Birthday fun ...

I copied this photo from my daughter's blog so I could share with you what fun our granddaughter, Morgan was having at her birthday celebration. "MY" MO turned 17 yesterday and with Mark being ill, sad to say we were not able to go visit for dinner, cake & ice cream. They did have wonderful family friends over and it appears they had a fun time.

It looks like Daddy Frank (holding her hands) had a part to play in the "icing on the nose" caper!! They have a very strong family bond and even though Mom & Dad can be strict and demanding at times, they also know how to have fun and share a good time!

Being the grandparents, we've tried to keep our nose out of their business yet still make sure they know that we are there for them anytime they need us. I am so proud of these kids ... they work very hard to make it on their own and have taught their children the value of a kind word and a giving heart! God has certainly blessed us ... thank you Lord!!

Crafty Secrets "Touch of Metal" Challenge

Morning all,

Today's challenge over on the Crafty Secrets forum of SCS is to use "metal" on you card/project. This is not something I use a lot of and LoriLynn certainly had some great ideas (other than actual metal) for you to incorporate into your card. You can read some of her awesome ideas HERE. Why not come play along ... we have great fun each and every week.

My base card here is a premade A-6 ivory card purchased at Michael's. I have used Crafty Secrets EARTHY designer paper matted with SU soft sky cardstock as my base. The image is from the Crafty Secrets "Birds & Botanical" images & journaling booklet. I have distressed my main image panels and sponged with Ranger Antique Linen ink. I have also spritzed my journalling panel with Iridescent Memories Mist and Tim Holtz walnut stain. My Touch of Metal are the metal flower brads used in the upper & lower corners which I purchased from Hobby Lobby and are by The Paper Studio. There are 6 in a pack and I have been hoarding them ... until today!!! I've also used a metal clasp and brushed brass brads by Making Memories. For a touch of sparkle, I've used gold Stickles for the flower centers on my main image.

Going to be a long day here at the Cleveland Clinic I'm afraid ... but that's okay .. we're one more day closer to Mark being healthy again! Thank you all for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers.

Cleveland Clinic Update

Here we sit at Cleveland Clinic once again. We've been here since a little after 7 a.m. and they have already indicated to Mark that he will need blood today so they have drawn a sample for type testing. Now we have to wait for that test to come back (about an hour) then they'll go from there. He will probably need fluids today as well. He is VERY tired today (imagine that)! I'm hoping his numbers are good enough to start the stem cell harvesting process. He was complaining about his bones hurting and that, they say, is an indication of the cells becoming ready. Let's keep our fingers crossed.


I will be back shortly with a card I have made for today's Crafty Secrets Challenge which by the clues Lori Lynn has offered, should be to use metal in your card or project. At least that's what I have done. See you then.

Happy Birthday Morgan!!

After talking with my granddaughter Morgan earlier this evening, I learned she received her birthday card today so it's now safe to share it with you all.

Morgan (Mo) will be 17 on Monday (oh where has the time gone???) and since her Pappy & I will be at the Cleveland Clinic instead of sharing your special day, I wanted to be sure to get something in the mail to her right away. She said she really liked the card and I'm sure she'll make good use of the gift card inside too ... can always use gas money at this age!!

I must share with you Morgan's only request for her birthday and that was to have her Pappy healthy again and to be there for her 18th birthday. Our sweet "little girl" has become such a warm, caring young woman ... we couldn't be prouder of her!!!

This sweet Sugar Nellie image so reminds me of Morgan when she was little that I just had to use it for her card. I used Stampscapes & Ala Art images to create the sky & grass for the background panel which was die cut using the Spellbinder Label One die. My card base is Eggplant with a turquoise Martha Stewart border punched mat panel. After stamping my image using Versafine Black I colored it with SU watercolor pencils and blender pen. I used my swivel craft knife to cut out the image and popped it up using dimensional tape. The butterfly is a Martha Stewart punch which I added a little Stickles to for added sparkle. The final feature was a touch of gingham ribbon.

HAPPY 17th BIRTHDAY MO!!

Stamp Simply #80

Oh my gosh ... here it is Friday again and time for another Stamp Simply challenge over on Sharon Johnson's No Time To Stamp blog. Today Sharon has challenged us to FORGET THE RULES! What does that mean??? Well, here it is

Let’s Forget the Rules! Do you remember when we were kids (at least when I was a kid!!) we were taught not to mix patterns when we dress ourselves. I guess styles must have been rather bland back then — LOL!!! We would never wear a plaid skirt (remember those red wool plaid skirts?) with a printed blouse, or a striped jumper with a polka dotted blouse. We just DID NOT do it back then!!! Oh, but look at the fun we have today with patterned paper — Mix and Match — anything goes!!! And I love it!!! So today we are going to use EITHER stripes or dots and mix them with any other print or pattern you so desire! Or use the stripes and dots together if you like. You may use patterned paper or you may stamp your prints/patterns. Just make sure you use EITHER stripes or dots, or both!!! I LOVE both stripes and dots. And today you get bonus points if you can use 3 different prints together!!! Forget those old rules, let loose and have fun!!!

I chose to be brave and use stripes and polka dots together. I would NEVER do this in my clothing wardrobe but with cards I didn't have any problem! My base card is Tangerine Tango, matting is navy cardstock and the designer paper is by DCWV. My polka dot butterflies were punched using a Martha Stewart punch and Stampin' Up designer paper. The flowers are by The Paper Studio and ribbon by Darice.

Hope you enjoy my challenge card for today! UPDATE on DH ... we are spending each morning at Cleveland Clinic where Mark is in preparation for Stem Cell Transplant. The staff here has been amazingly helpful and kind. Mark is progressing very well and handling the side affects like the trooper he is! Next week begins the stem cell collection and we are praying that will go as well as this week of treatment has. Thanks to all of you for your prayers and kind words.

Color Throwdown Challenge #35

For today's Color Throwdown Challenge we have a color combination of Tangerine Tango, Kiwi Kiss and Purely Pomegrate. With being limited on time, I chose to use a white based card which was Cuttlebugged using a Sizzix embossing folder and added my "color" strips which were cut into 1-1/2" strips and border punched using Stampin' Up punches. The butterfly and flower in the right corner are from the Hero Arts stamp set called "Friends". The swirl image on the Pomegranate panel is from the Inkadinkado "wedding" stamp set and the sentiment is by AMuse. I used a Stampin' Up blender pen to pull he pomegranate color into the butterfly after stamping.

Well, that's it for card uploads today. We are sitting at the Cleveland Clinic and besides my laptop, I don't have any additional crafting supplies with me today. Hopefully I'll have some time this evening to work on today's SCS sketch challenge ... looks like a fun one.

Mark is doing pretty good today except for the fact that they are having probems with his Hickman Catheter ... doesn't seem to want to "draw" so they're having to go through anoher process and hopefully "get things flowing" then treatment can begin. It's going to be a little longer day today because he is also in need of additional fluids ... don't want him getting dehydrated!! Thanks for stopping by ... guess I'll go do some blog hopping! Have a great day!!

Crafty Secrets Challenge #61

Marcy (kiddielitter) is our hostess today on the Crafty Secrets forum challenge and she has challenged us to make a card/project with the theme of "There's no place like Home".

This cute image comes from the Crafty Secrets "summertime" booklet and certainly shows that HOME is what you make of it. My background designer paper is also Crafty Secrets and comes from the "Classic" paper pack. With using the Stampin' Up Top Note die for my mat behind the main image, I decided to do "faux stitching" with a Creative Memories fine tip black marker around my designer paper.

The flower pot and sprinkling can are images from the Crafty Secrets "Garden Girl" stamp set. I hand wrote the sentiment onto this antique charm by Pixie Press and sponged around it using a makeup applicator and Colorbok "velvet" ink. I also edged around the Top Note matting with a gold Pilot marker.

Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting on my cards.

We are here at Cleveland Clinic where Mark is having treatment (he's doing very well so far). Thanks goodness for modern technology ... both medically and electronically!! Thank you all for your kind thoughts & prayers. We truly appreciate them!!

Have a wonderful day!!!

Same image cards ...

Here are three cards I created using the same image. This image is by Inkadinkado and was stamped on white glossy paper using India Ink Black and colored using various Stampin' Up inks and inking nibs.

The card on the left has a background designer paper from the Basic Grey Euphoria pack. I also used the remaining strip for the card on the right. The "Just Saying Hello" image is by The Stamp Pad Co. The "Special Thought" sentiment is by Inkadinkado. The center card has been dry embossed using the Cuttlebug swiss dot embossing folder.

Thanks for popping by and taking a look! Hope you like my cards.

OCC Sketch Challenge

Here is the card I made for this week's Our Creative Corner challenge which was a sketch challenge.

Sorry if this photo's not the best ... it was taken with my phone and imported to my new laptop which is NOT compatible with my camera (Canon G3 ... old technology).

My image is by Impression Obsession and I've used a premade A-6 ivory card, mauve cs, mellow moss, regal rose and DCWV dp. I used my new SU border punch to punch the corners of the designer paper. My image was colored with watercolor pencils and American Crafts pens. My ribbon is Offray and I decided to add a little sparkle with mauve Stickles at the corners and on my main image.

Here is another card I took the time to make today. I puchased a set of embossing folders by Sizzix at Archiver's yesterday and was curious how they would work in my Cuttlebug.

They worked just fine but you had to be careful because they are a little thicker plastic than the ones by Cuttlebug. Still ... I liked this pattern and it was on sale! My image is by Inkadinkado and it too was a recent purchase that I was anxious to put ink to!! I forgot to write down all the details of this card so if you have any questions, please let me know and I'll get you the answers.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!! Tomorrow started DH's extensive chemo prior to the transplant so we'll be at Cleveland Clinic each day this week. Please keep him in your prayers ... this is going to be a rough week!!

Way to go MO ...

Recently I received a text message & photo from my granddaughter Morgan (who lives an hour away) showing me her new earring additions.

She has had her ears single pierced for some time now and she said she's been thinking about doing a double piercing so she finally took the big step and even went one step further and had a 3rd piercing done in the upper part of her one ear. Don't they look cute!!!

Unfortunately I haven't yet seen her in person to get a really good look but she's grown into quite an awesome young lady and I'm thrilled she's happy!! As long as she doesn't pierce her tonque ... don't think I'd like that!!

Bear with me as I'm still trying to figure out my new laptop and what I need to do in order to still be able to upload photos & such while sitting at Cleveland Clinic over the next couple months. I have found that my camera (though a GREAT camera) does not have a driver compatible for this new Vista setup. For now I'll have to take photo of my cards with my phone ... and upload from there ... may not be perfect but will be better than nothing!!

Stamp Simply #79 = You've Been Tabbed!

Here it is Friday again already and time for another Stamp Simply Challenge over on Sharon Johnson's No Time To Stamp blog. Sharon is always so creative in her challenge ideas and today has challenged us to be TABBED ... here it is in Sharon's words:

Today’s challenge is all about little bits of ribbon — ribbon TABS that is. Rather than adorning our card with wrapped ribbon or bows, let’s just use a bit of ribbon and make ribbon tabs — wide, narrow, whatever — let’s just make sure we have at LEAST one ribbon tab on our project today. Anything else goes!! Let’s all show each other how much fun we can have with our little scraps of ribbon!!! Anything you can do with a small piece of ribbon is what we’re after! And the most important rule — HAVE FUN!!!

I purchased this image from one of my favorite LSS a few weeks ago and finally had the opportunity to ink it up. This image is from the Cornish Heritage Farms Saturday Evening Post Series and it's called Little Piano Girl. The music note stamp is by Rubber Stampede. I have used a premade A-6 ivory card and my designer paper is from the Crafty Secrets Radiant pack. Since I colored her dress using SU watercolor pencils in a teal shade of blue, I chose to mat my panels with tempting teal cardstock. I've used Stazon black for my image and creamy carmel for the sponging around my main image. The polka dot grosgrain ribbon is from Michael's.

As you can see on the close up photo, I stamped and colored the image twice then using my swivel craft knife, I've cut out the little girl image and popped it up with dimensionals. I used a watercolor pencil to color in the piano bench cushion and used an American Crafts gold glitter pen to color in the bench itself. I did use a Creative Memories black round tip marker to color in the front panel and undercarriage of the piano to give it more of a black lacquer appearance.

The inside reads "Your friendship puts music in my heart." And YOU my friends, certainly do put music in my heart! Thanks so much for stopping by today.

Trying to stay busy ...

I knew I'd have a long day of sitting at Cleveland Clinic yesterday while DH had his first of many HIGH DOSE chemo treatments ... but neither of us realized the treatment would take SIX HOURS!!! Even though these cards look very much like the cards I've been making sets of lately, it was the other thing I could quickly pull together to take with me. I need to figure out how to be able to be more creative while spending so much time at the Clinic ... short of taking my entire craftroom with me!!

I stamped off several images to "color" but you can only do that for so long before you get tired of it and need to move on to something else. If anyone has suggestions on how I can "kill some time" while waiting for DH to have treatment, I would love to hear from you!!!

If you're interested in an update, here ya go ...

After returning home (around 7 pm), Mark was extremely tired primarily from some of the other drugs they administered to help keep his nausea & fever in control. However, by around 8 p.m. he was fevered ... chilled & nauseated. All to be expected but still not easy to deal with. During the night he must have slept in such a manner that the catheter lines were pulling because he had bleeding through the bandage over the exit site as well as through his tee shirt and on the bed sheets. Since we were trained yesterday on how to rebandage the exit site ... and flush the 3 catheter lines ... we did what we were taught and got it all taken care of without a problem. He is still very tired today and has spent most of the day in bed but being the good employee he is ... he set up his laptop and took care of emails before going back to rest.

Our next trip to the Clinic will be on Saturday then we'll begin going everyday starting Monday for the next 2 weeks prior to his admission on April 7th. Thanks to you all for your support and prayers ... please keep them going ... we've not got to the end of this journey yet!!

Crafty Secrets Stimulating Creativity Challenge #60

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

We are back from Cleveland Clinic where DH had his 3-line cathater put in today in preparation for his upcoming treatments prior to transplant. So far so good!! The procedure went well and he begins ANOTHER strand of chemo tomorrow. Please keep him in your prayers!! It's going to be a long couple of months.

Anyways, we got home in time for me to get a card put together for today's Crafty Secrets Challenge hosted today by Pammyjo. We have been challenged to make a MONOCHROMATIC card. I chose shades of GOLD for my card. I've used the Crafty Secrets "sew special" stamp set and also their "Earthy" designer paper. I've used a gold Pilot marker to make a border around the designer paper ... which is a nice way to do a thin matting without the bulk. My image was stamped using Versafine Sepia, cut out using Nestabilities and before removing it from the die, I've sponged around with Versafine Sepia and Brillance Gold. I also used the scalloped Nesties for my matt which was cut from Gold Metallic cs. My lace is from "The Paper Studio" ... purchased as Hobby Lobby and the gold ribbon is by Darice. I've used an American Crafts gold glitter pen for the faux stitching on the sentiment and the sentiment is embossed with gold sparkle embossing powder. The charm is from a bargain pack at JoAnn's and the brad is Making Memories.

I hope you enjoyed today's creation and THANKS SO MUCH for being such loyal followers to my blog. Your support means the world to me!! Happy Stamping!!

LOOK what I just spotted ...

While looking out my front door only moments ago, checkout what I spotted popping their heads up out of the mulch in my front flower beds ... what a wonderful sight to see here in NE Ohio!!

Even though I'm sure we're not completely finished with Winter yet, it is certainly nice to see signs of Spring are right around the corner. I always enjoy the coming of Spring when the grass turns green, the trees start to fill out in leaf and the wonderful sounds of the birds as they too welcome in warmer weather. We've been seeing several robins lately and it always makes me smile. It won't be long before my warm weather chores will begin and I can once again sit out on the deck with DH and enjoy nature! By the time weather is warm enough to do that, he should be feeling MUCH better and will be grateful to be able to celebrate life itself!

Hooray ... they are all done!!!

Hello my friends ... I'm hoping you are all having a wonderful weekend!! I have been trapped in my craftroom completing the 156 cards I need for tomorrow.

If by chance you haven't seen my past postings, I (at the request of DH) got involved in making cards to sell for the Harvest for Hunger project his workplace was putting on last week. Well it was a success ... we sold 17 of the 20 boxes I already had made up and took orders for another 26 boxes. With there being 6 cards/envelopes in each box for $10 ... that equalled $430. for the project and another 156 cards needing made.

If you count, there are actually 27 boxes of cards here .... one lady bought a box I had displayed that day but asked if I could add a little "sparkle" to it ... so I brought it home, added some stickles to the butterly as well as the sentiment and I think she'll be very happy with the outcome!!

Well, there you have it ... the reasons why I haven't been able to participate in many challenges this week!! We'll see how next week goes ...

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamp Simply #78 - White Mats

Hooray ... it's Friday and that means it's time for another Stamp Simply Challenge over on Sharon Johnson's blog! Today, in Sharon fashion, she has a challenged us to use WHITE MATS on our card/project for a fresh, clean & springy look.

I purchased this image last weekend at Pat Catan's store for $1.00 and thought it would work perfectly for today's challenge. I stamped the image with Versafine black ink then embossed it with Gold Sparkle embossing powder. Next I colored it in using my Twinkling H2O color and an artist brush. My oval cut is not very good ... had to do it by hand, but you get the idea I'm sure. It seems there are different elongations to ovals ... and none of the cutting devices I have are of the right orientation for this image. My WHITE mat was run through the Cuttlebug using the swiss dot embossing folder. I also used the Spellbinder label tag diecut for my sentiment which is by Paper Inspirations. I stamped it with Craft white ink then Stampendous white embossing powder. The little white brads are by Making Memories. Finally ... to add a little "class" I've bordered my card and white panel with a gold Pilot marker.

Hope you like it and thanks so much for stopping by and taking a peek!

UPDATE on DH: Over the next several weeks you will find me absent from my stamping and blog posting. Yesterday we met with all the pertinent doctors/staff at Cleveland Clinic where all the appropriate consent forms have been signed and questions answered before beginning this journey down the path of Mark's Stem Cell Transplant. Beginning next Tuesday (St. Patty's Day) Mark will have an additional port (Hickman Cathater) put in and Wednesday chemo will begin. There will be SOMETHING done everyday in preparation for the transplant. His admission to Cleveland Clinic will be April 7th and the transplant on April 16th. He will be in the hospital until at least the end of April. So if I can ask one more time ... please keep him in your prayers through this time that all goes well and it does in fact keep this ugly disease from coming back! Thanks my friends ... I will try to keep you up to date on his progress.

Color Throwdown Challenge #33

Hello my friends ... sorry this is late, but sometimes life gets in the way of my stamping pleasures!! I did however get some time last evening to put this little gem together. Like my little "Easter Bunny"??? Isn't she cute!!

This week's colors for the Color Throwdown Challenge were fun to play with ... thanks Cathy!! I used Wild Wasabi as my "green of choice" color along with the turquoise and eggplant. I've simply layed the colors in panels then did a little doodling, paper piercing, border punching & a pop of gingham ribbon for my main card. Adding the different colored prima flowers with Hero Arts gems was fun and of course my little Easter bunny was colored with SU watercolor pencils & blender pen before being "popped up" with dimensionals. Hope you like my card. Thanks so much for stopping by today!!! Happy Stamping!!

UPDATE ...

... on the Harvest for Hunger Drive.


I am happy to announce that we sold 43 boxes of cards today (6 cards per box @ $10.00 a box) ... that means $430.00 donation to Harvest for Hunger! Isn't that awesome!!! I had 20 boxes of cards displayed ... sold 17 of those ... and ... took orders for 26 more (prepaid) boxes to be made. Looks like I'd better get busy!! Received many wonderful comments on my work also ... which was a bonus!!


Just wanted to share the good news!! Happy Day to you all!!

Crafty Secrets Challenge #59

Good Morning All ...

Today I am hosting the Crafty Secrets Challenge over on Splitcoaststampers and have given folks a "RECIPE" to follow in making their card/project. I think this is the 1st time we have actually done a recipe challenge ... it will be fun to see what everyone comes up with. I've actually made it pretty easy ... requesting things that many of us already incorporate into our artwork!!


Today's recipe is:

* ribbon or lace
* brads or buttons
* paper piercing


My card today is actually a sketch I was going to use as a "sketch challenge" but decided against it at the last minute. I did however, use it for my card. Here I have used one of the new Crafty Secrets stamp sets called "Garden Girls". My card is 5 1/2" square and the background paper is from the Crafty Secrets "Earthy" designer paper pack and since it is 2-sided, I have used both sides for my panels. I have paper pierced on the corners of my Nestabilities (label one) panel as well as on the upper right and lower left corners/edge of the back layer designer paper (a bit hard to see in the photo). After stamping my image, I have used Eclipse masking medium to cover my image before stamping the sky (by Ala Art) and the ground cover (Stampscapes). Removed the masked image and colored in using SU watercolor pencils and blender pen. I have used Prima flowers & Making Memories brads for the four corners of my main image. My satin and sheer ribbons are by Darice.
FUNNY STORY .... have you ever done this??? While preparing to upload my card and post the challenge this morning, I realized I put my card together ... UP SIDE DOWN !!! Yep, it opens at the top instead of the bottom ... that's what I get for "not paying attention to detail". Guess this card will soon become a 6" square!!! LOL!!!
Thanks so much for stopping by today and please come play the challenge ... I'm sure you'll have fun!! Wish me luck ... I'll be at DH's workplace today selling my cards for Harvest for Hunger! Hope they ALL sell ... it's such a good cause!! Have a great day!!

Featured Stamper #109

Yesterday's Featured Stamper Challenge over on Splitcoaststamper honored StampingQueenJAR (Judy Rozema). What a great gallery Judy has and it was difficult to pick just one card to case. I finally picked THIS CARD and made a few changes to create this Anniversary card for friends of ours.

My card is A-6 in size and is a premade card which I purchased in a pack of 50 for $5.99 at Michael's. The background paper is from the DCWV Luxury Pack and the lighter blue panel was ivory cardstock, run through the cuttlebug then sponged using Versacolor Indigo & Not Quite Navy inks.

My main panel image is from the Inkadinkado (wedding) set. After stamping with Versafine Black and Detail Clear Embossed ... I used liquid pearls on the wedding gown/border and mauve Stickles on the flowers for extra dimension.

I've paper pierced the Luxury dp top & bottom as well as the Cuttlebugged panel. My corners were punched using the Stampin' Up Slit punch and the gems are from Hero Arts.

For the sentiment, I used a Spellbinder ribbon tag diecut ... after stamping the words using Versacolor Indigo and sponging around with Not Quite Navy. My ribbon is May Arts sheer white. Don't you just love the softness these sheer ribbons give your cards!!

Hope you enjoyed my card. Thanks so much for stopping by today. Don't forget to come back tomorrow when I'll be hosting the Crafty Secrets Challenge over and SCS and sharing my creation with all of you! If you have Crafty Secrets products ... PLEASE come play along ... we have great fun and wonderful inspiration to share!! See you then!!

RAK from a friend ...

Happy Monday All!

I will have more to share with you later but this morning, I wanted to extend a THANK-YOU to a local stamping friend who sent this beautiful Crafty Secrets cotton scraps card to me.

My friend, Lana Edwards, doesn't have a blog or an SCS gallery but she can certainly make beautiful cards & projects. I really must find the time to get her more "computer savy" so she can share her wonderful ideas with us all!! Lana tries not to get involved in too many NEW products but I see she has plunged in and purchased some Crafty Secrets cotton scraps (my favorite of course) and gotten crafty with them! I love how she has stamped on the card base to create a background that matches the scrap so well! And the buckle ribbon treatment is awesome!! I also like how she has positioned the main image at an angle ... she certainly has picked up on several of my favorites. THANKS Lana!!!

I really must start posting other cards I have received from friends ... shame on me for not thinking of this sooner! For those who have sent cards in the past ... I have them all displayed in my craftroom so I can be inspired by your creativity and kindness!! Thanks my friends!!

Stamp Simply #77 - Heat It Up!

Oh my gosh ... is it Friday again already??

That means it's time for another Sharon Johnson's Stamp Simply challenge. Today she's asked us to "Heat It Up" ... our heat guns that is ... and do some heat embossing conveying SIMPLE ELEGANCE. I do some heat embossing but usually on my sentiments ... not the main image. This was fun but I seemed to be "stuck in a rut" for ideas! I even made two cards ... ended up looking pretty much the same to me! LOL!! Looking forward to inspiration from Sharon and her awesome design team.

While making Easter cards for my sister's shop, I used this image (Paper Inspirations) and gold sparkle embossed it because I thought it would make an awesome Easter card. Well ... didn't like it after all and sat it aside (can't throw anything away you know). Today I decided it would work fine for maybe a Sympathy card and fit Sharon's challenge idea. I've used Basic Black for my base card, then cut 2 background panels each 1/4" smaller all around than the last panel. I've used a gold Pilot marker around all edges of these two panels to give the illusion of a gold matting without the weight. The gold ball stickers are from Michael's, as is the organdy ribbon.

For my second card, my image (Paper Inspirations) was stamped with Versamark Dazzle Champagne then embossed using gold sparkle embossing powder. Again, my base card is Basic Black cardstock, but this time my white panel is really matted with gold metallic paper.

I find it so difficult to get a really good photo when using these shiny papers (any hints on this would be appreciated!!).

Back to the card ... my sentiment is by Impression Obsession and it was stamped with Versafine black ink and heat embossed using detail clear embossing powder. My ribbon is from Michaels and is called "A Formal Affair". The butterfly was created using the Martha Stewart punch and the faux stitching was created using a white Gel Xtreme pen.

What a fun challenge! Be sure to check out Sharon's creation as well as her design team ladies ... I have no doubt these ladies will dazzle us with their creativity!!

Thanks for stopping by today ... have a WOnderFul weekend! It's going to be in the 60's here in NE Ohio this weekend ... WOW ... can you believe it!!! Spring is finally on it's way I think!

Memories Mist ...

Hello Everyone!! I hope you are having a wonderful day!!

Last week a couple friends and I visited a new (to me) stamping store and I purchased some Memories Mist. The lady at the counter was gracious enough to do a couple demos for us with various misting products that they sell ... which gave us a few ideas and helped us decide what product would work best for our needs. I only bought a couple bottles for now until I see if I will actually use them. (I hate to admit how many things I have purchased and NEVER used).

The background panel on this card was created using a Dreamweaver Hibiscus Stencil and two different colors of Memories Mist. After laying my stencil over the dry cardstock, I first spritzed it with Pink Lemonade, secondly with Plum Sake then lastly with Iridescent. I wished I could get a really good camera angle so you can see the "sheen" this card has. That sheen comes from the Memories Mist Iridescent which I sprayed on everything!!!

My base card is SU Purely Pomegranate. I've also matted the main panel with pomegranate and the strip across the bg panel is basic black cardstock with a strip of SU Purely Pomegranate Double Stitched ribbon. I used an EK Success corner punch on the bg panel also. My main panel is a Penny Black hibiscus image which was stamped on Very Vanilla cs using Versafine black ink. Once dry, I spritzed with Iridescent. The butterfly is a punch by Martha Stewart and was also spritzed with Iridescent.

I'm very happy with the results of this card and I'm sure I'll be purchasing more "Mist" type products in the future. What "mist" type products do you use?? Any recommendations / suggestions??? Thanks for stopping by today ... please come back tomorrow when I'll be playing my favorite Friday challenge ... Sharon Johnson's STAMP SIMPLY challenge. See you then!!

Color Throwdown / Sketch Challenge Combo

Happy Wednesday Everyone!!!

Today I've combined the Sketch Challenge over on SCS with the Color Throwdown Blog Challenge. I've cheated just a little with my paper color but I think that will be okay. Here are the details:

I've used Pretty in Pink and Regal Rose but I've picked up the Barely Banana color in my Basic Grey Sulty paper pack background. The zigzag stitching is a stamp in the Crafty Secrets Sew Special set. The tree and sentiment are from the new Crafty Secrets Garden Girl set. I've used Versafine black ink for my images and the flowers at the base of the tree (which should really be green because they are ground cover not flowers ... ssshh don't tell anyone ...) were colored with inking nibs and Regal Rose ink. The centers were done with a yellow gellyroll pen. The black metal dots are by Colorbok and of course the bird is a Martha Stewart punch. Pretty easy-peasy but I really like how it turned out!! What are your thoughts??

Crafty Secrets Challenge #58

I'm late with today's Crafty Secrets challenge card but that's okay ... I was helping out a friend!

Today's challenge is hosted by LoriLynn and what a fun challenge. We were to use NUMBERS somewhere on our creation. Lori gave us an entire list of ideas which were a big help. There are numbers on images that you don't always notice!! For instance, how many places do you see numbers on my card??? (click for a closer look if you'd like)

My image is from the Crafty Secrets (Summertime) booklet ... background paper is from Crafty Secrets (Earthy) paper pack and the "Campbell Kid" image advertising today's special is from the Crafty Secrets (Little Chef) stamp set. The only other supplies used are the red gingham ribbon from Michaels, SU watercolor pencils for coloring and dimensional tape.

Well ... did you find them all??? There are numbers on both Guest Checks, 4 Star Cafe sign, 99 cent special sign, and numbers here - there - and everywhere on the background paper. What a fun challenge ... why not come play along ... you'll have a GREAT time!! Thanks for stopping by today ... happy tomorrow!!

Cards for MY MOM ...

Today must be the day to honor MY MOM ... I just read the sweetest tribute my daughter posted on her blog in reference to MY MOM, her GRANDMA. You can read it HERE if you'd like. It made me cry ... get your tissues ready!! Anyways, while talking with my mother (who lives in PA ... 1-1/2 hour drive away) ... she mentioned that she was "out of cards" ... well, say no more ... cards I can provide. Since I will be going down her way tomorrow to help out a friend, I spent the day today making these cards for her. First I decided to make her a set of Monogrammed Note Cards that she could use for just about anything. The card base is SU Rose Red and the designer paper is by DCWV. I've used my JustRite Monogramming Set for the medallion. The doily lace border was punched with a Martha Stewart punch. I think she'll really like these!

I recently received this awesome new Crafty Secrets set called "Garden Girls" and thought Mom would really like them. Like myself, Mom enjoys a more vintage look on her cards. Aren't these images adorable??? I just LOVE this set.

The first card is A-6 in size and I've used K&Co Ancestry designer paper for the background and my Nestabilities for the main image panels. I've used a little tip from Sharon Johnson to sponge around the image before removing it from the die to achieve the outer white mat. I've colored the image using SU watercolor pencils and blender pen. Instead of using ribbon for the horizontal panel, I've used a 1-1/4" piece of Wild Wasabi cardstock which I've embossed with one of Cuttlebugs border embossing folders.

This second card is very similar to the first with the exception to the designer paper being DCWV, I've used a Spellbinder ribbon tag die for my sentiment panel and Offray satin ribbon.

What fun these cards were to make ... sure hope Mom likes them! What are your thoughts ??? Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today and feel free to leave a comment ... ALWAYS makes my day to hear from you!!!

Harvest for Hunger Contribution

Shew ... have I been busy!!!

Here's the story ...


Most of you know that my DH is soon to be off work for awhile having a stem cell transplant. Well, in the meantime he's feeling pretty good and has been going into the office everyday. Last week one day he mentioned to me that his company, in support of Harvest for Hunger, was setting up different tables/booths throughout the building, selling baked goods, jewelry, etc. and he thought he would, as he put it "put me to work!" He thought I could make up boxed sets of cards to sell, similar to the ones I have at my sister's shop, and that would be our contribution to the cause.





HE, of course, will NOT be the one sitting behind the table selling my creations ... (not his cup of tea) ... but he did pitch the idea to one of the ladies in the office and showed her samples of my cards and she was THRILLED about the idea. Evidentally she's not a crafter because she didn't understand at first that I "made these myself" ... after a little explaining, she was REALLY excited and said YES, I'll do this!!! At that point, I had provided him with a three boxed sets for her to see ...

WELL ... he tells me FRIDAY night that he needs 20 boxes of cards (that's another 102 cards YIKES!!) to take into the office by Monday!!! Guess what I've been doing all weekend ... LOL!!

She is also going to take orders for anyone who wants to purchase a personalized monogrammed set which will be made & delivered later. (This will give me something to do while I'm sitting at the Cleveland Clinic ...) The sets consist of either ALL thank-you cards, ALL notecards or three of each. A box of 6 will sell for $10 and again ... all monies will be contributed to the Harvest for Hunger. That means that if all 20 sets sell, our contribution will be $200 ... not too shabby! And of course the money from any ordered sets will also be contributed.




I've kept the layout pretty much the same on all sets (mass production) ... but each set is also different in color, image, and border. You can click on any of the photos if you'd like a closer view. Okay ... I'm tired now ... going to go watch a little TV with DH then it's off to bed!!! Thanks so much for stopping by today ... hope you had a wonderful weekend!!

Featured Stamper #108 - Kelly_H

What a great selection of creations to pick from on today's Featured Stamper Challenge. My first time to the Kelly_H gallery and I just fell in love with THIS LAYOUT so that's the card I decided to case.

For my card I changed the colors and theme. I knew immediately I wanted to use another of the awesome images in the new Crafty Secrets Garden Girl set. Isn't she sweet looking!! I've used a premade A-6 ivory card as my base, basic black cs, ivory cs and The Paper Studio designer papers for this creation. My image is stamped with Versafine Black ink and all layers are sponged using Ranger (antique linen). I've used the Nestabilities oval and oval scallops for the matting on this sweet image. The lace panel is Around the Block (floral frame tape) layered over a strip of basic black cs. I've colored her dress using a SU watercolor pencil & blender pen. And the only other embellishment is this double sided black satin ribbon by Darice. Simple card but I think it's lovely ... what do you think??? Thanks so much for stopping by today ... hope your weekend has been a fun one!!

Please stop back later when I'll share with you the 20 box sets I have created for the Harvest for Hunger project being sponsored by my husband's workplace. I've been really busy getting these prepared in time but it's for a worthy cause so that's okay!!