Where We Love Is Home

Happy New Year!!

I hope all of you had a Merry Christmas and a great time ringing in 2020!  We had dinner with friends and had a quiet evening watching the ball drop at midnight- our 36th time seeing it together!

Many of you who follow my blog know that my hubby has a rare blood cancer called Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia  (WM or Waldenstroms for short).  It is a type of lymphoma that is not curable but treatable. 

He was diagnosed in the fall of 2014 and he has been going through various forms of chemo, immunotherapy and other treatments for the WM as well as for melanoma and bladder cancer (diagnosed in 2018). 

In June 2019, he had to have his bladder and prostate removed and was in the hospital for thirteen days.  The surgery was successful, he recovered quickly over the summer and is doing so much better now!  We are praising the Lord for his most recent clear pet scan- no indications of tumors at this time in his body :-)

Because he was unable to do any yard work or any heavy lifting this summer/fall,  I had the chance to learn how to use our lawn tractor and mow.   I have many allergies, asthma and severe osteoarthritis, so wearing a mask along with a bug hat were required (trust me, it was a sight, lol!).  We (and the yard) survived and we both feel so blessed!

During this time of surgery, yard work and learning how to be a nurse to my sweet hubby, I did find time to create many cards, but did not have a chance to share all of them on my blog or any other gallery (Splitcoaststampers, Pinterest or Instagram).  I am hoping to share several of these cards in the next few weeks.

In the past on my blog, I have been sharing step by step instructions for the card making process- mainly to help those who are new to card making.  For this year, I am hoping to simplify the blog posts and will be summarizing the steps taken (in an effort to be able to post my cards in a more timely manner).

If you ever have any questions on the steps taken for any of the cards posted this upcoming year, please feel free to comment or contact me for more details.

Tonight I am posting a card that was designed for my niece’s housewarming card. She and her husband bought their very first home and it is so cute!!

I have not had a chance to ink up this stamp set in years (retired Stampin’ Up! set, Quilted Quotes ), actually, I am not sure if I ever inked up this image from the set :-).  

This was a quick, easy card to create- heat emboss the main image, watercolor with markers, dry emboss the background, layer and you are done!!

I am linking this card to the Word Art Wednesday #420-#421 “Anything Goes” Challenge along with the Splitcoaststampers Ways to Use It WT749 “You’ve Been Framed” Challenge, CAS566 “Old New is New New” Challenge and the ABC11N14 “N” is for New Home Challenge. 

If you have not had a chance to visit the challenge sites, I encourage you to do so- fabulous inspiration from all!

Stamp Sets: Quilted Quotes (retired Stampin’ Up!)

Ink/Mediums: Versafine™ Onyx Black, Stampin’ Up! Markers- Basic Black, Cherry Cobbler, Coastal Cabana, Garden Green, Lemon Lime Twist, Smoky Slate; Spectrum Noir™ Clear Glitter Pen

Cardstock/Paper:  Whisper White, Basic Black

Tools/Accessories: Big Shot™, Stampin’ Up! Tile Tile 3D Embossing Folder, Embossing Buddy®, Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, AquaPainter™

Thanks again for taking the time to stop by- hugs and I hope you have a fabulous weekend!