No Stamps? No Problem

Hi, Stamping friends! I have another “friend card” for you today. This one is from my friend Christy Tobin, another Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator.

Each month, our demonstrator team have a challenge. Last month, the challenge was to use something unusual on a card. Here’s Christy’s.

How cute is this card? Can you guess what “unusual” item Christy used? Our team had quite a few good guesses, but no one got it.

Christy used a wine bottle! The small open circles are the cap, the smaller closed circles are the top of the cap. And the large dotted circles? The bottom of the bottle. How awesome is that? The colors she used are Blackberry Bliss, Merry Merlot, Basic Gray, and Very Vanilla. She also used a small circle punch or die to create the openings for the Gray Granite 1/4″ Shimmer Ribbon. 

Her sentiment is from the Snowflake Wishes Stamp Set in the August – December Stampin’ Up!® Mini Catalog. 

Honestly, this is one of the most creative and imaginative cards I’ve seen. I mean – a wine bottle? Who would think to do that? So fun!

And now it’s time for the daily Miss Amelia story. Tonight was the “family viewing” of my dad. Frankly, I think open caskets are a very bad idea. I know people want to say goodbye to loved ones, and they want closure. But honestly, no one is at his or her best when they’re dead. And, of course, someone else is doing your makeup, or trying to make you look as alive as possible. This is not the last image I want people to have of me. Needless to say, I am not having an “open casket” viewing when I die. One of my nieces married a young man from England. They do not do the open casket thing over there, and this was his first experience. He agrees with me that it’s really creepy. (And, yes, I did try to keep him talking, because he has the best accent. I could listen to him all night.)

Back to the viewing. Of course, the bottom half of the casket lid is closed, but the top is open so you can see the deceased. When Amelia went to see Papa, she asked me, “Does he have pants on?” Yes, he is wearing pants. At least, we took pants. I didn’t check that he was actually wearing them, but I’m assuming they put them on him. “Then why is that closed over his bottom half?” I explained about the lid, and that the top part would be closed before the service tomorrow. “So we won’t ever see him again?” No. Only in our hearts and memories. And pictures, of course. She thought for a few minutes, which, thankfully, gave me time to think about what her next question would be and formulate my answer. I wasn’t even close to knowing what her next question would be.

When she visited Dad at home, she would climb into bed with him and show him whatever she was doing at the time – playing a video game, watching a YouTube video or movie, her coloring book…whatever. I thought for a minute she was going to climb into the casket and snuggle with him, but fortunately, she didn’t. She did, however, point out the lint on his jacket and some other “flaws” she thought we should fix. While we were brushing the lint away, she came up with more questions.

“So after they close the lid, then what?” I explained about placing the casket in the vault, then lowering it into the ground. “Wait – we don’t get to keep him?” Now that would be a fun conversation piece in the house. No, we don’t get to keep him. But this isn’t really Papa. What made him Papa was his heart, and we can carry that with us forever.

After a few more questions, she was satisfied and ready to walk around the facility. We took a tour of the funeral home and she discovered the “kids’ corner.” I taught her to play checkers and then we started to color until her dad was ready to leave. 

I love seeing life from a child’s perspective. It’s so much simpler sometimes.

Thanks for stopping by Stamping with Buffy. Have a lovely day. 

Snowflake Wishes Photopolymer Stamp Set

[153444]

$26.00

Merry Merlot Classic Stampin’ Pad

[147112]

$7.50

Blackberry Bliss Classic Stampin’ Pad

[147092]

$7.50

Basic Gray Classic Stampin’ Pad

[149165]

$7.50

Merry Merlot 8-1/2″ X 11″ Cardstock

[146979]

$8.75

Basic Gray 8-1/2″ X 11″ Cardstock

[121044]

$8.75

Very Vanilla 8-1/2″ X 11″ Cardstock

[101650]

$9.75

Gray Granite 1/4″ (6.4 Mm) Shimmer Ribbon

[152463]

$7.00