Joan's Gardens Challenge #9

Happy 'Rainy' Monday everyone!

Yea ... after such a beautiful day yesterday, today's is dull, rainy & dreary!  SO, what better to do then spend time in the 'cave' crafting!  The current challenge at Joan's Gardens eluded me for awhile ... but then I came up with an idea and I'm very happy with the outcome.

Joan's current challenge is:

• Use a recycled box, preferably round
• Color theme can be your choice
• Use some Lace
• Use Pearls and Flowers

Here is the container I started with.

AND ... here is the end result!  What do you think?  

What was creating me the problem was the fact that the container is wider at the top than it is at the bottom.  Which meant that the paper wanted to buckle ... BUT .. uh huh!!!  Why not put the paper on the INSIDE of the container!  And, that's exactly what I've done here.  I smeared Modge Podge all round the inside of the container, clipped around the bottom of my strip of dp and Viola!  

Then the fun began!!   Decorating the lid!  

I knew I wanted to use the color purple because I've had this beautiful purple lace in my stash for awhile, just waiting for the right project to use it on. 

Here is a list of items used:

Paper:  K&Co. Botanical 2-sided dp, grape cs, lavender cs,

Accessories:  Spellbinder 'Anemone Flower Topper' dies,Prima butterflies, Webster's Pages Silhouettes, MS branch punch, Cheery Lynn Designs 'Fanciful Flourish' die, purple Stickles, Kaiser pearls

The challenges over at Joan's Gardens are ALWAYS great fun and really make you think!  (I love that!)  Why not pop on over, check out the challenge and all the FABULOUS products Joan carries in her store the come play along!  I'll be waiting to be inspired by YOUR creation!

Other qualifying challenges:

Cheery Lynn Designs - Use a Flourish

 Crafty Boots - Glitter

Always Crafting - Anything Goes

Make It Monday - Anything Goes

Simon Says - Anything Goes

Smudgy Antics - Alter Something

Trash to Treasure!

You gotta love it!!

Hugs,

Darlene

Nettie G Challenge

There's a new challenge over on the NettieG Challenge Blog and this time, we are using the theme . . .

BIRTHDAYS

and the TWIST is to have a  

sentiment on the front of the card.

I think this Nettie G image titled 'Anita Digging' is just the cutest thing so decided SHE would be my focus for today.  I have created a CAS card for you and the technique is quick & easy.

First I colored my image using Prismacolor markers for the image and sand ... then blue chalk for the sky.  Once my image was colored and cut to the size I wanted, I simply sat it in the front of my white card (A-6 size) and using the same marker for the sand, made a couple of marks (side to side) so I'd know where my sand was to begin and of course the sky (colored using the same blue chalk) went up from there!    To add a little extra dimension, I have matted my focus image with white cardstock.

I made up the sentiment and printed it from the computer.  Matted in brown & popped it up with Pop Dots.  The 'bucket' comes from a See D's stamp set ... colored with a dark brown Prismacolor marker then cut out & popped up.

We all need BIRTHDAY cards in our stash, so why not come join in the fun at NettieG's Digital Gems Challenge Blog.  Hope to see you there!

Hugs,
Darlene

I'm inspired . . .

Happy Sunday Everyone!
I have several card requests for a group of ladies I will meet with next weekend and needed some inspiration.  Well, through Ann S.Taft's crafting board at Pinterest, I discovered Heather Telford (Bits & Pieces).  Wow!  What a talented lady!  The following cards were inspired by her work.  It involves sponging, masking & stamping.

 The designer paper used for the background is by The Paper Studio.  I have sponged the edges with Tim Holtz 'Dusty Concord' distress ink using a large sponge dauber.

The floral stamp is by Paper Inspirations and I used SU markers to color right on the stamp before stamping on the designer paper.  The sentiment stamp on the front is by Anita's and the inside sentiment is by The Stamp Pad Co.

I have used the same stamp & technique for the inside image.

 For this creation, I have used the same designer paper, technique and ink ... just sponged it lighter.  The floral stamp used on this card is Penny Black 'T for Transparent' set.

The sentiment on the front of the card is from Stamps 'n More ... stamped using the same TH 'dusty concord' ink.  The die I used to cut it out is Spellbinder Heart Circles.

I've repeated the Iris stamp on the inside using the same technique and the sentiment is Verses Rubber Stamps.

This was actually the 1st card I created following the design inspiration from Heather.

Inks:  TH 'Tea Dye', 'Antique Linen' and Ranger Archival Ink 'Coffee'
Stamps: Stampendous, Great Impressions,
Sentiments:  Impression Obsession (front), the Artful Stamper (inside)

I actually took the time to complete the inside of each card so I could slip them into a clear sleeve and now they are READY to sell at the card party next weekend.  I have a few more cards to share with you but won't OVERLOAD you with them today.  I will share them another day this week!

A big thanks to Heather Telford for sharing her wonderful talents and inspiring me today!  Isn't the internet a wonderful thing!  LOL!!   Well, with that being said, I hope I've been able to inspire some of you today too.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend and please ... stop back soon!

Qualifying Challenges:
Penny Black and More - Springtime
That Craft Place - Anything Goes
 Allsorts Challenge - Say It With Flowers
Clearly iStamp - Anything Goes
Fairy Fun Friday Challenge - Distress It


Hugs,
Darlene

A "NEW" type of CHALLENGE . . .

Happy Friday Everyone!

If you are a follower of my blog, you will know that my friend Lana (Blest With Stamps) and I have a friendly ALTERING challenge thing that we do from time to time  ... where we purchase the same 'trash' item from the Goodwill and each do our 'own thing' ... then don't reveal it until we are both done and can blog about it.  That is when we see what the other one has done with the same item.  It's great fun and so inspiring!

WELL .... here's something new

 that my friend Shelly - A Work of Heart   (Shelly's Images)

 and I decided to try. 

SKYPE COOKING WITH A FRIEND

That's right and last night was our first try!  

We have been SKYPE CRAFTING for awhile now (which is awesome fun since she is in Kansas and I am in Ohio).  And of late, we have been doing a lot of skyping since Shelly is in the process of opening a NEW online store and I'm helping her 'stock the shelves' with her fabulous digi images. 

Anyways ... back to the food!  

 We decided that once a week we would plan something to make for dinner together while we are Skyping.  It was so much fun to be "in Shelly's kitchen" with her.  Of course, with Shelly being in Kansas, she is an hour behind me in time zones.  So we need to find dishes that we can prep together and while I am actually cooking mine, we have to make something that Shelly can cover and refrigerate to cook just a little later.

Shelly chose the first recipe which she found on Pinterest and is called "Man Pleasing Chicken".  We also made oven roasted red potatoes using Lipton Onion Soup mix ... that worked great since they took the same length of time to cook as the chicken.  Asparagus was our side dish while cauliflower was Shelly's. 

 

Here is the recipe for "Man Pleasing Chicken"

• 1 package Chicken thighs- about 6
• 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup Maple syrup
• 1 Tablespoon Rice wine vinegar
• Fresh Rosemary (we used green onion and added before cooking)

1. Preheat oven to 450. Put a 1-1/2 pound package of chicken thighs into an oven-proof baking dish. Salt and pepper the thighs. Mix the mustard, syrup and vinegar in a separate bowl.  Pour your maple mustard mixture over them, turning the thighs in the mixture so they are fully coated.  I added some chopped green onion to the top of my chicken.  
2. Put the chicken thighs into the oven, and let them bake for 40 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 155ºF. Baste the tops of the chicken with more sauce half way through. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before serving. Plate the chicken, making sure to spoon some extra sauce over the top. 
3. 
   

WOW!  Talk about a quick & easy meal and your kitchen smells FABULOUS!  We both agree, however, that next time we'll try to 'tame down' the mustard a bit ... maybe with a little sour cream or mayo.  Don't get me wrong, it was delicious and there was nothing left at the end of the meal but we think for our palettes, we might want to 'tweek' the recipe just a bit!

Well there you have it ... ANOTHER ADVENTURE I have embarked upon and having a great time!  Why not give it a try with a friend of yours?  And with the wonderful world of SKYPE, it was like having Shelly's sitting at the kitchen island while I cooked ... oh yea, she WAS on the island!  LOL!

 Lots of crafting to do today so I'd better get busy!  

Happy Day Everyone!

HUGS,

Darlene

Shelly's Images Challenge

Happy Thursday Everyone!

It's time for another fun challenge over at SHELLY'S IMAGES!

Today's challenge theme is:

Make something with GREEN & GOLD 

in honor of St. Patrick's Day

and, our FEATURED IMAGES is "BEARY LUCKY".  Remember, you can get this image at a REDUCED PRICE ... TODAY ONLY!  So pop on over and grab one for your collection.  [If you click on his name under the store image below, it will take you directly to the location in the store to make your purchase!]

BEARY LUCKY

For my creation today, I decided to make another 'treat box' for hubby ... this time for St. Patrick's Day.  He really doesn't need more candy (still has half left from what I gave him for Valentine's Day) but HE IS IRISH so I had to do something a little extra special!

This time, I used an empty Check Box from our Bank as my template and then just started decorating with designer paper, ribbon and of course our ADORABLE BEARY LUCKY digi image.

I have used Prismacolor Markers for the coloring on Beary ... and since taking these photos, I have added some GOLD Stickles for that added sparkle.  I hope you'll come join in our St. Patty's Day themed challenge at Shelly's Images ... and if you need inspiration then you definitely want to pop on over to the challenge blog for some fabulous inspiration from my team mates!!

Other qualifying challenges:
Delightful Challenge - St. Patrick's Day Projects
Do You Stack Up - Go Green
Paper Play Challenge - Recycle It
Pixie Dust Studio - Show Us You're Irish
 Crafting for all Seasons - Use Green & Yellow
Stampin' Royalty - Go Green

See you at Shelly's Images!!

Hugs,

Darlene

Beauty All Around Us . . .

My husband forwarded an email to me that he had received from his niece who is in the Peace Corp. in Mexico.  And she was sweet enough to attach a few photos sharing the beauty of the country she is in.  'Dr. Andrea'  is a very intelligent young lady and after some time teaching college students who didn't appear to care if they learned anything or not, she gave up her Professorship and joined the Peace Corp. where she fells she can truly 'MAKE A DIFFERENCE' ... and I'm sure she is!!

Misohal, (I think)

 

Anyways, I was so impressed with the beauty in these photo she had taken during some of her travels that I just couldn't help but print them out and turn them into cards.  I think I'll send her a note on one of them and see if she recognizes the image.  LOL

The Rainforest

 

I don't think she will mind me sharing this BEAUTY with  you all!!  I thought these particular images were so 'tranquil' that they would be perfect for sympathy cards ... so two of each are sympathy cards and the other two are simply note cards.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing in the beauty of God's work!

Hugs,

Darlene

Joan's Gardens Challenge #8 and Baby Cards

Well ... another week has flown by which means that it's once again time for a fun challenge at Joan's Gardens.  This week, Joan has asked us to use the following format:

• Create a card using corner embellishments
• Color theme should be Blue and Green
• Add some kind of flowers 
• Use an oval background

And here's what I came up with . . .

Recipe for this card:
Paper - Basic Grey designer paper, Bashful Blue cs, White cs, Riverrock cs
Ink - SU Bashful Blue, Mellow Moss
Image - Stampendous Rubber Stamp'Agapanthus Cluster'
Accessories - Heartfelt Creations 'Daisy Patch Dies', Spellbinder 'Beaded Oval' die, Spellbinder 'Classic Oval' die, Stampendous Gold Diamond Dots, Stickles, SU Photo Corner punch, Cheery Lynn Designs B117 Fanciful Flourish die

I'm thrilled to say that I will be attending the upcoming Workshop at Joan's Gardens the weekend of March 23-25.  I ALWAYS enjoy my time with Joan and the other ladies who attend her workshops and proud to say that I've made some wonderful friends along the way!   If you ever get the opportunity to attend one of her workshops, you will be impressed with the fun creations she & Selma come up with as well as have a wonderful fun time and don't forget to shop in her store ... that's always my favorite thing to do!!  LOL!

 * * * * *

Now ... about those baby cards I mentioned.  I have an upcoming 'Card Party' on the 17th and the ladies will be looking to replenish a variety of cards so I thought I'd best get a few baby cards into the mix.  I love this rubber stamp ... it is by Serendipity Stamps and is perfect for paper piecing.  So I decided to use that technique on both cards.  The designer paper used on this first card is from the Little Yellow Bicycle 'Cupcake Love' paper pack.

 This second card features designer paper from My Mind's Eye 'Lime Twist' 6x6 paper pack.  Since it is a two sided paper, I decided to use a strip of the reverse side on the front and then repeat that pattern on the inside.  The sentiment stamp is from Inkadinkado and the matting panel was created using the Spellbinder 'Lacey Circle' dies.  Faux stitching, Kaiser pearls, satin ribbon and a plastic diaper pin from Joann's were the embellishments for this fun creation.

 Here are a few qualifying challenges I'd like to share these creations with ...
365 Cards - New Beginnings
Paper Crafting Journey - Anything Goes - Papercrafting
Ladybug Crafts Ink TLT  - Pink & Girly
Creative Inspirations Paint - Paper Piecing
Crafty Your Passion - Paper Piecing
Paper & Such Design - Paper Piecing
Whimsy Inspiration - Paper Piecing


Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Hope you are having a wonderful day and looking forward to an even better weekend!!  Happy Crafting my friends!

Hugs,
Darlene

Shelly's Images Challenge

Hello there!  Are you ready for another fabulous challenge at Shelly's Images?

Boy, do we have a fun one for you today!

Our theme is:

SEEING SPOTS!

and our FEATURED image this week is this adorable 'GIRAFFE' which you can purchase TODAY ONLY at a REDUCED PRICE ... how great is that!!

GIRAFFE

I had so much fun creating with this image this week!  

I decided to do a little 'playing around' in Word with it and here's what I came up with!

I tell you, I just started looking for everything that SPOTS or DOTS on it and this came together so easily!  The background papers are from one of those huge DCWV 12x12 packs you can get at Joann's.  The ribbon is Stampin' Up.  The big flower is Petaloo, small flower is prima and the brad is BoBunny.

 I've used Faber Castell Pastel Pencils to color my giraffes and chalk for the sky.  The birds in the sky were created with a Stampscapes rubber stamp (sorry ... I can't help but put birds in the sky ... it's an obsession with me!). 

Other qualifying challenges:

Divas by design 24: spots and/or stripes
Unique crafters 1: anything goes
Paper crafting journey 4: anything goes
Creative Mondays (Always crafting) 2: anything goes
Crazy challenge108: anything goes
The pixie cottage 110: anything goes
Simon says: anything goes
Party time Tuesday 57: anything goes
2 sisters 80: anything goes

Now it's your turn to share YOUR "Seeing Spots" creation.  I promise to come visit your blog and leave you a comment when you play along.  It's FUN ... come on ... you know you want to!  NOW, if you need more inspiration, just pop on over to SHELLY'S IMAGES and check out all the amazing creations the rest of the team has created!  They are awesome!

Hope to see you at SHELLY'S

Hugs,

Darlene

Midnight Madness MARCH Monthly Sketch Challenge #136

WOW ... Busy day today!  Are you ready for another sketch challenge from Midnight Madness?  This is a fun one and if you want some AMAZING inspiration, be sure to pop over to the Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge Blog and check out what the team has created for you ... they are truly AWESOME!!

 These challenges now last the whole month so you have lots of time to submit your creations. You are welcome to submit up to FOUR projects using the sketches provided as a guide. We may add some fun twists with themes too. The themes are merely for inspirations and not required to play our sketch challenges. We will continue to award the Gold Star and Remarkable awards each month as well as a prize each month. We hope you will have fun working with our sketches and will be inspired by the fabulous Midnight Madness Design Teams Work. This weeks sketch...it's "YOUR PICK" Make it fancy, clean and simple, or somewhere in-between. Remember to click on the sneak peek button on the side bar for the following weeks sketch each Friday.

Enter one style or both for the next two week.

You are more than welcome to enter up to 4 cards during the whole month of MAR.

Just have fun and come play with us :)

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The MMSC135 Gold Star Awards goes to...
 8. sassy 

 Our Remarkables Awards for MMSC135 go to the following...
 9. An  
 12. Kathy Curry  
  14. *Vicki* 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our MMSC135 Bonus Winner is ...
 35. CG 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our MMSC135 sponsor is....

http://priscillastyles-store.blogspot.com/ 
$10 Gift Voucher redeemable for any digi images in the "priscillastyles" Store
Stop by and check out all the new images!!

 

GC redeemable for digis only

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here is this months fancy sketch and for an added twists we would like to challenge you to "make it Green". Break out all your Green craft supplies and get busy :) Themes are merely for inspiration and not a requirement to play...Looking forward to seeing all the entries this month.

HAVE FUN!!

Hugs,

Darlene

Reminder - EASTER is ...

. . . EARLY this year!  That's right ... Easter 2012 is on APRIL 8th.


 I have a customer who has requested I do a 'CARD party' for her at her house.  (This is where I bring all my cards which I have categorized & individually sleeved for everyone to look through and choose the ones they want/need). She has invited 4-5 other ladies who have seen my cards and want to see more (YEAH!!).  We have scheduled the party for St. Patrick's Day ... March 17th and she has already informed me of some of the cards the ladies will be looking for!  Of course, one of the requests is EASTER creations ...

I had this wonderful EASTER Creative Scraps sheet from Crafty Secrets in my stash and thought that would be a good place to get my mojo started.  These images are ADORABLE and no coloring required ... which really helps!  Here's what I've come up with so far . . .

 

This last card image is NOT from Crafty Secrets.  Rather, it is a rubber stamp by Paper Inspirations which I have inked with Memento 'Dandelion' ink and I'm sure you recognize the background panel as being embossed using the Cuttlebug 'Swiss Dot' embossing folder.

I have many more creations to complete before our 'CARD PARTY' and as time allows, will share them with you here on my blog.  You never know when something might inspire you ... or even jump start your mojo!

Since the party is being held on St. Patrick's Day, there is no need for additional St. Patty's Day creations, however, this same lady has requested I make & send her a couple of cards  that she can send to the college students that she stays in touch with.  Here's what I have created for her ...

Keep in mind, this lady DOES NOT like 'cutsy' so I tried to keep them kind of simple ... yet thought that possibly the college students may enjoy a bit of 'cutsy' ... hope she likes them! Sorry for the LONG post, but I hope you've enjoyed seeing my creations and maybe even have drawn inspiration from a few!

Qualifying Challenges for the St. Patrick's Day Cards:\
Sweet Stamps Blog #55 - St. Patrick's Day
The Scrapbooking Queen - Anything Goes & Green
Daisy Doodles Creative Challenge - Color Your World - No Brown or Black
 House of Gilli - Gilli Goes Green


{{DEEP BREATH}} ... okay, time to get back to 'work' (play).  Thanks for stopping by today and I wish you a FABULOUS week ahead!

Hugs,
Darlene