Sundays and Friendship

I had a leisurely morning ... doing laundry, vacuuming, dishes ... you know ... leisurely. HA!  A good friend of mine was coming over so I could show her a couple of card techniques for her holiday cardmaking this year and I wanted to spruce up the place a bit (de-fur the furniture from the daily reminder that we own THREE cats).  NOTE:  in my next life I shall live on an acreage so my furballs can roam OUTSIDE and have concrete floors and disposable furniture INSIDE so I can more easily accommodate my love of furry critters!  I would have dozens of cats AND dogs if only I had the proper space so we could ALL thrive and coexist in harmony.  But I am digressing here ... as those of you who know me are MORE than aware I tend to do on occasion.  So after cleaning a morning furball surprise off the carpet in my craft room, and washing an area rug that had been used (I'm sure by total mistake) as a litter box instead of ... well, the litter box, I went ahead and got out some ideas for Ann to look at.  When she arrived she had her arms full ... she was returning some stamps I had loaned her, but also there was a loaf of homemade pumpkin bread (score) AND several sheets of clear vinyl for my craft table.  This vinyl is JUST as good as the craft sheets you pay big bucks for at Michaels to keep your desk clean of glues and inks, and wipes off just as nicely.  I tell you, it's great having friends who come up with these cheaper alternatives for my crafting passion.  She said you can get this vinyl at any JoAnn's or fabric store.  Who knew?!  So we had several hours of crafting and giggles and after she left I realized I needed a card for a friend's daughter who was turning 5 this week.  This is what I came up with.  I simply ADORE Lili of the Valley stamps ... the whimsy, the innocence ... if you haven't checked them out, please do so as I know you will fall head over heels in love with their stamps!  You can click on the photo to make it larger and see more detail.  I got the "spray" of pearls in the flower/wedding section of Michaels in a large tube which should last me a while. The flower is handmade using the flame method to curl the edges (which is a skill that must be practised absent any flammable materials - let's just say I have our fire department on speed dial now).  And I used my favorite Helmar glue to hold everything in place (LOVE their products).  Well, that's it. Hope everyone had a "leisurely" weekend (grin).  And don't forget I have my blogversary giveaway going on until July 4 (you can just click on the link on side bar to take you to the blog post for this event).