**NEW** Whiff of Joy Challenge

Only within the past couple of weeks I spotted these cute stamps and just HAD TO HAVE THEM!! They are called Whiff of Joy and I find them adorable!!! I started out with just two but I'm sure I'll be purchasing more as I go along!! This little lady is called "Willow" and she has a male counterpart named "Oakley" ... there are also others and they are ALL adorable ... check 'em out when you get the chance. And, if you get the opportunity to play the challenge, you can find it HERE.

The very 1st WOJ challenge is a sketch challenge. Much different from so many other sketches I have done but I really had fun figuring out and putting this one together! I have LOVED coloring since I was a child and these adorable images give you the opportunity to "color to your hearts content". This card actually only uses a portion of the full size image. I've added the actual sketch so you can give it a try if you'd like ... I found it unique and challenging ... but lots of fun!!

Thanks so much for stopping by today and if you left a comment for me ... thanks bunches ... LOVE hearing what you all have to say! Please stop back again!!

Challenges for Our Creative Corner Blog

Here are a couple of cards I made for the challenges over on the Our Creative Corner blog. Their usual challenge is on Saturday but they've decided to try something new and do a mid-week challenge. For the first mid-week challenge, they want you to Case the OCC ... in other words, pick one of the OCC design team members and case one of her creations. I chose to case Dawn Easton (known on SCS as treasureoiler). If I get time, I'd love to go back and case a few others but I think that time is running out quickly for me!!! You can see Dawn's card HERE ! This challenge is open until Tuesday, Sept. 30th and one lucky winner will be awarded some fun NEW paper from My Mind's Eye called "Be Merry".


Now ... on to today's OCC challenge. This week the girls have a guest designer, Michelle Rodgers of Stamper's Dream and she will be sponsoring a prize for this week's entry winner! Go to the OCC blog and check it out ... really cool stuff and also check out Stamper's Dream ... you won't be sorry!!


Today we are to make a card/project using colored stitching. You can either use your sewing machine, hand stitch, faux stitch ... but it has to be in color ... no white stitching allowed!!! I've made a very "simple" card using my The Rubber Cafe butterfly stamps. I chose to use faux stitching and I cut out and popped up the large butterfly for a little more dimension. The base card is actually "elegant eggplant" color and the butterflies were also stamped in elegant eggplant and I used a fuchsia ZIG marker to do a little hightlights on the large butterfly to match in with the faux stitching. Not my best work ... but it's late, I'm so behind on all my challenge stamping and just wanted to get one card submitted on time!

Thanks for stopping by and please feel free to comment! I always love hearing from you!!

Crafty Secrets Challenge

If you like "vintage" style, you should really check out the Crafty Secrets forum challenge over on Splitcoaststampers. This week Joanne (angelnorth) hosted the challenge and the theme was "Going Places". I am really late getting to play this week due to taking care of my mother's health needs, but I finally got around to it today!

How much fun was this card to make. At first I couldn't think what Crafty Secrets product I had that would fit the challenge ... but after a review of my stash, I probably could have made a dozen cards to fit this theme.

This image came from the Crafty Secrets Christmas images and Journal notes booklet. I cut it into various pieces and repositioned them on the card. The friendly snowman in the corner has been popped up for a little added dimension. The musical lyrics is from the Crafty Secrets Vintage Christmas stamp set and the snowflakes were made using an EKSuccess punch.

Thanks for stopping by ... hope to see you back again real soon!!

No Time To Stamp Challenge

If you've never been to Sharon Johnson's blog, you really must check it out! Her STAMP SIMPLY cards are amazing and her design team is "top-notch".

Over the past several weeks, she has been honoring each of the girls on her DT. Today it's Janine Orchard's turn to be honored. Today's challenge: 2bKrafty with Janine requires that we make a card using Janine's style of design ... vivid colors, use of circles/ovals, lots of dew drops, prima flowers, crisp, fresh & fun!!

I only recently purchased this cute stamp called Whiff of Joy (Willow & Oakley) which I colored in using SU watercolor pencils and a blender pen. The background paper is Anna Griffin. My sentiment comes from the SU "Like it a Latte" set and the ovals were cut using the Nestabilities by Spellbinder die cuts. Prima flowers and dew drops were the perfect finishing touches for this cute card.

I think my granddaugher will really like this stamp and will want to borrow it to make cards for her friends! Or have me make them!!! She's a junior in high school and is pretty busy these days so maybe I'll surprise her and make up a few for her ... what do you think?? Thanks so much for stopping by my blog ... please leave me a comment, I love hearing what you have to say about my work!!

EVEN MORE EXCITING NEWS!!!

Have you noticed the new addition to my side bar???
I'm so excited ... I get to play along with the other girls on THE RUBBER CAFE design team!! How cool is that!! You just HAVE to check out their site ... what cute images they offer!! I can NOT wait to receive my rubber so I can really get my hands dirty and see what all I can come up with!! And when I do, of course I will be sharing it with all of you!!


But in the meantime, here is a card I made today using an existing the Rubber Cafe stamp I had in my stash. This "cat" is so cool ... this is a perfect card for my sister who loves animal print clothes and "lives on the wildside" (always has ... always will)!


Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by and all comments are appreciated! ! !

Sorry I've been MIA!

Just a quick note to let you know why I have been "MIA".

My mom had surgery last week ... her home was without power for over a week ... she came home from the hospital and stayed with my aunt over night then she came here to our home for some recoup time. Each day she got stronger and started feeling much better. I think just the fact that she had someone to talk to helped tremendously (she lives alone).

Long story short ... I took her back to the doctors today to get her "staples" out and he said everything looks great. She's allowed to drive again ... her power is back on (had to totally restock the frig) ... and we even did a little fall decorating for her today! She's back in her own home ... my DH is feeling a little better after having chemo last week also!

There just was NO time to stamp but I plan on having some "ME" time tomorrow and will be back with the results!! Thanks so much to those of you who have sent well wishes not only to my DH but also my Mom and Brother (who, by the way, is doing great after having a double bypass 2 weeks ago.)

Heart to Heart Blog CANDY & CCEE challenge.

Here is a card I made for today's challenge over on the CCEE Stampers blog. Carolyn King (Cammie) is the hostess and has designed a really cute stamp set through Gina K Designs called "Whimsical Autumn". All of Carolyn's proceeds for the sale of these stamps will go to the Alzheimer's Association in honor of her grandmother who passed away in July.

Everything on this card is done using this cute stamp set. We are to make a Thanksgiving card/Fall themed card using this set (if you have it) or whatever stamps you have that are fitting. The second part of the challenge is to send this card out to someone in your life to let them know you are thankful for him/her.

When I saw Carolyn's posting, I just had to make a purchase/contribution to this cause. My MIL is afflicted with this disease and it's so sad and difficult to witness what she goes through. Check out Carolyn's blog for more information. It is truly amazing how many companies are partaking in this giveaway and how much money has already been donated to the Alzeheimer's Association. ONE lucky winner will win over $1,000 worth of prizes!!! Another part of this contest/challenge is to send your card to the "caretakers" of these afflicted folks. My card will go to the facility where my MIL has residence: SUNRISE of Upper St. Clair, 500 Village Drive, Upper St. Clair, PA. These folks do a wonderful job and deserve recognition!!

Isn't that little squirrel adorable!!! Thanks for stopping by and PLEASE check out Carolyn's blog!!

Quickie Cards...

Here are a couple quick & easy Christmas cards I made today!

The card on the left is simply matted designer paper with an image from SU Lovely As A Tree stamped & embossed in the left corner and a ribbon tied on the right side. Very easy peasy!!

The card on the right is relatively easy with the exception of coloring the image. Of course you can always stamp an image like this in "sepia" to give it that vintage look and not have to do coloring. The base card is a duplex green/ivory cardstock which I have bordered using a silver Pilot marker. The sentiment is stamped in silver, and the snowflakes are stamped with Versamark and embossed with Ranger silver embossing powder. Thanks for stopping by!!

Huge Thanks to ALL!!

I just want to take a moment and say Thanks to all those wonderful people who have sent Well Wishes to my husband, Mark over the past month! So far he has received over 2 dozen cards and they are all so FANTASTIC! He has really enjoyed receiving them and checking out all the different styles and layouts. As a lot of you know, we still have a ways to go on this Chemo Journey but with friends like all of you, the journey isn't quite so bad!!

Many of my friends here and on SCS ask me if I'm OK! Of course, my answer is yes because I know that at the end of this journey my husband will be well again and we can pickup where we left off so many months ago and enjoy the rest of our lives together.

I have been so thrilled with the Get Well/Encouragement focus being on Mark that when I received a few cards of my own, it was even more special! I've posted them for you to see.

If you would like to see the collection of cards Mark has received, I have created an ALBUM on my SCS gallery. What a great community of friends I have made over on SCS and throughout the stamping world ...

A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who is keeping us in their thoughts and prayers! God Bless You ALL!!! (And to my local friends ... I don't know what I'd do without you!!)

Is there something missing here???

I made this card today using the sketch challenge over on Jen del Muro's site and the Our Creative Corner challenge to use chipboard. I was happy with it when I was initially finished but now that I look at it more I really think it's lacking "something". I'm not sure what though! Any thoughts?? Maybe some rub-on WORDS across the upper left hand corner, like PEACE or something like that??

The chipboard is from Crafty Secrets (sweet chips). I seem to have some difficulty using chipboard ... not sure what I'm supposed to do with it!! Well, it seems I'm in a bit of a funk here!

Howling at the Moon!

I am SO THRILLED with the outcome of this card!!

Over on SCS, the Wednesday Technique was SWIPED WIPE. This sounded interesting so I knew I wanted to give it a try but didn't get the chance on Wednesday. On Thursday, the "Ways to Use It" challenge was SILHOUETTES, another interesting idea but didn't get time to play! I thought about these two challenges over night and decided this morning that after my 8:00 a.m. doctor's appointment I was coming home and putting these two ideas together on one card!

The "swipe wipe" technique was easy! Since I just received my "Nature Silhouettes" set yesterday, I knew it was the one to use!!! The hardest part was doing a layout that would really focus on the silhouette and not be too "busy". After trying several different ideas, and this is what I came up with!

The recipe for this card is as follows:

Stamps - SU Nature Silhouettes, Stampscapes

Paper - Duplex hunter green/ivory cs, old olive, basic black, glossy white

Ink - Palette Noir Black, Reinkers: blue bayou, rose romance, summer sun & old olive

Other - Offray olive satin ribbon, paper piercer, baby wipe, Nestabilities, lg. sponge pod

Thanks for stopping by!! Please let me know what you think of my work ... good & bad!! There is ALWAYS room for improvement!!

Sketches! {by tamara} challenges

This card was done to cover two challenges over on the Sketches! {by tamara} blog. Tuesday's Scrapping Recipe Challenge #15 and Thursday's Card Sketch #62. The recipe was: scalloped edges, brads & monochromatic colors. The sketch called for a "long card" but I chose to make an A-6 sized card. I just received this new SU "Nature Silhouettes" set and just LOVE it!!

The recipe for this card are as follows:

Stamps - SU Nature Silhouettes, Stampabilities & Stampscapes

Paper - SU - River Rock cs & dp, very vanilla

Ink - SU - River Rock, Versafine black

Other - SU River Rock double stitched grosgrain ribbon, Making Memories brass brads, paper piercer, gold Pilot marker, Nestabilities rectangle scallop die cut

Thanks for stopping by and taking a peek!! Have a great day!!

Stamp Simply Challenge #53

There's always a fun challenge over on Sharon Johnson's Blog! Today she is honoring another one of her design team ladies ... Jennifer Buck (SCS: JenniB04). We are to make a card using Jennifer's STYLE of design which is usually clean & fresh, with cutsie type images but always done with total class. I find it difficult to try and mimic someone else's STYLE ... hope I've done her proud!! What do you think??

Stampin' D'Amour Challenge #51

This is my submission for the weekly challenge over on the Stampin' D'Amour message board. Kris Dickinson (parkerquilter) is our hostess this week and she has really put together a great challenge. We are to 1.) create a chipboard Halloween tag or ornament ... 2.) must include black & orange ... 3.) at least one embellishment. The challenge will run for 2 weeks until Sept. 28th at which time there will be AMAZING Halloween RAK for the lucky winner of the drawing on Sept. 29th. How exciting is that!!!

I haven't done much with chipboard in the past but I think I'll be doing more with it in the future!!! Here is what I came up with: I've used a Darice chipboard circle ... inked it with SU "summer sun" ... rimmed it with "pumpkin pie" ... inked up the Inkadinkado (Halloween Trails) witch with Palette noir black and embossed with clear ep ... punched a hole with my Crop-a-dile to add the black grosgrain ribbon for hanging and sewed on a fall leaf button.

Not bad for a 1st but I think I'll have to give this challenge yet another try over the next week! Thanks for stopping by!!

Color Throwdown Challenge #11

Today's Color Throwdown Blog Challenge is to use Old Olive, Chocolate Chip & Baja Breeze. Again, this is three colors I probably wouldn't have put together (at least not without designer paper too) and yet what a great little card it made! Those ladies over on the Color Throwdown blog really know what their talking about!!!

I purchased this stamp set the other day from a friend of a friend (thanks Anita) and think it is really cute and worked out well for today's card. This set is retired and is called FALL FOR ALL ... back from 1999. The other stampset used is from Inkadinkado (Harvest Expressions).

Thanks so much for stopping by ... I am always thrilled with everyone's comments!! REALLY makes my day!! REALLY ... yes I know, I need to get a life!! LOL!!

SCS Sketch Challenge #194

Today's sketch challenge over on SCS is a perfect layout to use up "scraps". The only part of this card that was not a scrap was the actual base card. I think I might use this layout for several of my Christmas cards to send this year. It makes for a nice card and you can get some clean up done all at the same time!

The main image is from the new "A Cardinal Christmas" set offered in the Holiday Mini Catalog. Loving cardinals as I do, I just HAD to have this set! The holly image is from a vintage christmas set by Rubber Stampede.

Paper: older SU holiday dp, DCWV dp, Me & My Big Ideas dp Ink: Versafine black, SU old olive Other: Red Tombow marker, SU watercolor pencils, ZIG red marker, EK Success snowflake punch

Crafty Secrets Challenge #34

Today Pammyjo is the hostess for the Crafty Secrets challenge over at SCS. The clues yesterday had me a bit stumped ... I did however have half of it right!!

Turns out, we were to make an ATC and use at least three (3) products/techniques that begin with the letter "P". How crazy fun is that!!! I decided to use Pink paper, Paper piercing, Pearls, a Paris reference and a Picture taker. What do you think???

{{{ sound of sirens }}}

Okay ... the Crafty Secrets police caught me!! There is NOT ONE thing on the above ATC that is Crafty Secrets!!!!! I was given a warning and sent to my craftroom to redeem myself and make a LEGAL ATC. See, here's my story: I was SO overwhelmed by the clues and the 3 Ps thing, that I was concentrating on getting all those 3 Ps on this itty bitty work surface that I totally forgot that it was a CRAFTY SECRETS challenge and I was to use my CRAFTY SECRETS products!! Ooops!!! My Bad!!!

So .......... here is my LEGAL submission for the CRAFTY SECRETS challenge to make an ATC using 3 products/techniques that begin with the letter "P". Here I used Piercing, Punch, Pearls and even gave Santa PINK cheeks for good measure!! Oh yea, Santa is from the Crafty Secrets - Vintage Christmas stamp set!! WHAT FUN ...

A Cheery Cherry Get Well!

This is my card for this week's STAMP SOMETHING challenge. This week's challenge was CHERRY inspired and this is what I came up with.

The stamp set I used is one by Crafty Secrets called "kitchen classics". The polka dot diamonds are cut from a piece of designer paper also by Crafty Secrets called "Radiant". The scallops are from Bazzill "Just the Edge" and the cherries are from the CS kitchen classics set, as is the spice can and the apron. I colored the cherries and the lace on the apron with Tombow markers. I really like the brightness of this card ... which I think would make anyone feel better if they were under the weather ! Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by!!!

Thinking of Tammy!

This is my card for Sharon Johnson's (SCS: notimeto stamp) blog stamp simple challenge honoring a personal friend of mine, Tammy Hershberger's (SCS: stampertammy) style of design.

Tammy's card style is something you could "cuddle" up with ... a real home spun style with lots of ribbon, machine stitching, lace, etc. I'm always impressed with Tammy's cards!! They are just so well put together that I start looking back at mine in comparison!! She is one (of many) who really keeps me on my toes with design.

You can check out her blog STAMP HAPPY and see more wonderful works of art!

MORE exciting news!!!

CHECK IT OUT!!!!

Yep, it official, I'm on the new Design Team for Stampin' D'Amour. My "goodies" are on their way and in the near future I hope to show you some awesome cards/projects made with their new line of vintage stamps. How GREAT is this!!! I am so excited!!!

So please, check out their boutique, message board challenges, etc ... and keep watching for more information here on my blog about this awesome company!! I am SO excited!! Oh, did I already say that ... oops!!!

Stamp Simple Guest Designer for October = ME

YIPPEE!!! Have you heard???

All this week there has been a HUGE celebration going on over at Sharon Johnson's (notimetostamp) blog, celebrating her 1 year anniversary! Tons of prizes and give-aways ... some REALLY cool stuff too!! It has been quite the talk of the town!

WELL ... one of the prizes was a chance to be selected as the STAMP SIMPLE GUEST DESIGNER for the month of October and guess who won??? Yep .... ME!!! Is that cool or what!!! I am so excited! I just love Sharon's style of designing simple (sometimes difficult for me) and look forward to working with her and her design team!!

I've have been doing Sharon's weekly challenge for quite some time now and have enjoyed all of her inspirational ideas. The past few weeks she has been honoring her design team ladies and having us make a card using that person's style! Today is Tammy Hershberger (proud to say she is one of my personal friends)! Tammy has a real "home spun" style to her card making that I just love. You can check it all out on her blog Stamp Happy!

Well, gotta go and get my card made honoring Tammy's style!! Thanks for popping in and letting me ramble!!! YIPPEE!!!

Fly your Flag with PRIDE!

Tomorrow (9-11-08) commemorates 7 years since the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centers in NY. In honor, the gals over on the Color Throwdown Challenge blog have chosen to use Red, White & Blue for today's challenge.

This is my card for both the Color Throwdown Challenge and the SCS Sketch Challenge #193. The image is from the Crafty Secrets (seasonal) booklet and I think it says it all!!!

Land That We Love! Don't forget to show your respect for those who lost their lives that horrible day and fly your flag tomorrow (9-11)!!!

Bringing old & new together!

Here is what happens when you play around with old stuff and new stuff!!

First the old stuff = the bird image is from a See Ds set I bought at Pat Catan's a long time ago for $1 and the picture holder tabs have been in my stash forever!

Now the new = the paper & ink are one of the new IN colors from SU called "Pacific Point" ... the background was made using a new (to me) Crafty Secrets stamp set called "Flourishes" and the ribbon I purchased from my friend, Tammy at Toyrifix.

I used my Nestabilities for the framing then double matted it on glossy black and gold metallic. I really like how this looks, hope you do to!! Thanks for stopping by!!

Making cards in my sleep!!

I was at a Stampin' Up party over the weekend and while looking through the demonstrators samples I came upon a card using one of my favorite sets Lovely as a Tree. Using some of her ideas combined with my own spin on things, I came up with these cards. (MY thoughts came in the middle of the night of course!)

The very first image I made came out darker than I wanted and I forgot to use the moon idea I had so ... back to the drawing board! My second try came out beautifully until I smeared the ink on Santa ... again, back to the drawing board ... finally an image that is completed the way I had it envisioned in my head.

I couldn't bear to throw away the second image so ... I cut Santa out of the picture ... matted it ... cuttlebugged a background and there you have it ... card complete!! Thanks for stopping by!!!

Crafty Secrets Challenge #33

It's time for another challenge over on the CRAFTY SECRETS forum at Splitcoaststampers.

Today it's my turn to be your hostess and for this challenge I thought using "angles" would be interesting. We, (LoriLynn, Pammyjo, Joanne [angelnorth] and myself) have started doing this "Monday Clue" portion to the challenge prior to actually posting the challenge on Tuesday. It has been a lot of fun trying to figure out with various clues what the hostess has in mind for the actual challenge.

Early on we discovered that LoriLynn and myself have the hardest time figuring these things out and some weeks it is quite hilarious ... we've become known as Lucy & Ethel on this thread ... can you guess which one I am??? Yep, you guessed it ... I'm Ethel!! WHAT FUN!!!

As you can see, I have various angles on this card ... from cutting the designer paper at a 30 degree angle, to the envelope, zig zag ribbon and photo corners. I used a little rafia to mimic the nesting material in the envelope. Thanks for stopping by and please come play the challenge ... we have so much fun ... you're missing out!!!

CCEE - Crayon Resist

Love the new IN-Colors from Stampin' Up!!! This card was made using the new "Pink Pirouette" ... isn't it so soft and pretty looking!! I made this card for the Crayon Resist challenge over on the CCEE blog.

Contents of this card are very simple!

Stamps are by The Rubber Cafe and Crafty Secrets.

Papers are by SU and Anna Griffin dp ... also glossy white.

Inks are by SU (pink pirouette) and Versafine black

Accessories are: Michael's white sheer ribbon, Mark Richards half pearls, White Crayola Crayon and a sponge applicator.

This technique is so easy and has such a wonderful look ... I really need to remember to use it on my cards more often!! Give it a try and let me know how your project came out or drop me a comment and add a link ... I'd love to see it!!

I've edited this post to add a "Pacific Point" version. The pacific point blue was used to sponge around the butterfly on this card ... isn't it pretty!!!

Harvest Time of the Year

Don't you just LOVE this time of the year!!! Here in NE Ohio, it's in the mid 70s, nice breeze and the smell of Fall is already in the air!! DH and I sat out on the deck to enjoy our lunch and the beautiful blue skies. While there this flock of geese decided to do a "fly by" ... this is a definate sign of Fall coming!!

We live in the "suburbs" and in our housing complex, we are not allowed to have a full size garden ... BUT ... nothing was written in the rules about hiding a few tomato plants amongst the flowers in your landscaping!!!

I only planted 4 tomato plants (2 Early Girls & 2 Roma). Placed facing the sun in different directions just to see what the outcome would be! Well, there was a huge difference in the size of the tomatoes from one location to the other and I will keep that in mind for next years crop!!

This is obviously the "good side" and I don't think they are too well HIDDEN anymore! What nice sized, delicious tomotoes we've been getting! Nothing better this time of the year!!! Makes my mouth water just talking about them!!! This is an Early Girl plant and produces perfect sized tomatoes for sandwiches ... not too big/not too small!!

Here are my Roma tomatoes. This plant did so well and is just loaded with beautiful roma tomatoes!! I'm going to have to make some sauce or something with these beauties ... too many for just Mark & I to eat and I've already given some to all the neighbors!!

Sorry to go on ... and on ... about tomatoes ... but this time of the year they are just SO DARNED GOOD!!!! Nothing better than fresh garden veggies!!! Where do you think I could hide the corn????

Thanks for stopping by!!

Featured Stamper & OCC Challenge

This is the card I made for today's SCS Featured Stamper Challenge #83 - Denise (cardcrazy)! What a fun gallery Denise has and you can certainly see she is a Featured Stamper Challenge FAN!!

I also had another challenge in mind when doing this card and that is the one over on the Our Creative Corner blog honoring Amy Sheffer, who not only is their September host but is also celebrating the BIG-40 today! She's a little "upset" about reaching this milestone so the challenge is to make a funny card to help bring Amy "out of her slump"! I bought this stamp yesterday down at the 1870's Shoppe in Zoar, Ohio purposely for this challenge (I'll use any excuse to buy a stamp, huh!).

Stampin' D'Amour Weekly Challenge #50

Yippee ... I get to host another challenge over on the Stampin' D'Amour Message Board. This is challenge #50 and for this week, I'm asking the ladies to do a 2-part challenge;

first part - Make an ATC using "birds" as the theme

second part - Use that ATC as the main image on a full sized card.

For my ATC, the flower and sentiment are from an Inkadinkado clear set. The birds are from a SU set, (but for the life of me I can't figure out which set it is from ... if you know, please contact me so I can edit this post). I colored the birds using the new SU [In-Color] "pacific point" blue and the old SU [In-Color] "purely pomegranate", as well as "old olive". I did a background sky using "soft sky" ink with the ALA ART sky image stamp. The actual background is a scrap piece of Crafty Secrets (Radiant) designer paper trimmed out using a gold Pilot marker. The latice looking piece on the left side is Around the Block gold framing tape given to me by my good friend Tammy (stampertammy).

For my main card I used the same flower image and stamped it on the blue bayou using blue bayou ink ... added the gold organdy ribbon from Michaels ... punched out a few little birdies using the Martha Stewart bird punch I purchased at WalMart and Ta Dah ... card complete.

Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by ... hope to see you again real soon!!!

September Birthdays!

Birthday Party Time ...

My daughter Carolyn celebrated her birthday on Wednesday (not allowed to give out her age) and her son, Jonathan has a birthday today! Happy 11th Birthday Jon!!!

We decided to split the difference and have a little gathering last night. Since Carolyn had to work all day, I offered to make the dinner and bring it along to save her some time and work. Nothing fance, just lasagne, salad and garlic sticks. Worked out perfectly! My mom (the kids great-grandma) and her brother (Uncle Hen) came out to share the fun as well as a few other friends.

The high light of the evening was Jon and Mrs. Mashburn playing the claw machine that Jon got for his birthday. He got some other really cool gifts ... but at that moment, all eyes were on the challenge of THE CLAW!!! They are both Claw-a-holics and were so much fun to watch!! Very intense you know!!!

WT182 Beauty in Black

Busy day planned for today!!! But wanted to check out the SCS challenge for today. Today is the Ways To Use It challenge and we were instructed to pull out that "specialty paper" we've all been hoarding and turn it into something beautiful!


Well, I had this beautiful black embossed floral paper [The Paper Co.] given to me by my friend, Linda Davis, (thanks Linda) several months ago!! I keep looking at it and putting it back ... wanting to make sure that when I did use it that it came out perfectly! (Don't want to disappoint you know!) When I saw the basis for today's challenge, I knew exactly which paper I would be using.


When you have such gorgeous paper, you certainly don't want to clutter it up so instead, I chose to use my [Outline Stickers by Anita's Art Stamps] "stencil images" (also a gift from Linda). Come to think of it, the [Around the Block] "lace frame tape" is also a gift. This time from my friend Tammy (Stampertammy). I DID buy the Martha Stewart butterfly punch used to make the pretty gold butterfly and the Anna Griffin designer paper myself!!


Thanks for stopping by ... please leave a comment ... I love hearing from you all!!! Have a glorious day!!!

All That Scraps Challenge #16

Here is a little bookmarker I made for the All That Scraps Design Team Challenge #16 - Back To School and it will be going to the little girl (Olivia) next door who started kindergarden this week. Her birthday is in a couple of weeks and this will be attached to her gift. Just a little something "homemade" (that has become expected from me)!

The basis for this bookmarker is a tag (DMD) and the paper is actually an image from the Crafty Secrets (Childhood) image and journal note booklet. Down on the journaling section I stamped this adorable little image from the Crafty Secrets (Story of Me) set. As you notice, I put a title on the book ... this is "The Olivia Story". I'm sure Olivia will love seeing her name on the front of the book ... at least that was my intention!! Thanks for stopping by!!

Wow, check this out!!

Ooops ... I nearly forgot to mention that I received this wonderful "blog award" from my new friend Robin ... (click on her name and check out her blog ... it's awesome).

Now I just have to figure out 3 other blogs to send this award to ... I need to give that a little more thought, so this will be forth coming!! Thanks SO MUCH Robin ... I'm so honored and thrilled that you enjoy my blog!

Just so you all know, you don't have to send me an award, (of course you can if you want, LOL) but I certainly do enjoy hearing what you have to say about my cards ... good or bad. So please leave a comment and help put a smile on an old ladies face!!! Okay, so I'm not THAT old, but I am a grandmother!!! THANKS and have a GREAT day!!

SCS & Color Throwdown Challenge

Hello All ... today was a VERY busy day. I had a morning hair appointment with my sister (my family is all at least 1 hour away) ... then since my daughter works a couple blocks away and today is her birthday - HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAROLYN! I invited her to lunch then headed on back home. (Wanted to get my challenges done before DH needed dinner - am I addicted or what!) We will be visiting her family again tomorrow evening for cake & ice cream because our grandson, Jonathan has a birthday on Friday.

SO, here is today's card for both the SCS Sketch Challenge and the Color Throwdown Challenge. Today's color combination is using the new IN COLORS from SU ... Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze & and old favorite ... Regal Rose. Since I'm not a SU demo ... I haven't purchased all the new colors yet so I had to improvise on this card. I do, however, have a sample of each of the new colors which I used to match up my papers and get as close as possible.

For the "kiwi kiss", I found a designer paper by Crafty Secrets that matched perfectly and used for the bottom panel ... the "baja breeze", I found I had cardstock that was very close and of course, I had the "regal rose". I won some blog candy recently and within that goody pack was this lovely "regal rose" SU designer paper which I used for the top portion of the sketch. The ribbon is adhesive backed and by Darice. The spray of flowers is from the sheet of Anna Griffin designer paper that I've cut from through out this past week or so and used portions of it on two other cards (got my money's worth out of that 8x8 sheet ... LOL). Now the image ... isn't she adorable!! This is another image from my $6.99 Ebay purchase of a cd holding over 1000 images from CD Shack Media. It doesn't show up very well on the photo, but I added a touch of Diamond Stickles to the flowers on the spray to give it a little sparkle. Thanks so much for stopping by!!

SCS Color Challenge - Monochromatic

This is my card for today's Color Challenge over on SCS. I don't always do this challenge because I don't always have the colors they are requesting ... but, monochromatic, I can do! Of course since purple IS my favorite color ... that was my choice for today's card.

First I selected Elegant Eggplant as my base card then I started looking to use up some of the scraps I had laying around . I found this designer paper panel (don't know off hand who makes it) ... then I looked through my stack of negative Nesties panels and found this orchid opulence piece. It was a little large so I backed it with a scrap of lovely lilac, cut out a smaller oval of white with my Nesties (that gave me yet another negative to add to my stack) to use as the backing for my main image. The orchid panel looked a bit plain so I did some paper piercing and used these cool (and cheap) Darice pearl brads I found on sale at Pat Catans.

The main image hydrangea is a stamp by Anna Griffin - All Night Media. I stamped it on vellum using Versafine black then embossed it with clear ep. I colored the BACK side using my prisma pencils, cut it out with my trusty swivel craft knife and ta dah ... done! Oh yea, as an after thought, I added the little butterfly punched using the Martha Stewart punch.

What do you think??? Thanks for stopping by!!

Crafty Secrets Challenge #32

Here is a card for today's Crafty Secrets Challenge over on the forum of SCS. Lori Lynn Washburn is our hostess today and she has asked us to make something honoring our FRIENDSHIPS and add a little sparkle to it!!

These images are from the Crafty Secrets (Joys of Life) booklet ... aren't they awesome?? The little strip of flowers is by Around the Block and it's called Lace Frame tape. There are four different styles in this set and it is awesome. You want to know the best part of this ... my good friend Tammy (stampertammy) who runs the Stamping section at the Toyrifix store in Smithville, OH ... GAVE IT TO ME!!! Is that cool or what! She came for a little visit yesterday and brought "goodies" ... thanks girlfriend!!


Sorry, back to the card. I didn't add a lot to this card because I really wanted to focus on the FRIENDSHIP part of it! I did however, put together a Darice & Prima flower with a little gold sticker ball center. I added gold stickles to ALL the flower centers for that little touch of "sparkle".


I have made SO MANY new friends within this stamping community!!

FRIENDS ARE A GOOD THING!!

CCEE Challenge

Here is a card I made for this week's challenge over on the CCEE Stampers blog. This week they decided to do a "supply challenge". We were to use PINK designer paper and PEARLS. I just LOVE my Crafty Secrets image booklets and thought this image from the "girlfriends" booklet would be perfect!

After completion, I thought this would be a great card to send to my sister, Linda. She is very INTO fashion ... of course she is a hair dresser so it's fitting!! I think she'll get a charge out of it!! The sentiment on the front says "In a world of ready to wear, you will always be a fashion statement!" That fits my sister to a "T". She definately leads her life to the beat of a different drum ... but that's okay ... that is who she is and I love her for it!!! She's definately her own person!!

Thanks for stopping by ... please come back!!

RAKs for new friends!

A friend of mine over on the Crafty Secrets forum (Pammyjo) was kind enough to set up a thread on SCS - Crafty Secrets forum asking the other ladies to make cards to be sent to my dear husband, Mark. Mark is fighting the same fight that SO MANY others are fighting ... of course I'm speaking of cancer! Fortunately for Mark, his cancer type is Hodgkins Lymphoma and after extended treatment, he should be okay (we pray). He has already undergone 9 chemo treatments and has at least 7 more to go (and possibly more). I have no doubt he will be thrilled with the outpouring of well wishes these ladies will provide.

In the process of doing this, Pammyjo has asked us to please take the time and make a card for a couple guys who are near & dear to her heart. First is her friend, Bill who is fighting cancer and could really use a little "boost". This is the card I have made for Bill. I hear he likes the beach so I thought maybe a lighthouse would be appropriate!! (You know how hard it is to make a "guy" card ... especially when you don't really know the guy!!). Hope he likes it and it makes him smile!!

Another request from Pammyjo was for her nephew, Shawn who is stationed SOMEWHERE in Iraq. Location can not be disclosed. He misses his wife and family and could really use our support to remember that we are thinking and praying for our boys & girls who are fighting this ugly war to keep our freedom here in the USA! This is the card I made for Shawn. Hopefully soon, he and his lovely wife will be able to sit upon a mountain top and just enjoy the wind in their hair and the sun on their faces! God Speed Shawn!!!