happy birthday...

Today is jam packed full of goodness.  

My ex-step-mother-in-law is coming for a visit.  I'm lucky to have 2 wonderful ex-mil's...{my ex's mom and stepmother}.  I keep in contact with both of them...being part of a family for almost 20 years can do that to a girl...

I love my Google Reader...seriously...I have almost 1,000 blogs that I follow.  Tons of overwhelming amounts of inspiration....but a trend that I've been seeing...and loving is the negative use of dies {negative in a positive way}.

Lovin' Lisa's card HERE.

So I've been asked to make a birthday card for someone at work..okay, not just anyone but my boss's boss's boss.  Here's the thing, she's a whipper snapper...she constantly cracks me up...I love her stories...she's kind...full of energy and laughter...you get the picture...makes it that much more difficult to 'whip something up for her'.  She spent a huge chunk of her career as an interior designer...2 words for you:

oy vey

So this is my first crack at it and I'll tell you now, I'm going to revamp it tonight...not digging the sentiment but wanted to go ahead and post the 'before'.  The fabric up close:

That fabric is a vintage brocade that I picked up at a rummage sale...it's absolutely gorgeous....I've been hoarding it for years {literally} in hopes that I would eventually sew it into something...so I figured that a smidge snipped off for this card would be perfect.

The Stampin' Up Basic Gray and Black seem like such depressing birthday colors eh?  Thank goodness for the pop of color from the brocade....but the black and grey are 'her colors'.

Countdown to Christmas:  Day 4

The kids have been enjoying their daily goodies...

Perhaps I should have done my numbering system a different way...it's the 12 days of Christmas in case I haven't mentioned it lately:)

Here's today's giftie:

Pssstttt....$1.50....LOL...muwahahaha....gotta love a good deal and a fun Japanese Dollar store:)