March 12, 2009

Celebrating Mothers

EDIT: The trimmer I use is a Tonic Studios 12" trimmer. It's the kind that has the arm that comes down that is one giant blade. Very safe as the blade is not sharp like a knife....no sharpening or changing blades EVER. I love it!! A friend gave me mine so I don't have a source, but I'm sure if you google it you can find one. I also have a smaller sized Fiskars trimmer of this kind that I got at WalMart...but I'm finding that I don't use that much except to trim photos.

This is my dear mom. Her name is Marie. The one photo is when she was a young woman and the others are from my wedding day. My mom looked so pretty that day in her suit and heels and earrings. My mom has endured a lot of hardships over the years...reoccuring mouth cancer that she almost didn't survive, the death of a dear son and her mom within a year's time, siblings of mine that have put her through the worst of times....yet she is always Mom. Always there for her children no matter how much pain they cause her, always there for me all those years ago when she was grieving for her lost son...wondering where she went wrong when my siblings were in trouble. But the one thing about my mom is that she has endured it all and has never turned her back against any of us kids. She's always been there for us through thick and thin.Nichole's group post challenge came at just the right time! Mother's Day will be right around the corner and the Papertrey girls are cookin' up some great gifts for all the wonderful mothers in your family. For my mom and myself, beautiful pots of flowers are always what we exchange. Then each time we visit each other over the summer, we look at each others flowers..pick off the dead leaves....she'll tell me mine need water...the fun lasts all summer long.

Well this Mother's Day, my mom is getting an extra special treat. I'm making her one of my notebooks that she loves so much along with a matching card.and gift sack. I used Nichole's beatiful new Mother set and Melissa's oh so cute Wishing You set. You can check Nichole's blog for sneak peeks of the sets being released March 15th. First comes the notebook. I used a 5" x 8" lined note pad, covered with cardstock. I stamped the flourished Mother stamp along with MY, then added some beautiful tulips and a chipboard letter.
I also used Pine's Journaling Lines stamp set and a Spellbinders Labels 1 Die Template to make a list of words that describe my mom. I finished off the note book with some machine stitching, Bitty Dots patterned paper, Cosmo Cricket's Girl Friday patterned paper, Vintage Buttons and some velvet ric rac.
I also covered the inside of my notepad with a snippet of Bitty Dots patterned paper to cover the top notebook binding.
Here's my matching card with more paper pieced tulips. I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this tulip set paired up with the sentiments from the Mother set.
It's so fun to mix and match the sentiments and stamped images together to bring together one great focal point.
The inside of my card is just as detailed as the outside. I chose this inside sentiment that is part of the Mother set because it really rings true to me. You never ever know the kind of love you can give until you have a child. It's a special love, different from what you feel for a spouse or other loved ones. Mom's give it unconditionally....cuz that's what moms do.
Now if I know my mom, she'll say this...."Ohhhh, it's just to pretty to use." Then she'll open it and put it back in the packaging. That's why I used a Large Glassine Sack with a simple ribbon embellishment tied on.....Mom can keep her notebook in the wrapping, remove it to look at it, and then replace it until she's ready to use it. Which may be never. She just likes to look at my pretties and sit them on her table.
That's okay because I know she loves everything I make for her and she'll think of me when she looks at it. I hope you are inspired to make something for the great moms in your life.

Nichole has outdone herself again, creating a special download that features all of our projects and instructions...check out her blog to see more. And be sure to check out the other PTI girls' blogs for more inspiring ideas. I can't wait to see what they've created:

Niki Estes
Lisa Johnson
Lauren Meader
Nichole Heady
Geny Cassady
Dawn McVey
Becky Oehlers
Melissa Phillips
Heather Nichols
Debbie Olson
Betsy Veldman

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

I absolutely adore this. What a special gift, and warm tribute. I am loving the sentiments in this set, and I think it is a must have

Melissa said...

Truly just as sweet as can be Mish....what a darling mother you have...and she is so lucky to have you.
Melis

Laura said...

This is beautiful Michelle! I love the color palette you chose.

Any chance you would share what trimmer is your favorite? I've been using a portable fiskars but it's making the PT cardstock fuzzy even with a new blade.

Thanks for the inspiration as always

Busym1 said...

You must have a great mom! What a pretty gift!

Ashley Cannon Newell said...

I'm loving the altered notepad! How many times do we need one of these? Thanks for showing how to make one PRETTY! :)

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful tribute to your mom! Sounds like you are both blessed!

Tammy Hershberger said...

Beautiful project! If your Mom is like mine, she'll love it! (BTW, your Girl Friday paper is by Cosmo Cricket, not October Afternoon! I really liked the paper so I went searching for it at my fave online store.)

Anonymous said...

Michelle, I really love this whole set you have done for Mother's. As usual your work is just terrific! Love your blog and all the great ideas. Visit you daily!

Cassandra Hill said...

I was touched hearing about your mother battling with mouth cancer. My mother-in-law has had three surgeries in the past 3 years in her battle against mouth cancer. It has been so hard but she has pulled through each time. So far she has been cancer free for a year now, so we are all hoping for the best. I'm sure your mother will love these beautiful creations.

Anonymous said...

Mish - what a lovely tribute to your sweet mother. It's easy to see why you turned out as sweet as she! Your notebad and card are beautiful!

Laura said...

Thank you michelle for answering my question about the trimmer! I love love love your work and wish I had such creativity pouring out of me :)

Anonymous said...

This is so cool! Your notepad is beautiful! I love how easily you make decorating the inside of cards look - I love that you've kept it flat and cohesive but still plenty of room for handwritten notes.

Anonymous said...

Love this special gift, but you made me cry because it makes me miss my own sweet Mother. She would have loved something like this. She's been gone for 20 years but rarely a day goes by that I don't think of her.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for sharing about your Mom. You are both blessed. My Mom is "always Mom" too, through everything and anything. She keeps every single card I've ever made for her, taped to a cabinet, along with (store bought) cards from her other children & grandchildren. Including my letters from 32 years ago. My sister and I finally took them down (to make space for new ones) and made a scrapbook with them.

Dana Gustafson said...

What a sweet set Michelle! You have definitely inspired me :)

MaGoooo said...

Mishie your Momma is going to LOVE this! I can tell that your heart is poured into this beautiful work. Thank you for sharing your story of what a GREAT woman your Mom is.

Hugs

Anonymous said...

This is such a beautiful gift, Mish! I love the colors, design, everything!

Leslie said...

Just beautiful!

Dottie K. said...

This is just so pretty, she is going to love it. :)

Debbie Olson said...

Mish, this is an absolutely amazing enselmble--sheer perfection!

Anonymous said...

BEAUTIFUL CREATIONS!!! I love the softness of the colors...and all the elements are just gorgeous! WOW!!!

Rebecca D. Dillon said...

I love this set. It is absolutely gorgeous!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful! Absolutely beautiful! The colors are just perfect together...so fresh and soft!!

Anonymous said...

You are so fortunate to still have your mother with you. I used to love Mother's Day but not so much now. I lost my dear sweet mamma two years ago - just 17 days after learning she had cancer. She/we are so fortunate she didn't have to endure the treatment and pain but still ...

You made me chuckle when you said your mom would say "it's too pretty to use" because my mother did the same thing. Everything I made for my parents ended up on the dining room table - they actually set up a SHRINE of the things I made. Can you believe it?

Enjoy every second with your mom. Spoil her rotten. And never let a day go by without calling or visiting her ... and tell her how much you love her!

And to both of you: enjoy Mother's Day!

Linda S. said...

Mish, your telling about your wonderful Mom brought a tear to my eye, as well as a chuckle. My own Mom is the exact same way, and would much perfer to just look at what I have made for her, rather than use it. Mine, too, puts every card back in the envelope and puts it on the dining room table. I never quite understood this. Thank you for sharing a touching part of your life. Linda S. in NE

Anonymous said...

Love your projects. You looked beautiful on your wedding day!

Becca said...

Very, very nice...love all of your creations.

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