Goodby 2011 - Hello 2012!

Today is the last day of a momentous year in the life of the Strong family. We experienced incredible happiness and intense sadness during the past twelve months.

In February we welcomed Max Macke into our family. Max and our daughter Amanda were married on a beautiful sunny day in our new home church, Our Lady of Grace. We are so happy for our newlyweds Mandy & Max.

On April 12 we waited all day (and part of the night) for our first grandchild to arrive. Little Lillian Margaret Strong was born to our son Colin and our Daughter In Law Kerry. We have been on cloud nine ever since! We have the privilege of  babysitting Lily Monday through Thursday. Carla is the best Grandma you could imagine and I get the side benefit of playing with Lily on the days I work from home.

In May we lost our beloved Pop. My step dad, Lee Salisbury was a very special man. He was patient and kind and a wonderful husband to my Mom, Patricia for nearly 40 years. We are thankful that he had a long and happy life with us and that he did not suffer a long illness. Thanks Pop for all you did for us!

In August Carla and I celebrated our 35 wedding anniversary. I am a lucky lucky guy to have such a special girl for my wife. Like all marriages we have experienced peaks and valleys along the way but I would not want to make the journey with anyone but my Carla. I love you sweetie.

I would like to finish by thanking all our wonderful friends for giving us so much love and support this year. We are humbled by the many expressions of kindness we received during this year of highs and lows. A special thank you goes to all my stamping pals around the world. I continue to be inspired by your talent and I look forward to seeing you in a workshop or convention in 2012!

Much love,

Mike

Happy Hanukkah!

I made this card this morning to celebrate the first day of Hanukkah. I used my triangle stamps to make the Star of David. The interwoven strips are meant to symbolize the lamp that stayed lit for eight days with only enough oil for one. I wish you all peace and love at this special time.

Lilly & her stamps

Here's Bindy and Alicia from Crafters Companion. They manufacture our stamps for us. We picked up the Lily stamps today so they will be shipped tonight and tomorrow. Thanks to the whole team for making our stamps perfect!

Little Carolers

Remember bread dough ornaments? Made these little guys the year our daughter was born in 1979. Still goofy but holding up well - like me!

BLOG CANDY!

Each catalog order this month includes a little thank you gift. Here's a selection of some of the stamps you might get in your
package. These vintage stamps are from my discontinued line of wood mounted stamps. These date back to 1996. If you would like a chance to win them, make a comment on this blog entry before midnight on December 12 and you could be the proud owner of this
collection of little wooden appliances. Good Luck!

Christmas treats

Industrious candy making elves came to our house yesterday. Here is the fruit of their labor - yum!

November card making challenge

Here are the winning entries in our monthly card making challenge at my Yahoo group. This month the theme was giving thanks. The winners also had to meet the oblong size requirement. Congratulations to Hetty, Birgit and Katje. Your cards are magnificent!

December card making challenge

The December card making challenge at my Yahoo group enjoymichaelstrongstamps@yahoo.com is not a card at all. Print out the triangle template below and decorated it any way you wish. Make a Christmas tree ornament or a gift box. At the end of the month three winners will be chosen and each will receive a swell prize. Good luck!

Ornament Template