DL.ART Thankful Thursday #173 and Random Acts of Kindness :)

Happy Thursday!! I hope you are having a wonderful week!! It's time for another Thankful Thursday Challenge at DL.ART!! The theme this week is a fun one: Valentine :)

I had two inspirations for these cards...first, the gorgeous Valentine Bundle from DL.ART. Aren't the ribbons beautiful? And the second is the fabulous Penny Black Happy Berries stamp sent to me from my sweet friend Alexandra of Art Scrap & More!! Thanks again for everything, Alexandra!! I absolutely love everything you sent :)

I started off by stamping the Happy Berries in Versamark and then heat embossing them with White Detail Embossing Powder by Sparkle N Sprinkle. I then inked the background with several different Tim Holtz Distress inks. For this card, I used Barn Door, Fired Brick, Festive Berries and Candy Apple. The edges were inked with Gathered Twigs. I then used a baby wipe to remove the color from the berries and to give a little texture to the Distress Ink. The ribbon is Red Hot Love from The Valentine Bundle. The button is a Poppystamps Stitched Button die and the red twine is from the DL.ART shop.

For this one, I used Spun Sugar and Victorian Velvet, along with Gathered Twigs along the edges. The corner dies are Anja's Vintage Corners from Marianne Designs. This is my favorite ribbon - Sweet Pink from The Valentine Bundle. The pink twine is also from DL.ART.

The heart is from My Creative Time. I made it into a shaker with Stampendous Shaved Ice. Love is a Die-Versions Compliments Everyday die. Among the leaves, I tucked Sue Wilson Catkin Stems, which I thought mimicked the Happy Berries stamp set, Memory Box Botanical Stems and Marianne Leaves dies, along with baby's breath. "With all my heart" is a Tim Holtz Remnant Rub.

I am entering these in the following challenges:

1. Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Love is in the Air + Red
2. Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes
3. Simon Says Stamp Work it Wednesday - Something New (PB Stamp and DL.AR Ribbon)
4. 2 Creative Chicks - Anything Goes
5. Pause, Dream Enjoy Linky - Anything Goes
6. Word Art Wednesday - Anything Goes

Random Acts of Kindness!!

My sweet blog friend Sherry of Createology has the most beautiful, generous soul. We crossed paths a few years ago and I am so fortunate and thankful to have met her in blogland. Among her many, many charitable deeds, she sews beautiful dresses for children around the world and she constantly sends random acts of kindness to her friends. I have been so fortunate to be the recipient of her generosity many times. I have a seaside image she sent to me that sits on my desk and brings me peace and joy each time I look at it.

I want to sit in that chair and look at that view every single day!! Joy!! Yesterday, I received an unexpected package from her and was shocked to open it to find this inside...

Look at this beautiful mermaid!! Sherry purchased this hand-sewn and painted mermaid several years ago from the artist's studio. She thought she would now want to live with me since I love everything mermaid. I was beyond touched...she's the most beautiful mermaid I've ever seen!! Then I looked at the tag from the artist where she named the origin (the Pacific Ocean) and the mermaid's name and not only did chills rack my body, but tears sprang to my eyes -- her name is Lana -- my Mom's name!! How perfect!! To say she will hold a special place in my home and heart is an understatement. I can only hope that when my mom sees her, she doesn't try to steal her from me :)

Thank you so much, Sherry and Alexandra for your kind, generous hearts!! I hope you all will visit both Sherry and Alexandra's blogs and tell them I sent you...not only will you find amazing inspiration, but even more amazing women!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!! Big hugs :)