SCS Sketch Challenge & Color Throwdown

Do you like sketch challenges??? They have become my FAVORITE!! I guess because it gives me a "starting point" then I can create from there! Today's card is for the weekly sketch challenge over on Splitcoaststampers and also for the color challenge over on the Color Throwdown Blog.

This sketch is so simple yet looks great. I'm sure I'll be using it again. I thought it would work perfectly for a "thank you" card which I was in need of!

Since both of these challenges fall on the same day, I have found myself combining the two more often than not! Today's colors are: So Saffron, Baja Blue and More Mustard. I don't own any Baja Blue yet so had to substitute Soft Sky. They are similar so I think it worked out okay!! I'm not a big fan of "plain panels" so I used the Cuttlebug textile embossing folder on the More Mustard panel just to give it a little texture and of course, I used dew drops on the So Saffron panel to give it a little more dimension. The stamped panel is done with a set from Inkadinkado ... I've been getting more creative with my sentiment panels lately. I like how this one came out!! Thanks for stopping by and taking a peek!

Crafty Secrets Challenge - Vintage Cones/Party Hats

What a fun challenge we had for this week over on the Crafty Secrets forum of SCS! Marcy (kiddielitter) was our guest hostess this week and she came up with a "doozie". We were to make a pretty cone or party hat. There was a link to the template over on Heartwarming Vintage (sister site of Crafty Secrets) and that was a huge help.

I decided it would be easiest if I set up the sewing machine and attached my lace & image using real stitching. I wasn't too sure how well the adhesive would hold and didn't want it falling apart as soon as I finally got it all together.

There really isn't a lot of pieces to this pretty cone. The main design paper is double sided and is from Crafty Secrets Radiant paper pack. The image is from their Dolls booklet and the lace is from Joanne's sewing department. The only embellishments are a few crystal jewels around the lace, prima flowers and a few crystals hanging out the bottom. I used elastic cording from Michaels for the handle and the bottom string. Check out some of the other girls projects on this challenge ... they are really awesome and quite inspirational! Here is a link if you'd like to take a peek!!

What a Sweet Hubby!!

What a wonderful surprise yesterday when my husband brought me home this lovely bouquet of flowers. I asked him why and his remark was "just because". He's always been good about surprising me with loving jestures but since he was diagnosed with lymphoma, things have been a little stressed and "different" in our lives and I guess I just didn't give it much thought when the surprises stopped. We are fortunate to have the ease of mind in knowing that this cancer is typically well treated and you can live way beyond the last treatment and that is what we are hanging on to. The day will come when our lives will be normal again and we can enjoy the simple, fun things in life once again. In the meantime, little surprises like this certainly help to keep my spirits lifted which in turn gives me more strength to help him through this journey!!

Aren't they beautiful (I arranged them myself) ... since he sent me through floral school he doesn't buy me arranged flowers anymore! That's okay ... keeps my arranging skills sharp!! Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today ... I love hearing what you all have to say!!

Featured Stamper - Terrore3

After all the Fall Fun, I did actually make time to get one card done before going to bed. I have missed the past two weeks of Featured Stamper over on SCS and just couldn't bear to miss another. So, that is what I worked on. This week's featured stamper was Terry (Terrore3). Her gallery is packed full of cards and 3d projects ... since I'm faster with a card, that is what I chose to do. HERE is Terry's card I decided to case. I kept my card pretty close to Terry's with the exception of the color, design paper and ribbon. She had so many pretty things in her gallery, it was really hard to pick just one!!

Thanks for taking the time to stop by ... hopefully I'll have more for you to see later today!!

FALL (work) FUN !!!

NO STAMPING YET TODAY but just had to share what I have been up to today!!!


It has been a GORGEOUS Fall day here in NE Ohio and my dear husband and I have been busy (and enjoying) doing FALL types of things. For instance, my mother (and our) tomatoes are about finished for the year ... getting a little too cool to ripen properly so I decided to make (what we always called at home when growing up) "Picalilli".

If you look it up on the internet, most Picalilli recipes include cabbage and peppers along with the green tomatoes and onions and is chopped like a relish. But, the "old timers" recipe I'm using, (which is what my mom used), calls for sliced green tomatoes & sweet onions, along with pickling spice, mustard seed & tumeric. The internets name for what I just described is "Pickled Green Tomatoes". What ever you want to call it, it's just down right yummy next to a sandwich.

My fond memories of Picalilli were walking home from school, cutting a big chunk of Luger's bologna and opening a pint of mom's home canned picalilli. That was MY after school snack!!

Mom only had a half dozen plants and I only had 4 ... but we were able to get enough green tomatoes to make 13 1/2 pints of Picalilli. This is going to taste SO good this winter.

Since we already had the kitchen in "canning" mode, we decided to have a little more fun and make up some "corn relish" too. There happened to be a recipe in one of my books that caught my husband's attention. I made a quick run to the local market to get what was required and here is the result ... 7 pints yielded from the recipe ... more than enough for the two of us!!

I forgot to mention that while we were having all this fun ... we had a smoked pork butt, cabbage, potatoes & carrots cooking in the crockpot!! What a wonderful feast we had for dinner after all the canning was completed!! YUM!!

Now it's time to head to the craftroom and see what magic I can make in that part of the house. Kitchen is all cleaned up and back in order . . . time to play!

**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!!