2 for 1 Creation ..

Here is a card I created last evening to satisfy two different challenges. The layout is for the Carol's Sketch Fun #13 challenge and the "theme" is for the ANIMAL - Stamp Something challenge.

I decided to use this awesome "cat" image from The Rubber Cafe and I've stamped in both Versafine sepia and black inks. The sponging around the outer edge was done with Ranger Vintage Photo distress ink. The antique brass brads are by Making memories. The designer papers I chose to use are all from the Stampin' Up "To the Nines" specialty pack. They have texture and depth .. perfect for this layout design.

Hope you enjoyed this creation! PLEASE come back tomorrow when I have a BIG announcement and some exciting news to share with you!!!! Until then ... have a great, fun day!!!

HVCS Challenge on PCP

It's time for another Paper Craft Planet Heartwarming Vintage/Crafty Secrets group challenge. I am thrilled to be your hostess and just for fun, I thought maybe we'd do "something just a little different" today! What does that mean you ask??? It means anything other than the normal A-2 side open card. You can still use an A-2 sized card but have it open differently ... like I've done here with this "top to bottom" gate card. Or, you can make an A-6 (or larger), square, round, tag ... whatever.

My image is from the Crafty Secrets Halloween Images & Journal Notes booklet. I've used the "journal" portion on the inside of my card. I've also used the Crafty Secrets Halloween Fun stamp set to make the spiderweb corners on the inside. Sorry my photo is blurred ... but you get the idea, I hope!! The bats & moon stamp was stamped onto Crushed Curry cs with Versafine black ink, clear embossed and cut out/popped up for a little added dimension. I've also colored in the pumpkin on the inside panel with Prisma pencils.

Item details are as follows:

Stamps: Crafty Secrets Halloween Fun, Canadian Maple Collection

Papers: Crafty Secrets Radiant dp, Very Vanilla, Basic Black, Whisper White, Crushed Curry, bright Orange cs

Inks: versafine blk

Accessories: Crafty Secrets Halloween Images and Journal Notes, copper Stickles, dimensionals, swivel craft knife, detail clear ep, photo clasps, brads, Prisma pencils

Thanks for stopping by and if you get the opportunity, please come play along in the challenge! I'd love to see what you create!!!

Tootin' My Own Horn ...

I'm not one to go around "Tootin' My Own Horn", but guess who the Featured Stamper over on Splitcoast Stampers is today???? Do you give up, LOL ????

YEP ... IT'S ME!!!

How cool is that! I'm so thrilled and honored!!


Imagine the surprise when I went online early this morning to see who the FS was and pick a card to case ... only to see MY NAME ! WOW !!! It's going to be a GREAT day!!! And I know this because my dear, sweet husband, Mark, actually got up early to take me OUT for breakfast ... and HE drove (hasn't driven in over 4 months) ... then on the way back to the truck from the restaurant I found a penny on the ground ... and you know what they say about that!!! "Find a penny pick it up ... all the day you'll have good luck!!"




Doing the HAPPY DANCE .... Can you tell I'm excited???

Stamp, Scrap & Doodle Saturday Challenge

Have you checked out this relatively new challenge blog yet??? Well, what are you waiting for ... hop on over to Stamp, Scrap & Doodle Saturday blog and play along! This is week #4 and the challenge for today is a sketch challenge. Well, you know how I LOVE a sketch challenge ... here's what I came up with.



Here is the recipe:

Stamps: Studio G
Papers: Really Rust, DCWV textured white core
Inks: Versafine black, Ranger vintage photo
Accessories: Crafty Secrets Halloween Images & Journaling Notes booklet, Cuttlebug spiderweb embossing folder, Michaels wire ribbon, Fiskars swivel craft knife, sand paper, dimensionals





What fun and I'm ahead of the game on my Halloween cards! Yea!! Have a great day (night) ... see you tomorrow!! Thanks so much for stopping by!!

A Creations by Penny card ... (& DH update)

Sorry if I'm overloading you with blog posts tonight but I just LOVE sharing my work with you!! So, with that said ... this will be my last post for the the evening.




Have you checked out the Penny's Challenges Blog yet??? NO you say ... oh dear, then you must jump right over and see what's going on! It's a brand new "challenge blog" (of which I'm proud to say I'm a DT member) and each week Penny has us doing something different, new & exciting!! I created this card the other day using a couple of Penny's digi images from her STORE. Check it out and see if you don't come away with something fun to play with!! In fact, now is a good time to go shopping because she's running a special ... "Receive a FREE digital stamp for every FOUR digital stamps you purchase." Penny is also offering blog candy until Sept. 2 ... hurry over and check it out or see the posting on my sidebar.

Here are the details on this creation:

Stamps: SU French Script
Papers: Creative Memories gingham, DCWV dp, Whisper White, Basic Black
Inks: Versafine Black
Accessories: Creations by Penny digital images, Detail clear embossing powder, Making Memories brads, dimensionals, flourish from Lana's slice machine, Prisma pencils, Gamsol, Fiskars swivel craft knife.


THANK YOU ALL ... for stopping by and letting me share my creativity with you!!

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DH UPDATE: Just a quick note to let you all know that with each passing day Mark is getting stronger and starting to feel a little more "normal". His exhaustion has lessened and his appetite is getting better. In fact, at our visit with the Oncologist this past Monday, Mark asked if the doctor thought it would be okay for him to try going back into the office and try working half days. I'm happy to say that today I took the proper forms over to the Oncologist for his OKAY and Mark will start going into the office beginning Monday. Even though I know it's going to be a difficult week for him because he still does get tired easily ... I'm really glad to see that he's wanting to "get his life back to normal!"

Thanks for still praying for Mark ... we appreciate it SO MUCH!! For him to be going back to work only 4 months after a major transplant ... I'm very proud of him and the support & prayers from all of you is what has got us to this point! BLESS YOU!!

Card Positioning Challenge #130

Good Evening Everyone!!

There's a little story behind the materials used in the making of this card, and here it is ...

While out shopping at Archiver's last week with my friend, Anita, I spotted this BoBunny ribbon and instantly thought ... "oh wow, I have the paper that matches this ribbon, I should get it" ... so I did. I could hardly wait to get home and create
something because I thought it would be AWESOME with the matching ribbon. Well
I'm sure you have figured it out (if you look at the card) I DID NOT have the
matching designer paper! I DID "at one point" but had evidentally used it and
forgotten that I had ... BUMMER!!! After rummaging through all my designer
paper, I managed to locate this paper from the K&Co. Ancestry pack that was
the same color hue and "went with it!!"

The sketch is from the Card Positioning System Card Sketch Challenge #130. And here are the details on all items used for this creation:

Stamps: Stamp Crafts

Papers: K&Company Ancestry dp, Bermuda Bay, Whisper White

Inks: Versafine Black

Accessories: Prima Flower, BoBunny ribbon, Basic Grey brad, The Paper Studio pearls

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a great weekend and remember to do something fun ... life is way to short NOT to put a little fun in your day!!!

DRS Designs Challenge #28

Since I've got my mojo flowing ... I thought I'd play a couple challenges! This week's DRS Sketch Challenge #28 looked like fun so I decided to "play along". I recently purchased a couple DRS images from my friend Tammy Hershberger at Toyrifix so I was all set to go!!

This creation is actually a little "out of the comfort zone" for me. I likes layers of designer paper, ribbon, button, pearls ... well you know what I'm saying!! But I kept this card pretty clean and am VERY happy with the outcome. Here are the details on this creation:

Stamps: DRS Designs, Too Much Fun Rubber Stamps

Papers: More Mustard, Chocolate Chip, Graph45 designer paper

Inks: Versafine Sepia

Accessories: Basic Grey pearls, Fiskars swivel craft knife, dimensionals

Thanks for stopping by today! Hope you have a fun weekend planned!

Stepping Out of My Comfort Zone ...

GOOD FRIDAY EVERYONE!!!

Here we are at another Friday again all ready! My but the time is flying!!! With that being said, it's time again for another STAMP SIMPLY CHALLENGE over on Sharon Johnson's NoTimetoStamp Blog. Today Sharon is "nudging us" to step out of our comfort zone for today's creation.



For me, two ideas instantly came to mind .... (1) I don't typically do "cutsie" stuff and (2) I rarely do 3D projects. SO ... I decided to do both!!



If you saw my previous post, you will know that I got together yesterday with some of my stamping buddies and some of the goodies that Terri brought to share where these awesome Halloween diecuts. I must admit, a lot of these were VERY large and designed more for use in scrapbooking ... but I decided to use an A-6 sized card to "make it work". There is NO stamping on this card (oh no ... I'm going into withdrawal, lol). But this cat & bat where just too cute not to use!! I SIMPLY adhered this Halloween designer paper from Debbie Mumm's Harvest & Holiday Pack, which is sold at JoAnn's ... then popped up the cat & bat with dimensionals!! THAT'S IT!!! This definately isn't ME ... unless I can figure out how to add ribbon & lace to it, LOL!!!


Now for my 3D project!




I must admit I was getting some helpful advice on creating 3d projects yesterday with stampin' buddy Lana (she has a wonderful mind for 3d). I purchased a variety of different sized tins a long time back with "altering" them in mind, but needless to say, I wasn't real sure where to begin so they have sat on the shelf until today!!


I am SO proud of this piece (patting myself on the back, lol). The inside image is actually 3D also. I've purchased several of these 3d pre-cut sheets from The 1870 Shoppe in Zoar, Ohio ... have put them together and sat them aside until such time to make a card or in this case use on a 3d project.




On the lid ... I've used a brown Sharpie marker to color around the frame, added this awesome leaf vine ribbon (thanks Terri) and Embellish It metal butterflies at the corners. My sentiment is by Serendipity. I've stamped it onto white cardstock with Versafine black ink then embossed with detail clear ep. Using my Fiskars swivel craft knife, I cut around the words then antiqued it by sponging with Ranger Antique Linen & Vintage Photo distress inks. It is adhered with a pop dot.


On the inside ... I've used K&Company Ancestry designer paper for the background ... stacked dimensional tape on the back of the 3d image for extra dimension and added another Embellish It metal butterfly at the top.




SO THERE YOU HAVE IT!!!! I have to admit, it was kind of fun "stepping outside my comfort zone"!! You should try it ... then pop on over to Sharon's blog and play along with today's challenge!! It's raining (and supposed to all day!) here in NE Ohio so guess what I'm going to be doing ... LOL!! You guessed it ... I'm headed back to my craftroom and PLAY!!! What ever you decide to do today, I hope it's FUN!!! Have a great day everyone and thanks for stopping by!!

Stamping with Friends ...

Today a few of my stamping friends came over to "PLAY" & "SHARE"! It's always such fun to get together with these ladies. On the left is Lana Edwards (SCS: stampin bear) and on the right is Terri Snode (SCS: tesno or her BLOG).



Lana was sweet enough to bring her "Slice" machine and not only show us how it works but let us cut whatever diecuts we wanted for future use on our creations. She also shared some new Sugar Nellie images with us ... paper & ink was a flyin'!!!!




Terri also brought "goodies" to share. She knows my LOVE for vintage (and now I have Lana doing vintage too, teehee) ... so Terri brought several vintage images to share with us. After informing her that the "Ways To Use It" challenge over on SCS today was "Very Vintage" ... she spent a little time to choose JUST THE RIGHT image for her challenge creation.






She also brought an enormous amount of Halloween "goodies" ... not only all of these diecuts but also satin ribbon, pumpkin ribbon, leaf vine ribbon, and even tulle!! This is a photo of what was "left" after we picked it over, LOL!! She also brought some of her new images to share ... like I said, "paper & ink was a flyin'!"




Since Terri was working on a vintage card and I was running around doing everything "but" stamping, LOL ... Lana decided to put these cuties to use and make Halloween cards for her grandchildren. Check 'em out! Aren't they clever and just the cutest!!! You can click on any image for a "closer look"!!

Around 2:00 my friend Sandy, who is a postal delivery person (mail-lady), and a very talented paper crafter (but doesn't "do the computer thing") called to say she was done working for the day and was on her way to join in on the fun! She was happy to stamp some of the images that Lana & Terri brought to share and start coloring!! And as you can see, I finally stopped running around and started stamping, coloring & creating!! The last time I got together with friends to "PLAY" was out in Shipshewana, IN with the Stamp Simply ladies ... so in honor of that good time, I wore my "I Got Stamped in Shipshewana" teeshirt that the sweet & generous Janine Orchard had prepared for each of us. I thought maybe it would help get my mojo going ... it took awhile, but IT WORKED!!!

I know this has been a long post ... but I just had to share all the good time!! We also had a good lunch (I love to entertain!!) ... I made homemade potato salad, tuna salad on french bread with fresh garden tomatoes and fruit salad. It was yummy and not too fattening!! This last photo is just to prove what a crazy bunch we can be ... but very fun loving!! Poor Terri ... was today's VICTIM!!

Thanks so much for stopping by today and letting me share my fun day with you!! I am SO BLESSED to have wonderful friends ... both locally and in cyberspace!!

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EDIT to orginal post ....

I meant to do a shout out to the other two wonderfully talented ladies who had hoped to join in on the fun today ... Crystal Irwin and Angie Cortes ... but due to their children beginning school this week and unexpected school commitments popping up ... they were unable to attend. Next time ladies ...

Color Throwdown #57

Time for another Color Throwdown Challenge! What do you think of this color combo?? My first thought was "baby card"! So that's exactly the direction I took. I personally don't have much need these days for baby cards but I'm sure someone in the family will ... so, here we go!!

I have used Bashful Blue, wasn't sure what Positively Pink was so I used Melon Mambo and for the Certainly Celery ... I thought this piece of Anna Griffin designer paper was "close enough". Due to the fact that this cute little rockin' horse was an RAK from my online friend Kay Squires (waving Hi to Kay) ... I don't know who makes it ... but if you know (or if Kay's out there) please let me know and I will edit this post. I've used SU watercolor pencils and blender pens for the coloring and Nestabilities Labels One for the layout/matting. The ribbon is double sided satin from Michael's and I've used my Bow Easy (which I purchased from Sharon Johnson's Ribbon Store) to make this perfect bow! I know it's hard to see, but I've used a Signo white pen and made little dots at the four corners of my main image. Pretty easy peasy ... but oh so cute!!

Thanks so much for stopping by today ... it means so much to me!! Hope you're having a wonderful day!! I'm having a few friends in to "PLAY" tomorrow so I'd better get my house cleaning started! LOL!!

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EDIT ... I just heard from Kay and this cute little image is "Stamps by Judith".

Penny's Challenge #4

It's Wednesday and time for another Penny's Challenge!! For Week #4's challenge we are to use FLOURISHES!! I just happened to have recently purchased these Spellbinder's Shapeabilities and thought they'd be perfect ... what do you think?? I've used the "crayon resist" technique for my card and Basic Grey Amrosia paper for the background. Here are all the details:

Stamps: Just for Fun, AMuse

Papers: Really Rust, Basic Black, Basic Grey Ambrosia dp

Inks: Versafine Black, Pumpkin Pie

Accessories: Detail Clear ep, White Crayola crayon, sponge, Nestabilities (cirlces), Spellbinder Shapeabilities, The Paper Studio pearls, Offray satin ribbon

Hop over HERE to check out all the challenge details, and to leave a link to your own creation! And please don't forget to check out the blogs for the other design team members for even more inspiration:

* Alison - Hairy Harry's Craft

* Boni - Bonibleaux Designs

* Kim - Memories in Thyme

* Darlene - That's Me, teehee!!

* Cheryl - CherCroppin's Stamp Pad

* Alanna - Alanna's Spot in the World

* Penny - Creations by Penny

WOWSA ... Blog Candy Galore

Remember me just telling you about all the excitement going on over on "priscillastyles" blog ... well check out this BLOG CANDY!! PLEASE, jump on over and check out all the details!! Then read on ... there's more!!!

Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge #16

It's time for another Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge and WOW ... CHECK THIS OUT ... how surprised was I to be honored with this Royal Loyal Award for participating in every sketch from the start of this AMAZING Challenge Blog!! If you haven't been over to "Priscillastyles", you are REALLY MISSING IT!!!!! Every week there are more & more giveaways & prizes & challenges & awards ... WOW ... there is SO much going on you have to really pay attention NOT to miss anything ... REALLY ... IT's AWESOME!

Moving on ....

My card for this week's sketch is a little out of the ordinary for me. As most of you know, my children are grown and even my grandchildren aren't "little" anymore but all the excitement in the neighborhood about school starting this week had me inspired to create using this adorable Crafty Secrets Childhood Booklet image. The number & pencils paper used in the background panels had no markings on it as far as manufacturer (sorry) but were very appropriate none the less!! Here are the details on this creation:

Stamps: None

Papers: Very Vanilla, Old Olive, Real Red, Basic Black, Crushed Curry

Inks: None

Accessories: Crafty Secrets Childhood Booklet image, Paper Piercer/template, Crayola crayons, Large Primary Buttons, Colorbok metal dots, Darice ribbon

Thanks for stopping by today!! Don't forget to stop back tomorrow for Penny's Challenge #4! As well as the Color Throwdown and SCS Sketch Challenges. I know ... I'm obsessed with challenges ... can't get enough of them!! LOL !! Hope to see you then!

Not ONE but TWO Crafty Secrets Challenges ...

Hello Everyone ... I hope you're having a wonderful start to your week!!

Today I have TWO Crafty Secrets challenge cards to share with you!! First is for the SCS Crafty Secrets Forum Challenge ... hosted by Marcy (kiddielitter). And this week, we are "Going to the Fair". This is an Inspirational Challenge and it was great fun! With Mark's illness, we haven't been to the local summertime Fairs in a couple of years (so sad!!) and creating this card really made me realize just how much I miss those times together ... OH WELL ... there's always next year, right!!!

This card has NO stamping or ink ... but a lot of fun images & fond memories! I've used a Red, White & Blue theme to spotlight the American traditions. The images of course are Crafty Secrets ... from the Seasonal Booklet. The Bingo card and tickets are RAKs from my friends Kris Dickinson and Robin Woodward. (you can click on their names to check out their blogs ... awesomely talented ladies!). And, the striped grosgrain ribbon is from Michael's.

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My second card for you today is for the We Love Crafty Secrets Group challenge over on Paperee and hosted by Julie Campbell. Julie has requested our creative energy lean towards FALL. Here I've used the Crafty Secrets Cotton Scraps for my sentiment and the image is from the Crafty Secrets Seasonal booklet. The papers I've used are SU old olive, pumpkin pie, chocolate chip and very vanilla. The designer paper is Debbie Mumm for JoAnn's. My maple leaves and acorns are from the Spellbinder's Shapabilities Fall Leaves diecuts. I've also used Bead Party Braiding Cording as an embellishment around my image. I'm very happy with how this card came out ... hope you like it too!!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Hope you're having a GREAT day! The sun is shining here in NE Ohio ... that means I'd better quit playing and get some work done, LOL!!

Get Sketchy Challenge #2

Happy Monday Everyone!!

Are you scurrying around trying to get those kiddo's off to their first day of school?? I know my granddaughter, Morgan was looking forward to starting her SENIOR year today ... oh to be 17 again {{sigh}}!

Have you checked out the Re-Do over on the Get Sketchy Blog?? Well now they are going to do a WEEKLY challenge every Friday and week #2 is underway! Here is the sketch to follow for this week and here is what I've come up with. Here are the details on this creation:

Stamps: None

Papers: Real Red, Basic Black, Whisper White, Doodlebug designer paper

Inks: None

Accessories: Petaloo polka dot flower, prima flower, making memories brad, Michaels ribbon, Cuttlebug swiss dot ef, Creative Memories square punches

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today ... I hope you've found some inspiration here! Hope your Monday is a fun one!!

OCC & SK082209 Challenges

This morning I have a couple cards to share with you. This card covers the requirements of two different challenges. This week's OCC Challenge was to use the new IN-Colors ... and the layout is for the Paper Craft Planet (PCP) sketch challenge (sk082209).

The IN-colors I chose to use are: Bermuda Bay, Rich Razzleberry & Melon Mambo. The designer paper is by Karen Foster and the inks I've used are Versafine Black and Bermuda Bay. The ribbon is also the new IN-color Bermuda Bay grosgrain. My images are Penny Black (flowers) and SU Heartfelt Thanks (sentiment).

This will be a sympathy card that will go into my stash that I hope I never need to use!! Thanks for stopping by today .. have a great one!!

Featured Stamper & PCP Crafty Secrets Challenges

Happy Sunday Everyone!!

YES, I will be going back to the WHOLE FAMILY family reunion later this afternoon but first I have creations to share with you all.




Sunday is always the Featured Stamper Challenge over on SCS and today's honoree is Joanne (JoJot). Joanne is an amazingly talented stamper and it was really fun going through her gallery to pick a card to case ... not EASY mind you ... but FUN!! The card I chose can be seen HERE and I've kept the basic layout but changed the theme, colors and size as well as added ribbon and paper piecing. A couple little extras I did here were to paper piece the main image flower and to cut out the upper corner flower from the backside of the one designer paper.




Here are the details on this card:


Stamps: SU Bloomin' Beautiful, StampCraft

Papers: Whisper White, Soft Sky, SU Urban Garden dp

Inks: Versafine black

Accessories: Nestabilities, Paper Piercer / template, swivel craft knife, Creative Memories decorative corner punch, dimensionals, Making Memories brads, Offray ribbon


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Every Sunday morning I have the pleasure of hosting the challenge over on the Papercraft Planet for the Heartwarming Vintage/Crafty Secrets Group. This week it's all about RIBBONS.






There is NO stamping on this card and for my main focus, I have used an image from the Crafty Secrets HOMEMADE images & journaling notes pack. The eggs were on the lower (journaling) portion and I've used my Fiskars swivel craft knife to cut them out to add to the bottom corner. I'm sure you can't read what is written on the eggs so let me tell you what they say ... "Health, Happiness, Prosperity". I've used some gorgeous ribbon I was fortunate enough to receive from the lovely Sharon Johnson during our Stamp Simply Get Together last month over in Shipshewana, IN. I've also used the BOW EASY tool which I purchased from Sharon's store to make this lovely bow. The papers I have used for this creation are Crushed Curry, Only Orange and SU Tea Party dp.






Well ... guess I'd better get going or I'll be late for the reunion!! Thanks for stopping by! I'll be back later with a couple other challenge cards for you to hopefully be inspired by!

Treehouse Thursday Challenge ...

This week's Treehouse Thursday Challenge #011 is honoring my friend Crystal Irwin so I just HAD to play along. How you play is to go to Crystal's SCS gallery and case one of her creations. How fun is that!! THIS IS CRYSTAL'S card that I chose to case. I picked that particular card because it is the card she created for another one of my favorite challenge blogs, The Color Throwdown Challenge and it just happened to fall on my birthday, July 15th. I know ... call me crazy but it just seemed like the thing to do, LOL!!





Okay so here's the details on this card. Isn't this image adorable ... I don't know who the mfg is ... it came to me as an RAK from my friend Kay Squires and I've colored it with a combination of SU watercolor pencils & Gelly Roll Stardust pens. The designer paper is by Paper Pizazz and the other papers are Night of Navy and (I'm assuming) Whisper White. My sentiment is from Inkadinkado and is stamped in Night of Navy ink. There were two ribbons used ... olive green grosgrain from Michaels and navy organza from Hobby Lobby.




Well ... that's it! If you get the chance, please pop over to Crystal's gallery and check out her work ... she also has an awesome blog FOUND HERE. I know ... I should be at the Reunion ... I'm going !!!! LOL!!

It's time for another ...

STAMP, SCRAP & DOODLE SATURDAY!!!

Are you having fun yet this weekend??? (I'm supposed to be at my Cousin's Reunion but I'm playing hookie just long enough that I can play along with some of my favorite challenges!!)



Today's SSDS challenge is to create a MONOCHROMATIC card/project. Believe it or not, doing mono cards can actually give me grief!! But since I had this awesome image from the Digital-Ink Co already colored and ready to go, I knew exactly what color I wanted to create with today!! And the fact that I just received my pack of the new SU IN-colors & ribbon ... Melon Mambo was my color of choice!! My 17 year old granddaughter is going to love this card!!



My digi image was colore with SU watercolor pencils & blender pens ... then once dry, gone over again with the pencils. Crystal Effects was added to the car to make it shiny (like a new car should look). The Bazzill paper flower has a brad center that says LOVE (don't know if you can see that unless you click for a closer look) which came from Target. I also used another brad in the center of the ribbon bow at the bottom . Here are all the details on this card:

Papers: Melon Mambo, Basic Grey Porcelain
Inks: Melon Mambo
Accessories: SSDS Image, SU Watercolor Pencils, blender pens, Crystal Effects, Stipple brush, Creative Memories corner rounder, Bazzill paper flower, Target brads, SU Melon Mambo grosgrain ribbon, BOW Easy






To join in on the fun and be eligible for this weeks fabulous prize. Head over to the SSDS blog and link your creation to Mr. Linky by 10:00 pm (EST) Friday (8/28/09) evening. Well ... guess I'd better get back to the Reunion before I'm missed ... boy, I'll really be in trouble!! LOL!! Have a great day & weekend! Do something fun for yourself ... life is too short not to enjoy each day the Lord gives us!!!

Basic Grey & Stamp Something Challenges

I'm combining challenges today because (ssshhh, I'm supposed to be at my Cousin's Reunion) but I wanted to do some of my favorite challenges ... THEN I'll go back to the reunion!!

The new Basic Grey Challenge has decided to go WEEKLY. So for Week 2, they are offering a Color Challenge of Brown, Yellow & Pink (along with Basic Grey products of course) and this is what I've come up with. While creating this card I was keeping the Stamp Something Challenge in mind also ... today it's BIRTHDAYS. You can never have enough Birthday greeting cards laying around!!!





Here are the details on this creation:

Stamps: Penny Black
Papers: Pink Pirouette, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Basic Grey (Porcelain)
Inks: Summer Sun, Versafine Black
Accessories: Nestabilities (Circles & Ovals .. plain & scalloped), Offray satin ribbons, SU Watercolor pencils, blender pen, Basic Grey brad, JustRite




Thanks for stopping in today!!!

Cards to share with you ...

Since it's going to be a very busy weekend ... FAMILY REUNION time ... and mine is ALL WEEKEND LONG. Yep, a full weekend ... I come from a very LARGE family and about 20 years ago we started having just the 1st cousins getting together on Friday evening & Saturday then the entire family on Sunday. There are 42 first cousins and a zillion more 2nd, 3rd, 4th & 5th. So, needless to say, I probably won't have much time for crafting. With that in mind, I'd like to share a couple extra cards with you today.











First is a card I created for the MOON Challenge over on the CCEE Stampers Challenge blog. Cindy Motherway (SCS: Mothermark) is our hostess this month and she's a VERY clever lady. The first week was the BIRDS & the BEES .... second week was the FLOWERS & the TREES ... this week is the MOON up above .... can you see where this is going???? Those of us from the 60's era remember this song and have no doubt what next week's challenge will be!!! Do you know what it is???









The stamps used in this creation are Stampscapes and Rubber Stampede. Ink colors are Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, Not Quite Navy & Versafine Black. I've used chalks to color the rocks, ducks and sun shadows. The moon was created by cutting a circle with my Nestabilites and putting it in place before sponging on all my blue shades for the sky ... then I removed it before stamping the trees. Hope you enjoy this creation ... I'm always happy when I can create with my Stampscapes!






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My second card for today is a card I created for encouragement to a lady named Maddy Mason. Maddy is from New York and is a stamper over on SCS. This lady has been suffering with a rare form of cancer for a very long time now and is still doing her best to keep a smile on her face and make it through each and every day. Cindy Motherway (SCS - Mothermark) has been an ANGEL of Mercy and kept us all up to date on Maddy situation /progress. If you are interested in sending a card Maddy's way ... please check out the SCS thread located HERE for the address information.


I've used the sketch from The Fresh Batch: Stamps & Smiles Sketch Challenge SASSC29 for the layout and my starting point. I purchased this Spellbinder's Framability yesterday and just had to give it a try. My images are from Cornish Heritage Farms and they were stamped with Versafine Black ink onto a photograph of the clouds which I had taken out of an airplane window a couple of years ago and printed onto white cardstock. The only other embellishments on this card are the Prima flowers and Making Memories brads. A pretty easy peasy card with a powerful message! I hope it makes Maddy smile ... if even for a moment!!






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My third & last card for today, is one I just created for fun!!! This is a digital image from SSDS ... isn't it the cutest!! I used SU watercolor pencils & blender pens to color it in then waited for awhile and penciled over it again. I've used the "negative" of a Nestabilities scalloped oval that I had cut for another project to frame him in. The images on the corners are Sugarloaf stamps which I've stamped with Stazon Opaque snow white ink and embossed with Ranger Embossing Pearls and the ribbon is from Michaels.



How do you like my photo staging, LOL!! I've had this DCWV Halloween 12x12 paper laying around for my scrapbooking pages but since my scrapbooking has been on the back burner since I started making cards ... I figured I may as well use it for background when photographing. It kind of helps "get you in the SPOOKY mood" ...






Well FINALLY ... that's it for today. I hope you can find some inspiration from my designs ... I know I certainly do from all of you!! Have a WONDERFUL weekend everyone!

Stamp Simply #101 - Let's Polka!

Well the Birthday party is over on Sharon's (notime2stamp) blog but they're still dancing ... and they're doing the polka ... DOTS that is!! So be sure to pop on over to the Stamp Simple #101 Challenge and check out all the details and come play along!! While you are there, don't forget to check out the samples her design team ladies have come up for your inspiration ... they are an AMAZING bunch!!!




For my creation, this lovely Anna Griffin designer paper just begged to be used! And if you "click for a closer look", you will see that the pink sentiment image is actually "dotted" as well as I've added dots to the scalloped matted circle. Here are all the details on this card:


Stamps: Hero Arts, Inkadinkado

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

Inks: Versamark, Versafine black

Accessories: Fiskars Apron Lace border punch, pink Pan Pastel artist chalk, cotton ball, Darice grosgrain ribbon, Signo white pen




Thanks for stopping by today! Hope your Friday is a good one and your weekend is even better!!!

Combining challenges ...

I was very short on stamping time yesterday so before leaving the house in the morning I was able to combine the weekly SCS Sketch Challenge with this week's Color Throwdown Challenge. Over on the color throwdown, Broni chose to use some of the new IN-COLORS and this is what I came up with. Here are the details on this card:

Stamps: SU Fruit Stand

Papers: dusty durango, bermuda bay, soft suede, BoBunny dp, white glossy cardstock

Inks: Versafine blk, summer sun, pumpkin pie, close to cocoa

Accessories: distresser, SU soft suede grosgrain ribbon

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Here is another card which I made for the sketch challenge over on Carol's Sketch Fun #12 ... only to realize later that I had already created a card for that challenge ... that's okay, can never have enough "generic" cards ... right!!

Details for this card are:

Stamps: B-Line Designs

Papers: Mellow Moss, Colorbok (Tracey Porter) dp

Inks: Versafine black

Accessories: SU watercolor pencils, blender pen, Bazzill paper flower, Darice grosgrain ribbon, Pebbles Inc. candy dots

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I appreciate your time and kind words!

Stamp Something - VACATION

I am running this challenge right to the end of time ... YIKES!!! So it's going to be SHORT ... I know, I can hear you shouting "YEAH!!!!" LOL

This card was created for the Stamp Something - VACATION challenge. This is a quick snopses of the challenge:

This week we thought with summer unfortunately winding down, we should look
back at the fun times we had. So we want to see projects inspired from something
from your summer vacation. Take inspiration from somewhere you went, someone you
visited, something you saw or anything at all that reminds you of summer!!!!
Cards, layouts, and altered items are always welcome!!

With my DH having a stem cell transplant in April, vacation this year was pretty much out of the question ... BUT ... we are hoping to share a BIG vacation next summer when he's healthier. That doesn't mean I didn't envy those family members that were fortunate & lucky enough to walk the sandy beaches this summer ... so, that was the inspiration for my card.

Details of my card:

Stamps: Inkadinkado

Papers: Whisper White, Basic Black, Bashful Blue, DCWV designer paper

Inks: Versafine black

Accessories: chalk, makeup applicators, swivel kraft knife, detail clear ep, Creative Memories decorative cutter

Thanks for stopping by today!

Penny's Challenges

Happy Wednesday Everyone!!

Time again for Penny's Challenge and today she has a "sketch" for us to play with. Don't you just LOVE sketch challenges ... they are always a great "starting point" to get your juices flowing.

What a fun sketch! I was insistant on using this tag stamp that I've had in my stash for a very long time but needed to flip the sketch to do so. Here are the details on my card:

Stamps: Hero Arts (tag), Inkadinkado (flourishes), Art Impressions (sentiement)

Papers: Whisper White, Brillant Blue, Graphic45 designer paper

Inks: Groovy Guava, Versafine Black

Accessories: Chalk, Make-up applicators, Martha Stewart Arch Lattice border punch, Kaiser mini pearls, Offray grosgrain ribbon, Bow Easy



Be sure to pop on over to Penny's Challenge Blog to get all the details on this challenge. While you're there check out the "blog candy" Penny has up for grabs!! Don't forget to check out the sample cards these DT ladies have created for your inspiration:

* Alison - Hairy Harry's Craft
* Boni - Bonibleaux Designs
* Kim - Memories in Thyme
* Darlene - Dar's Crafty Creations (You are HERE!)
* Cheryl - CherCroppin's Stamp Pad
* Alanna - Alanna's Spot in the World


Thanks so much for stopping by today! Hope you are having a GREAT day!!

2Sketches4You Challenge

Today I decided to play the sketch challenge over on the 2Sketches4You blog. We have an upcoming wedding in Toledo, OH to attend in September and wanted to create a couple wedding cards to choose from. And this sketch looked like a great one to start with.

The details on this card are as follows:

Stamps: American Crafts (wedding)

Papers: Whisper White, Very Vanilla, DCWV Luxury designer paper

Inks: Versafine black

Accessories: Darice satin ribbon, Martha Stewart Arch Lattice punch, Ranger liquid pearls, Nestabilities (circle & scalloped circle), dimensionals

(click for larger view)

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Hope you've had a GREAT one!!

Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge #15

Time for another MIDNIGHT MADNESS SKETCH CHALLENGE over on Priscillastyles blog! I'm really running behind today and just got around to creating (8:30 pm) ... where does the time go???

My focus image is a little large for the sketch ... but when I opened my "vintage" drawer of images ... this "Betty Davis looking" lady spoke to me. Needless to say, I just had to answer her request. Here are the details on this creation:


Stamps: Hero Arts

Papers: Very Vanilla, SU Bella Bleu designer paper

Inks: Versafine sepia, Ranger vintage photo

Accessories: Nestabilities (long rectangles), Bazzill paper flowers, K&Company pearl brads, The Paper Studio mini pearls, sponge, Darice satin ribbon, Crop-o-dile, Martha Stewart branch punch




Thanks for stopping by and taking a peek at my creation. If you haven't checked out Priscilla's challenge blog yet ... for goodness sake, get over there ... besides these awesome sketches to play with each week, she has some AWESOME giveaways going on!!!

A Couple PCP Group Challenges

I took a little time to color today while waiting at the hospital for DH. "Ya know ... people look at you real strange when you're sitting in a hospital waiting room coloring, LOL!!!"




This first card was made for the Mo's Digital Pencil Group. If you haven't seen this ladies drawings, you are really missing it! She's offered up a few "freebies" to get you started and this little guy ... Ben is his name ... is one of those freebies. Isn't he adorable!!! (click for larger view)


Details:

Stamps: none

Papers: Whisper White, Creative Memories Red Gingham dp, Royal Blue cs, Basic Black

Inks: none

Accessories: SU watercolor pencils, blender pen, Prisma Color markers, Nestabilities (oval & scalloped oval), Martha Stewart picket fence border punch, SU large eyelets

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My second card is for the AiFactory Group Challenge - BABY. At my age, I don't have much call for baby cards and I actually had to think about what I might have that would "fit the bill". Then I remembered this image which came in an RAK last week from my online friend, Kay Squire (waving ... Hi Kay!). Isn't it so sweet? And I had fun coloring it using my Prisma pencils.

Details:

Stamps: SU Riveting, American Crafts, (Image ??)
Papers: Gable Green, Certainly Celery, Crafty Secrets Pastel designer paper
Inks: Versafine black
Accessories: Prisma pencils, Nestabilities, Darice lace


Thanks for stopping by today ... hope you enjoyed these cards and find inspiration from my work!! Don't forget ... Tuesday is Crafty Secrets Challenge day ... so, I'll be back with that creation for your viewing pleasure, lol!!