My Life is Changed Forever

  Six months today, I said "good bye" to my favorite person, my dearest friend, my husband.  He died suddenly.  After having him as my "better half" for 51 years, I am truly now just half a person.  There is no way to describe the loss, the hole in my heart, the hole in my life.
  Things that were important to me aren't any more.  Things that held my interest bore me.  I used to spend hours looking at blogs, reading blogs, looking at cards by other card makers, entering challenges.  I haven't made a card these six months.  I used to make several a week but I can't conjure up any creativity yet.  I can't even get myself to color with my Copics.
  This grief process is hard and long.  I wonder daily how am I going to live the rest of my life without him.  I miss him and I miss what we would have shared together.  But in my intense grief, I take refuge in the Lord.  He is my Comforter.  He is the One I turn to multiple times each day.  He knows my pain;  He empathizes with me.  I know He will take me through this Valley of the Shadow of Death and eventually I will come through the valley to joy again.  The journey is hard.  I don't like it but God has allowed it, so I do choose to not give in to despair. 

  I'm not sure I have any followers left and because I am not entering a challenge, most will not even read this post.  But I'm posting anyway to let you know why I have been away from Blogland.
  I will be back - some day.  Just not yet.

It's Been A Long TIme

It has been almost a month since my last post and that long since I've made a card.  Say what?  Quite a bit going on in my life lately, not to mention that the MoJo is gone.  So I made a card today to send to a friend.  Not crazy about it but hopefully I can get back in the groove soon.
I am tired of winter - wind, snow ice.  Yesterday was the first day in three weeks that the wind wasn't blowing us off the planet so I walked a bit outside.  Hyacinths and Tulips are up out of the ground.  How do they grow in freezing temperatures?  Autumn is my favorite season until I go through Winter and then Spring is my favorite! haha
All that to say that I wanted to make a Spring card to send to my friend in another state and I always think Daffodils when I think of Spring.

The image is a Power Poppy Digital Stamp which I colored with Copics and Prisma pencils.
I don't use ribbon very often but I used two strips of grosgrain to highlight the yellow of the flowers.

Hope you are seeing signs of Spring where you live. The wind is back again today but the sun is out.

Simon Wednesday - anything
House that Stamps Built - anything
Allsorts Challenge - favorite season
Word Art Wednesday - anything
Power Poppy - use a PP image
Words 2 Craft By - best friends
Creative with Stamps - friends

Another Masculine Valentine

After I broke my two fingers a few weeks ago, I didn't think I would be making the 26 Valentines that I wanted to make.  But I really do like making one for each of my children, their spouses, and my grandchildren so I forged on.  A few are very simple but because I like to make these cards special every year, I just worked a little slower than usual.  (I should have thought about the word slow a few weeks ago.  But my daughter-in-law said it was a great impression of Superman - just no altitude!) Anyway, I am finishing up with the Valentines - only two more to go.

The heart and the ticket are both Unity stamps.  The background and wood grain paper are both patterned paper. 

Challenges:
Power Poppy - love
Allsorts - love
Word Art Wednesday - anything
Double D - hearts
Stamploration Love Bloghop

Stamploration theme - hearts

Kat Scrappiness - use at least one heart