Rebecca's 10!

Happy Friday!!!

Wow!  WHERE did the week go???!!!  Oh, I know ... Monday and Tuesday were wiped out with Alicia having the flu (and having a stamping gig at the school ... and a stamping meeting downtown) ... Wednesday was catch-up on everything I didn't do Monday and Tuesday ... and yesterday was Rebecca's birthday.  Phew!  It went FAST!!!!

We had an absolutely LOVELY day together yesterday.  It is SO nice to be able to take a day to spend one-on-one time with the girls.  There truly is a crazy dynamic that goes on when the three or four of us are around each other ... but when it's me and ONE kid it really is awesome.  The morning flew by fast as I needed to do a FEW "mom" things ... like shower ... put away the breakfast dishes and so on but we did manage to swing by Tim Horton's after dropping Alicia off at school so Rebecca munched on her Timbits while I did what I needed to do.  I was willing to give walking the dog a miss, if she wanted to but she said we could do it - together.  Awwww - she rode her bike and I walked the mutt - and it was really nice (despite the fact that I lost one of my favorite earings on the winds 2 mile walk ... but that's ok ... it's only a "thing" ... and I'm still secretly hoping I'll stumble across it over the next weeks worth of walks!)

Around 11:00 am we headed out to the Dollar Store and spent a small fortune on little treats for the loot bags for her party tomorrow.  Then we were off to buy some clothes.  The first few stores were a bust so we headed to the mall ... to check out a store I'd heard about ... Justice.  Oh.  My.  Word.  Yes, it's exactly the kind of store I was looking for - one where there are clothes for young girls and boys that are between 6 and 13 ... but holy smokes!  I WASN'T expecting the prices!!!  I was lulled into thinking it wouldn't cost too much as everything in the store was 40% off.  GOOD THING!  Since WHEN does a tank top that wouldn't fit my left thigh cost $31.99??!!  And it's in WHITE!!!  Whomever came up with thinking that children's clothes she EVER be offered in white should be shot.  Twice.  And then poked with a large stick just for kicks!  $31.99.  Sheesh.  ANYWAY!  *lol*  I figured it was time Rebecca graduated from the Walmart clothes I buy her to something that actually lasts more than 3 washes and has some sort of style to it ... so $140 later we left.  I was poor but she was grinning ear to ear and kept telling me I was the best mom EVER ... yep ... I'm not ashamed to buy my daughter's love *lol*  After shopping we went to the hair salon where she got a (much needed) cut.  We picked up Alicia from Grandma's (WHERE would I BE without the help of my mom????!!!) and headed home.  I threw the ribs in the oven (her favorite and requested birthday dinner) and then it was time to open her gifts.  Wow.  She was one thrilled little girls when she opened those!  Now I'm the first to admit that we spent WAAAAAAY over-budget on a 10 year old ... but I'm glad we did.  It was seriously the best day EVER for her and given all her "worries" and anxieties and struggles over the last few months it was beyond words to see her so happy for a whole day!  ... of course just to offset the happiness factor her younger sister had to have a few rounds of jealousy and tears over all the things Rebecca got and that "it isn't all about HER" ... of course I pointed out that yes ... it WAS all about her ... which really didn't help the tantrum situtation but what the heck ... what's a day in my life without SOMEONE being upset with me (... for the record, Monday night Rebecca was jealous of ALICIA ... Rebecca said (and I quote) "Mom ... I know Alicia's sick and all ... but tomorrow could you pay a little more attention to ME?  I felt like you were ignoring me a little today" *lol* ... again ... probably not helpful when I replied with "Umm ... that's because I WAS ignoring you today ..." ... yep, I don't always do myself a lot of favours, do I??!!  *lol*)  ANYway .... let's see a project before you call social services on me ...

I was really thrilled with the card I made for Rebecca.  It was absolutely perfect:

... and the inside:

... and the "envelope"

She loved it.  What made it so perfect is the "heart" aspect of it.  Every day and night, Rebecca says "Heart" and makes a heart with her hands ... when I say good night at bedtime, when I drop her off at school or any other time when I'm going anywhere ... so "heart" it had to be!  I made the card a 5" x 5" card.  I used my Labels framelits to punch out the labelsd, in Regal Rose and Melon Mambo.  I used my big shot numbers dies to punch out the "10" in silver glimmer paper (the set I have is retired now but there is still a set available on page 192 of the catty for $110.95 ... a great set to have on hand!!).  I punched small hearts out of the glimmer paper as well with the "Small Heart" punch (*lol*) - page 183 $7.95.  The "th" is from the set Memorable Moment - page 139 - $26.95 clear; $36.95 wood (I only recently got this set - I think's it's a keeper!) - I stamped it in Mambo then punched it out with one of the shapes from the Little Labels Punch Pack - page 183 - $22.95 - and then mounted that on a 7/8" scallop circle - page 16 of the mini - $15.95.  The "Happy Birthday" is from "You're Amazing" (another one I've had since July but only just inked up!) - page 33 - $27.95 clear; $37.95 wood.  I used my Stamp-a-ma-jig so get the positioning just right.  I used a new technique (to me) to ink up just the "Happy" and then just the "Birthday" ... using markers alone doesn't give me an intense enough image ... so I used the ink pad ... but rather than just trying to ink the one word I actually used some post-it-notes to cover the word I DIDN'T want inked and then, after inking the word I DID want, removed the post-it note and stamped on the card stock .. here's a picture to show what I mean:

See?  SO I put the post it note on ... the inked the stamp (yes, the post it notes gets all inky) ... then take OFF the post it note and stamp the sentiment.  I did the same thing for the "Birthday"

For the inside of the card I used the "You are Loved" set - page 24 - $28.95 clear; $38.95 ... which I believe is retiring ... but I'm too lazy to check at the moment ... it's such a pretty set ... the "heart" is spelled out using my retired "Go Go Boots" sizzlet dies (finally used them!!!) and hearts punched out with the retired heart trio punch ... oh - and I used my Heart Framleits to punch out the You are Loved heart image.

I didn't make an envelope per se.  I needed a piece of CS larger than 12x12 to make a true envelope - so I just made a "wrap" with a belly band.  I used the Bold Brights DSP - scored it, wrapped it and then made a belly band

Ta da!

So there you have it.  The perfect card for my favorite little 10 year old!  It's tru what they say ... the days are long but the years are short.  Go.  Spend some time with your little one(s) ... and smell those roses - it does your heart good!!

 

 

Pop back soon to see that baby card I was talking about the other day :) ... until then ... have a stampy day!


Tam