jump for joy! *Use It! & 365 cards*

woohoo! last night i was jumping for joy because my youngest brother, Joey, got baptized and joined our church! it was big deal because he's older (19) and hadn't been baptized, and also because my parents joined the church a while ago, but when the kids in a family turn a certain age (18+), they have to decide whether or not they want to join the church. so Joey did both last night, and my Dad had the privilege of baptizing Joey, which was really sweet... he hadn't gotten to do that with any of the rest of us.

so i made this card for him in honor of his baptism. i thought the cute K&Co cutout was perfect for the occasion, and didn't make the card too girly. (yes, i realize i put pom poms and buttons, and a twine bow on there, but still!) this card came together pretty quickly after i got over my OCD tendencies to get the polka-dot background "just right." (i stamped a dot background then threw it out cause it wasn't perfect, then i decided to get it "close enough"... btw, the stamp comes from DeNami Design, and the heart comes from Stamps by Judith.) i used the sketch (day #120 - super sketchy sunday) over at 365 cards, and i'm really excited to continue checking in on the creations and challenges every day :D how handy, right?

our church, Trinity Baptist Church in Renton, WA has really neat traditions during the summer. we have a Sunday evening service with a Berry Feast, and one with an Ice Cream Feed. last night was the Berry Feast, and it was AMAZING! i love berries... raspberries have to be one of my favorite fruits. it was perfect to have a celebration after all the baptisms and testimonies we heard all day (there were a total of 16 baptisms throughout the day, and at LEAST 12 testimonies to join the church). i personally enjoyed the crisps--the blackberry crisps, the strawberry & rhubarb crisp, and most of all: FRESH RASPBERRIES :D

okay, enough talk about food... it's about lunch time so i think i'm going to scrounge something up. hope you enjoy, and thanks for looking!

**Added**

i'm submitting this card to Use It! Challenge blog because the challenge fits perfectly this week! this week Kay Sibley came up with the guidelines:

1. Use something inspired by nature. that little frog is sooo cute, don't you think?

2. Use polka dots. this was the first time i'd added a polka dot background with a stamp on my own :D

3. Use your favorite embellishment. buttons, buttons, buttons!

4. Mail your creation to someone special. i gave it to my brother, Joey :D

so there we go! first submission to Use It!**