some very ordinary things that I find rather extraordinary myself.  One of the things that can bring a smile to my face instantly is flowers.  I LOVE them!  They just plain make me happy.  Unfortuneately I don't have very much of a green thumb, but I try to bring a little bright spot to my life by at least trying to help things grow.  I take great joy in my little garden.  It doesn't matter to me that it doesn't produce a whole lot.  I just love spending time amongst my vegetables and watching them grow to the best of their ability and I try to help them to the best of mine.  This year before my son came home in March I decided to try my hand at growing some flowers on our front stairs and porch.  I am happy to report that they are still alive!  I've replaced a couple of the flowers with ones that to better in the summer now that the weather is getting warmer.  So I painted these little pots and planted some flowers in them and also some vegetables for the front balcony.  I can not even begin to describe the happiness I receive from these little flowers each day.  Every time I walk up my front stairs I think to myself..."Ohhhhhhh these pretty little flowers make me sooooooo happy!"
And yes you will probably think I'm crazy, but I tell them that.  I don't necessarily think it will make them grow any better (but who knows, maybe it does), but I just can't really help myself.  They always bring a smile to me, so I lean over as I get to my front door and I tell them..."you are all sooooo pretty...you make me so happy...good job girls!" *I do think of flowers as females.  And I'll tell you a little secret...as soon as I tell them...I get even happier inside!  So here are some pictures of my little girls and I hope they brighten your day too!  Do you have a simple joy in your life...that brightens your day?  I would LOVE to hear about it!  Wishing you a day with JOY!  HUGS, Cheryl

Tiered flower pot by front door

Flower pots on stairs

Tomatos and Cucumbers on balcony

Cucumber (I thinks the yellow flowers are so pretty)