HUGE GIVEAWAY !!!

Are you familiar with Melissa Bove??? Well if not, you really must check out her blog (Creating from the Heart!) and now would be a great time to do that because she is offering an amazing giveaway!!! Let me just give you a hint of what she's offering: A Brand New, In The Box - CUTTLEBUG!! That's right ... and a swiss dot embossing folder too! So please, check it out ... it might just be your LUCKY day!!

And while you are there ... check out this creative ladies work ... she has some amazing cards/projects!!!

Brights are nice ...

Today's Color Throwdown Challenge is sponsored by Our Craft Lounge.

The colors for today are PINK, ORANGE and TURQUOISE. What fun are those colors!



I just happened to have this cuttlebugged "scrap" laying on my table and thought ... "Wow, I should do something with this since the one color was bright pink and this was done using the stylized flower embossing folder and pixie pink ink." I think it was a great starting point for my very "floral" creation. The panel was created by inking up the negative side of the embossing folder with the pink in before running my white cs through the cuttlebug. I've used turquoise cardstock for my matting as well as my sentiment panel. The sentiment panel was border punched using a Martha Stewart floral punch and attached using orange sugarcoated brads by Doodlebug. My main image is by Inkadinkado and I've used Gelly Roll Glaze pens to color the image then topped it with Crystal Effects for additional shine and dimension (see closeup). The main image panel and matting were created using Nestabilities classic oval & scallop oval die cuts. I've used a bright orange cardstock for my base card and the cute Butterfly Kisses sentiment is by Serendipity Stamps.



This card was fun to create and very easy. I enjoyed using the various floral elements here and really like the outcome. These are certainly NOT colors I would normally put together, that is what really draws me to this fun filled challenge. Makes me have to think "out of the box". What are your thoughts?? Why not give this challenge a try ... and they are giving away 2 fun-filled stamp sets this week too ... even more incentive to give it a whirl!! Please check it out!!




For those of you who are keeping up with my DH medical journey, here is an update for you. We are able to stay home today. Yesterday was a tough day for him with requiring additional fluids, blood & magnesium ... and still the numbers were too low to begin stem cell harvesting. He will be administering his own Neupogen shots today and we'll return to Cleveland Clinic bright and early tomorrow morning and hopefully stem cell harvesting can begin. The staff at the clinic have been wonderful. Very caring and informative ... and for that I'm additionally thankful!! We are praying that things start "moving" tomorrow because the longer it takes to get the stem cells, the longer the remainder of the process will be delayed. Thank you all for your kind words of encouragement and prayers ... we are truly blessed by your friendship!!

Birthday fun ...

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

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

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

Crafty Secrets "Touch of Metal" Challenge

Morning all,

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

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

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

Cleveland Clinic Update

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


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

Happy Birthday Morgan!!

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

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

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

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

HAPPY 17th BIRTHDAY MO!!

Stamp Simply #80

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

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

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

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

Color Throwdown Challenge #35

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

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

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

Crafty Secrets Challenge #61

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

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

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

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

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

Have a wonderful day!!!

Same image cards ...

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

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

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

OCC Sketch Challenge

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

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

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

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

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

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

Way to go MO ...

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

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

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

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

Stamp Simply #79 = You've Been Tabbed!

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

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

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

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

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

Trying to stay busy ...

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

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

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

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

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

Crafty Secrets Stimulating Creativity Challenge #60

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

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

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

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

LOOK what I just spotted ...

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

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

Hooray ... they are all done!!!

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

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

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

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

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamp Simply #78 - White Mats

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

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

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

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

Color Throwdown Challenge #33

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

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

UPDATE ...

... on the Harvest for Hunger Drive.


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


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