Happy Valentine's Day!

Hi everyone - hope you're having a wonderful Valentine's Day!  I enjoyed my day soooo much, starting at 6am with a call from dear friend Heather; she called from Ireland to wish me a Happy Birthday - how cool is that?!  I also received several other special birthday phone calls - dear friend Ferne called from California, sister Tami called to sing, Aunt Carol called to sing, Mom & Dad called and sang a duet.  Heather wouldn't sing but we nattered (her cute word) for about an hour before I had to race off to do Singing Valentines. 

The past few years I've been out of town on my birthday so I've missed doing the Valentines.  I have so many great memories of amazing experiences we've had over the years.  My chorus, City of Lakes Chorus, does these as a fund-raiser.  Quartets, either organized (like I've been in over the years, including Chord Company with whom I sang for 16 years) or pick-up (listened to by the chorus's Music Team to find a good blend of voices), go out into the community to sing for the gifter's loved one.  We bring a card and a box of chocolates and sing two songs:  "Somebody Loves You" and "Cuddle Up a Little Closer".  Today I had a pick-up group with my former tenor from Chord Company, Elaine, and two ladies from chorus who've sung together in a quartet, Ellen (on lead) and Mary (on bass).  I sang baritone, as usual.  We also send Valentines by email or telephone but it just isn't as much fun as the in-person visit.

We did two Valentines in Minneapolis - one at a paint company and one at a nursing home - and one in St Paul at a school.  Then, since we were out and about anyway, we swung over to Mary's mom's assisted living home and sang for Betty and some of the other residents.  Hey - found a birthday twin, one of the students at the school (we were singing for one of the teacher's aides).  We sang Happy Birthday to her and she enjoyed it so much!  It's always such fun to see the smiles and sometimes tears of the recipients.  Betty used to sing in Sweet Adelines but can't anymore - the look on her face as she heard our harmony was just precious.  Here's our foursome at the school - the staff had made this little photo booth with balloons and things for the students - well, we borrowed it for this quick snapshot :)

L to R: me, Ellen, Mary, Elaine

Can you see Ellen's shoes?  They have hearts all over them!!  Plus she had glittery jumbo heart earrings too - very glam! As the Valentine Birthday Girl, I think I need both of those fashion accessories!  Speaking of birthdays, my friend Lynn has her birthday today too.  She tries not to rub it in that she's a year younger than I.  Well, here's the Valentine Birthday card I sent her.



It features a Decorate It! set LP269 by Hero Arts that I found at Target last year (with the little heart cards and the Valentine sentiment, among other stamps and a couple inks).  I stamped the heart with the Hero Arts cling Canvas Background using Sugar Distress Ink for a soft texture.  I stamped XOXO on the inside then punched a hole and tied it shut with some May Arts ribbon.  The birthday sentiment is from a new Hero Arts clear set Messages with Flourish.  I white embossed it and added a few dots with a white gel pen.

Hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day!  Thanks for stopping!!

Guest spot at Die Cut Divas

Hi all - I'm excited to be featured this week at Die Cut Divas!!  My friend, Hannah Nicole, whom I met at the Hero Arts Flickr group almost 5 years ago invited me to be a guest.  So, check it out if you have a chance.

Now, I have tons of dies - I just don't use them as much as I should.  The die on the card below is from Impression Obsession, called Floral Lace Heart.  I just found it at Anchor Paper the other day and thought it would be a nice addition to my stash.  I glued it to a piece of patterned paper, cut around it and then matted it on red and cut around it.  Pop dotted it onto a Bo Bunny doily.

The background is a Hero Arts cling stamp for Basic Grey's Kneehighs collection called the Tiny Heart Background sent to me by sweet Tami Hartley - thanks again, Tami!!.  Oops, it's upside down - so hard to tell when you're stamping at 1 a.m. LOL!  Ah well, I got it right when I made another card...  Patterned paper is from Authentique.  The sentiment is from an absolute fave clear set by Hero Arts called Celebrate Everyday.  So handy with all the holidays in this set!  The little grey enamel hearts are from My Mind's Eye and the silver metallic accents are from Hero Arts.

Thanks for stopping and be sure to stop by Die Cut Divas if you get a chance.  Thanks again to Hannah for inviting me to be a guest and to Arlene and Dawn and all the other Divas!!