Good morning!!! Well, it's been a long time coming, but I've just GOT to share this with you!! A few weeks ago Allen comes in with this package marked "CONFIDENTIAL", and opens it up to find a cover letter with very specific instructions for him. The instructions explained that some of my blogging sisters would like for him to film me opening the package to get my reaction. He guarded the package for a couple of days till we could get the Flip camera charged, and then he deemed it was time and I could open it. Well, our plan was great, but our Flip camera is junk, which we found out after we got everything opened and tried to upload and view the video. That thing is going back to the store, because it hasn't worked right from the start. Hopefully I can exchange it for one that works like it should. Anywho, I have wonderful photos to share with you of the lovingly created contents of the box from my very special Sisterhood friends.
So we gather around the Christmas tree, and I begin. The first thing I come to is this:
This is from my Sisterhood friend Paola, or Sweet P. as we lovingly call her. This adorable card matches the pages she scrapped, and she sent us It's A Boy blue hot chocolate. YUMMY on both the card and hot chocolate!!!! Have you ever seen "It's A Boy" hot chocolate before? I haven't!!
Next I came to this beautiful 8x8 scrapbook all wrapped in pretty tissue. This isn't baby Max in the photo, but soon this will have a picture of our sweet little guy! Now on to the wonderful goodness inside, and can I just say that I have always admired the talent that is shared among our Sisterhood of the Traveling Cards group, but you're about to see just how talented this amazing group of crafters really are! Prepare to be AWED!!!
The first layout was made by
Sweet P., and matches that adorable card she sent. Can you believe all the wonderful detail on these? I still marvel at ALL the pages in this book, because the Sister's attention to detail is impeccable!! This is actually the first and last page of my scrapbook, and I love that she included a place for us to put all Max's birth stats.
The next pages I came to were lovingly created by my sweet friend
Kadie. I am always in awe of Kadie's ability to combine papers and embellishments in the perfect combination for winning layouts and cards every time she creates something. Kadie is a constant source of inspiration for me, and one of the sweetest and kindest people on the face of this glorious earth!! How do you like those onesies hung by safety pins on that little line, and see what I mean about all the wonderful detail?
The third layout in my adorable book was created by the ever so sweet and wonderful
Judy. Judy is one of the most positive, uplifting, and faith filled friends a person could ever ask for, and just reading one of Judy's posts can turn your entire day into a glorious blessing. All of that, and she's a truly talented artist, too! Don't you LOVE this SWEET layout? Those little bugs, the buttons, ribbon and all the special details make me so happy!!
The next layout was done by
Debbie Jones, and I can't begin to tell you in mere words how special this page is to us. My son (baby Max's daddy) is a deputy, and he loves his job so much. Debbie created these pages especially for Max with the Sheriff theme, using this gorgeous paper with stars, The Greeting Farm cowboy paper, and complete with a little cowboy image, lasso, and a hand made gold sheriff badge. The color and texture on these pages is wonderful, and it was a BIG hit with all of us, but especially Tyler! Debbie is such a sweet and supportive friend! We LOVE this, Debbie!!
Creating layout number 5 is the very dear
Michelle. Michelle is the master of Prismas, and her work always has such a soft and beautiful look and feel to it. I am always filled with such peace and joy every time I get the chance to see one of her beautiful creations. This gorgeous layout is actually quilted with stitching between the patterned squares, and has the perfect blend of texture, embellishment and bling, and that adorable little bunny looks so soft and sweet! Don't you LOVE the colors?
Pages 10 and 11 of my scrapbook were created by the bright and beautiful
Kelly. Can't you just tell how Kelly's warm, bright and beautiful personality come out in her creations? She's such an inspiration to so many of us, and I love her dearly! I absolutely adore this combination of polka dots and stripes, and the rick-rack trim makes the papers literally POP! There's plenty of room for pictures of Max, and room for journaling in the little box next to the giraffe. Max's room when it's completed this Spring will be done using a safari animal theme. I LOVE the way Kelly used the buttons for wheels on the safari animals, and the contrasting photo corners are wonderful!
I realized AFTER the photos were taken that these pages should be switched. There may be a couple of these that way. Oh well! It doesn't take away one bit from the AWWWWW factor of this layout created by the VERY sweet and talented
Carol. She made us all laugh at her adorable choice of images, and how great is that paper?! This little fella in the over sized hat, is sporting all the essentials of every cowboy... Well, ALMOST all the essentials. Where's the pants? LOL!! How can you not smile when you look at these pages? The Souther Sheriff's Department! That is so creative and cute, and again, Tyler was grinning from ear to ear when he saw these pages! Carol, my friend, we absolutely LOVE this!
Now, how cute is this layout created by the talented, supportive, loving and kind
Jeanette? Don't you love that sweet little boy in the tree? He's beautifully colored, and flanked by those pretty blue rhinestones. All Boy! That will probably be an understatement! I know that in a flash, little Max will be climbing trees and getting in to who knows what, and thanks to my dearest Jeanette, we have the pages ready and waiting for the day! One of my favorite things about this page, and there are many, BTW, is the background paper that has the definition of a little boy. It says, "Boy, noun.: a noise with dirt on it." OMG!! That is sooooo darned cute, and true!! Oh, so true!!!
Here we have a second layout by the ambitious and talented Debbie J. These should be switched, too, but you get the drift. She left us plenty of space on these pages for pictures and journaling, and I just love the little train filled with toys. Little boys ARE indeed loads of fun!! I can't wait to get some pictures onto these pages! Thanks you so very much, Debbie for TWO wonderful layouts!!
This adorable layout was created by our sister,
Mary. I see these pages should be switched as well, but don't you love how Mary has included journaling boxes for 1 month and 2 months, and that paper is just too cute! Perfect for a little boy, and full of wonderful color and texture in the embossed background. It makes you happy just looking at it! These will be fun pages to choose photos and journal. Thanks so much, Mary! We LOVE them!
The VERY talented and wonderfully sweet Susan created this layout. I can't begin to tell you how stunning these hand stitched pages are IRL, and I'm just not sure I captured how amazing it is in the photo. The lavender, and yellow are of course perfect compliments, and the scalloped photo windows are such a wonderful touch. Susan has included some sparkle on her letters and the adorable lamb and bunny are perfect with the DP. The corner button embellishments finish off this gorgeous layout. Thank you so very much, Susan! This is indeed a treasure, as are you, my friend!
I was so excited to see these Love Bug pages included from our sister Tanja, who moved back to Germany last summer and is the sister who is physically farthest from us, but that's only in the physical sense, because she's always close to our hearts, and thank heaven she's only a post, comment, or email away. I LOVE cyberspace! These pages are AMAZING!! From the impeccable machine stitching to the wonderful tags that slide from under each picture window, Tanja included lots of room for pictures, and journaling, and how do you like the way she included buttons throughout the layout? Buttons for peas, wheels, and the bees. It's just fantastic!!!
And last, but certainly NOT least, is this bright and beautiful layout created by the amazing, wonderful, sweet, generous (I could go on forever), and VERY talented
Catherine. When I saw the return address on the box, I immediately recognized the address as being Catherine's, so I suspect that all of this wonderful goodness was organized and orchestrated by this very sweet and wonderful soul. Catherine has been a very special friend who I can always count on for a word of encouragement when it's needed the most. What a talented, spiritual and wonderful person she is, and her friendship is a true blessing. Thank you so much, my dear friend for that greatest gift of all... Y-O-U!!
As you might be able to tell, I have a special place in my heart for each and every one of my sisterhood friends. The friendships that have culminated among the members of this group are ones that will last a lifetime. Even if we don't have the chance to chat every day, it always seems like we can pick up right where we left off when we do. There is a genuine love and caring for each other, that fills the gaps in the miles we are from each other, bringing us about as close as any group of friends can be. I cherish my sisterhood friends, and always will! Thank you all so very much from the bottom of my heart for being there for me to share the good times, and the not so good times. Your friendship brings me joy through it all!! I love ya all BUNCHES!!!
If you have the chance to follow the links provided on their names, please drop by the sisterhood blogs listed and tell them you saw their wonderful creations on my blog. I'd like for them to feel as special as they've made my family feel. Thank you for your visit, and I wish you a blessed day filled with the joy of wonderful friends and of course happy stamping, too!
Oops! I was getting so sappy and sentimental that I almost forgot what was at the bottom of the box!
There are some wonderful baby stickers that match the layout Judy made, an adorable card made by Catherine, and these hilarious mini stamps with the ever popular "Poo happens" and "Does this diaper make my butt look big?" sentiments! I LOVE it all, and thank you again sisters! You are the VERY BEST!!
