Honoring the guys in our lives ...

Happy End of the Week everyone!!

It's time again for the Raise The Bar Challenge and today we are honoring the "Guys In Our Lives"!!  

Somewhere along the line I got OLD!!  (Don't know how or when that happened, LOL) BUT ... back in the day, this was one of the favorites to be seen in.  It is a 1957 Chevy and this turquoise blue was one of the favorite colors on this super star car!! 

Be sure to pop over to OUR BLOG and check out all the details on this fun challenge and be inspired by my co-bartenders!  Love the different interpretations on this one!!!

Recipe for this card:
Stamps:  Cornish Heritage Farms, Hero Arts, Stampscapes
Papers:  kraft, whisper white
Inks:  versafine blk, Summer sun, Ranger vintage photo
Accessories:  chalk, makeup applicators, Martha Stewart picket fence border punch, Prisma pencils, gamsol, Fiskars swivel craft knife, large sponge pod

Have a great day and if you're in "my neck of the woods" ... get that A/C cranked up ... going to be in the 90s all weekend!  Uuugh ... I'm happier in the 70s!!  Thanks for stopping by!  Hugs to you all!!

Joan's Gardens Challenge #2 and CDAC creations

Hello Everyone!  

I hope you've had as nice as day as I have!!  Today I got together with my friend Terri Snode (Cards 'N More) as well as my daughter & grandchildren for a little crafting fun!  The following is PART of what I worked on today ... hope you enjoy!

Joan Fricker (Joans Gardens) began having Thursday challenges last week so that means today is time for Challenge #2.  This week we are to make a "Vintage" creation using at least one Spellbinders Nestability.

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The "lock & key" are Spellbinder Shapabilities Timeless Heritage"  (gosh, I hope that qualifies).  The vintage designer paper is actually an RAK from Joan.  The little mice in the shoe is a sticker as is the sentiment.  The vintage flower was cut from musical paper using a die from Tim Holtz.  The flowers were also purchased from Joan Fricker and are from a company in England.  

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Here are a few other cards I created today using the FREEBIES offered over at the new CDAC (Crafters Digital Art Center) Community. 

First up is this adorable digi from The Character Cafe.  You can visit their community page HERE.

 

Next is this summertime fun image from Doodle Pantry.  HERE is their community page link.

 

And lastly is this Michelle Perkette Freebie all done up in pinks & purples.  You can visit Michelle's page HERE.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Don't forget to stop back tomorrow for another fun RAISE THE BAR challenge!  Hope to see you then!

The Sisterhood celebrates the country of JAPAN!

Hello Everyone and welcome to The Sisterhood of Crafters Challenge - Japan.

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With not having many stamps/images to create with for this challenge,  I had to do a LOT of digging through my "stuff" and came up with these stickers from Europe that I purchased at the 1870 Shoppe in Zoar, Ohio.  I'm not thrilled with this creation but I guess it's not too bad since I procrastinated and "waited till the last minute"!  (Sorry Sistahs .. I'll do better next challenge.)

Please be sure to pop on over to our challenge blog and checkout the inspiration my sistahs have there for you!!  Then why not show us how JAPAN inspires you!!  You can also find links to their personal blogs on my sidebar!  Hope to see you there!!  

Midnight Madness & Crafty Secrets

Good Evening everyone!  I have a few more creations using the freebies over at the CDAC (Crafters Digital Art Center) community ... but first I'd like to share with you the creation I made for this week's Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge as well as the SCS Crafty Secrets Forum Challenge (clips) and the Papercraft Planet Crafty Secrets challenge (lace).

(click image to enlarge)

The recipe for this card is as follows:
Image: Crafty Secrets Birds & Botanical booklet
Papers:  Very Vanilla, Basic Black, pink cs, red cs, Anna Griffin dp
Accessories:  Martha Stewart picket fence border punch, Martha Stewart lattice lace border punch, Fiskars apron lace border punch, flower from England purchased at Joan's Gardens, hardware clips, crystal effects, Wright lace

I love how this came together!  It is so pretty IRL with the Crystal Effects added to a few of the flowers & butterflies!  What fun!

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Here is the freebie offered by Inktegrity and you can check out Joni's community page HERE.

Is this a "cool dude" or what!  This is the freebie offered over on the CDAC community by Bugaboo.  You can see her community page HERE.

A short while ago, I **won** this adorable BABY LION over on Creations By Penny.  Penny also has a community page over at CDAC ... check it out HERE.

Well, that's it for this evening.  Please come back tomorrow for the next weekly challenge over at The Sisterhood!  Hope to see you then!!

OK ... so I'm going a little crazy . . .

. . . with the freebies offered up over on the Crafters Digital Art Center (CDAC) community.  Here are a few more creations I made last evening.

This is the freebie offered by Melanie at *Wink *Wink Ink.  You can find her community page HERE.  Please come join in.

Here's a pretty floral freebie from Ethereal Forest Designs.  You can see her community page HERE.

 Talk about fun in the sun!  Here's a freebie from Lauretta's Digital Stamps.  Here is her community page LINK.

Now is this a cute turtle or what?  I don't think I have a turtle in my collection ... glad to have this freebie from The Character Cafe!  You can find the community page HERE.

 And lastly, this cute little monkey from Paper Addictions.  He doesn't look like he wants to share, does he??  You can see Jackie's community page by clicking HERE.


Well, I'm headed to my crafting cave (where it's calm & cool) to create my Midnight Madness & Crafty Secrets challenge cards!  Shopping is done and now it's time to play!!  (leftovers for dinner again ... what can I say!!  LOL)  Thanks so much for stopping by!!

(can you say addicted!!!  teehee! )

It's Time To CRAFT . . .

SHEW!  Now that the "big party weekend" is over, it's time for me to get back to my crafting cave!!

Today I decided to create a few cards using some of the images available from various artists over on the new community called "Crafters Digital Art Center".  Please be sure to check it out ... AND WHY NOT JOIN IN!!!  Let me know if you need more info!!

This first creation is an image from "Sew Many Cards & digital stamps".  I added the link to her store ... but you can also find her HERE on the CDAC community.

This is a "freebie" offered up over on the CDAC community by "McMahon Five Designs".  I have also used a Stampscapes (church) image and Verve (sentiment) to create this encouragement card.  HERE is the CDAC community link.

My last card to share with you today is a digital image from "Priscillastyles".  (creator of Midnight Madness & CDAC)   You know I LOVE vintage and I just HAD TO HAVE this teapot!  You can find other images by Priscilla HERE and her CDAC page HERE.  Please check out her designs ... they're awesome!

Before I forget ... *Wink *Wink Ink also has CDAC page now ... be sure to check that out while you are visiting!  She just got started so PLEASE feel free to join in on the fun!  (Challenge #3 going on all month at the BLOG ... don't forget ... you'll want to play along for FREE images - possibly even the BRAND NEW "Grandma's Parlor Collection" ... how awesome would that be!!)

OKAY ... time to go color a few more digis before dear, sweet hubby gets home for dinner!!  (leftovers anyways, LOL)  Thanks for stopping by ... 

WHAT A GLORIOUS DAY . . .

Thanks to all of you who sent GOOD THOUGHTS & WISHES for Morgan's Grad Party yesterday! 

 IT WAS WONDERFUL!!!

VERY hot & humid but the rains held off and everyone had a great time!  We were all working feverishly to get everything done in time and the chicken took a little longer than first anticipated but that's okay, because everyone said it was "the best chicken they had ever tasted!"

There just wasn't enough time to get everything done and snap photos too but I did catch a few for Mo's scrapbook. 

Morgan & her dad went to both ends of the road posting signs & balloons to help people find their way.  Living out in the country ... the GPS doesn't always find the road so they tried to help by posting indicators!  AND .. I'm happy to say... even though it took some folks an EXTENDED amount of time, they did find the party and had a great time.  

I didn't get a photo of ALL the food (pasta/meatballs, scallop potatoes/ham, fruit salad, taco bar,  tossed salad, orzo salad, cupcakes, cookies, homemade strudel) and of course these delicious sausage stuffed chickens ... cooked over this open rotisserie! 

MORGAN'S BIG SURPRISE!

CJ is HERE!!

For those of you who follow my blog ... you will know that Morgan's boyfriend, CJ had a very serious car crash back in March that nearly took his life!!  We are thrilled to say that he is improving with every given day.  He is still in a rehab center and hasn't been permitted to put any weight on his legs yet (broke his pelvis in 4 places - along with several other broken bones) but he is working really hard toward that goal and is actually ahead of schedule!  

Several of us knew his Dad had rented a wheelchair accessible van in order to transport CJ to the party ... but Morgan didn't know!  SHE CRIED & CRIED to see him there!  The best present ever!

We had friends & family of all ages, and from ALL OVER come to share in Morgan's special day!  Here are a few of her friends ...

... and here is some of the older generation family members.  These two lovely ladies are MY mother's sister's (Aunt Glory-left-age 84 and Aunt Ruth on the right - age 91) ... we were so glad they were able to come and share the day!

Besides eating, sitting around socializing & drinking lots of water to try and stay hydrated in this heat & humidity ... there was fun to be had!  Here is Mo's brother Jon showing off some of his trampoline skills ... there was also volleyball/badminton ... and of course the little ones loved being able to pet the horses.  Yes, they have two horses (Romeo & Meg) ... sorry no photo, couldn't watch the kids around the horse & take a photo too!  

Even though she was HOT, TIRED & STICKY ... I think this was a day that Morgan will always remember and cherish!

CONGRATULATIONS OUR SWEET MORGAN!

WE LOVE YOU!!

GRAD PARTY TIME!!

HAPPY SATURDAY EVERYONE!

Yep, it's June 12th and today is granddaughter, Morgan's graduation party!  We are having an outdoor open house (please pray the rain doesn't come pouring down like they are predicting) and we've been working really hard to make it as nice as possible!

A few weeks back Morgan asked me to make her a guest book for her friends & family to sign as well as something to house the envelopes.  It's so difficult to buy a gift for a graduate because of course you really don't know what they might be needing.  And with college right around the corner ... most times MONEY is the best gift a young college student can use.  So here are the items I created per her request.

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MO (that's what we call her) didn't want to use ALL school colors for her party and she is partial to HOT PINK & BLACK so that is the avenue I took.


Using my Bind-It All, I created this 8x8 guest book.  I found some really cool graduate paper at Archiver's for the outside and the inside is of the same colors but has "2010" all over it.  I created the inside pages (not shown) out of hot pink card stock which I ran through the computer to incorporate the Welcome Message and lines for folks to sign on.  The pink glitter letter's are from TPC Studio and the grad embellishments are K&Co.  Ribbon is by Offray.

 (click on image to enlarge - closed view)

I found this unique Treasure Box at Hobby Lobby and instantly thought it would be a different idea for Mo's envelope box.    It is made of paper mache and I painted it with Hot Pink & Black.  

(click on image to enlarge - Open View)

 My dear sweet husband came up with the idea to glue strips of molding along the front/back edges of the box so I could put this removable panel to cover the opening which can be taken out later to remove the envelopes.  Smart guy!!

(click on image to enlarge)

 Since Mo is going to attend Kent State in the fall to pursue her career in Speech Pathology ... and all her grad money is going in that direction ... I came up with this idea to let folks know (for those who don't already) what her college intentions are.

She was very happy with my ideas (thank goodness) and is so excited about today's party!  She has a big surprise coming today but I'll have to tell you about it later ... (she reads my blog ... LOL)!

Here's wishing you a WONDERFUL day ... 

The sun is shining right now ... keeping my fingers crossed it continues!  MORE TO COME (of course, I'm the proud Nana!!)  Happy Day my friends and thanks for stopping by!

Raise The Bar - Musical Theme

WOW Friday again already and that means it's time for another Raise The Bar Challenge and today we are making MUSIC!  That's right use something MUSICAL on your card/project! 

(click image to enlarge)

This wonderful vintage image is from TJ Designs and I was intrigued by the fact that this BRAVE lady was the ONLY woman in the all man band!  YOU GO GIRL!!

Please be sure to pop on over to the challenge blog and check out the inspirational creations by my Co-Bar Tenders!  And you can find links to their personal blogs on my sidebar ... please stop over and show them some love!  

Before I forget I just wanted to thank everyone for their support in our challenge!  Your participation last week was AWESOME and the creations were AMAZING!!  Thanks so much ... hope you are enjoying Joni's challenges as much as I am!  

Happy Day ... 

 

GRANDMA'S PARLOR ... You've GOT to check these out!!

LOTS OF EXCITEMENT going on over on the *Wink *Wink Ink Blog today!  Melanie has been a VERY busy lady creating several sets in her new

GRANDMA'S PARLOR COLLECTION!

AND, they are already available to purchase in her STORE.  Please be sure to pop over to the blog and checkout the samples she has created using these new sets ... they are ADORABLE and you will see how versatile her sets are to use together to create the most wonderful scenes for those special people in your life!!

  (click on image to enlarge)

This creation shows you only a "small fraction" of what's available in these new sets! 

I was lucky enough to play just a little with these new sets (before they were even complete) so here is just a small sample to "wet your creative tastebuds" ... but please, I urge you to go see the samples Melanie has on display for you!  They are amazing!

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Here is another fun creation I came up with using a combination of Melanie's images.  I know this is a little "out there" but I sometimes think there are aliens in my house while I am sleeping (like this cute little "catnap" kitty) so that was the inspiration for this creation! 

A couple reminders for you:

... CHALLENGE #3 is now going on over on the *Wink *Wink Blog ... please come play along and be our next lucky winner of THREE FREE SETS and be next month's Guest Designer, and 

... there's still time to get your suggestion in for the CHALLENGE CHOICE to be used for July's challenge.  You could win a 30% Certificate towards your purchases over the next THREE MONTHS and have YOUR challenge choice creation showcased along with the Challenge Winner & DT!

SO, DON'T MISS OUT ON THE FUN ... hop on over right now and get involved!

Hope To See You There!!!

NEW CHALLENGE ... you're going to love it!!!

My friend JOAN FRICKER (Joan's Gardens) has started a new THURSDAY CREATE A CARD CHALLENGE today!  It is unique and going to be so much fun!  I'll just give you a hint of how it's going to work ... you'll have to pop on over to her blog for ALL the details!

Joan will pick a product to use ... that she carries in her store.  You will have a week to create using an item from that product line and link back to her blog for a chance to win a prize or gift certificate!  

Today Joan is using any JUSTRITE FLORAL image along with the colors PINK, YELLOW & GREEN.  What a fabulous idea!  Here's what I've come up with to play along in this first, very exciting challenge!  

  Here's the recipe for this creation:

Stamps:  JustRite (Plant a Little Love)
Paper:  Whisper White, CM yellow gingham, SU old olive, 
Ink:  Brillance Pearlescent Orchid
Accessories:  ScorPal (technique from GinaK Stamp TV - Recessed Diamond Background), Cloud9 rub-on sentiment, Martha Stewart border punch, Cuttlebug floral border die, Offray satin ribbon, Nestabilities scallop circles, Prismacolor Markers, Kaiser Pearl

Please take the time and pop on over to Joan's Gardens and check out her latest idea ... trust me ... you won't be sorry!  While you're there check out all the latest sales she has going on and the beautiful samples she has to show you!  Enjoy!

YAY! IT's SISTERHOOD TIME ...

Are you ready for another unique challenge at The Sisterhood?  Well come on over, check it out and play along!  

This week Terri (Terri's Card n' More) is our hostess and she is honoring the children & grandchildren in our lives.  Be sure to pop over to the Sisterhood and check out the inspirational creations from the Sistahs.  

My teenage granddaughter was the inspiration for this creation.  She always has a phone to her ear or in her hand texting.  I guess she talks more through texting then actual verbal talking.  Either way she's very special and was my inspiration today.  

Here is the recipe for my creation today:
Stamps:  Stampabilities, Inkadinkado
Paper: Bashful Blue, Basic Grey Wisteria dp
Inks:  Versafine Black
Accessories:  Darice flower, Martha Stewart lace butterfly punch, Inky Dink Drops (periwinkle), Offray ribbon, Martha Stewart Heart border punch, 2-way glue and glamour dust

Okay .. now it's your turn.  I look forward to seeing your creation honoring your children and/or grandchildren.  Show them that you care with a little "special" creation JUST FOR THEM!

Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenge - Inspiration

Happy Wednesday Everyone!   

It's so good of you to stop by and say Hello!  

It's time again for a challenge over at Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenge Blog.  There's been a few changes in our challenge ... our friend Courtney has taken over for Penny so she can take more time to pay attention to her digi business blog.  Everything will be the same ... just a new "head honcho".  Congrats to Courtney for taking on this challenge ... she's doing a great job and has some amazing challenges coming up in the upcoming weeks.  Courtney has the photo "After_the_Rain_by_saiyagina"  as inspiration for our challenge today! 



Today we are being sponsored by *Wink *Wink Ink  and one lucky winner will receive their choice of 3 digi stamp sets.  That winner could be you!

So please show Courtney your support as you have for Penny and join in on our fun!  Now would you like to see my creation inspired by this amazing photo?  This really  made me think but then I thought about the *Wink *Wink Ink image called Rainy Days and it all came together from there!

 Here is the recipe for this creation:
Stamps:  *Wink *Wink Ink digital image, Heather's Stamin' Haven (sentiment)
Papers:  Dark Grey cs, Whisper White, Basic Grey Wisteria
Ink:  Versafine Black
Accessories:  Prima Flowers, Darice brad, Prismacolor markers, Kaiser pearls, Offray ribbon, Fiskars apron lace punch, Nestabilities scallop rectangles

 Thanks again for stopping by and I hope to see you over at the challenge blog with your inspirational work of art to share.  Have a great day!