Another Friendship Friday!!

RAK's are in da' house!!

But I am not!
As you read this, I am either on my way or already arrived at my first ever Female First Cousins Reunion. FFRC for short.

Back in April when my Dad died, ALL but one of my cousins was able to come up for the funeral - and that's saying a LOT. My Dad had 6 sisters and that's a plethora of cousins -male and female!
Our family used to have a big family reunion each year at the beach mostly, but over the last few years, with our parents aging and such, we've not done it. Frankly, I miss it.
It was a blessing to have such a large extended family, especially with me being the ONLY in our family. I had the benefit of brothers and sisters without having to share a house with them. That's pretty awesome in my book.

So, long story short, my cousin Peggy e-mailed all of us a while after the funeral and had a fantastic idea of all the female first cousins getting together. She found us a gorgeous cabin in the mountains of Southwest Virginia and I'm headed there tomorrow! Not only is the perfect time of year to be headed to that area - the leaves are going to be gorgeous - but it will be so special to spend the weekend with my cousins again. I'll take lots of pictures and I'm sure I'll be on Facebook with pictures too so Mark and Emma can keep up from here.

For now, I've got some more beautiful cards from some wonderful stampin' friends to show you. None of these projects was done by me, even though my watermark is on them. I did that just to protect the artist's work. Ready to see?
Ok, let's go!

This card is by my dear friend Tara Bazata. Tara and I served together on the Advisory Board during my first term and my friendship with her was one of the greatest gifts I got that year. She lives in Colorado, so we don't get to see each other much, but she has the uncanny ability to know just when I'm getting out of the shower in the morning and calls me to talk! Hey, guess everyone needs a talent! HA! As you can see, she's a talented stamper as well. She sent me this beauty in her swap package last month:

Next is a card from Susie Wood. Susie and I met on my first Founder's Circle trip and hit it off right away. She's such a sweet, lovely person and has one of the biggest hearts of anyone I know. She's also the youngest looking Grandmother I know too! Beautiful inside and out!
This was her swap card for Founder's Circle this year and she sent me one too - see what I mean? Just so sweet!!

Another great friendship I've been privileged to make is with Stella Mackay. Stella and I have known each other for several years, we met on the Bermuda cruise, but we really got to know each other while serving on the Advisory Board together last year. Stella lives in Califorinia so again, we don't get to see each other except at SU! events, but the e-mails fly fast and furious!
This card was Stella's Founder's Circle swap card as well and you guessed it - she sent me one! Love it Stella!

Now, this next set of projects deserves a round of applause. They were made by Michelle VanWiggeren - also from California. I read her blog because she has great ideas and she reads mine too, which is fun to know! Well, we trade e-mails and comments from time to time and I consider her a friend even though we've never met in person. Someday!! Anyway, I think it was last month, she was showing these Kusudama paper balls on her blog. Well, she was offering one up as Blog Candy and you know me - I'm not likely to do that project any time soon (actually never!) I'm too lazy a stamper - but it was so beautiful, I had to try to win the Blog Candy!
So I left her a comment, never expecting to actually get it!

Well, on Tuesday, September 29th, I got a Priority Box from Michelle in the mail and inside was the Kusudama Ball and this gorgeous card! I have to tell you, I was going through a pretty stinky time in my life and that Tuesday was very bad. So when her package arrived in the mail - and it was special, just for me, I cried. Lots.
See how a handstamped card and a handmade project can really make someone's day? Yep, never underestimate the power of some paper, glue and glitter and a big heart behind it. Michelle has a huge heart!

Ok, now that you've sniffled a little bit, that's it! No more for today, although I have many more things to show you! I'll do another Friendship Friday soon, so be looking for it! In the meantime, be sure to stop by tomorrow. I'm posting some fantastic Christmas cards that my downline members made for our October team swap. You're going to love them!

Happy Friday!
~~Robin