...And the Birthdays Continue!

Greetings! Yippee! We made it to another weekend! Hope you have had a great week!

I am still in birthday mode as the Spring birthdays just keep on coming! Here's two cards made for orders I had.

The patterned papers are some from my stash. The green borders were cut with a Fiskars edge punch. The sentiment on the top card was stamped on a Cricut die cut. I edged the die cut with a gold gel pen.


On the purple card, I used a scallop edge punch and a die cut from the Cricut Storybook cartridge. The sentiment was stamped with a clear stamp.

Both cards have computer generated verses inside.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Hope you have enjoyed your visit and you will come by again soon! Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Blessings to you,
Vicki

Birdie Birthdays

Hello Friends!

I wanted to post a couple more birthday cards today. These cards are accented with the same Cricut die cut but different papers!

Simple cards but fun and feminine!

Hope you are having a great week! Come back and visit again soon!

Blessings to you,
Vicki

Dahlia Greetings

Hello and Welcome!

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend! Rain and thunderstorms here, but we badly need the rain and it is cloudy enough to make for a good cleaning and crafting day!

I have another birthday card to share today. This is one of my favorites as I love the vintage feel of this card! I started with a kraft cardstock base and adhered the vellum DP. The flower was made by cutting one of each size Dahlia with my Nesties and then laying them for one focal flower. The brass brad holds them together and I attached it to the card with glue dots. The sentiment is cut from gold vellum with a word window punch. I attached it to the card with mini brads. I plan to duplicate this card as I have some of the DP left. Hope you like it, too!

It's back to the craft room now to play some more!

Blessings to you,
Vicki

How Sweet It Is!

Hello Friends!

I was blessed to receive this blog badge award from Linda at Payne Holler Cards! Thank you so much for thinking of me, Linda! Linda does stunning work! Be sure to visit her blog and see the beautiful projects she creates!

I would like to share this with some blogging friends who are not only sweet but so inspirational!

Cindy Stamping Therapy
Peggy The Wired Angel
Mary My Stampin Hideaway
Kathy Will Stamp for Wine
Karli Crafting with Class
Monica Giddy Greetings

I hope your week is going well and you are having some precious crafting time!

Blessings to you,
Vicki

Happy Birthday Marcus!

Hello and Happy Monday!

What a beautiful weekend we just had! Spring is just an awesome time...except for the allergies, of course! I got to share great times with family and friends this weekend! Hope yours was fun, too!

The card I have to share with you today was made for an older boy whose grandparents and aunt are close friends of mine. The granddad retired from the railroad so I thought this train station DP was perfect for the background! I used Kraft cardstock for the base, adhered the DP and rounded the corners. The sentiment was stamped on a gold vellum tag cut with Nesties. The ribbon slide was also cut from the vellum with a Nesties die. The name is written with a CM marker. A fun and simple card for a dear young man!

Thank you so much for stopping by today! It is always a joy to share my projects with you! Please do come back often and let me know what you are thinking about the projects you see here!

Blessings to you,
Vicki

Anniversary Monogram

Greetings! Hope your week is going well! We are almost to the weekend!

I have an anniversary card to share with you today. It was made for dear friends and I was so happy that I could use my Cricut to make the monogram bird! The paper is from the DCWV Sweetheart stack. I used Nesties for the layer which is stamped with the sentiment. Both the bird and the sentiment are raised on dimentionals. I also outlined these layers with a gold gel pen. I rounded the corners with my Round It All. A simple card but striking with the stock used.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have enjoyed your visit and will come back soon!

Blessings to you,
Vicki

You Bring the Cheese, I'll Bring the Whine!!

Hello Everyone!

If this is your first visit to Bountiful Blessings, you may want to wait for another day to visit. This is not going to be a typical post for me. If, on the other hand, you like to hear moaning and complaining...well then, get your coffee or tea, pull up a chair and get comfortable!

Those of you who know me or follow my blog know I am usually a "glass half full" kind of person! On my bad days, I may even get to "glass half empty". Well, today, I am pushing the "WHAT GLASS???" kind of day!! I normally wouldn't share this kind of day with others, but I found myself thinking, "I can't be the only one who has these days!" So, I thought I would vent a little (or a lot) here and let everyone know it's okay to have a "what glass?" kind of day. It's what you do with it that matters!

I often refer to my computer as my "significant other". With very limited vision and no driving allowed, it provides me a wonderful link to the world around me. Well now my link has a major kink! I think it's a virus but all the scans and clean-up programs say no. Everything is functioning as it should. Then why can't I get into places I have always gone before??? Why are my favorite sites freezing up or not opening at all??? I can only get to SCS like every third day! ERRR!!! Maybe I shouldn't have referred to this hunk of tech bits as my significant other! Maybe it is being a poophead just to get to me! (Can you tell I don't get out much?) At any rate, frustration is high, depression is looming, and cussing is definitely in my future!

On another note... I was thrilled to finally get an email subscription added to my blog! (Thank you, Monica!) I am using Feed Burner and I have discovered you get what you pay for! (It's free!) I noticed a sharp decline in comments first and then a real decline in hits to my blog. I thought maybe it was because I was not posting as often as I used to, but then I discovered what was happening! When Feed Burner sends the email to notify I have posted, they also send MY ENTIRE POST including pictures!! No wonder I have fewer visitors accounted for! Subscribed followers don't have to even visit the blog!! Now, you are thinking, "why don't you change the settings or go to another service?" First, you can't change the settings and second, I can't afford to pay for another service! So, I have resigned myself to the fact that folks are enjoying my blog and I am thrilled! I just won't have that ego boosting, makes it worthwhile feeling you get when you see the comments and hits move up. You know you love that feeling, too! You know you do! I craft because I love it! But, it is all the more rewarding when you read that comment or see the numbers climb!

So, I have vented some of my frustrations with my computer experiences, made everyone think "put on your big girl panties, Vicki, and get over it!" and I have made myself feel better for having shared! Now, I am going to try one more time to find this bug in my computer and I am going to keep posting my craft projects and feeling the love from all of you.

Wait a minute......is that a glass I see?? Oh, and look! It's a full glass! A full glass of blessings that fill my life on a daily basis! A full glass of love that I share with my family and friends. A full glass of love, mercy and grace that only God can give me!

So, at this point, I guess all I can say is, "NEVERMIND!!"

ETA: To all my blog group friends...I love and miss you! I still can't get on SCS but I am thinking of you all!

Blessings to you,
Vicki

Floral Birthday

Hello Friends!

Hope you had a great weekend! Ours was so beautiful in East Tennessee! We shared a great time with my brother and his family! We got to celebrate my Mom's birthday and mine !! I am really ready to celebrate as today is MY birthday! Woo Hoo!! I LOVE birthdays!! I have been so blessed in my life and a birthday just shares the blessing even more! We also have several other family members and friends who have birthdays and anniversaries this month! Over the next few posts, I would like to share some of the cards I made to recognize their special days!

Today's card was one of the largest ones I have made! It was for a very dear friend who has brought so much love and joy into our lives! She is a flower genius and shares her plants as well as her knowledge! Did you know there is an old Southern "wisdom" about giving and receiving plants and flowers? Well, supposedly, you always want to share your bounty with friends and neighbors so that your own "bed" or garden will multiply and grow hearty! And, you never say thank you to someone who gives you flowers or plants! Nope, you say God bless you! Again, supposedly, if you say thank you, your flowers will wither and die! There is some pretty profound stuff in there I think!

Enough Southern lore....back to the card! This was made from DCWV glitter cardstock. I first cut the stock to an 8 1/2 " x 11 " size. I scored it and folded it in half. The bottom border was cut from another sheet. I added button centers to several of the flowers on the stock. I also punched an accent flower from some of the stock. I used a brass brad for the center and attached it with glue dots. The top border was punched with a MS punch. I used Nesties to cut the circle for the sentiment and outlined it with gold marker. The inside of the card was pretty spiffy on its own but I added a stamped sentiment and a computer generated verse. I also added a signature block as the paper was very textured. I love the vibrant colors in this stock and will probably use it often!

So glad you visited today! I hope you will come by often and stay a while! You are always welcome to look around and leave your comments and suggestions! Have an awesome week and share some sunshine with those you love!!

Blessings to you,
Vicki

Easter Penny Poem

Hello Everyone!

I know, day late and card short for the Easter season, but I still wanted to share these projects with you! Some things are just too fun to miss!

I made these book tags for friends and family. Very simple but really fun! I cut the tag shapes from DCWV Spring Glitter Stack. The poem is computer generated. The poem paper is chalked and shaded. I had a stash of uncirculated pennies from other projects and decided to use them here. The pennies are attached with glue dots and the poems are adhered with double sided tape. I added ribbon to the top for extra color. And that's it!

So glad you stopped by today! Hope you will visit often!

Blessings to you,
Vicki

Easter Three

Hello and Welcome!

No, you haven't missed a day! I realize Easter has come and gone, but I want to share some cards with you that I made for my family! My love of card making seems to feel even better when I am making cards for family!

The first card was made for my oldest daughter who loves purple! The crosses and the sentiment were all cut on my Cricut with the Easter cartridge. The borders are done with a MS punch as is the butterfly. All the DP for these cards is from a DCWV stack.

The next card was for my grandson who is a teenager. He still gets a bunny, I don't care how old he gets!! The egg and rabbit are from the Easter cart and the grass is done with a MS punch. I also used tie Cricut to cut out his name. I used the ribbon slide die and the Cuttlebug for the sentiment.

The third card was for my granddaughter who is five going on fifteen! She is my horse riding pink loving princess cowgirl!! I used the same punches, dies and patterns as before. But on this rabbit, I added flocking to give him a furry feel.

These were all such fun to make and I really liked the way they came together!

Hope you had a happy and blessed Easter and your Spring is just beautiful!! Come back by when you can!

Blessings to you,
Vicki

Designing DIVAS Challenge Vintage

Hello Friends!

I have had an interesting couple of days with my computer! Don't you just want to scream when you know where you want to go, you know it's IN THERE, and you can't get to it?!?!?! After many trials and even a system restore, I am once again able to get to "Blogland" and my friends! I have to admit, I was starting to feel some withdrawal symptoms. Whew!!

I am excited and honored to be hosting the challenge for our Designing DIVAS Blog Group this month! I had the perfect April Fool's Challenge all ready to go and then I couldn't get on to SCS! Meant to be, I guess! The "real" challenge is one of my favorite projects to make! (Of course!) You can make it as simple or intricate as you like! As you can see in the photo, it is to make a VINTAGE CARD! By vintage, I mean before WWII. And no, I was not around for that era! Shame on those of you who were thinking that!! But, I do love the detail and depth of color of images from that era. To take the challenge one step further, you can make the image 3D like I did on this card.

I started by printing the image onto glossy 4x6 photo blanks. I printed it three times. I adhered one print to the green card base. Then, I cut the next print apart including the interior pic. The third print, I cut out only the floral arrangement. The second layer is adhered with dimensionals as is the third layer. Very simple to do and it gives you real depth on your catd. Still, it's easy to mail and takes less time than stamping and coloring an image.

There are many resources for vintage images. Two of my favorites are Digital Two for Tuesday and Vintage Holiday Crafts. DTFT gives you images to print and color while VHC has beautiful vintage clip art.

So, how 'bout it? Up for the challenge? Can't wait to see what the DIVAS create! You can check out their blogs by clicking on the DIVAS names on the sidebar. Such amazing talent these ladies have!!

Thank you so much for visiting today! I hope you will come again soon! And I "challenge" you to leave a comment and let me know what you think of these projects! I would love to hear how you go about your work and especially any 3D ideas you may have!

ETA: Sorry, I forgot to mention that the card base was embossed using the CB and the Victoria folder!

Blessings to you,
Vicki