A Three Fold Birthday Card

This card covers three different challenges today!! My color scheme comes from the colors required for the Curtain Call Color Challenge Act #1 over on Stacey's Stamping Stage Blog. My layout comes from the Stamps & Smiles Sketch Challenge over on The Fresh Batch Blog. Any my use of LACE on this creation is for today's Stamp Simply Challenge - Lovey Lace over on Sharon Johnson's No Time To Stamp Blog.




The recipe for this cards is as follows:

Stamps: Inkadinkado
Papers: Night of Navy, Whisper White, Not Quite Navy, Daisyd's designer paper
Inks: Not Quite Navy
Accessories: The Paper Studio lace, The Paper Studio pearls, Nestabilities (circles & scallop circles), distresser, dimensionals





Another fun & easy creation that I hope you find inspiration from! Thanks so much for stopping in! I just heard from my kids and they are coming up for a visit this evening so I invited them for dinner ... guess I'd better figure out what to have, LOL!!! Have a great weekend everyone!!

Our Creative Corner Challenge

Boy, I'm really taking it down to the wire on this challenge!! Last Saturday's Our Creative Corner Challenge was a sketch challenge (seen below) and you know how much I LOVE a sketch challnege!! I actually began this card for another challege but changed my mind and went with this sketch for these colors. I hope you like it!

The recipe for this card is as follows:

Stamps: Impression Obsession (sentiment), The Rubber Cafe, SU "In My Thoughts" (inside sentiment)

Papers: Whisper White, Prely Pomegranate, Paper Pizazz designer paper

Inks: Purely Pomegranate

Accessories: The Paper Studio mini pearls, Nestabilities (ovals & scallop ovals), Fiskars (Apron Lace) border punch, dimensionals, Martha Stewart (Arch Lattice) border punch

This was a very simple, fun card to create and you know .... you can never have enough Birthday cards ready!!! I also thought you might like to see the inside of this card. I used the negative portion from my Nestabilities scallop oval and a scrap of the designer paper which I border punched.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!! Don't forget to leave a comment on my Blogaversary posting to be entered into the drawing for some candy!! Happy Weekend to you All!!

Clear Dollar Stamps Guest Designer Challenge

{{Breathing heavy ...}} I'm hurrying to get in under the wire for the August Guest Designer Challege going on over at the Clear Dollar Stamp Blog ... deadline is tomorrow, July 31. The challenge for the August spot is a sketch challenge seen below.

I was sure I had a few Clear Dollar sets in amongst all my clear stamps but do you think I could see any .... NO!! So even though it would have been better to help support my efforts, I had to resort back to other stamps for my creation. I decided to make a legal size card (4" x 9") for my card.

I've used stamp sets from Stampin' Up (Thoughts & Prayers ... Wonderful Words II) and the bird image is from Inkadinkado. My base card is of Very Vanilla and the background is SU Rose Red designer paper. With this designer paper being double sided, I used the reverse side for my 3 individual panels. My main sentiment panel was cut using my Nestabilities oval & oval scallop diecuts. I've stamped the floral pattern with rose red ink the overlayed my sentiment using Versafine black and embossed using detail clear embossing powder. The little bird was also stamped with Versafine black. The 3 individual panels have been matted with basic black cardstock, stamped with Versafine black ink and embellished with Colorbok metal dots.



I hope you like today's creation. Wish me luck and thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope to see you later in the day with a couple more creations! Happy Stamping!!

SCS Sketch Challenge #239

One more creation to share with you today and that is for today's SCS Sketch Challenge. This card too went together rather quickly due to having "pieces" & "parts" laying around in my craftroom that worked perfectly together to create a card. It's been a very good CLEAN UP SCRAPS day ... Yippee!!

I always enjoy doing sketch challenges and those over at Splitcoaststampers were my first. Roxie always comes up with great sketches and samples. Today's sketch is relatively simple but I think it can really pack a punch!! Here's what I did.

The base card is of Whisper White cardstock and my background panel was created last week for another project then I realized the shade of green was wrong so I sat it aside. It was created by running a Whisper White panel through the Cuttlebug using the Swiss Dot Embossing Folder then sponging with Garden Green, Really Rust & Old Olive inks. I then stamped the corners with this leafy image from the Hero Arts FRIENDS set and Versafine black ink then matted with Basic Black cardstock.

Panels 2a &2b are from a scrap of DCWV Old World and my main image panels were all in my Nestabilities (scalloped rectangle) "extras" box. The sentiment comes from the SU Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set and the bird on this panel is from an Inkadinkado set.

What a fun, fun creative day for me! I hope your day was fun & interesting too! Thanks for stopping by ... hope I didn't overload you with postings today but I'm always so anxious to share with you!!! Happy Day my friends!!

CCEE Challenge

This week's CCEE Stampers Challenge is a "supply challenge" ... what fun!! Check it out and play along ... you won't regret it!!!

The only supply requirements for this challenge was to use Floral Design Paper and at least ONE brad. My card came together quite easily since I had "pieces" laying around that would work perfectly!

For instance:

1. I've been playing around with the "Poppin Pastels" technique lately so this colored iris was ready to go.

2. This scrap of Paper Pizazz designer paper on my crafting table just begging to be used. And,

3. I recently purchase the new Stampin' Up IN-COLORs paper pack and ribbons ... could NOT wait to use them!!

So, there you go ... a few more steps and card was complete!! Here are all the deets on this creation:

Stamps: Inkadinkado (sentiment), Penny Black (Iris)

Papers: Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White, Basic Black, Paper Pizazz designer paper

Inks: Versafine black, Versamark

Accessories: Pan Pastels Artist paste chalks, cotton balls, Nestabilities (circles & scallop circles), detail clear embossing powder, Doddlebug Sugarcoated Brad, dimensionals, SU Rich Razzleberry grosgrain dotted swiss ribbon (reversed)

Thanks again my friends for all your support! Hope you're having a great day!!

It's MIDNIGHT MADNESS time again ...

I was thrilled to see that this week's Midnight Madness #12 Sketch Challenge required a tag! I purchased a pack of 7Gypsies Vintages tags months ago at Archiver's and finally found the opportunity to use one ... Yippee!!

This card is a bit "BUSY" but I still like it!! Another requirement (I think??) was to do some stitching along the left side of your tag. This too gave me an opportunity to use something that's been hanging on my supply board for months also ... and that is my Bazzill - In Stitches Floss which I purchased from my friend Tammy Hershberger (Stamp Happy) at Toyrifix.

Here are all the deets on this card:

Stamps: Rubber Stampede (butterfly), Wordsworth (sentiment)

Papers: Very Vanilla, Anna Griffin dp, Daisy Bucket design dp

Inks: Versafine black

Accessories: Bazzill In Stitches floss, Martha Stewart Arch Lattice border punch, 7Gypsies vintage tag, SU photo corner punch, American Crafts glitter pens, swivel craft knife, detail clear ep, Prima flowers, Offray grosgrain ribbon, Michael's satin ribbon, Bucket O'Buttons

Thanks for all your support ... hope you're having a wonderful day!!

Color Throwdown #53

It's time for another awesome Color Throwdown Challenge. This week's hostess is Danielle Kennedy - Wild Dragonfly Designs and she has picked a great color combo. Be sure to jump on over to the blog and check out the design team's samples ... they just keep getting better every week!!!

Today I chose to use a new Verve sentiment that I recently purchased at Joan's Gardens as my main focus . The base card is of Rose Red and the background panel is SU Bella Birds designer paper matted with Bordering Blue.

I did modify the dp a bit ... I used my Rose Red marker and went over the close
to cocoa stripes in the paper to make it match the color requests better.

The background image behind my sentiment is from a Stacey Stamps set and was stamped with Rose Red onto Whisper White cardstock. My Verve sentiment was stamped with Versafine Black and embossed using Detail Clear EP. I've used a round tip black Creative Memories marker to outline my Pink Pirouette mat panel to give the illusion of matting without the extra weight. The ribbon is Stampin' Up bordering blue satin.

I hope you enjoyed my creation today! It looks like an All Day Soaker here in N.E. Ohio so I think I'll just spend my day stamping ... what do you think? Good idea?? I'm sure I'll have more to share with you later in the day. Until then ...

SCS Crafty Secrets Forum Challenge

Today's Crafty Secrets Challege is hosted by Marcy and she has asked us to use a "Splash of Color" ... actually after reading it closer, it says:

Use a monochromatic scheme for your card, then add a splash of one other
color using embellies, your favorite coloring medium, cardstock, etc.

... ooops. Looks like I might have to do another card ... sure hope Marcy doesn't send out the Crafty Secrets police, LOL!!!





When I opened my Crafty Secrets stamp drawer, this cute "Sweet Stuff" set jumped out and said "use me for today's challenge" ... which of course I had to do!! The background, main image & sentiment were stamped in Close to Cocoa ink and stamped on Whisper White cardstock. Matting cardstock is SU Close to Cocoa . My "Splash of Color" comes from the Prisma pencil/gamsol coloring, Michael's satin ribbon & Making Memories brads. I've rounded the bottom using my Creative Memories corner rounder.




The inside sentiment stamp is by Versus Rubber Stamps and the flower is from the SU Fabulous Flowers set.





I must admit I'm really bad about finishing the inside of my cards until I need to use them ... but I'm going to try and change my ways and share with you more insides (as well as) outsides of my cards.




Thanks so much for stopping by today ... hope to see you again soon! Have a wonderful week!!

Playing with new stamps ...

After having so much fun crafting with friends yesterday, my mojo was still flowing so I spent part of the day creating with some of my new stamps. Sorry for the lengthy post but I just had to share my creations with you all! I draw inspiration from you and I'm hoping to inspire others in return!!

This card was created using images from the Hero Arts set called "Friend" that I purchased at Toyrifix from my friend Tammy Hershberger (Stamp Happy). I stamped the circle image with Versamark then did the "poppin pastels" technique using Pan Pastels (artist paste chalks) and cotton balls. After stamping the sentiment & butterfly with Versafine Black and embossing with detail clear ep I used Nestabilities to cut my circles. My background paper is from the DCWV Luxury pack and I have stamped over it with yet another image from this set using India Ink Black. The base card is SU Perfect Plum cardstock and I have done faux stitching using a metal ruler and my Creative Memories fine tip black marker pen. The grosgrain ribbon was a gift from my friend Anita (waving Hi to Anita).

My second card was created using two new Great Impressions stamps I bought in Fort Wayne, IN last week on my way out to Shipshewana. Aren't these duckies cute !!! I colored the image with SU watercolor pencils and the background with blue chalks & a makeup applicator. Here's the other items used:

Papers: Garden Green, Whisper White, SU (flock together) designer paper

Inks: Versafine Black

Accessories: Nestabilities (circles), Creative Memories corner rounder, Colorbok metal dots, crystal effects, SU watercolor pencils, blender pen, blue chalks, makeup applicator

The next 3 card images are all Penny Black sets that I purchased from Joan's Gardens while in Indiana last weekend.

This first card uses images from the Penny Black (Enjoy Life & Flower Gallery) sets. Here are the details of my card:

Stamps: Penny Black (Enjoy Life)

Penny Black (Flower Gallery) - sentiment

Papers: Very Vanilla, Basic Black, Anna Griffin designer paper

Inks: Old olive, Versafine black

Accessories: Spellbinder Shapeabilities (floral accent), American Crafts glitter pens, Spellbinder Nestabilities (label one), Creative Memories black round tip marker, detail clear embossing powder

I took my inspiration from the back of the package on the Penny Black Flower Gallery stamp set that I used for this card. The swirl stamp I used is by Inkadinkado. Here are the details:

Stamps: Penny Black, Inkadinkado

Papers: Bashful Blue, Garden Green, Whisper White

Inks: Old olive, Versafine Black

Accessories: SU grosgrain ribbon, Detail clear ep, Crystal Effects, Bow-Easy purchased at Sharon Johnson's ribbon store.

I just loved this tree from the Penny Black Enjoy Life set. After stamping with versafine black, I colored it with SU watercolor pencils & a blender pen. I used chalks for the sky and the birds image is by Stampscapes.

Stamps: Penny Black (Enjoy Life), Inkadinkado (Garden Flower), Stampscapes

Papers: Garden Green, Very Vanilla, Basic Black, DCWV Old World designer paper

Inks: Versafine black

Accessories: Nestabilities (rectangles), Detail clear ep, SU watercolor pencils, chalk, White Gelly Roll pen, Michael's gingham ribbon

(click on any image for a larger view)

Thanks for stopping by today ... hope you all have a wonderful week!

A playdate with friends ...

Today was to be the day to link up with friends for a Shoebox Swap ... but as circumstances would have it, it had to be postpone to a later date. Fortunately, there were a few friends that I had invited to the Swap that were willing to come over to my craftroom for some PLAYTIME in lieu of the swap ... YIPEE! In the photo to the right are my friends Terri Snode (left) Lana Edwards (middle) & Kris Turner (right).

We had such a great time sharing card & technique ideas. These ladies are very creative crafters and it's always a learning experience when we find the time to get together. As you can see, we also spend time laughing and "being a little silly" (told you I'd post this photo Kris, LOL).

Lana (Stampin Bear on SCS) came up with this cute, cute project for us to create. I can honestly tell you that I would have NEVER thought to purchase this inside image ... but I'm sure glad Lana did because what a fun card this turned out to be. The cardstock is Stampin' Up and the ovals were cut using Nestabilities. Various stamps were used to create this card from various companies. Don't you just LOVE the googlie-eyes!!!

Terri was the first to get her card completed! Great job girlie!! Is this a fun creation or what!!! Lana always comes up with awesome ideas!!! (Thanks Lana!)


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Since I needed to create a sample card for Sunday's Papercraft Planet Crafty Secrets Group challenge ... I asked my friends for some ideas. Kris came up with the idea of "Victory Gardens" and Lana came up with the idea of using the "Flower Pot Pocket Card" which was posted in the lastest SCS Weekly Inkling #168. HERE is a link to the tutorial . There is one difference between the Inkling version and Lana's version ... and that is that on the main card size (after cutting the main 9 x 3 1/2 and scoring as instructed), Lana cut a 1/2" off the "rim" portion of the pot (that portion that was scored at 2") and corner rounded that "rim" portion instead of using the border punch. Is this cute or what???? (click image for larger view)

So, I must give credit where credit is due!!! Even though I am using this creation for the Crafty Secrets group challenge, Lana is the one who actually created the pot of flowers (isn't it awesome!!). The only thing I did was pick out the background paper, sponge the edges with Really Rust ink and attach it to the Whisper White cardstock. In fact, the gingham paper was given to me at the gathering by Kris Turner and it is from Creative Memories. (Thanks Kris!!)


Recipe for this card is as follows:

Stamps: Crafty Secrets - Bouquet of Joy (sentiment), Penny Black - Allegro (flowers), Stampin' Up - Still Life Stems (leaves)

Papers: Whisper White, Really Rust, Creative Memories gingham

Inks: Versafine black, Really Rust

Accessories: Crafty Secrets Creative Scraps (Garden), sponge, Fiskar's decal scissors, Stampin' Up Dusty Durange Polka Dot Grosgrain ribbon, Creative Memories corner rounder, various markers & pencils

Thanks for letting me share my fun day with you! I am so very blessed to have such wonderful fun-loving friends ... in person and here on-line!! Hope you all have a wonderful day!!!

**ssnotime97** Fruit of the Vine

Happy Friday Everyone!!


It's time for another STAMP SIMPLY challenge hosted by the lovely Sharon Johnson and here's what she has for us today:


Fruit of the Vine - Fruit, the perfect summer snack, or even meal! I love it! Today let us whip up some fruity type of creation during this time of year when fruit is so plentiful everywhere. I’m sure most everyone has some fruit stamps, or images, and if you don’t, how about trying to create some fruit with punches? Or, if you really need to stretch it, how about some *orange* ribbon, watermelon paper, etc. I think you get the idea — just get fruity and have a little fun!



For this creation I chose to use the "Fruit Stand" set by Stampin' Up. I've inked up my peach with India Ink Black and stamped it onto Glossy White cardstock. Then using my new Nestabilities (deckled rectangles), which I purchased at Joan's Gardens over the weekend, I cut out the main image and matt. My coloring was done with inking nibs and 4 colors of SU ink ... old olive, close to cocoa, more mustard & only orange. My base card is Whisper White and the background paper is by Graphic45. My sentiment is from the SU Touch of Nature set and I've used sugar coated brads by Doodlebug for my embellishment.


Sharon's challenges are always SO MUCH FUN to do! Why not pop on over to her blog and check it out for yourself! Thanks everyone for stopping by today ... have a great weekend!!

Play Time ...

After being away for from my crafting room last weekend, I just couldn't wait to get caught up on a few challenges and of course I want to share these creations with you!!

First is the card I made for this week's Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge #11. The contents of this card are as follows:

Stamps: None

Ink: None

Paper: Garden Green, Very Vanilla, Basic Black, Wild Wasabi, Graphic45 designer paper

Accessories: Crafty Secrets creative scraps, Prima flowers, Making Memories brads, Martha Stewart doily lace border punch, Creative Memories corner rounder, Michael's gold metallic cording.

If you haven't checked out this blog ... you are missing a LOT OF GOOD STUFF!! There are so many things going over there that I can't even begin to tell you ... you have to check it out for yourself. I do have some BAD NEWS!! Last week while I was traveling to link up with the Stamp Simply gals ... my name was picked for the $25 Mad Money ... sounds like GOOD NEWS huh?? Well it WAS until I saw that I had to respond within 24 hours and of course that time had already passed me by ... so even though I WON ... I LOST! BUMMER!!!

*******

Okay ... on to another challenge card. This one was for the Splitcoaststampers (SCS) Sketch Challenge #238. This card literally took me 10 minutes to complete! And, I love how it turned out!! My #1 panel is a background B/W paper by Doodlebug Designs, Inc. #2 panel is a strip of Whisper White cs matted with Tempting Turquoise. For my #3 panels, I chose to use a set of inchies by Inkadinkado. Using various Gelly Roll & Spica pens, I did a little coloring on the butterfly & hummingbird. To match in with these colors , I used my new Basic Grey Opaline half pearls I purchased while visiting a few new stamping stores with my good friend, Tammy Hershberger (Stamp Happy). Hope you enjoyed this creation ... certainly was an easy peasy card.

OH ... before I forget, I want to show you the inside of this card. My friend Linda Davis often comments on how much she wished the blogging ladies would show more of the inside of their creations. Well here you go Linda ... this one's for you!! LOL!!!

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ONE more card to share with you today. This card doesn't fit any challenge but I have a few new images (which I colored while in Shipshewana with the SS gals) and wanted to create something with one of them. This image comes from the new Just Rite set called "Thinking of You". I stamped this image using Joan Fricker's set (Joan's Gardens) but I have to tell you ... I now have this set in my stash because Tammy (Stamp Happy) gave this set to me for my birthday last week ... just as we were about to leave for the Shipshewana trip .... HOW COOL IS THAT!!! (Thanks Tam!)

I used my SU watercolor pencils & blender pen to color in my image. I used one of Joan's Nestabilitie sets to cut/emboss it then double matted using Lavendar Lace and Basic Black cs. My background paper is from the DCWV Luxury pack, sentiment is from SU Close As A Memory set, stamped with Versafine black and embossed with detail clear. I've used Kaiser pearls in the corners and Dotted Swiss lavendar ribbon from Hobby Lobby for my embellishments. Hopefully I won't need to send this card any time soon!!

Thanks so much for stopping by today ... hope you are have a WONDERFUL day. It's a bit rainy & cool here in NE Ohio but that's okay ... my poor yard is really thirsty!!!

CCEE Challenge

Time again for the CCEE Stampers Challenge and this week our hostess Dawn Lusk ..... Dawn a New Day, has ask us to create with SUMMER FUN in mind.

My creation today has a story behind it!! It didn't actually start out as a card for this challenge, it started out as an IDEA for an upcoming showbox swap which I thought I'd like to use the "poppin pastel" technique. Hence my sentiment circle! The base circle stamp is one of the images from the Hero Arts "friends" set which I stamped onto dry white cardstock (which was cut into a circle using my Nestablities) with Versamark. Then using cotton balls and a combination of yellow & orange chalks I achieved my "sunny" colors. I then used the sentiment stamp from the Penny Black "Allegro" set that I purchased over the weekend at Joan's Gardens using Versafine black and detail clear embossing powder.

Now that I had my sentiment ... I needed an image that would portray "A Good Thing" ... and since the CCEE challenge dealt with "Summer Fun" ... I instantly thought of this adorable little gal from the Crafty Secrets set called SEASIDE. I had another circle laying on my worktable and decided to use it for my image. After stamping with Versafine Black ink, I masked the image and chalked in the sky colors. Removed the masking, chalked the sand and colored the little girls hat & dress using SU watercolor pencils. The birds image on this circle are from Stampscapes and the single bird on my sentiment circle is from the Seaside Crafty Secrets set. My starfish is also from this set ... I stamped it onto a scrap of River Rock paper using Versafine Sepia ink and after cutting it out, I popped it up with dimensionals. My base card is Whisper White and the designer paper is DCWV which is matted with Basic Black.

What a fun card to create although I still have NO CLUE what I'm doing for the shoebox swap, LOL!!! Hope you like it too ... have a great day and thanks for stopping by!!

Color Throwdown #52

WOW ... number 52 ... that means a whole years worth of Color Throwdown challenges ... where has the time gone??? Did you know that the Throwdown now has SPONSORS??? Yep ... go check it out!

Today Barbara Anders - Paper Pursuits is our hostess and she has come up with some fun colors. I decided to look through my designer papers and see if I could find something that would work. I came across these papers from the Basic Grey Wisteria pack and thought they'd work just fine.

I must still be in "Stamp Simply" mode because this card took me all of 10 minutes once I decided on the paper! LOL!! If you checked out my last posting, you read that I spent a little extra time with Joan Fricker this past week, (waving Hi! to Joan) of Joan's Gardens and of course I had to make a "few" purchases. This stamp set is by Penny Black and I thought the image matched the paper perfectly. I stamped the image onto the Basic Grey dp using Perfect Plum and for the sentiment I used Chocolate Chip. I've added a few dots of Stickles to give it a little dimension. The border punched used on this card is by Fisker's and is called Apron Lace. Julie Koeber (Out to Impress) purchased this punch during our trip and made some awesome cards with it ... so of course I had to run right out and buy one too ... Thanks Julie, you are such an enabler, LOL!! (waving Hi to Julie).

Thanks for stopping by! I'm going to have several postings over the next day or two ... trying to get caught up on all the challenges I missed!!

A Visit to Joan's Garden

If you follow my blog you already know that I just returned home from a wonderful weekend trip to Shipshewana, Indiana where I linked up with some of the Stamp Simply ladies. What I didn't tell you is that in preparation for this get together Joan Fricker (Joan's Gardens) graciously invited Tammy Hershberger (Stamp Happy) & I to come a day early and spend the night at her home. Luckily, Tammy was able to get the extra day off work and we were able to take Joan up on her offer.

After making a short stop in Defiance, Ohio to drop Tammy's daughters off at their grandma's home, we headed for Indiana! The weather was beautiful, the drive was relaxing (Tammy & I talked the whole way) and what a beautiful sight when we pulled into Joan's driveway. She has a beautiful old white farmhouse with a wrap around porch, beautiful gardens, and of course I had to check out her little shop (couldn't wait to see what purchases I NEEDED to make there!).

After greeting us and making us feel very welcomed, she showed us into her beautiful home and told us we could take our suitcases upstairs and pick which ever bedroom we wanted for the night. We were in awe of her wonderful decorating and when we got to the top of the steps, we were like little kids ... LOL ... the doors were closed and we had to pick Door #1, #2 or #3. Well Tammy picked Door #1 and when we opened the door ... WOW, how beautiful ... it took our breathe away.

Moving on, I picked Door #2 and believe me when I say, this room was decorated FOR ME ... JUST MY STYLE!! How did she know?? LOL!! As you know, I am a vintage lover and her beautifully decorated home just made me smile at every turn! Can you see these beautiful bed linens ... well, under each is ANOTHER beautiful quilt made by Joan's Mom!! YES ... her mom is 95 years young and is still making quilts and has a little quilt shop where she sells her beautiful handwork! Isn't that amazingly awesome!!!!!

Check this out! Not only are her guestrooms beautifully decorated & welcoming, but she also makes her own SOAP ... yes and it is wonderful!!! I got the "oatmeal" and was very impressed with how soft my skin felt after using it. The insert shows the towels & soap (on a silver plater) that awaited me. OH, and don't let me forget to mention that on the dresser were fresh flowers & CHOCOLATES!!! Tammy & I both declared that we were MOVING IN!!

Not only were our accommodations amazing, but that evening we had HOME MADE BLUEBERRY PIE and the next morning Joan served us a wonderful breakfast casserole, english muffins with homemade strawberry jam & a pineapple/banana slush ... YUMMY!!! What a nice surprise to learn that Sharon Johnson (and her husband Steve) would be stopping by before we ventured over to link up with the other ladies in Shipshewana. Of course this called for another fresh baked BLUEBERRY PIE ... YUM!! (And to think I don't even like blueberries ... really!) But, oh this pie was Out Of This World good!!!

In the photo of us ladies, left to right: Tammy, Joan, Me & Sharon

In the other photo: Joan, Steve, Sharon & John

We had a little time to get acquainted before heading over to Shipshe so we sat and enjoyed that awesome pie and learned a little about Joan & her wonderful husband John (in the green shirt). I enjoyed meeting Sharon's husband too! Steve (in the blue shirt) is kind of a quiet guy but FUNNY!!!! What great fun meeting these two lovely couples.

THANKS JOAN & JOHN FOR YOUR HOSPITALITY!!!

Next time I'm in your area, I'll certainly stop by and say Hello!!! And maybe even do a little shopping & stamping!!!

Crafty Secrets - Stitch It Up

Time again for another Crafty Secrets Forum Challenge over on Splitcoaststampers (SCS). Today our hostess is Pammyjo and she has asked us to "Stitch It Up". (For those who don't know Pammyjo ... one of her many talents is that she's a seamstress and infact, she teaches sewing ... I do believe she's in the middle of working on a wedding gown as we speak ... WOW! I wouldn't even know where to begin!!)

Anyway, back to my challenge card. The two vegetable images, which come from the new Creative Scraps (Garden) pack are the Crafty Secrets product I chose to use today. My base card is Whisper White and the background paper is from the DCWV (Garden Party) pack. The two tags are by 7Gypsies and the brads are Making Memories. The word "harvest" was handwritten since I didn't have an appropriate sentiment small enough.

As far as my "stitching", I've used three different methods. FIRST, I used the zig-zag stitch stamp from the Crafty Secrets (sew special) set & Versafine black ink around the edges of the Tomato image. SECOND, I used a Creative Memories fine tip black marer to do the single stitching around the outside edges of the designer paper. And THIRD, I used Darice zig-zag stitched ribbon as an embellishment.

What a fun challenge!! For those of you who have Crafty Secrets products in your stash ... why not come join us! Each Tuesday is a different challenge idea and Monday is "challenge clue day" ... that can sometimes be as entertaining as the challenge!!

THANKS FOR STOPPING BY!!!

I Got Stamped in Shipshewana ...

Hello Everyone!! Did you miss me???? These ladies are the reason for my absence this weekend. I was fortunate enough to be invited along with the Stamp Simply gals for a weekend get together in Shipshewana, Indiana. Just in case you don't recognize these AWESOME ladies, please let me introduce you!

From left to right:

Back row: Tammy Hershberger, Janine Orchard, Sharon Johnson, Joan Fricker

Front row: Pat Adams (Julie's Mom), Julie Koerber, Darlene Pavlick (me!!)

Let me tell you, I had a BLAST with these ladies!!! I'm so thrilled to have been able to meet them in person and give each one a HUGE hug!! (They have been so supportive of me throughout Mark's illness ... I dearly love each & every one of them!) We laughed, played stamping games, dined, shopped, played more stamping games, ate more and did I mention we LAUGHTED??? What a fun group!!! We are already looking forward to doing something again next year ... doesn't that sound awesome???

THANKS ladies for the fun-filled weekend!!!

(click photo for a closer view)

Stamp Simply #96 - Little Black Dress

It's Friday and time once again for the Stamp Simply Challege on Sharon Johnson's blog. Today's challenge is all about the "Little Black Dress" ... here it is in Sharon's words:

Little Black Dress - The staple of every women's wardrobe -- or so they say. How many of you actually HAVE a little black dress? Not me! Anyway, today's challenge is to make a project of understated elegance using black and white. If you need to add in a little pop of another color, that's fine, as long as the project is primarily black and white and its overall feel is that of understated elegance. I think this one will produce some real beauties! Can't wait to see!!!

Well, I took Sharon literally with my main image ! It is my "Little Black Dress" by My Sentiments Exactly and I have stamped it in Versamark, embossed with Black Opal embossing powder and cut it out with a swivel craft knife.

My background panel was created by using Whisper White cardstock run through my Cuttlebug using the Swirls embossing folder. Once embossed, I swiped my Versamark pad over the top going from the corners inward ... then embossed with Black Opal embossing powder (same as the dress). It's a shame my photo doesn't really dhow the sparkle and beauty of this creation!!

I've used Offray white satin ribbon behind the dress and Offray narrow organza around the waist of the dress. The pearls are by Mark Richards and although you can't see it well, there was liquid pearls placed inside each of the black swirls. The Cuttlebug panel has been matted with glossy black and placed on Whisper White cardstock.

I've supplied a close up of the dress so you can see the beautiful sparkle it has but if you still have trouble seeing that, please "click on the image" for a better view.

Thanks for stopping by today! Hope you enjoyed my creation!!

My last posting ...

for a few days!!! I know, you're probably breathing a sigh of relief ... I can get rather windy at times!! LOL!! At the end of the posting, I will tell you what I'll be up to ... I'm SO EXCITED!!!!

This card was created for today's SCS sketch challenge (SC237). Today Roxie picked a card created by Judy (StampinQueen JAR) for her sketch example. What's really cool about Judy's card being chosen for TODAY, is that today she & I are "Birthday Buddies" ... yep, we are both having a birthday today! What a sweet birthday surprise for Judy!!! Pop on over and show her some birthday love!!!

My creation today is based around PEARS ... (I don't know why!! LOL ...) My main image is from the Crafty Secrets Creative Scraps (Garden). After double matting with More Mustard & Mellow Moss cs, I distressed the edges. I created the background paper by stamping the pear image from the SU Infinite Goodness set in three different inks ... Garden Green, More Mustard & Summer Sun. On the right side I used the Martha Stewart Arch Lattice punch and on the left side I added a strip of More Mustard cardstock which I've stamped a portion of the sentiment stamp from the same stamp set "Infinite Goodness". My base card is 2 ply hunter green/ivory cardstock.

******

OKAY ... now for my exciting news!

I mentioned it in an earlier posting ... but in case you missed it ... tomorrow (A.M.) Tammy Hershberger (Stamp Happy) and myself are headed for Shipshewana, Indiana to link up with some of the ladies from Sharon Johnson's Stamp Simply Group!!! And that includes the QUEEN of STAMP SIMPLY herself ... Sharon Johnson!!! WOW ... how cool is that!!! I am SO EXCITED!!!!!

Tammy & I are leaving a day early because Joan Fricker (Joan's Garden) was generous enough to invite us to come stay with her for a day before linking up with the other ladies!! We are also taking an extra day coming back home so we can check out some (new to us) stamping stores on the way back through.

Don't worry now ... I will have my laptop with me and will be sharing photos along the way! Look out stamping stores in the Shipshewana, Indiana area ... HERE I COME!!!!!

Color Throwdown #51

Time for another Color Throwdown Challenge and what a fun color combo this was to create with!! The Color Throwdown also has some new exciting news this week!!! They now have started a sponsor program and the sponsor this week is ....




Unfortunately I don't own any DRS designs (YET) so unlike the design team, I had to use something other than DRS for my creation. Please check out the cards made by the design team ... there is some great inspiration there!!!!






As far as my card, here are the details:



Stamps: Stamp Craft
Papers: So Saffron, Garden Green, Lavendar Lace, Whisper White, SU Tea Party designer paper
Inks: Versafine Black
Accessories: Cuttlebug border embossing folders, Darice satin ribbon, Nestabilities, ZIG green marker, Creative Memores fine tip black marker & metal ruler (for faux stitching), Bow Easy





I am really happy with this card! LOVE the colors, layout and of course having the Bow Easy (purchased through Sharon Johnson's ribbon store) made my one & only embellishment look awesome!!! I hope you like it too!!!


Thanks for stopping by!!!

Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge #10

WOW ... another awesome sketch from the MIDNIGHT MADNESS folks!! If you haven't checked out this website yet ... you are really missing out of some awesome fun, prizes, money ... YES, I said money!!! Jump on over there ... you will be amazed! And, did I mention the weekly sketch challenge ... these ladies really know how to "live on the edge" ... check out the sample cards ... TRULY INSPIRATIONAL!!

While in Pittsburgh, PA yesterday, and sharing some of my handmade cards with my dear SIL ... my BIL brought out a card that he had received several years ago that had a near-nude vintage lady with a very colorful peacock that I thought resembled this vintage image. So of course, I just had to use his inspiration card for my card today.

Here are the details on my creation:

Stamps: None

Papers: River Rock, Real Red, Basic Grey (Wassail) designer paper

Inks: None

Accessories: Image from http://www.digitalcollagesheets.com/ (The Lady's Closet), Darice gold ribbon, String irridescent pearls (JoAnn's), Prima flowers, dimensional tape, The Paper Studio mini pearls

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Hope your day is a happy one!!!

FANTASTIC GIVE AWAY ..

Have you checked out the Give Away over on Melissa Bove's "Creating from the Heart" blog??? NO?? Well be sure to click on the link and check it out! You won't be disappointed! HURRY though ... time is running out!!

CPS124 & Stamp Something Challenges

I put this week's Card Positioning System sketch challenge and Stamp Something's color challenge together to come up with this pretty creation.

Here is a look at the sketch.

The color's required for the Stamp Something Challenge are pink, green & yellow. I looked through a few of my designer paper packs and came up with this dainty printed paper in the Basic Grey (Sultry) pack.

Here are the items used in this creation:

Stamps: SU Bloomin' Beauty, Magenta (sentiment)

Papers: Summer Sun, Old Olive, Pink Pirouette, Basic Grey (Sultry) dp

Inks: Versafine blk

Accessories: Detail clear embossing powder, metal ruler, Creative Memories fine tip black marker (for faux stitching), SU watercolor pencils/blender pen, Making Memories gems, Martha Stewart butterfly punch, Creative Memories corner rounder.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Please stop back tomorrow when I'll be hosting the SCS Crafty Secrets Challenge and will have my sample card to share with you.

PCP Sketch Challenge

This week's sketch challenge over on Papercraft Planet (PCP) is a fun one and something I rarely do!! It is a "NO LAYER" challenge! Yep you heard me right ...

I purchased the Lilac set from Flourishes a few months ago and hadn't got it dirty yet ... so, today was the day! I used Elegant Eggplant to stamp my image then used a blender pen to color it while the ink was still wet. I also used a blender pen and old olive ink for the leaves ... close to cocoa for the branch.

My sentiments are from the SU Warm Words set and stamped in Elegant Eggplant. I used a sponge and old olive to sponge around the outer edge of my Whisper White base card. Well ... that's it ... easy / peasy and fun!!

PCP Crafty Secrets Challenge - 071209

Happy Sunday to you all! Looks like it's going to be another BEAUTIFUL day outside and I hope to get out there and enjoy it, but right now I'd like to share a few cards with you!



In case you are unaware, I have the pleasure of posting a weekly (Sunday) challenge over on Papercraft Planet in the Crafty Secrets Group. SO ... is you have ANY Crafty Secrets products, PLEASE come join in on the challenges with us!!!



Today I thought using "GINGHAM" on our creations would be fun. That could be gingham paper, ribbon ... whatever color or style of gingham you prefer. For my sample card, I chose to use the black & white gingham styled designer paper from the Crafty Secrets RADIANT paper pack for my background panel as well as the lilac gingham ribbon around my focus panel and across/under the buttons. My image & sentiment are from the Crafty Secrets SEW SPECIAL stamp set. Since I'm still STUCK on the "poppin pastels" technique, I stamped my image in Versamark several times and used various chalk colors (see other colored creations further in posting) and cotton balls for my coloring ... then chose which one I wanted to use for my sample cards. Of course being the person I am, I just had to create cards using the other images as well!! Here are all the elements used in this creation:

Stamps: Crafty Secrets (sew special)
Papers: Lovely Lilac, Whisper White, Basic Black, Crafty Secrets (Radiant) designer paper
Inks: Versamark, Amethyst
Accessories: chalk, cotton ball, Creative Memories black round tip marker, Fiskars scallop scissors, Nestabilities (long rectangle), Darice gingham ribbon, Bucket O'buttons, needle & thread, gold safety pin, dimensional tape


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Now for the other two creations:

On the other two images (which were stamped in VersaMark), I chose to use GREEN and RED chalks for my coloring. The red actually came out looking a bit pink so I tried to work around that with my background paper. (Remember to CLICK the image for a larger view.)


For the green colored image, I simply used the Nestabilities long rectangle die to cut it and matted it with SU Garden Green paper. My base card was run through the Cuttlebug part way down using the Swiss Dot embossing folder then used this swirl patterned satin ribbon from Michael's around the center. The FRIENDS sentiment is from Hero Ars and was stamped using SU Garden Green ink.



For the red colored image, I used the same Nestabilities long rectangle die to cut (as I did the others) then mounted it onto SU River Rock paper which is the same as my base card. My background designer paper is from a Colorbok (Tracey Porter) 12x12 scrapbooking pack (which I purchased at a yard sale for $4). My faux zig-zag stitch was created by using one of the "stitching" stamps that is in the Crafty Secrets SEW SPECIAL set. If you look closely, you can see I also did faux stitching around the main image but in River Rock ink. I colored my Prima flowers (which I just purchased from Tammy Hershberger (stamp happy) at Toyrifix) using SU inks & sponge applicator to match in with my designer paper. What fun!!



Thanks so much for stopping by today! Hope you are having a wonderful, fun-filled weekend! Until next time ... Happy Stamping!!

Poppin' Pastel Techique ...

Over on StampTV, GinaK has a tutorial up this week refreshing us all on the "poppin' pastel" techique. It's been soooooooooooo long since I've used this technique that I instantly decided it was time!

On my first card I used Versamark, dry chalk and cotton ball applicators. For my layout, I turned to this past week's Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge and my images are from the Inkadinkado (Coastal) stamp set. I've tied knots in my Hobby Lobby organza ribbon to mimic dock roping and cut out the seashells for embellishments.

All items for this card:

Stamps: Inkadinkado (coastal)

Papers: Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise, DCWV designer paper

Inks: Versafine black, Versafine sepia, Versamark

Accessories: dry chalk, cotton balls, swivel craft knife, detail clear embossing powder, Hobby Lobby organza ribbon

For my second card I used Versamark, Pan Pastel (artist) paste chalks and cotton ball applicators.

This "friend" stamp set by Hero Arts was purchased at Toyrifix through my dear friend, Tammy Hershberger (Stamp Happy) several months ago and has only been inked up once ... I was curious how it would work today with this technique and I wasn't disappointed!!!!

The Pan Pastel chalks are slightly "creamy" which helped for the colors to blend beautifully. I used three colors on this medallion ... lgt. blue pastel, lgt. purple pastel & deep purple solid. I continued to spread the colors outside the medallion then used my circular Nestabilities to make my circle cut and basic black matting. The word friend was stamped in Versafine Onxy Black (afterthought - should have been embossed) and the butterfly was stamped in Blue Bayou.

Once I had my medallion completed I went on a hunt for the "perfect background paper" and found this scrap of Tapestry designer paper. I used Offray Amethyst satin ribbon to breakup the background and after running my Sizzix's swirl die through my Cuttlebut, cut it apart and used it on both the outside & inside of my card for texture. My inside sentiment is from the Stampin' Up Friendship Flowers stamp set. The only other embellishment used on this creation are the 3 black Colorbok metal dots.

I hope you have enjoyed my "poppin pastels" creations today! It's SO easy ... you really need to give it a try! Have a great weekend. I'll be back tomorrow to share with you the Crafty Secrets Group Challenge over on Papercraft Planet ... hmmm, I wonder what challenge idea I'll come up with this week!!

OCCC Challenge - Pets

This month's hostess over on the Our Creative Corner Challenge is Jenny Gropp and she's coming up with some awesome challenge ideas. This week is all about our PETS.

I am not a huge animal lover (as far as house pets goes - been there, done that) so I don't have any pets at my house ... unless you consider the collection of various rubber dinosaurs, stuffed monkey, McDonald's Happy Meal little stuffed dogs, etc. that my DH has around the house as House Pets!!! LOL!!!

Recipe for card:

Stamps: Rubber Cottage, My Sentiments Exactly

Papers: Green Galore, Whisper White, DCWV designer paper

Inks: Versafine black

Accessories: Darice ribbon, Detail clear embossing powder, SU watercolor pencils & blender pen, dimensional tape

What a fun challenge ... made me have to think out of the box a bit! Thanks for stopping by today!!

CPS123 - Card Sketch

I don't always find time to do ALL the sketch challenges I would like to do but when I saw this sketch over on the Card Positioning Systems blog, I just had to put it on the top of the pile.

I started to make this card the other day using an Inkadinkado set that I've had for quite some time. But while making the 2nd panel, it turned into a scene that I didn't want to cover up with the 3rd panel/sentiment. So, I just finished it off my own way and here is what I ended up with. The following are the items used in this card:

Stamps: Inkadinkado, Stampscapes

Papers: Soft Sky, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White & SU Parisan Breeze designer paper

Inks: Chocolate Chip, Versafine Black, Summer Sun, More Mustard, Soft Sky, Pacific Point

Accessories: large Sponge Pod, Eclipse masking

Now today I decided to give this sketch another try and this time I followed the layout more closely. I really like how "similar" they are to each other ... yet "different". At the same time I was using more "leftovers" on my worktable! This card was made entirely out of the "scrap bin". Here are the items used for this card:

Stamps: SU Fabulous Flowers, SU Summer by the Sea

Papers: Whisper White, Basic Black, Pink Passion, SU Pink Flamingo designer paper

Inks: Versafine black, Tempting Turquoise, More Mustard, Rose Romance

Accessories: SU grosgrain ribbon, Nestabilities, ZIG turquoise marker, Creative Memories black round tip marker

Thanks to all of you for being such loyal followers to my blog ... you'll never know how much that means to me! YOU are my inspiration on a daily basis ... God Bless You All!!

Stamp Simply #95 - Let the Sparks Fly!

Here it is Friday and time again for another Stamp Simply Challege over on Sharon Johnson's Blog. Today it's all about the "Sparkle" and what fun it has been! It's so difficult to get a photo to really show off the sparkle on our cards but I did the best I could.

Recipe for this card:

Stamps: SU Fifth Avenue Floral, SU Bloomin' Beauty

Papers: Whisper White, Garden Green, DCWV Garden Party designer paper

Inks: Versafine black

Accessories: PKGlitz "China Red" embossing glitter, Red glitter Spica pen, Gelly Roll Stardust pen, Offray metallic ribbon, gold Pilot marker.

Please pop on over to Sharon's Blog and check out her inspirational creation as well as the awesome creations by her design team. Thanks for stopping by today!

Meet my granddaughter ...

... she's wonderfully "one of a kind" (and I wouldn't want it any other way)!



Morgan Darlene Franjko has certainly grown into a beautiful, well rounded, good hearted woman. She is 17 ... will be a senior in high school this year and it's truly hard to believe she's already graduating ... seems like only yesterday that I was at the hospital with her Mom awaiting her arrival and commenting on how big her feet are the first time I saw her ... LOL ... (sorry Mo)!




Mo (as we call her) is very involved in many activities. She, along with her Mom and a few other friends, is a volunteer at their local Hospice. She's VERY involved in the high school band, where she plays clarinet and will be this year (as last) the bands Field Commander (she's very proud of this position!). She was on the prom committee last year (not sure about this year). This summer she's been going to Kent State Salem Campus taking Sign language which will count as a 2nd language for her upcoming school year and has been LOVING it! She also works part time in the floral department of her local supermarket and has enjoyed learning more about floral design. This is really cool since I'm a certified floral designer, it gives us just one more thing in common that we can talk about!! Oh, and did I forget to mention ... she races a "junior dragster" on the weekends with her family. That is her in the WHITE dragster (her mom is in the back in the red top & blue jean shorts) ... it's certainly a FAMILY THING!! Dad races a '67 camero and brother Jon also races a junior dragster! Mom has to do all the "leg work" getting the kids/cars on the track and back for each race.




With Mo having a week off in between Sign Language class sessions & a couple of days off work, she & her brother took the opportunity to come and stay with us for a few days and it's been GRAND!!!


Yesterday we went to visit my friend Tammy Hershberger (Stamp Happy) at her store (Toyrifix) where both kids got something new to "play with". Mo bought an awesome K-nex Farris Wheel set to put together and Jon bought a X-zylo (flying gyroscope) which he's had great fun seeing how far he can throw it. Nearly landed on the roof a few times but luckily it just went over and came back down to earth! Shew!!



Morgan spent a couple of hours putting this farris wheel together but when it was done, it was really awesome! (What do you think Tammy???) It is battery operated and turns in two different directions ... really cool. Now's she's going to try and transport it back home without taking it apart so she can show her Mom & Dad.


Morgan has always been close to her grandfather! When she was little and came to stay with us, she would always climb down in behind her grandpa's knees while he laid on the couch watch TV and she would stay there with him for very long periods of time. Last evening after returning home from seeing the movie "Ice Age" she tried crawling back into her favorite spot to find that her long legs won't let her stay in that position for very long (ouch ... can you say cramping). But Mark thought it was sweet of her to try!!!


At the present time the kids are preparing to head back home. Morgan has to work this afternoon from 2:30 to 9:00 and it will take them a little over an hour to get home, so unfortunately this visit draws to a close. It's so nice now that Morgan is driving and come to visit when she has the free time ... even if Mom & Dad are too busy to come along.


We are truly blessed with such wonderful, fun-loving, respectful grandchildren ... I am SO PROUD to say I'm their Nanna!!! Hope you enjoyed meeting MO ... with this being her senior year and DH getting better with each passing day ... I hope to have many more exciting event photos to share with you over the upcoming year! Have a wonderful day my friends ... now I have to go give my "sweeties" a kiss good-bye!

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I nearly forgot to show you what Morgan brought for her Pappy & me. I told you that she works at a Florist inside a grocery store ... well here are the wonderful surprises she put together for us.

I told you she was a SWEETIE!!!

Meet my grandson Jonathan ...

.... and let me tell you, HE IS ALL BOY!!! Jonathan will be 12 in September and has the energy of 10 kids (either that or I'm just getting old, LOL). He's the most LOVING young boy I know! He enjoys hunting, fishing, playing baseball, racing his junior dragster, riding his bike, racing his hotwheels (see photo at the picnic table) and playing computer/PS2 games.





Jon was very excited to learn that I had received an M-16 soft pellet gun (plastic) for my birthday to help me keep the squirrels & chipmunks away from my bird feeders and plants. He had it all figured out before I even took the time to read the directions and since he brought his rapid fire hand (soft pellet) gun with him, he was enjoying doing some target practice with them.

In these two photos, I was down in my craftroom working on a few challenge cards and since Jon doesn't really like being "alone" he joined me and worked on doing some target practice in the basement with a large box and "MY" M-16 ... what fun!!!

Jonnie just LOVES his Pappy (can you tell) and was thrilled when he was allowed to hook his Playstation up to Pappy's BIG screen TV to play his new hunting game ... made it more real he said!! When Jon was little he always called his grandfather "Pap Pap" but at some point he must have decided that was too much to say so he changed it to "Pappy" and that's what they've called him ever since! Mark is such an easy going person that he was okay with that!!! Of course, they used to call me "Nanna" ... now (thanks to Jon) it's "Neener"! What's up with that???????






I love when the grandkids come to visit ... it's nice to have noise in the house other than the TV ! Jon is a true delight because of his soft heartedness and fun-loving nature. Although he does scare me at times when he started doing "tricks" on his bike over the curbs of the driveway ... guess I'm still a "nervous Nelly" when it comes to that sort of thing.



Hope you enjoyed meeting Jonathan ... he's a real sweetie and I love him dearly! I know it sounds weird, but I LOVE BEING A GRANDMA!!!

Color Throwdown #50

WOW ... I can't believe we are already on #50 for the Color Throwdown Challenge. It seems like just "yesterday" when my friend Tammy Hershberger (Stamp Happy) told me about this new challenge blog! Way to go ladies ... each & every challenge is more fun than the last!!!! Today, Broni Holcombe (Splashes of Watercolor), is our hostess and has come up with a great color combination! What do you think of these colors???

While going through some of my "HUGE" collection of designer paper, I thought this piece of Stampin' Up "Pink Flamingo" was a good starting point for my creation since it already had two of the three colors required. My sentiment panel was cut using Nestabilities "oval" & "scallop oval" dies and the sentiment is by Endless Creations. It looked like it needed just a little "something" so I used my Inkadinkado butterflies to add a little movement to my card. My sentiment panel was also popped with dimensional tape and my red grosgrain ribbon is by Offray.



Thanks so much for stopping by and checking out my creations. I hope I have been able to share inspiration to someone out there in blogland!!!!!!

Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge #9

It's time for another MIDNIGHT MADNESS SKETCH CHALLENGE over on the "priscillastyles" blog. I have come to really look forward to doing this challenge because they are usually a little more "detailed" than I'm used to doing and that really does "challenge" me!!

This week I decided to pick one of my Basic Grey paper packs and "go from there". This is the "Ambrosia" pack and it's not one I usually reach for ... so that made it even more fun! My main image is by Inkadinkado, was stamped with Versafine Black and embossed using Detail Clear Embossing Powder. I've used Gelly Roll "Stardust" pens to color in the butterfly and SU watercolor pencils to color the flower. My side button embellishments are from a Bucket O'Buttons and I've used Michael's gold metallic elastic cording for the threading as well as for the antenna's on the butterfly (see close up view).

Well, I had fun creating today and I hope you did too! If you haven't taken the time to check out this challenge blog ... please jump on over there right now!! Not only are they fun sketches to do each week but the prizes and "money" they are giving away is nothing short of AMAZING!! Happy Day to All!!

A Vintage Thank-You ...

I found a new sketch challenge (yippee!!) over on the Carol's Sketch Fun blog and thought I'd give it a try. I got a little "off" on the sketch (I sketched it out myself on a piece of paper & didn't do a very good job obviously) but I still like the outcome.

This designer paper is by The Paper Studio and I just LOVE it! I think this pattern is what they call "toille". My other papers are Robin Hood Red, Basic Black and Whisper White.

My image is from a 4 image cube by B Line Designs and I've used SU watercolor pencils/blender pen for my coloring. My sentiment is by Stampendous and the metal dots are by Colorbok. I've used Nestabilities to diecut my main image and dimensional tape to pop it up.

This was a fun challenge and I'll be checking back in next week to see what Carol has to offer. Hope you enjoyed my creation! Happy Day!!

Crafty Secrets "Leftovers" Challenge

Sorry I've hit you with 3 postings today but it was a great
stamping morning and just had to share it with all of you!!!

Today's Crafty Secrets Challenge over on Splitcoast Stampers (SCS) today is hosted by Carla Mayfield (Stargirl on SCS) (Paper Pastorale Blog) and she has asked us to use our "leftovers". WELL, If you are anything like me, you have plenty of those laying around!!!

The leftovers I have used are as follows:

1. The "Notes" journaling box cut from the bottom of a Crafty Secrets booklet image.

2. The background Crafty Secrets Radiant designer paper (almost wasn't big enough ... shew!).

3. Other than the base card ... the cardstock used was in the "scrap heap". I actually cut the matting for my main image out from the center of the matting behind the floral panel.

4. The Around the Block floral frame tape are pieces I had cut for another project then changed my mind on embellys used.

Other items used on this creation are as follows:

Stamps: Crafty Secrets "Bird Notes"

Papers: Garden Green

Inks: Versafine black ink

Accessories: The Paper Studio silk flowers, SU paper flower, Target brad, SU watercolor pencils, Zot 3d glue dots

THANKS SO MUCH for putting up with my CRAZYNESS! I so love hearing from all of you! See you again soon. Happy Day!!!

Here's a fun technique ...

This week's CCEE Stamper's Challenge is a technique challege called Modern Grid. This is a new technique to me and I just LOVE IT!!! So easy and great results!




This challenge was hosted by Dawn Lusk and here is the way you do the technique in Dawn's words:

If you haven’t tried this technique before it is pretty easy to do, here's how:

1. Stamp your image or images randomly over your card
2. Now take a ruler and black marker and draw lines equally spaced vertically and horizontally. Make sure you stop your line when you get to the stamped image and then start again on the other side of the image.
3. Add dots or doodles to some of the squares. You can also color in some squares if you desire. You could also add smaller image stamps that suit the theme or words too. You can see what I mean about other images and words by one I did when I first learnt this technique here.


My main image is a $1 image by Sugarloaf that I found in the $1 bin at Pat Catan's. I stamped it using Versafine Black and embossed it using Detail Clear embossing powder before adding my "Modern Grid" lines with a Creative Memories fine tip black marker & metal ruler. I colored in the image using SU watercolor pencils & blender pen ... added the Rubber Stampede musical notes and Inkadinkado birthday sentiment.



I had this scrap piece of Cuttlebugged white background which I colored using blue & green chalk and cotton balls. The pretty in pink matting was a scrap piece as was the ivory cardstock I stamped my main image on. My ribbon is by May Arts and I used Bow Easy to make my bow.



Please give this technique a try ... I just know you'll be impressed with how easy it is to do and the dimension you'll achieve. Thanks for stopping by today! Hope the sun is shining in your corner of the world!!!

OCC Challenge

This week's Our Creative Corner Challenge was to use Red, White & Blue in your creation. I'm late getting around to doing this challenge ... and with July 4th already gone ... I decided to use my R,W & B in a summery creation.

I thought this image from the Stampin' Up "Summer by the Sea" set would work nicely and I finally got around to using my Michael Strong Mosaic Frame image (of which I cut out the center part).

On a piece of dry white cardstock I cotton balled my background using tones of blue chalk for the sky area and tones of green for the grassy area. I then stamped my image using Versafine Black and embossed it using Detail Clear embossing powder. Stampin' Up watercolor pencils & blender pen were used to do the coloring.

I stamped my frame image onto dry white cardstock using Not Quite Navy ink then embossed using PKGlitz "Squash Blossom" embossing glitter. I used my swivel craft knife to cut out the center part of the framing image. One of the nice things about this image is that you can use it all or cut away those pieces you don't want and reuse them on a different project.

My sentiment was stamped in versafine black ink onto a piece of dry white cardstock which I cut using my Rectangle Nestabilities. I used the next size up to cut the real red matting and I popped it up using dimensional tape. The main image was matted using basic black cardstock, added two little red brads by Making Memories and mounted it all onto a real red cardstock base.

As a last minute thought, I ran outside and took a photo of the "inside" of this card. After stamping my Inkadinkado birthday sentiment image, I used the same technique of using blue & green chalk with a cotton ball to give it color. I colored in the words with a red Spica glitter pen and the bottom was created using the Martha Stewart Arch Trellis border punch.

I hope you enjoyed my creation! Thanks for stopping by today!!

NE Ohio Shoebox Swap Announcement!

Good Monday Morning Everyone!!!

For those of you who live in the NE Ohio area, I just wanted to make you aware of a Shoebox Swap that will be going on Saturday, July 25th in Barberton, Ohio. A good friend of mine, Anita Kurtz, will be hosting this event and we're trying to let all of the surrounding area stampers aware!

This is a SHOUT OUT to Lana Edwards, Kris Turner, Carol
Smuts, Sandy Egbert, Kim Bradfield, Terri Snode, Julie, Crystal and any other NE
Ohio stampers I've met along the way and hope to meet at this event!!!

HERE IS THE LINK Anita has set up over on SCS and the first posting pretty much lays out the "groundrules" for a shoebox swap. They are a LOT of fun! You get to do different projects, meet new stampers from your area and munch on some goodies too!! If you have ANY questions you can either leave a post on the linked thread OR email me at www.akadafney@yahoo.com.

HURRY!! SIGN-UP DEADLINE IS JULY 19th

Please give it consideration and let Anita know of your intentions! It will be AWESOME FUN!! Tammy Hershberger (StamperTammy) and I will be there too and can't wait to see you all again!!

Cards to Share ...

With DH not feeling well today and all of our company headed back home, I took the time to do a little cleanup in my craftroom and make a few cards while I was at it!!




I've started doing a Crafty Secrets Challenge over on Papercraft Planet every Sunday and nearly forgot about doing one for this weekend ... Oooops! Since we are already into the month of July ... I figured why not do a "Christmas In July" challege. I just LOVE this Vintage Christmas set by Crafty Secrets and so that's what I chose to use for my challenge sample creation.


Card Recipe:
Stamps: Crafty Secrets
Papers: Whisper White, Crafty Secrets Radiant dp, Basic Grey dp
Inks: Versafine Black, Real Red
Accessories: Offray grosgrain ribbon, Nestabilities, sponge applicator, Mary Engelbreit Rose Corner punch, EK Success snowflake punch, gold & red Stickles, SU eyelet border punch.

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Here are a couple other creations I came up with while trying to reduce the size of the "scrap" pile on my worktable!!!



I've used a scrap piece of DCWV (I think) designer paper to stamp my images on to create this scene and the base card is of SU Pacific Point. The images I have used are primarily Stampscapes - (Lakeside Cabin, Rocky Peaks, Oak Branch & Scenic Sentiments #4). The "eagle" is by Art Impressions. After stamping the cabin image, I masked it off using "Eclipse Masking" then continued to overstamp with the mountains and tree branch. Once all stamped I embossed using detail clear embossing powder and colored using SU watercolor pencils & blender pen. I'm really happy with the outcome!

For this sympathy card I used a rose patterned scrap piece of DCWV designer paper for my background on my river rock card base. The sentiment is by Stampin' Up and is called "Thoughts & Prayers". After stamping the image using wild wasabi ink and the sentiment using Versafine black ink, I ran it through my Cuttlebug using the rectangular Nestabilities and before removing it from the die, sponged the edges using rose romance ink. The rose colored organza ribbon was also a scrap piece I had close by. I really like how the distressed edges of the background panel really sets off the main image.



I hope you have enjoyed my creations today as much as I enjoyed making them!! And how wonderful is it that I was able to use up MORE scraps than I CREATED!! LOL!! Happy Day Everyone ... hope to see you back here again tomorrow ... GOD WILLING!!!

More July 4th Fun

How lucky are we to be able to have friends & family visit over the July 4th weekend. Not only did we have the kids (daughter & grandchildren) as well as Toldeo friends (Mark & Nancy Beelman) here earlier in the week, but we also had a visit from DH's nephew Kevin & girlfriend Connie to celebrate & cookout on the 4th of July!! The last time Kevin & Connie came to visit, they helped us bring in the New Year. I sure hope they don't wait for another 6 months before coming to visit again!!




I introduced Connie to Stamping & Card Making on their last visit so of course we spent a little time together in my craftroom playing with paper & ink on this visit. She's a "natural" and I'm afraid I've created a Monster!! LOL!!




Since Kevin & Connie were here ... and we made TONS of food (steak kabobs, chicken kabobs, corn on the cob, potato salad, fruit salad, Bush's grillin' beans, mushrooms & zucchini to grill) ... I decided to invite the couple across the way (Travis & Christie) to join in on the festivities. They are around the same age as Kevin & Connie so I just knew they'd hit it off!! Besides ... they were home all alone and had to eat ... needless to say, we had plenty to go around.




After dinner the conversation got around to some of the latest movies and since both couples are HUGE movie goers (and the "old folks" are not), Travis ran back over to his house and brought back a whole bag full of Blue-Ray movies to pick from. The final decision (since K & C had seen most of them) turned out to be "Matrix". Talk about a NOISEY evening ... between the sarround sound system on our TV and all the fireworks going off around the neighborhood ... Yikes!!! But it sure was nice to share the evening with more friends & family!!




I'm afraid to say that I don't think we'll be having more visitors anytime soon. It was a little rough on Mark (as you can see) and today he's not feeling very well and has spent most of the day in bed. Hopefully he'll recouperate and be more "chipper" tomorrow.




I can only hope that you all enjoyed your Independence Day weekend as much as I did!! God Bless You All and thanks for stopping by!!

Friends & Family ...

HAPPY 4th of JULY EVERYONE!!!!

What a beautiful day it is here in NE Ohio and how blessed are we to have the freedom to enjoy it!!! My DH's nephew & girlfriend (Kevin & Connie) came last evening to share the 4th with us and it looks like the weather will cooperate and let us have a cookout. There is a young couple who live across the street whom I noticed are "home alone" this weekend, so I just popped over this morning and invited them over later for a bite to eat & to spend some time chit-chatting. They are nice kids and being in the same age group as Kevin & Connie, I thought they would have a lot in common ... so it's going to be a fun day! I already have the coffee brewing, crepe batter mixed up and the strawberries cut & thickening ... now if this crew would just wake up, we could get the day started!! LOL!!

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We recently had friends from our old neighborhood in Toledo come to visit along with our daughter & grandchildren. What a fun, relaxed time we had and granddaughter, Morgan snapped a few photos for me to share with you all.

We always enjoy visiting with our friends Mark & Nancy Beelman and the fact that they hadn't seen my daughter or grandchildren since we moved here to Akron (6 years ago), they really enjoyed seeing the kids again and seeing how much they've grown. Morgan enjoyed talking with Mr. Beelman out on the deck and helping him do the grilling (wasn't that sweet of him to be "grill master" for the day) while Carolyn, Nancy & (My) Mark chit-chatted in the kitchen.

Grandson, Jonathan has A LOT of energy so he was in & out doing various things to stay busy when he's visiting Nanna & Pappy. He has his own bike here so he took several trips throughout the development and then he found an OLD football in the garage and asked if someone would throw it with him. Everyoneelse was busy so even though I'm not very good at it, I spent a little time in the yard tossing the football back & forth with him. It was great fun but certainly proved just how OUT OF SHAPE I really am!!! LOL!!

Our neighbor Tony Zawarhi (same age as Morgan) stopped over to share the "info-mercial" he had made for a school project with us and it was so funny ... we all enjoyed it tremendously. It's amazing what these kids have to do for school project now a days ... technology has certainly advanced since my days in school!!! While he was here, he was telling us about how he had learned to "swing dance" at church camp a few weeks ago. I "conned" Morgan into dancing with him and here are the results. GREAT FUN!! Tony's a really good kid and we enjoyed his visit!!

Thanks for letting me share my visit with you! Hope you enjoy your weekend!

Catching Up on Challenges ...

I have had out of town company the past few days so I'm a little behind on my card making & posting! My Toledo, OH company has returned home and now we are awaiting the arrival of our Pittsburgh, PA company. WHAT FUN!!!! With DH's illness, it seems like it's been SO LONG since we've been able to entertain friends & family ... sure feels good to see Mark enjoying their company too!!! I will have some photos to share in a separate posting.

Anyways ... on to my cards.

For today's STAMP SIMPLY #94 - Stars & Stripes Challenge, I have used my recently purchased stamp set by Flourishes. This set is called Patriotism on Parade and with every set they sell, Flourishes is making a donation to the Wounded Warrior program. If for no other reason than that, I felt I needed to make this purchase.

Please be sure to pop on over to Sharon's blog and check out all the details on this challenge. Also, you'll want to be sure and jump on over to her Design Team ladies blogs to be inspired by their works-of-art!!


This creation was certainly done in Stamp Simply fashion! The only stamps used were those mentioned above and the other details on this card are as follows:
Papers: Real Red, DCWV designer paper
Inks: Versafine Black, Versamark
Accessories: Fiskars decal scissors, PKGlitz embossing glitter, dimensional tape, swivel craft knife.


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This first card was for yesterday's Color Throwdown Challenge hosted by my dear friend Tammy Hershberger (Stamp Happy) and what a great color combo she has given us to play with. Groovy Guava, Chocolate Chip and Soft Sky ... probably three colors I would not have put together myself but I certainly like how this came together!! Here are the items used for this creation:



Stamps: Endless Creations (purchased at Tammy's Store - Toyrifix) & AMuse
Papers: Groovy Guava, Soft Sky, Chocoate Chip & SU Groovy Guava designer Paper
Inks: Chocolate Chip & Groovy Guava
Accessories: SU Eyelet border punch, Stampendous Dot Sparklers, dimensional tape, Michael's brown satin ribbon, sponge applicator


Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by & see what I've been up to! Hope you are enjoying your holiday weekend and much as I am!!