KrB's Korner

O Christmas Tree

2011-12-07T08:30:00.000-06:00

I thought I'd share with you the story of making this card. I walked into my craftroom to size up the possibility of moving it all downstairs to join up with my happy little sewing nook. Shaking my head in the realization that I had way too much stuff to fit where I thought I could squeeze it in, I walked over and glanced down at a small snowman from Whimsie Doodles waiting to be colored. I thought to myself, "go ahead, even though this is NOT what you're supposed to take time to do right now, color him quickly towards having another Christmas card ready." "Okay", says I. So I colored him quickly, cut him with my SB Circle die and then used a scalloped die to cut out a backing in red wool felt. "Perfect, now finish the card." So I pull out my Webster Christmas paper from last year, only those colors are muted and my snowman is in bright colors. I pull out my PTI Christmas Tree die to find a way to somehow bring it all together, find a tree on one of the Webster papers and die cut it with my Christmas tree die. Perfect again, only not for the snowman. I decide on an ornament-sentiment from my new PTI set called "Holiday Lights" and stamp it with Versa Mark and heat-emboss it with my new Stampin'Up Pewter Embossing Powder, which is gorgeous, by-the-way. I like what I've got so I sponge the components of the card with Antique Linen and adhere everything to the card. Then I pull out my Polar White Flower Soft and dust the tree with it and then add Glossy Accents to the ornaments to make them stand out. Wow, I like it. I add little "jewels" to the star-ornaments in the sentiment and voila, I've done another card. I should have been sewing my girls' Christmas dresses but I'm happy to have another card done and really like how it turned out. (I am now actually writing this post while my fabulous sewing machine is embroidering a snowman on the front of one of the girls' pinafores. Ya gotta love sewing when you're not even touching the machine. Actually I love sewing in any mode, but what fun that it sews on it's own.) Thanks for stopping by and reading about my side-tracked creation.

Long Overdue Post

2011-11-08T09:36:00.009-06:00

I know I have been MIA on my blog and I apologize. I have been very busy in another venue and my poor cards have been somewhat neglected for awhile. Now, I will qualify that by saying that we put together 30 Christmas cards to send to our church missionaries, and I've got almost 20 of my own Christmas cards done, but other than that I've been in my other craft room.....my sewing room. Here are two of the outfits I've made for my sweet grandbabies. The robot outfit was for my grandson's 1st birthday, and the Christmas dress is for one of my granddaughters. I still have another one to make just like that. I was blessed with the acquisition of an embroidery machine back in July. It was a used machine, but new to me and I've been loving sewing again. I've made lots more dressed and outfits than these but thought I'd offer an explanation of where I've been. Sadly our Copic Creations challenges came to an end due to a very full plate on our leader Mary. She hated to quit the challenges but time is not allowing her to keep up the extensive work involved in putting all of the challenges together. I loved being on the team, as did all of our team members, but alas it's time to move on. I'm sure I'll get back to my cards soon but I'm still on a honeymoon with my machine and decided I best be sewing for the kids while they're still young enough to wear the cute stuff. I'll try to share more items if there seems to be some interest in seeing them. Thanks so very much for stopping by and for your patience with my long absence.

October 1 Copic Creations Challenge

2011-10-01T15:30:00.000-05:00

Happy Autumn hellos and welcome to another Copic Creations Challenge. I can't believe the month of September is already gone and we're in October. Some months seem to go by more quickly than others....does anyone else notice that? Our challenge this time features some fabulous images from Belles 'n Whistles (details on Copic Creations blog.) The name of mine is "Little Eden" and the theme this time is saturated colors. Follow the link to learn more about this. I used B23,24,26,28 for Little Eden's clothes and E17,25,29 for her hair. She is such a cutie with a wee bit of a pout perhaps(?). The DT has done a wonderful job with these images so I do hope you'll check them out and then challenge yourself by playing with saturated colors. Have a lovely Fall week-end and thank you so much to all who stop by.

WOYWDW

2011-09-28T07:38:00.009-05:00

I thought I would share with you my new "favorite" layout. I got this idea from Susan "Rainy" in her post from last week and flipped out over how neat the look was. You can see that I have two different sentiments that I can adhere inside the card, depending on which one I need. I also thought it would be a perfect entry for What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday, since that's what I worked on. I even made a version for a Christmas card, although I haven't completed the image yet so I'll have to post that later. The papers I used are SU's Autumn Vine from a few years back. The sentiments are from SU's "Thoughts and Prayers."

I'll have another post for our Copic Creations Challenge on Saturday, so stay tuned. Thanks for dropping by and be sure and take a look at the beautiful cards Susan did, (link above.)

Copic Creations Challenge Time

2011-09-15T07:30:00.000-05:00

This sweet little drumming bear is from Stamp Fairy, who is one of our two sponsors for this mid-September challenge. The theme is "coloring fur" and I think you'll find all these cute furry critters illustrated by our DT to be looking quite cuddly. We have another sponsor as well, which is My Creative Classroom, and you can find out all that they have to offer by clicking on the link, or reading about it on the Copic Creations blog. I put a Christmas sentiment with him because he made me think of the little drummer boy whose wish was to play his drum for the newborn King. I will add it to my "stack" of Christmas cards for this year. I hope you get inspired to check out the tutorials for coloring fur and then join us for this challenge. Happy Fall to all and thanks for stopping by.

"Peeked Out Peeker"

2011-09-01T07:24:00.003-05:00

Yep, that's the name of this adorable image from Elizabeth Bell's new Peeker's Collection #2 at Susana's Custom Art and Card Design, who happens to be our awesome sponsor for this Copic Creations challenge. Happy September 1 to all of you. Our challenge theme is "pink" and we want to see what you do with those wonderful pink Copics that you have. My sweet little peeker is colored mostly with the R81,83,85,89 group, with a wee bit of R00 and R20 for her cheeks. My DP's are from Memory Box "Jubilee," sponged with Crushed Olive and Victorian Velvet distress inks. Our talented DT did some beautiful cards for this challenge, so be sure to click the link to our Copic Creations blog and be inspired. We also have an awesome winner from our last challenge whose card you'll definitely want to see. Thanks so much for stopping by. To those I try to regularly follow, please forgive my absence. I know I'm the one missing out on seeing all those beautiful cards you're doing and reading of all that's going on with you. I am still sorting out time conflicts, but I will try to visit very soon. I'm so glad there's a promise of at least slightly cooler weather ahead. Have a wonderful Labor Day and first week of September.

Copic Creations Challenge-Time

2011-08-15T07:30:00.001-05:00

It's time for another Copic Creations challenge and in the midst of this I'm suffering from a dead computer thanks to a juice spill that freakishly invaded the back of my laptop. Thus, I am having to post this in a roundabout way. I'm not even sure if my post made it to the DT leader to put on our CC site, but I'll at least post it here. Our challenge is sponsored by A Day for Daisies and my adorable little image is called Sarah. The theme of the challenge is coloring with Blue-Greens. I used BG10,13, and 18 for her dress, and BG72, 75 and 78 for her hat.
I am enjoying having our eldest son and his family here for a visit and having the house full of grandkids enjoying getting to play with their cousins. It's been quite chaotic at times with 17 of us for dinner each night, but what fun! I wouldn't trade it for anything. Things will settle down before long and I'll be back to my posts. Hard to believe the Summer is going to be Fall before long. Thank you for stopping by and have a wonderful week.

Copic Creations Challenge

2011-08-01T21:10:00.003-05:00

It's time once again for our Copic Creations challenge, and yes, I'm late posting this. I feel very badly about that, but it was impossible to isolate myself to get it done, photographed and posted. Anywhoo, our sponsor this time is Lily of the Valley, and this wonderful little image is Daisy Chain. The challenge is to add some sort of background scenery to your image - grass, bushes, whatever you like. Check out the Copic Creations blog for the details. You'll also get a peak at LOTV's latest Christmas images and they're adorable. For my image I added some additional grass and some lavender behind the sweet little girl. I must confess that I used a stamp for the lavender, but I did embellish it with my Copics. Hope you can play along and show us your creativity. I am swamped with cards to make and dresses to finish sewing before the middle of next week, so I'll be back just as soon as I can. As always, thank you so much for stopping by.

"Go-To" Sympathy Card

2011-07-27T07:53:00.005-05:00

Today I am sharing a sympathy card that went together fairly quickly but I liked it's style. The sentiment is from SU's Thoughts and Prayers, and the die cuts are stamped with Waltzingmouse's Vintage Labels 10, and then die cut with Spellbinders dies to match. The top and bottom flourishes are also from this set, and the strips in the middle are from an SU punch and then sponged in distress inks. I would like to come up with several "go-to" designs to have on hand and I think this should be one of them. I know y'all already do that, but while I've intended to do that, it hasn't happened yet. I need a go-to design for a lot of occasions where I need a card quickly but don't have the time to stop and put one together. Hence, the following:

I have been in another craft room for the last 1-1/2 weeks...my sewing room. My love of sewing was re-kindled with the acquiring of a new (used, but barely) sewing machine, plus the upcoming visit of our oldest son. Their youngest is 3, and my granddaughters that live here are ages 3 and 7. I have been making matching dresses and aprons for the 3 of them to match, and of course playing with the embroidery capabilities that I now have on my machine. I so wish I could clone myself (don't we all) so I could be stamping and sewing, but for now, that's where I've been hiding. I will try to remember to take pictures of their outfits and the girls in them to share with you. Meanwhile, please forgive the absence of card posts. I'll be back soon with our next Copic Creations challenge post. Thanks for stopping by.

Sweet Treats

2011-07-15T07:46:00.003-05:00

It's time once again for a fresh challenge from Copic Creations, and this time the challenge is coloring "pastels". Our sponsor this time is Sparkle Creations and they've got some adorable images. (See our CC site for what you could win by participating.) This one is called Sweet Treats Emily. She's serving up a plate of chocolate chip cookies (my interpretation, anyway) and of course she inspired me to go bake some chocolate chip cookies. YUM! My "Baked Edible Goods" is from one of my favorite Waltzingmouse Sets and my DP's are Prima's "Jack and Jill." Thanks to all who joined us for the last challenge. I hope you can play along this time, so get out those Copics and think pastel.

WM Sketch Challenge

2011-07-13T07:29:00.002-05:00

Today's post is a card I did for the WM sketch challenge. The set is called Blessed by You.
This is one of my new sets so I wanted to use it in the sketch challenge. From my perspective the tree suggests something rather "colonial" so I stamped it on Kraft CS. I created my own plaid background with WM's Picnic Patterns. I'm still not sure if I like the tree stamped on that color of CS, but I'm not sure what else to go with to give it that feel, so here it is for now. I've been trying to stay on top of commenting, along with posting more frequently, but golly.....there are a lot of new posts out there today. I love the inspiration I get from so many of you. Hopefully I'll be able to keep up the momentum. I'm loving summertime and want to work up so many summer images, but I'm already feeling pressured to get to creating cards for the holidays. Oh, the demands we put on ourselves, yes?? Thanks for stopping by. Hope you're enjoying your summer days.

Farm Fresh Challenge

2011-07-09T12:45:00.004-05:00

I realize I'm surprising many of you with the frequent posts, but the fact is that this week has allowed me to focus more on my stamping and blogging and I'm enjoying it very much. I don't know if it will last, but while I'm able to I am going to participate in as much as I can.
Flourishes is having a Farm Fresh challenge prior to their new release. I decided to color one of my Apple of My Eye images and set it off with papers in my favorite colors from my Stella and Rose "Gertie" papers. The little bit of blue behind the image is from K & Company's "Americana." Flourishes does have awesome fruits and veggies to color up, so I hope you can at least get to smile at the gorgeous cards the DT has come up with and join the challenge if you can. Thanks for stopping by.

Vintage and Lace

2011-07-08T06:30:00.000-05:00

Vintage with Distressing and Lace - that's the theme of this week's challenge at Mo's Challenge Blog. I colored this adorable cupcake fairy, "Birthday Fairy Lee," distress-ink style with my Copics (again referencing Suzanne's Coloring with Distress Ink videos linked in previous post.) I also colored my Prima flowers and attached my Ecru lace. The challenge at Flutterby Wednesday is an Open challenge as long as it is a fairy, angel, or butterfly, so this one would certainly qualify. I'm happy I got a chance to enter a few challenges. Thanks so much for stopping by.

Sweet Tilda

2011-07-06T15:43:00.003-05:00

I wanted to share this card I did a little while ago for my granddaughter's birthday. I colored her using Suzanne's method of distress coloring. I really loved how much fun it was to color this way, and how she turned out. My border is an embossing folder from SU! I would love to post this to a challenge but not sure where to post it. The Just Magnolia challenge already has 166 entries but I guess I'll post her there-what's one more entry, right? If you love coloring with your Copics then I think you'd love Suzanne's You-Tube tutorial on this. Thanks, Suzanne. Thank you for stopping by. I'm really hoping to enter some challenges soon. I've got new stamps I'm anxious to ink up. Until then, hope you can stay cool!

Copic Creations Challenge

2011-07-01T07:30:00.000-05:00

Well, I can't believe it has been half a month since my last post. Needless to say there has been a lot going on here, but I still feel badly that I haven't been able to keep up with posting and commenting. Hopefully July will go a bit more smoothly. Now, without further ado, welcome to another Copic Creations Challenge. Our wonderful sponsor this time is La-La Land Crafts and my adorable little image is "Dr. Marci." Our challenge is coloring white clothing. Dr. Marci's lab coat is just that, colored with N1 and a Colorless Blender. Her gown is R0000 and N1, plus the Colorless Blender. Of course she has to have her tennies for moving quickly from one patient to the next, but she's taking time to take good care of this little patient. I borrowed a sentiment and prescription bottle from an MFT set called "Bunny Slippers." The DP's are Kaiser's "Rewind." I hope you'll be able to join us for this challenge, and be sure to see the awesome entries from our talented DT. Thank you for stopping by and have a fabulous 4th.

Copic Creations Challange and Winners Announced

2011-06-15T07:30:00.000-05:00

Happy mid-June to all of you. I hope you're all off to a great start to summer. It's plenty hot here so the kids are getting lots of pool time. It's time for our next Copic Creations Challenge and this one is sponsored by Penny Black. Our challenge this time is "doodling" and you'll have to get all the details at the challenge blog. My Penny Black image is called "By the Cartful." I used my 0.2 Multi-liner and I doodled some squigglies on the bow of the red package, and also added extra hearts around the top of the packages. While you're there be sure to check out the happy winners of all the great items being offered for our anniversary challenge. Speaking of winners, the winner of my blog candy is (drumroll please.....) Crafty Math-Chick. Please e-mail me with your address so I can send you the papers and stickers. Be sure to check out the great cards our DT put together using the adorable Penny Black images and as always, thanks for stopping by.

Flourishes Star Spangled Challenge

2011-06-09T12:05:00.005-05:00

Flourishes is have a Star Spangled challenge using red, white and blue and the happy winner gets the new releases, which look quite fabulous. You can get all the details here. To see a sample of the new releases, check out Leslie Miller's blog here. I decided to make a Father's Day card for my entry, and the images I used are from Flourishes "A Man's View." My DP's are K & Company and my letters are from my Martha Stewart Alphabet punches. The new releases are really grabbing me and I have no doubt they'll grab you too, so be sure to check them out. Thanks for stopping by.

Way to Go, Kiddo!

2011-06-04T07:59:00.004-05:00

Happy Saturday to you all! I have a card to share with you that I made for my grandson's K-5 graduation. I used PTI's "Way to Go, Kiddo" set. It's an adorable set and I'm glad I finally got to use it. My tree branches and mushroom tops, as well as the background papers are more of my favorite...."Stella and Rose." By now I've left enough plugging for them, and links, that you probably all have your own, or else your tired of seeing them. I'm so very excited to have reached 100 followers. I'm certainly honored and I want to thank all of you who follow my blog, and I love when you take a moment to leave comments. I have been applying Suzanne Dean's Distress Coloring with Copics techniques referenced on our Copic Creations Challenge Blog and I have to say I'm thrilled with the look. I'll post the card I made for my granddaughter's birthday using one of these images. I'm hooked on this manner of coloring. Be sure to visit the blog and see all the blog candy you could win for our 2nd blogiversary. I'm off to a very busy day, as I'm sure you all are. Have a wonderful week-end.

Copic Creations Celebrates!

2011-06-01T07:30:00.001-05:00

We're celebrating our second anniversary here at Copic Creations Challenges....two years of bi-weekly challenges! If you were with us last year for our one-year anniversary you'll remember that we had multiple sponsors to help us celebrate, and we're happy to be celebrating with 12 sponsors this year! How cool is that!
The theme of our challenge is "Distressing - with Copics," and our images were graciously provided by Crafty Secrets. The image I colored is from a set called Garden Girls and I fell in love with this set when I saw it. If you remember my Easter Basket post you'll recognize the 2-5-7-10 box that I made into a "vase" this time for the greenery inside. The colors I used on her apron, (or pinafore,) were E40,41,42,43,44. The vintage images really lend themselves nicely to a distressed look. I used N1,2,3,&5 on the watering can and E97,99 on the clay pots. The box and handle were sponged with SU's More Mustard. Many of our DT members are offering blog candy, so be sure to check out their posts for this challenge. I am offering paper and stickers from K&Co. with a patriotic theme. The winner will be chosen and announced on our 6/15 post. We also want to welcome a new design-team member - Wendy Ramlakhan from Sugar-Pea Designs. Be sure to check out her link and welcome her to our team. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you'll join our celebration with a little distressing. Don't forget to leave comments for a chance to win some blog candy.

Kick Back and Relax

2011-05-29T08:38:00.003-05:00

Just a quick post to share with you on this busy Memorial Day week-end. My second oldest grandchild turned 15 yesterday. My goodness, where have the years gone?! He lives in the rather warm state of Arizona, so thought I'd suggest a "cool" suggestion for him to celebrate his birthday. The image is from Mo's Digital Pencil, the papers are Stella and Rose-"Hattie" again (you'll probably be seeing a lot more of these) and the sentiment is from Flourishes "A Man's View." I used my glossy effects for the water in the pool. I hope you are having a wonderful week-end. My heartfelt gratitude goes to all of our men and women who do serve and have served in our armed forces to keep this nation free and our flag flying high. Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by.

Happy Anniversary to Waltzingmouse

2011-05-21T08:51:00.003-05:00

It's WM's 2nd anniversary, and to celebrate, Claire is offering a HUGE grand prize for one lucky winner from those who post an entry using one of her templates. I tried my hand at one of the teacups and I'm so pleased with how it turned out. I love this little template...there are so many possibilities for making these. I used my Gold Sharpie Poster Paint pen to do the edges. I'm going to get this in before the submissions close and wish Waltzingmouse a Happy Anniversary. Thanks for stopping by.

Here Comes Summer

2011-05-18T06:55:00.006-05:00

Today's post is for Mo's DP2 Challenge blog and the theme is "Summer." Their DT has some awesome entries and makes me want to acquire several more images as I dream of the good 'ol summertime. I colored this adorable little giggling girl with my Copics but wanted to incorporate my yummy new Jillibean Soup, "Blossom Soup" papers, so I fashioned her skirt out of the happy flower print. I started out just giving her shiny red shoes and then decided the cherries needed some popping up and showing off with my Glossy Accents as well. Summer fruits are definitely one of the highlights of summer, are they not? The sentiments are from Flourishes "Peaches and Cherries," and the cherries along the side are from SU's "Tart and Tangy." Be sure to check out the entries for this challenge - they will put a smile on your face. Thank you for stopping by and have a beautiful May day.

Whatcha Readin'?

2011-05-15T07:30:00.003-05:00

Read any good books lately? This image is called "Moody for Reading", and she's one of the many super images available at PMS (Paper Makeup Stamps-our own Katie Cotton) who just happens to be our sponsor for this particular Copic Creations Challenge. The sentiment at the bottom is also from PMS and I thought it was quite appropriate to go with the image. The challenge this time is Coloring with Yellows. I mainly used YR21,23,24, but also used Y15,17 and Y000,02 (for the hair.) I am still in love with these papers from Stella & Rose- "Hattie" & "Gertie"(My Mind's Eye) and I'm trying to feature several of them with each image. I had to order more - I'm really hooked. Hope you can join us for this challenge. Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely week.

Nurse Teddy Bea

2011-05-12T07:14:00.000-05:00

Just a quick post before leaving to visit family. I made this card for my dear friend Linda. She may have made a few of these to give to her nurse-buddies, but she certainly deserved one of her own. This is Nurse Teddy Bea and I'm once again using the Stella & Rose "Gertie" papers (My Mind's Eye) that I'm so in love with, along with stamping a faint plaid pattern on my CS - another technique I'm in love with. I colored her with Copics, of course. Happy Nurses' Week, Linda! I was excited to learn I was featured in the LMM Spotlight, so I had to show off my blinkie. Off to exercise and hit the road. Many thanks for stopping by my little korner. Be back Sunday with another Copic Challenge.

Cinnamon

2011-05-08T07:40:00.001-05:00

This is Cinnamon, and she was colored up for the current Little Miss Muffet challenge, which is to use die cuts and/or punches. I have no less than 5 die cuts and 1 punch on this card. I used my Spellbinders Labels 14 and 10 plus a decorative butterfly corner from Spellbinders Decorative Frames. The sentiment is punched with my SU Word Window punch. Last week I received a pack of papers called Jilli Bean Soup/Blossom Soup. They looked like papers I was going to love so I ordered 2 paks and I'm so glad I did. I have to say that I love coloring the LMM images. They're just so cute and not too busy. I hope you're having lovely weather wherever you are. Enjoy your day.

Best Friends

2011-05-06T10:38:00.004-05:00

This little guy and his puppy are joining the challenge at Mo's Digital Pencil Challenge blog, and the challenge this week is Monochromatic. I colored this using my Copics, E40,41,42,43,44,47,&49, (oh, and E00,01 & 02 for the skin-tones). I had fun coloring this - I could spend hours coloring with my Copics, but alas, reality calls and I have to return to it. Mo's is having a Guest Designer call, so be sure to check out the challenge blog if you're interested. Their DT did some amazing cards so take a look and get inspired. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful week-end.

WM Sketch Challenge

2011-05-05T13:28:00.000-05:00

I am participating in another WM sketch challenge. I'm using papers from my new "My Mind's Eye-Stella & Rose Collection." I used the Very Vintage Labels #10 set again (I know I'm going to use this set a lot) with a sentiment from SU's "Refuge and Strength". The flowers are die cut from PTI's Beautiful Blooms II die cuts out of their yummy wool felt. The scallop along the border is also PTI's Large Scallop Border die cut. Thanks so much for stopping by. Have a wonderful week-end and a Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's Day on my Workdesk

2011-05-04T13:18:00.006-05:00

I told you that I'm enjoying a new love-affair with WMS (Waltzingmouse Stamps) so I have more to share with you. I couldn't wait to try making my own plaids with my new WM "Pic-Nic Patterns" set, so I came up with a Mother's Day card that I'm really quite pleased with. It also uses "Very Vintage Labels #10" which I am loving as well. I included hearts from my SU heart punch, ribbon from PTI, a sentiment from Flourishes "Spring Bouquet" and the children playing are also from Flourishes "Kids at Play" set. My inks are So Saffron, Marina Mist and Soft Suede, all from SU! My workdesk shows the elements prepared for assembly, so I'm going to link to the What's on Your Work Desk Wednesday post. I've already mailed out 3 of the 5 cards I made. Bethany, on the outside chance that you actually look at this post, Happy Mother's Day! -early. Thanks for stopping by. I should have another challenge post for you tomorrow.

"Go Nuts"

2011-05-01T07:30:00.002-05:00

My goodness, it's May 1 already. Didn't we just get through the Christmas holidays a short time ago? It's also time for another Copic Challenge, and this one is one that will probably stretch you. It did me, but that's why it's called a CHALLENGE. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?! Our sponsor is LOTV (Lili of the Valley) and the challenge is creating clouds. Mary has posted some great tutorials on the Copic site so be sure to check them out and then give it a try. My image is called "Little Acorn", and I chose this one immediately because my 2-year-old grandson has been going around singing the "I'm a nut.." song. I decided this would have to be his birthday card for his 3rd birthday in June. The balloons are carrying away the little fella in his acorn so it worked out nicely to feature the sky challenge. The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink and I was glad I had it to put with this card. Be sure to check out what the rest of our talented DT has come up with, and please note that we welcome a new DT member, Cheryl Valadez. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a lovely beginning to the month of May.

Afternoon Tea

2011-04-26T16:30:00.004-05:00

I wanted to play more with my Waltzingmouse stamps so I made a card for this week's sketch challenge. This one uses the "Afternoon Tea" set, and the Afternoon Tea Sentiments for the little flourishes and the "Need a Cup?" sentiment underneath the Afternoon Tea. I love the look of the main image, which I stamped twice in two different colors and cut out and layered. The embossed design is Cuttlebug's "Texture". I'm off to do some serious kitchen cleaning - we have had electricians here for a week and a half now and today they re-wired the kitchen. I'm sure that I, and they, will be glad when this project is done. Thanks for stopping by.

Quick and Easy Easter "Baskets"

2011-04-23T08:13:00.003-05:00

I wanted to share these little "baskets" I made up following the tutorial for the "2-5-7-10" box here. I altered it by not making the top flap and folding down the top edge 1" instead. I used my Spellbinders Egg Die and my Martha Stewart grass punch for decoration. The sentiment is from Clear Dollar Stamps' "You're Eggs-trordinary". I plan to fill them with Easter grass and candy for my little ones. These were made from SU's "Banbury" DP (not sure if it's still available, but the colors worked well for Easter.) The weight actually ended up being the easiest to work with, after several attempts with regular CS. (The one in the middle is CS covered with DP, and it's really sturdy, but I didn't want to take the time to do that for all the remaining baskets I had to make.) I also ended up using Tacky Glue and it went together more quickly than using my double-sided tape. Just a quick post for any of you last-minute preparation people. Happy Easter. I'm off for a run to prepare for a local race next week-end. Yikes!

Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge #43

2011-04-21T22:27:00.002-05:00

I am jumping in on the end of a Waltzingmouse sketch challenge. I've recently discovered their stamps and how much I'm drawn to them. This set (Very Vintage Christmas) was the only set I owned up until a week ago, and since I had already made this card and it fit the challenge, I added flowers from my most recent set and I was good to go. The flowers are from their Rescue Remedies set, which coordinates with Spellbinders 4 Dies. I got the inspiration for this card from another blog last Christmas, but I honestly can't remember who it was....I'm so sorry. I altered it but I was so drawn to this set thanks to the stamper who shared this. I'm going to post this to the challenge site and hope I'm in time. Have a wonderful Easter week-end and as always, thank you for stopping by.

Another Miss Muffet Cutie

2011-04-20T13:10:00.004-05:00

I want to share another one of the "Little Miss Muffet" designs with you. This one is is called "Birthday Bunny" and I made this for a sweet little boy who just turned one. I love their designs because they're easy to color and just so cute. They even have a challenge blog which I keep meaning to jump into. My papers are Basic Grey. As you can see I kept it pretty simple for this one-year-old. Thanks for stopping by. I do appreciate so much the comments you leave. Have a wonderful day and Blessed Easter.

Paper Temptations

2011-04-15T07:30:00.001-05:00

Hi and welcome to our next Copic Creations challenge. Our challenge is being sponsored by the Paper Temptress and she has some wonderful papers. My image is colored on her super Cryogen White paper, which has a bit of a sparkle in it and was wonderful to color on with Copics. The image I colored is "Nutmeg" and she's one of the Little Miss Muffet stamps found here. They are digital images and I really fell in love with them. This one I colored very similarly to their sample image because I wanted to put her with the beautiful iridescent papers from the Paper Temptress. The picture doesn't do justice to the shimmer, but you can perhaps catch a glimpse of it on the rose-colored quadrant. I colored another MM image, "Peppermint," which I will post soon and she was colored on the Heavenly White CS, also from the PT, and I'm pleased with how the coloring turned out - I just need to make her into a card. I think you'll find that the DT has responded very favorably to this paper so be sure to check their submissions. Thanks so much for taking a look and I hope you're having a beautiful month of April.

Celebrating the Reason for the Season

2011-04-07T08:00:00.003-05:00

In light of the true meaning of Easter, these friends of faith have gathered together to celebrate and share the Good News that Jesus Christ died for the sins of mankind and that He did rise from the dead so that all those that put their trust in Him would indeed be forgiven and have eternal life....Hallelujah! We wanted to emphasize the true reason for celebrating Easter with a card that draws attention to just that.

I used Flourishes "Easter Blessings" set (now 50% off) for my image and sentiment on the first layer and colored my image with Copic markers. I then printed the words to the chorus of that beautiful song by Keith Getty "The Power of the Cross" on vellum paper and layered it on top of the main image.

The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart exults, and with my song I shall thank him. Psalm 28:7 (NAS)

We invite you to join us:
Heather
Kelly
Maria
Sammi
Lorie
Stacy
Kadie
Carolyn
Paola
Linda
Susan
Karen (You're Here)
Catherine

While we cannot even begin to reciprocate the Lord's gift to us, there is "blog candy" on some of the hop stops as a token of appreciation for your comments and encouragement.
We also invite you to celebrate the real "Reason for the Season" by posting your own creation celebrating Christ's Resurrection. There is a place to link on Catherine's blog, and a prize is up for grabs for one randomly selected card/project. The blog hop ends on Saturday at midnight (Eastern Time). Thanks so much for stopping by.

Enjoy the hop!

Copic Creations Anniversary

2011-04-01T07:30:00.001-05:00

Happy April! It's time for another Copic Creations challenge. Mary, our DT leader, has done a fabulous job of seeking out sponsors and coming up with themes for our challenges. Mary, you're awesome, girl! Today is officially our 2nd Anniversary, but we're postponing our celebration until the June 1 post where we'll have several sponsors and lots of blog candy. For this challenge we want to say a big thank you to Crafty Secrets for sponsoring our challenge. I am using an image from one of their sweet, Medium sets called "Little Boy." The theme for this challenge is to use our favorite technique. That was a bit of a head-scratcher for me, but I realized that I like to use my die cuts and cut out my images to work with them when they "overflow" the die shape. This card is sort of doing the reverse. I didn't cut out the image but the die cut had to go "behind the image." That meant that I had to cut out a portion of the little boy image so that I could slide the die shape underneath and then create the opening for the sentiment. I have two sweet little grandsons with birthdays coming up in June, so this is going to be for one of them. I'm not going to list all of the Copic colors I used this time, but if you're interested just e-mail me and I'll be glad to tell you. Each time I post I'm hopeful that I'll have more frequent posts for you. I have several occasions coming up that require cards, so maybe I'll surprise you and have lots to share. Be sure to check out what the other DT members have created and find out what their favorite technique is. Thank you for your faithful visits and I hope you have a wonderful month of April.

Copic Creations and Sugar Nellie

2011-03-15T07:30:00.001-05:00

It's mid March and time for another Copic Creations challenge. This month's challenge is sponsored by Sugar Nellie and the theme is "coloring blues." I just love this little image called "Country Style". The blues that I used are B32,34,39 and B93,95,97,99. I also used B0000 for the background. My ribbons are from SU! and my sentiment is Just-Rite's new "Fancy Tags" coupled with Spellbinders coordinating dies. The DT has done some adorable cards so be sure to check them out. Hope you can join us for this challenge. Thanks for stopping by!

Copic Creations Challenge

2011-03-01T07:30:00.001-06:00

Welcome to the month of March and another Copic Creations challenge. This challenge is sponsored by Crafts and Me and the theme is Complementary Colors. The name of this sweet image is "Noon". I chose colors in the Yellow-Greens and Violets and they're all listed on the Copic Creations website. My sentiment is from PTI's "Mailbox Greetings" and the lovely plum-colored strip is a new punch from SU! The DT did a wonderful job coloring their images so be sure to check them out and find out what you could win by entering this challenge. These color challenges have been most helpful in learning more about color. I hope you'll join us and thanks so much for stopping by.

Sweet Birthday Hugs

2011-02-24T08:40:00.005-06:00

My sweet little granddaughter is having her third birthday, so I played with some new papers and stamp and made her this card. The image is called "Snuggle", from the Greeting Farm, and the DP's were a freebie from SU's Sale-a-bration. The pretty blue CS is called Marina Mist, from SU! and I love the color. The border and flowers are stickers that came with the fun paper. I've been quite busy with Spring cleaning, so stamping is sadly not the priority at the moment. It will be soon, though, and I love when the house, or parts of the house, sparkle and shine. Wish I had time to see if this fits any challenges, but I have to keep up the momentum on the house. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful week-end.

Two Challenges and a Birthday Card

2011-02-17T09:01:00.003-06:00

I chose this image as my "favorite" House-Mouse image, probably because it's happy and peaceful and fun to color. It was hard to pick a favorite amongst all those cutie images, but this one is the one I chose for the "Favorite" challenge. I made it for a birthday card for a very dear friend, and she loves blues and yellows so I hope she likes this. I followed the sketch for Friday Sketchers challenge which I am just getting in before the cut-off, I hope. The inside of the card says "..on your Birthday". I used my new blue from SU called Marina Mist and I LOVE the color. My clouds are from MFT's Rain or Shine and I colored it with my Copics (my happy time.) Better close and get this posted. Thanks for stopping by.

Warm Colors Challenge

2011-02-15T07:30:00.000-06:00

Welcome to our next Copic Creations challenge. Our challenge this time is "warm colors," and our sponsor is Bugaboo stamps. I chose this adorable little fireman in the Sunbonnet collection that you can find here. They have some really cute images so you'll want to be sure and check them out. My sentiment is from the MFT Rain or Shine set. I hope you had a lovely Valentine's Day and I hope you're experiencing some warmer temps. We are here and it feels quite nice. Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you can play along with us and some warm Copic colors.

Have a Heart

2011-02-08T09:24:00.003-06:00

I'm happy to be able to join the challenge at House-Mouse. I'm hoping that my stamping time is returning but we'll see. The theme is hearts so I think I've captured the theme with this image, colored with my Copics, and my heart-stamped background. I hope you're staying warm wherever you are. It's pretty cold here in northern Florida, but at least the sun is shining today. Thanks for stopping by. I'm babysitting today but I'm hoping to do some stamping.

Get Well Wishes

2011-02-07T07:30:00.001-06:00

So many people have been sick with one thing or another, and this card was sent to one of my friends who had the flu bug. The image is from ALOTA Rubber Stamps and I fell in love with it the first time I saw it. My sentiment is from MFT's "Rain or Shine" and I had to dissect it to get it to fit. I colored it with Copics and the rest pretty much speaks for itself. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day.

Love You

2011-02-04T07:30:00.000-06:00

Just a quick post with the card I made for the MFT Wednesday Sketch Challenge #5. I love these pure innocence images and I finally inked this one up. This will be a card for someone special in my family, so I have a destination for it. The details can be found in my SCS Gallery here. Thanks for stopping by and have a super week-end.

Happy Groundhog Day

2011-02-02T07:30:00.000-06:00

First of all, I know you are probably shocked that I'm posting a second time in a week, but I had to get this post up today because it is Groundhog Day, and it is my son's birthday. I'm sure he won't read this post, but just in case he does, Happy Birthday Sweetie! This cute image is compliments of Elizabeth Dulemba and it was the "Coloring Page Tuesday Alert" freebie image for the week. I have also missed participating in challenges so I decided to enter this into the "SweetStop Sketch" for this week. Sweet 'n Sassy has come out with some awesome new sets. I used my new Kaisercraft papers called "Rewind". They don't require that you use an image from Sweet 'n Sassy, but I wanted to use something so I pulled out a sentiment from the "You're a Genius" set. I'll put together a clever finish to this for the inside of the card. I'm going to keep this short but I'm so pleased that I got to post another card. Who knows, maybe things will settle down and I can stamp and post like I used to. Have a wonderful day. I'm sure those of you in the north want this little fellow to announce that winter will end soon. Thanks for stopping by.

Copic Creations Challenge #43

2011-02-01T07:30:00.000-06:00

Hi and welcome to another Copic Creations challenge. Our sponsor this time is Lili of the Valley and our theme is "Cool Colors." This image is one from LOTV and she's called "Destiny's Moon." I listed the Copic Colors that I used on the Copic Creations blog. The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink and the rest of it, which is stamped inside the card, says "...is warmed by friendship." Thanks to so many that joined our last challenge. I hope you can join us again this time. Be sure to check out what the rest of the DT created. Take care and I hope you have a great start to this new month.

Morley Dancing

2011-01-15T07:30:00.000-06:00

We're back with a new challenge from Copic Creations. Our sponsor is "Prairie Fairy Designs" and the theme this time is to use something new with your image. My image is called Morley Dancing and my "new items" are a mixture of two colors of Flower Soft and my new Rustic Creme Button Twine from Papertrey Ink. I left the whole list of the plethera of Copic Colors that I used on Morley on the CC blog and I'd rather not list them all twice, so please stop by there to see the great cards the team did and what they used on their cards, and of course see what you'll be eligible to win if you participate in this challenge. I've spent the last two weeks coughing, blowing my nose and generally feeling puny so I just can't seem to get any momentum going for cards or blogging. I'm so hoping I'm at the end of this. I know I've missed a lot of posts so I desperately need to catch up. I hope you're having a good start to this new year. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful week-end.

Easy and Fun

2011-01-06T19:40:00.004-06:00

Hi and Happy New Year! I'm back from the long hiatus that the busy holidays imposed upon me. I know I haven't even visited any of y'alls blogs in forever and I'm so sorry. I'm sure I've missed out on some awesome creations, but life was very busy here and I had to be focused on the many goings on. The end-of-year/new year is also a busy time for me as financial secretary so where the holidays left off, work took over. I wanted to share a project with you that I did for Christmas gifts, but by changing the papers you can use them for any occasion. I found them to be easy and lots of fun and I made several to share with some of the staff I work with. I did each one differently and you can find the tutorial here done by Beate at her Fresh & Fun blog. I'll try to get around soon to visit and comment on your blogs and I'm hoping to post a bit more frequently that I have been. We'll see how that goes, but that is my earnest desire. Take care and I hope to see you soon.

From Our House

2010-12-15T07:30:00.000-06:00

It's mid-December and it's time to sparkle. That's because "sparkle" is the theme for our 41st Copic Creations challenge. Our sponsor is Just-Rite Stamps and the DT has done some gorgeous cards for this challenge to illustrate their stamps. The prizes will be two snowman sets (Cling) with a storage box from Just-Rite, plus a set of Copic Spica pens. Our challenge is also going to run through mid-January as we will not be doing a challenge on January 1. My set is from Just-Rite's "From Our House". I am including a close-up to try to illustrate that I colored part of the image with the Copic Spica pens to add a sparkly look. I used two different Spellbinders die cuts and covered my paper first with a piece of my Be Creative sheets adhesive paper.
After they were cut I peeled off the top of the adhesive and sprinkled it with my Glitter Ritz glitter in Ice Blue and Gold. I also cut two strips of the adhesive for the top and bottom of the card and added the gold there. I'm pleased with how it turned out - in real life it's really sparkly. Thank you for all your wonderful comments this year....they all brightened my day. I hope you're having a wonderful month and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Christmas Cards x 10, Take 2

2010-12-08T07:30:00.000-06:00

Today's post is the other batch of ten cards I made in mass for Christmas cards. Now I also used up every one of my "one-of-a-kind" cards and I'm still shy at least one, but that's okay cause I have so many images I still want to play with and it's still early in the month. Currently I am sending out 42 homemade cards. I love that I can do that because they're personal and that means I'm sending a part of me, even if they're one of the mass-produced cards - I still made them. The bird and branch punch are from SU! I'm off to wrap more presents. Thanks for stopping by - I love when you do.

Christmas Cards x 10

2010-12-05T08:00:00.001-06:00

I want to share my Christmas cards with you that I mass-produced, before Christmas comes and goes. I did ten of these and had to keep it pretty simple to make several at once. My image is SU's "Sleigh Bells Ring", and the pine branch, the DP's and the punch for the top of the ornament are all from SU! I made these back in October and then got my cards addressed in early November. That has never happened before but now they're ready to go in the mail with the addition of the family Christmas letter that was added yesterday. I did ten of another design that I'll share with you in my next post. Thanks for stopping by. I so appreciated all the comments from all of you who liked the "Jesus is the Reason...." card. Have a wonderful week-end.

Copic Creations Challenge #40 plus a Blog Hop

2010-12-01T08:00:00.001-06:00

I have two cards to share with you today. The first, as you may have guessed is for a Blog Hop to honor the "Reason" for the season. I am honored to have been asked to participate in a hop to remind us all to keep the real meaning of Christmas before us as we go through this very busy but festive month of December. I wanted to do an image that conveyed "From the Cradle to the Cross" since that is the reason that our Great Saviour left the glories of Heaven and took on the form of a human to come to this sin-cursed earth....to die on the cross for the sins of all who believe in Him. I hope I captured this great truth with the embossed "shadow" of the cross. I purchased the Spellbinder's Dies Crosses and found that one of the dies fit well over this star. My image is a digital download from "Karen's Doodles". For the sake of the message of this hop I Photo-Shopped the sentiment on top of the image.
The hop starts here with Heather. You should be arriving at my post from Kadie's blog here, and your next stop is Kelly's blog here.
There are 3 sponsors offering prizes:
• Fresh Brewed Designs: 4 Christmas/Faith digital images plus 2 of winner's choice
• Simply Betty Stamps: Jude & His Shenanigans Crew Christmas Collection (6 digital images)
• The Stamping Boutique: 2 Faith digital images plus 4 images of winner's choice
Three winners will be chosen (one for each store prize above) so be sure you make your way around each stop and leave a comment, and thank you for hopping with us.

It is also December 1 and time for our 40th Copic Creations Challenge. Where does the time go!? Our sponsor this time is Whimsy Stamps and the image I chose is called Holly Cheer Cocoa. The theme of the challenge is to color your image assuming a particular light-source. I hope you can tell where I decided my light is coming from. You'll find some tutorials listed on the challenge page so be sure to check them out. My DP's are Webster's Pages "Waiting for Santa & Sweet Season" Collection Combo Pack. Those are some gorgeous papers. My sentiment is from Waltzing Mouse's Very Vintage Christmas. I hope you get a chance to challenge yourself with this coloring theme. Thanks so much for stopping by. Have a wonderful week and don't forget the real Reason for the season.

Will Knit for Friends

2010-11-20T12:27:00.004-06:00

It has taken me all week to complete this project to post to the House Mouse challenge before it closes. That's the pace my life is going lately, but alas I got it done. The theme of the challenge is "friends" and I thought this image conveyed perfectly something a friend does for friends. In fact, the name of the image is "Will Knit for Friends." I used my Kaiser "Utopia Collection" DP and configured my sentiment from PTI's "Mailbox Greetings". I colored my image with Copics. I have much to do so I must move on to the next project. Thanks for stopping by.

Copic Creations Challenge #39

2010-11-15T07:30:00.003-06:00

My goodness the time is going by quickly and it's time for another Copic Creations challenge. Our sponsor this time is Tickled Pink Stamps and the image I worked with is called "20's Evie" from the Fashionette Li'l Lolita category. The theme this time is shading paper-pieced images. The main part of her dress and hat are paper-pieced and then shaded. I shaded her dress with YG21 and YG25. The brown part of the hat is shaded with E27 and E29 and the band of the hat is colored with E43, E44 and E47, although that part is not paper-pieced. I used Cosmo Cricket's "Material Girl" DP's and used a sentiment from "She's a Lady" from There She Goes stamps. I hope you like my stylin' young miss and I hope you get a chance to check out all the DTs' entries. I wish you all a wonderful week. Thanks so much for stopping by.

Bring Back Beautiful Challenge

2010-11-05T20:36:00.004-05:00

I have another card to add to my Christmas stash and also to enter into Flourishes' "Bring Back Beautiful" challenge. The challenge is to show how you wrap up your cards with ribbon. My card features an image from the Christmas Classics set from Flourishes and papers from Basic Grey's "Jovial." My image is colored with Copics and hung with Red and White Twine, also from Flourishes. The large scallop was cut with PTI's Large Scallop Border die. I added some "holly" from a MS punch. I'm pleased with how it turned out. I'm loving this image and colored up another one to feature with a Spellbinder's die of another shape. This has been a busy week for me so I haven't done any blogging or posting......so sorry about that. Hopefully I can catch up with your blogs soon. Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you have a wonderful week-end.

Copic Creations Challenge #38

2010-11-01T07:30:00.000-05:00

Good Monday morning and happy November to you! Once again it's time for another Copic Creations Challenge. Our challenge this time is sponsored by Make it Crafty and they provided our DT with some adorable images. The image I colored is called Whimsical Log. I used DP's from Kaiser's "Utopia" 6 x 6 paper pack and Webster's combo pack of "Lullabye Lane and Life's Portrait". The image down in the corner is called Maya Making Wishes from Whimsy Stamps. I resized her and reversed her horizontally. I had planned to place her on the log but I decided to put her in the corner instead. My sentiment is from Flourishes' "Kids at Play." As I began to color the mushrooms a big drop of color from my marker dripped next to it. After getting all that I could out with my Colorless Blender I covered up the remaining bit of color with the butterflies. Good thing, as I surely didn't want to start over. I hope you have a wonderful week and thanks so much for stopping by. Be sure you check out the prize being offered for this challenge, as well as the wonderful projects the DT came up with.

Halloween Goodies and a Peak at My Desk

2010-10-27T09:00:00.001-05:00

I've been busy working on something for my grandkids for Halloween and thought I'd share it with you. I found the idea for these cute little cards at Mega Stampin' Studio and decided they were just the thing to do for the kids, only I enlarged my cards to 4 x 4. I used all House-Mouse images to show up behind the bubble once the candy is gone (that won't take long I'm sure). My DP's are from Basic Grey's "Eerie". So far I've made 9 of these - I have 10 grandchildren but the youngest is only a month old so I decided he probably couldn't eat the m&m's yet - and I think I'll try to do a few more for the neighbors' kids. I'm entering this into the House-Mouse challenge since it's all about Halloween, and What's on Your Workdesk? Wednes day so you can catch a glimpse of my "happy place." Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely day. The weather here has been warm and mega-humid, but we're supposed to get rain followed by cooler temps - woohoo!

Friends are the Nicest Thing

2010-10-21T08:58:00.005-05:00

I love this stamp set from SU called The Nicest Things, so-named because the sentiment with it says "A friend is one of the nicest things you can have and one of the best things you can be." When I saw that, coupled with such a cute image, I knew I wanted this set. I paired it with Cosmo Cricket's Nutmeg DP's and the tag is from a SU set called Tiny Tags. I used my Labels Seventeen Spellbinder's die with it and that pretty much sums it up. We had a lovely week-end and I was refreshed by the message at church yesterday reminding us from Psalm 90:12, "So teach us to number our days that we may present to You a heart of wisdom." God wants us to make wise use of our time.....something we tend to forget oftentimes as we pursue more frivolous things. The message points were to be Fearless and to be Faithful. It definitely gave me something to work on as I am reminded of this truth. I hope you have a lovely week as we close out the month of October and rapidly approach the holiday season. Thanks so much for stopping by.

Halloween Tilda

2010-10-21T08:57:00.004-05:00

I've been waiting a long time to ink up this combo and I love it. These are both Magnolia images and when I saw the quilt (Picnic Quilt, from '08) I decided that this Witch Tilda with Hat ('09)would look so cute sitting on it. I used Cosmo Cricket's Pixie-licious papers, but I didn't choose them until after Tilda was all colored. I must have subconsciously memorized that color scheme in my head because it was a perfect match to the papers. I chose some leaves and acorns from Flourishes' Falling Leaves set to surround her with instead of flowers. Once again I used my PTI wool felt and their Beautiful Blooms II dies for a flower for the corner. The tiny leaves stamped on the sentiment and the sentiment are from PTI's Mailbox Greetings set. I've taken pictures several cards I've done recently so hopefully I can post more cards for you than I've done in awhile. Thanks for stopping by. I hope this month of October has been an enjoyable one for you. It's such a beautiful time of year.

Copic Creations Challenge #37

2010-10-15T07:30:00.002-05:00

It's time for another Copic Creations Challenge. This one is being sponsored by Pink Cat Studio and the theme is use of the Colorless Blender. My image is called Friendly Snowman. I think he looks both friendly and distinguished. I used BG10, BG72, and Y000 with my Colorless Blender for my snowman, and W6 and W7 with the CB for his hat. I adhered him on my incredibly yummy wool felt from PTI, cut out with my Mega Curved Rectangle Nestability die. The papers are Basic Grey's "Jovial". The letters are punched with MS punches and the buttons are from PTI. I hope you get to check out the rest of the wonderful cards that the design team has done. Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful week-end.

Flourishes Sketch Challenge and Chance to Win

2010-10-12T19:50:00.006-05:00

Flourishes has a great sketch challenge going and if you enter you're in the running to win all three of October's new releases. I recently got some new stamps, and while the images on my card and the sentiment are from two different sets I knew they would be perfect together and couldn't wait to use them together. This sketch was a great way to do it. My DP's are Basic Grey's "Eerie". The shoe and broom are from Flourishes "Witching You a Happy Halloween" and the sentiment is from Kraftin' Kimmie's "Cinderella". I've been working on mass-produced Christmas cards in groups of 10 and I'm almost done with my second group of 10. My goal is to get them all done and addressed by the end of October because that is always such a big project during the holidays so I'll be thrilled to have it done. Thank you for your kind comments and wishes for our new little grandson and thanks for stopping by. It's almost time for another Copic Challenge so stay tuned.

Sympathy Card and Baby Pic

2010-10-05T07:30:00.000-05:00

Today's card is a Sympathy Card I did using stamps from PTI's Beautiful Blooms II and their Autumn Abundance papers. I background-stamped the basic CS with SU's Autumn Leaf Prints. The sentiment is also from SU's Teeny Tiny Wishes. I also have to share a picture of Grandma and new baby Austin, born last Tuesday at 1:14 AM to my daughter and SIL. Big Brother Ethan is doing well with him although he came down with a Croopy cough this past week-end and can hardly talk, so that has made things a bit rough. Grandma's been on deck to help so I haven't done much stamping in the last week. I'm off to try to leave some long overdue comments. Thank you for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful week.

Copic Creations Challenge #36

2010-10-01T07:30:00.000-05:00

It's October 1 and time for another Copic Creations Challenge. This is Higgelty, and she's my kind of witch....a witch with attitude but NOT too scary. She is from Tiddly Inks who happens to be our sponsor for this challenge. The theme of the challenge is "Orange", so her lovely witchy-purple coat is patched with orange patches. She's standing on that magic broom of hers, ready to fly off with the wave of her wand. The DP's are Basic Grey's "Eerie." The sentiment is computer-generated and is flanked by sparkly bats. I sponged my backgrounds with Tim Holtz' Distress Inks in Antique Linen, Wild Honey and Rusty Hinge. I had to sponge the ribbon in Antique Linen as well to tone down the white. The DT has done some great cards so do try to check them out and then join us for our Orange challenge. Have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping by.

More Wishes

2010-09-22T07:30:00.003-05:00

I wanted to squeeze in on a challenge at Flutterby Wednesdays so I rushed to get this done only to realize I missed the deadline. As Balki used to say on Perfect Strangers, "baba sticki!" I guess it had to be in by Noon today. (Must have poor reading skills, - maybe NO reading skills.) I'm going to post it anyway because I like how it turned out and since I don't have much time to crank out cards these days I'm going to post what I do make. The challenge called for a New Creation and Buttons, so this definitely fit the challenge. The image is called Lisa Fairy from Paper Makeup Stamps. My sentiment is computer generated and I used my Labels Seventeen Nesties once again. Love that set! My DP's are Basic Grey's "Cappella." My card size is 5 x 5, so that gives you an idea of the size of the image. That's something I often wonder when looking at someone's cards so I'm going to try to remember to start including that information. I hope you have a lovely day and thanks so much for stopping by.
EDIT to Post: This qualifies for this week's Flutterby Wednesday challenge, Anything with Wings so I'll go ahead and post to this one.

Trunk Full of Wishes

2010-09-20T07:30:00.001-05:00

Good Monday morning to you. Today I have a card for my dear daughter because it's her 26th birthday. Happy Birthday, Sweetie! Since she is due to have her second son any time, she might as well share her birthday and get on with it, right?! Anyway, this is "Traveling Tilda" and "Suitcase with Sign" from the Bon Voyage collection. I just love this Tilda so I made her into the keeper of wishes inside this trunk. You'll note that I attached a key to "unlock" that trunk full of wishes. I copied Mary Giemza's post idea from Saturday and did an easel card, even borrowing the die-cut swirls. Her card is awesome and you can see it here. I love doing easel cards because the recipient can display their card if they want to rather than having to put it away. I used Wags and Whiskers DP's and I stamped the frame around Tilda with Flourishes' "Falling Leaves", then sponged Tilda and the frame in "Old Paper" Distress Ink from Tim Holtz. The sentiment is computer generated and the dies are from Spellbinders' Labels Seventeen. I love those because they accommodate a pretty big image. The flowers are Primas from 7 Kids College Fund. I hope you have a lovely week and I hope to be back with some challenge cards soon. Til then, thanks for stopping by. I love hearing from you.

Copic Creations Challenge #35

2010-09-15T07:30:00.000-05:00

Happy Wednesday! It's time for another Copic Creations challenge. Our challenge this time is "shading" and you'll notice the DT has used images from Kraftin' Kimmie, who happens to be our sponsor for this challenge. The winner will get two Kraftin' Kimmie images. My image is called "Charlotte" and I used a lot of Copics to color her to match the Cosmo Cricket Pixie-Licious paper, so I'm not going to list all of them. I'll be happy to let you know what they are if you want to e-mail and ask me. I couldn't settle on a sentiment for this either, so I left it blank for now. My dies are the new Spellbinders Labels Seventeen. I sponged the main image along the outer edges with Old Paper and Crushed Olive Distress inks. I hope you get to see what the rest of the DT has contributed and then I hope you get to join us for this challenge. Have a wonderful rest of the week and week-end and thanks for stopping by.

Card #3-Patience

2010-09-13T07:52:00.004-05:00

Here is my third card in the "Cuties" series. This one I called "Patience," but she is found in the Summer Cuties as "Speedster." The sentiment from Flourishes' new "Kids at Play" set seemed to be perfect. Again I used Cosmo Cricket's "Pixie-licious" DP's and I colored my flowers to pull out colors from the image and papers. I used my Spica glitter pens for parts of her tricycle. These three are all I've done so far, and I thought originally I would keep them simpler and make up a note card set by adding a few others to it, but I couldn't leave them without embellishing them and then wondered how practical it would be to make them for a set. I still love the images and enjoy looking at these little cuties. I hope you've enjoyed them. We're starting a new week and I hope you have a good one. Thanks for stopping by.

Card #2-"Sharing" by Phindy

2010-09-11T08:26:00.003-05:00

Here is the second card I'll share with you. This one is titled "Sharing" and is also under the "Summer Cuties" category. This little guy is sharing his ice cream with a tiny little fella. I just loved this image and colored him with Copics. The DP's are from Cosmo Cricket's "Pixie-Licious" and "Mitten Weather." The sentiment if from SU. I know I should see if this fits any challenges, but I'm undergoing a big house project (for me, anyway) so I really can't take the time to look right now. I'll share the last one of these with you soon. Hope you're having a lovely week-end.

"Patience" by Phindy

2010-09-09T07:30:00.001-05:00

I told you I've had fun coloring some adorable images, so here is the first of them that I'll share with you. I'll start with this one because I colored her first. This is "Patience" by Phindy O'Neill and I thought she was just too cute trying to help this poor little flower to grow. She's located under the "Summer Cuties" category, and Phindy is having a "Buy 3, Get one Free" sale. No, I don't have any affiliation with her but I do love her artwork and just got caught up coloring them. I have two more that I'll be sharing with you as well. The DP's are Cosmo Cricket's Pixie-Licious Mini Deck and the sentiment is from PTI's "Blooming Button Bits." I hope you like her. I also hope you're enjoying your first week of September. Thanks so much for stopping by.

Merry and Bright Wishes

2010-09-07T07:30:00.000-05:00

Hi and Happy Post-Labor Day. I hope you had a good week-end. We had a very busy one and I finally got around to getting this card uploaded to post. I did this card for the 7 Kids College Fund Challenge #3, and to add to my Christmas card inventory. The challenge was to use two DP's, three flowers and some sparkle. My Swiss Pixie is a C.C. Design image and I colored her with Copics. My background paper was created with Glitter Ritz Microfine in "Cool Highlight" and Be Creative Sheets, and then punched with my Martha Stewart edge punch. The DP's are Memory Box and the flowers are All White Mini Delphiniums from Petaloo, purchased from 7 Kids CF and found here. I colored them with my Copics. I used half pearls for the centers. Thanks for stopping by. I have a series of cards to share with you of images that I just fell in love with, so be watching for them.

Copic Challenge #34

2010-09-01T07:40:00.001-05:00

Goodness, it's been almost two weeks since my last post. I was doing so well with my posts and then my schedule (whatever that is anymore) got thrown off and here it is September 1. Today's Copic Creations Challenge is coloring pleats (or folds) and our sponsor is Stamping Scrapping and the prize, for TWO winners, will be their choice of either a Bon Voyage Tilda or BonVoyage Edwin and a surprise (?)." Sound like fun? This one should be fairly easy, especially after our last challenge, so grab your Copics and color up some pleats. I used Christmas Morning Tilda and I colored her with the suggested colors for the "Folds (Color Me Creative) Class" I that took with Suzanne Dean. My DP's are from Memory Box's "Mistletoe" and I used an embossing folder for the top portion of my white CS. I added the sparkly swirls and Prima flowers and my Martha Stewart Moire ribbon and voila, I have another Christmas card done. Thanks so much for stopping by. Your comments are so appreciated. I hope you'll take a look at what the rest of the DT has done and play along with us if you can. Have a wonderful rest of the week.

Tent Cards and a Challenge

2010-08-20T10:08:00.005-05:00

I followed the SCS tutorial this week and made two tent cards. The first one I am entering into the 7 Kids College Fund Challenge which is "Strip it Down", meaning no more than 2 layers of DP. I used my Max and Whiskers papers from Basic Grey and this adorable High Hopes image called Groundhog Gordon which can be found here.

My second one is also a High Hopes image although I don't see that 7 Kids has it right now, but it also has only 2 layers of DP and I love that image, so I'm at least sharing it as an SCS entry. Here is another view so that you can glimpse the tent form. I used a Just-Rite 3-1/4" border on the second one. I loved doing these tent cards and love the fact that the cards can be displayed since they stand up on their own. I'm thinking of making the second one for a parting gift to my Sunday School kids to give them on Promotion Sunday. I am soooo wanting to use images I've never had a chance to use yet, and these are two of them so hey, I've at least started. I hope you've had a wonderful week. Thanks for stopping by.

Autumn and 2 Challenges

2010-08-17T18:48:00.004-05:00

I am pleased that I was able to do another House-Mouse challenge this week. We were supposed to do a card based on how the provided photo inspired us. I decided to do this little image called "Monica's Gift" instead of a cupcake, because I still think it has to do with offering something to the recipient. I also posted this to the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge so I'm doing a rare thing and actually participating in two challenges at once. I like it!, and I like that I've had some time to do it. I used my Just-Rite Autumn Blessings oval border and placed my little mouse in the middle. The DP's are from a pack I purchased last Fall at Michael's, and the buttons are punched with my Martha Stewart Button Punch. I'm trying to do challenges with a recipient in mind so this one will join my batch of Thanksgiving cards no doubt. Thanks for stopping by. I hope you're having a wonderful week and happy stamping!

Copic Creations Challenge #33

2010-08-15T07:30:00.000-05:00

Wow, this half of a month seems like it flew by. Time for another Copic Creations challenge, and this one was indeed a challenge. The theme - "reflections". Now I appreciate the fact that this challenge stretched me, but I'm not so sure I like how my "stretching" turned out. I don't think my reflections on the ice are quite subtle enough, but since I have a big week-end coming up I really didn't have time to keep tweaking it. I also have not seen any of the DT's cards so couldn't snatch any ideas from theirs. This stamp is from Alota Rubber Stamps and it isn't even the one I had planned on doing for this challenge, but the way things unfolded I did this one instead. I am anxious to see what the DT has done and hopefully what all of you do with challenge too. Our own Suzanne Dean is sponsoring this challenge and there will be tutorials, so why not grab your Copics and give it a try. Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you for our next challenge.

Wedding Wishes

2010-08-12T08:50:00.004-05:00

I needed to make a wedding card for my niece's daughter who is getting married this week-end. I pulled out my Just-Rite Nested Frames stamps and created this card. I used my Spellbinder's dies and my Swiss Dot embossing folder and I'm very pleased with how this turned out. My brown CS and ink is Close to Cocoa, "Best Wishes" is stamped with Baja Breeze, and the ribbon behind it is Martha Stewarts Moire ribbon in "Cloud." My big project that I mentioned I was working on is finished and now I need to spend some time photographing it so I can share it with you. I hope you're enjoying your last official month of summer. Thanks for stopping by. Big week-end coming up for my family!

House-Mouse Vintage

2010-08-06T11:00:00.004-05:00

This week I actually did a card for the House-Mouse challenge. The challenge was to do a vintage card. I had a need for a baby card and so I incorporated the need with the challenge. The image is a Hopper Itty Bit called "Blankey." I colored my little Hopper with Copics and then sponged the die-cut circle with two shades of Distress Inks. The outer edge is a 3-1/4 Just-Rite border that I cut out with scissors. The image and border were both stamped with Memento's Rich Cocoa. The papers are Basic Grey's Capella. The sentiment is from PTI's Inside & Out Baby, cut out with a Spellbinder's Fancy Tag. The ribbon is from Flourishes and the flower is from a pack of my favorites, but I threw away the packaging and now I don't remember the details. Sorry 'bout that. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful week-end.

Copic Creations Challenge - Coloring and Reading at their Best

2010-08-01T07:34:00.006-05:00

Today is August 1st and time for our next Copic Creations Challenge. The theme of our challenge this time is "Reading," and it is sponsored by Children’s Book Illustrator and Author, Elizabeth O. Dulemba. Elizabeth has a great blog featuring her books and FREE coloring downloads and you can find it here. I made a couple of bookmarks for this challenge using two of her adorable images, "Reading Monster" and "A Book is a Ship." Both were colored with Copics and cut out and mounted. Be sure to check out all of her fabulous coloring-image downloads and have a ball making bookmarks, cards, just plain coloring. And by all means let them inspire you to start your own journey in a good book. The Design Team has come up with some beautiful reading-related projects for this challenge and I know you'll want to check them out here. I hope you're having a wonderful and relaxing summer. Why not make yourself a bookmark and start a new book. Thanks so much for stopping by my little "korner."

Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge #79

2010-07-26T20:29:00.005-05:00

This is my first card for this challenge, and I loved the sketch for this week. I pondered what to do with it and I decided this would be a great time to get going on my Christmas cards. I have so many great stamp sets and stamps for Christmas use, so I pulled one out I hardly got to use last year. It's a Flourishes stamp set, "Christmas Tea," that I colored with Copics. I used my Spellbinders Deckled-Edge Ovals and sponged the Ivory oval with Tim Holtz Distress Ink "Old Paper." The Riding Hood Red paper I sponged with Rich Razzleberry. The DP's are K & Company's "Christmas Cheer", and the ribbon is from Stampin' Up. I wanted to keep it simple so that if I wanted to duplicate it, it wouldn't be too involved. I have been very involved with a secret project that I may share bits and pieces of with you when I'm done. I am loving doing it but it's quite involved, so it has consumed all of my time in the last week. I have a mid-August deadline to finish it, so I may not be around too very much between now and then. I will at least be back with our next Copic Creations challenge, and it is a fun challenge, so be sure to stay tuned. I'll try to take a break and post a few cards along the way, but if I don't you'll know that I'm working on my project. I can share that it does involve all of my fun stamping stuff, embellishments, etc., so I'm definitely in my craftroom - just not necessarily doing cards at the moment. I hope you are enjoying your summer. I can't believe it's almost August. Where does the time go?! Thanks so much for stopping by. I do love hearing from you.

Apron Glitz

2010-07-14T09:09:00.003-05:00

It has been a difficult week for us with the death of a sister and dear friend, both within a week of each other. Obviously there has been no time for cards but I thought I would post this card that I did prior to these events. It started out to be a vintage card and ended up being a "glitz-y" vintage card. I am loving the Glitter Glitz that I learned about here and couldn't resist playing with it, so my apron ended up being a bit dressy. I still love how it turned out. I used October Afternoon's "Fly a Kite" designer papers, and a Lockhart apron Stamp. The glitter glitz and stamp can be found at Ellen Hutson's store here. Hopefully I'll be back soon with more posts and leaving comments. If you have any questions about this card feel free to e-mail me. Have a wonderful day.

Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-03T07:00:00.000-05:00

Happy 4th of July! - a day early. I hope you have a wonderful time celebrating and I wish you dry weather for viewing fireworks. I made a simple little card to break in my new PTI's Vintage Picnic set. I colored my image with Copics and mounted it on dimensionals and adhered it to my star-embossed background. The top DP piece is PTI's 2008 Bitty Star Basics DP and the ribbon is from Michael's. The main CS is PTI's Kraft paper. My star is punched with my SU star punches and decorated with a button from PTI's vintage buttons. The sentiment is from the Vintage Picnic set. That pretty much says it all for my card. We're cooking out today plus celebrating 2 birthdays, so we're really celebrating! Thanks for stopping by and have a super Holiday week-end!

Copic Creations Challenge #31

2010-07-01T07:00:00.001-05:00

It's July 1st - can that be???!! - and it's time for another Copic Creations Challenge. The theme for this challenge is coloring birds, and it is sponsored by Tiffany Richards of Tiffany Doodles. I was privileged to color one of her images which is a Hummingbird on a Branch. I decided to pair it up with a sheet of DP from Webster's Pages, Petite Paper Pad, Lullaby Lane/Life's Portrait, (that is a mouthful for a title.) I used my exacto knife to cut out the middle of the paper and then carefully placed the image, on a Spellbinders Big Scalloped Circle die, on the page backed by Baja Breeze CS. I adhered a Prima flower and some Leaf Ribbon from PTI. I listed the Copic colors I used on the Copic Creations site, so you can see them there. The DT did a fabulous job of coloring their birds and I do encourage you to take a look and then find a bird to color and join our challenge. Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Sock Monkey Babies

2010-06-30T07:00:00.000-05:00

I have some baby cards to share with you. These adorable images are Whimsie Doodles images and can be found here. I learned from Cindy about a site called Vintage Workshop and got these great downloadable designer papers from them. My basic CS was a Kraft paper from PTI and the sentiment is from PTI's Bitty Baby Blessings. They're colored with copics and my train border on the boy's card is a Martha Stewart punch. I hope you're having a great week. Thanks so much for stopping by.

Ahoy Little Sailor

2010-06-26T07:30:00.000-05:00

This adorable little fella is Sailor Boy Randy and he is available at the Busy Beauties Boutique here. I colored him a little while back and just hadn't decided quite how to showcase him. The other day I noticed that my PTI Bitty Baby Blessings set had this sentiment in it and I immediately thought of using Sailor Randy. Then I thought of the Magnolia-Licious stamp "Pier and Fence" I used in the top portion of my card and it all pleasantly came together. The star panel is my Stars embossing folder and I used my Riding Hood Red and Brilliant Blue papers from SU! I love how this turned out- hope you do too. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful week-end.

Note Card Project

2010-06-24T07:00:00.001-05:00

I made these notecards as a gift for my daughter's friend and a friend of ours as well. I got the idea for the card design from my Card Creations magazine. She is a missionary and I thought she could use thank you notes and plain note cards. My DP's are from Basic Grey's Bittersweet Collection Pack which included the letters for the top of the box that I made to accompany these. The scallop border is from a Stampin' Up punch. I made two of each and included envelopes and she really liked them. My flowers are punched from my Nellie Snellen punches from 7 Kids College Fund. I need to get busy and make her another set while I'm on a roll. Thanks for stopping by.

More Anniversary Wishes

2010-06-22T07:00:00.000-05:00

I told you I was working on another Anniversary card, and this one was for my husband for our anniversary. We celebrated 42 years last week. I had fun making this one. I started with a piece of CS from my DCWV's "Old World" stack. I then inked up my SU "Medallion" stamp with Tim Holtz' Distress Ink "Broken China" which I stamped off once and then stamped off the page a bit. I also sponged two different colors of Distress Inks on my Nestie background piece to match the colors in the CS and adhered this adorable picture from Crafty Secrets' "Childhood Images and Journal Notes," cut with a "Labels Three" Nestie as well. I once again sponged some creme-colored CS for the bottom with "Antique Linen" Distress Ink, and the sentiment is computer-generated with Santa's Sleigh font from "dafont.com". I adhered a piece of "Not Quite Navy" ribbon over the seam of the two pieces of CS and added some half-pearls. The inside uses the same font and another piece of CS from the "Old World" stack and looks like this.

Happy Father's Day

2010-06-20T14:36:00.007-05:00

Just wanted to share a few cards I did for my guys for Father's Day. The first is for my eldest son and I had to get this one in the mail so went for something simple. Hope it got there on time, but if not, it's not likely he'll check my blog and see it here first. If he does, Happy Father's Day Matt! My idea was inspired by Stacy's card here, but I changed mine slightly. I used a different cup and "steam" than she did, and I made my sentiment on the front a bookmark. I used the cup from Flourishes "Coffee with Friends" and free-handed the rim around it and colored them with Copics. The steam is a partial image from Impression Obsession's "Smell the Coffee" set. The top sentiment on the bookmark is from "Smell the Coffee" and then "A Man's View" from Flourishes.
My next two are adorable Whimsie Doodles images that I had to customize since my one son has boys and girls. The DP for the whales is from SU and the background DP is from my DCWV "Old World" stack (I'm loving these papers.) I was so intrigued with Ellen Hutson's glitter classes that I employed this technique on these two cards. I used my score-tape that I got from 7 Kids CF, lined it up along the edge of my DP and punched out the scallop edge with my SU edge punch. I adhered the CS to the main card and then peeled off the top strip and sprinkled my SU Ultra-Fine glitter over the Score-Tape. The second thin line was the tiny strip that was left when I punched the scallop so I glued it on and repeated the technique. You should be able to click on each picture for a closer view. I haven't delivered my husband's card yet as he is not here to receive it at the moment, so I'll wait on sharing that one. I hope all you dad's out there have a great Father's Day. Thanks for stopping by.

Copic Creations Challenge #30

2010-06-15T07:30:00.000-05:00

It's time for another Copic Creations Challenge, and this one is to color on a non-white cardstock or paper. Our sponsor for this challenge is Stampavie, and I decided to use this adorable Sarah Kay image by Stampavie called Fanny's Cuddle. I colored on Stampin' Up's Bashful Blue card stock, and I was quite pleased that the colors showed up so well. I used the following Copics to color this image:
Hair- Y21,YR24
Skin-R11, R20
Blouse-R22,24,27
Dress-B32,34,37
Shoes-E42,43,57
Puppy-E31,35,37
My brown DP is from Basic Grey's Lily Kate, and the blue dot paper and green paper are from SU's Simply Scrappin' Happy B-Day. My flower is from Magnolia. I hope you join us for this challenge - you don't need to use a Stampavie image to participate - and I hope you'll check out all the great cards done by the rest of our talented design team. Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful week.

Anniversary Wishes for 60 Happy Years

2010-06-08T19:18:00.008-05:00

I have a card to share with you. Shocking, I know. I've been MIA for a bit because I've had a bit more time with my daughter and grandson visiting inlaws and decided to address a quilt that I started 8 years ago, make a pillow, and scrapbook (actual - not digital) my Alaska pictures. So the fact that I also got two cards made is pretty impressive. The card I made is for my sister's 60th anniversary. Isn't that the coolest!! Now that's impressive. My brother-inlaw is the sweetest man and I was actually a baby when they got married, so they got lots of parenting practice with me before they started their own family. They have 5 wonderful children, 14 grandchildren, and 3 great-grandchildren. My sister has always been an inspiration to me. She's a fabulous homemaker, cook, seamstress, mother, grandmother, and still hosts most of the family gatherings. My brother-in-law keeps us in stitches with his warm and witty sense of humor. I'm so proud of them and couldn't help but brag on them a bit before talking about the card. I was inspired by Susan Robert's inchie card from last Saturday and decided I must give one a try. I chose some images that I thought represented their marriage, stamped them and mounted them on black cardstock. The panel I mounted those on I stamped with Flourishes "Damask". I used my "Textile" Cuttlebug EF for the top and bottom of the white cardstock. The sentiment was my own and computer generated with "Santa's Sleigh" font. All of it is mounted on a sheet of SU's fancy paper from their "Taste of Textile" set. I added half-pearls in the corners and mailed off their card. I did another anniversary card today with a very vintage feel that I'll be sharing soon. As promised, I am including a few more Alaska pics. I'm working feverishly on my album while details are still fresh in my mind. The one of the sunset was taken at almost 10:00 p.m. That took some getting used to. The one below that is of my daughter and son-in-law and grandson who I'm missing very much. Glad they'll be back this week-end. The one on the right was taken on a tour out of Skagway. The views on that tour were breathtaking for sure. Thanks for stopping by. I apologize for the lack of posts but I am pleased with all that I'm able to accomplish.

A "Mo" Birthday Card and Alaska Pics

2010-06-03T07:00:00.000-05:00

I want to share one of the cards I scrambled to make before leaving on our cruise. This one is for my grandson who turned 14 while we were away on the cruise. I realize this image is a little boy, but I'm sure Zach is going to want to drive as soon as mom and dad will allow it, which won't be for a few years but will come soon enough. This is an image from Mo's Digital Pencil called "Zoom" and I really had fun coloring it. I used Cosmo Cricket's "Boyfriend" paper and chipboard key to match and my sentiment is computer-generated.
I also wanted to include a few pictures from our trip.
This first one was taken in the town of Ketchikan and we were privileged to see several bald eagles. The next picture is a scene in the town of Ketchikan, and the last one is the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau. I realize these pictures don't do justice to the incredibly beautiful scenery that we saw on our whole trip. I'll try to put a few up with each post for awhile. The view of the mountains in Skagway was breathtaking. I still have that feeling of the ship's gentle rocking - so relaxing! Thanks for stopping by and I hope your June is off to a great start.

Copic Creations Challenge #29

2010-06-01T07:30:00.000-05:00

Hello and happy June 1! I hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day. We just got back yesterday from our fabulous trip to Alaska on a cruise. What gorgeous country!!! I'll post some pics soon - this was our second trip there and I'm ready to go again....well, maybe I'll wait just a bit.
Our challenge this time is "coloring animals" and we have some awesome cards done by our DT from our sponsor, Hambo Stamps. Be sure to check out the challenge blog here for the details and to see what wonderful creations the DT came up with. I got to color this adorable gorilla which I entitled "Gorilla Gossip". I had to use my Basic Grey "Origins" paper with it and my sentiment is from Flourishes' "Gigi and Chloe" set. The palm tree is a brad that I twisted the prongs off of and I made a flower with my Nellie Snellen punches. I hope you like it and get to join in on this fun challenge. I'll be by soon to catch up on what you all have been up to. I hope your month of June is lovely in every way.

What's Cookin?

2010-05-23T07:30:00.001-05:00

I saw this adorable new Willow image from Whiff of Joy at All That Scraps here and I really had to have it. You know how that goes, right? It's called Willow and Chicken Soup. It's part of a "get well" series of images that are really cute. However, I think it could work for a multitude of occasions, so I grabbed it up as it made its debut. I made it for my SIL's birthday. She loves to cook and it made me think of her. I colored it quite closely to the way it was colored on the ATS site, adding a few touches of my own. I found this great DP in my Basic Grey Nook and Pantry set. Just thought I would share it with you. I'm scrambling to make birthday/graduation cards for my sweet grandkids before leaving on our trip to Alaska. I had to bow out of the recent Busy Beauty blog hop because I am just running out of time. Perhaps I'll have time to schedule one more post so you won't forget me while I'm gone. When I get back it will be time for another Copic Creations challenge so stay tuned. Thanks so much for stopping by and I wish you a wonderful last week of May.

Copic Creations Challenge #28

2010-05-15T07:00:00.000-05:00

My goodness it's hard to believe that we are on our 28th Copic Creations Challenge. That's exciting, and we've got a great challenge for you this time. The challenge is to color with a monochromatic color-scheme. Katie from PMS Stamps did a wonderful tutorial on how to do this and I have to say I've had fun using this technique. For one thing, it takes the work out of deciding what colors to color with. PMS Stamps is also our sponsor for this challenge and the images the DT used are all from PMS Stamps. I decided to keep my whole card fairly monochromatic, except for a touch of pink to represent the rose. I used my Taste of Textile DP's from Stampin' Up and I loved using them for this project. My sentiment is computer-generated and mounted atop pink satin ribbon with a Prima Rose at the top. I hope you'll check out the tutorials offered with this challenge and give it a try. I think you'll enjoy it. Be sure to check out the wonderful cards the rest of the DT did and have a wonderful week-end.

Color Challenge

2010-05-08T07:30:00.001-05:00

Goodmorning and happy Saturday! Busy Beauties is currently hosting a color challenge. I made this card for my SIL's sister who is graduating from nursing school. This seemed to be the perfect image. The challenge was to use red and blue somewhere, so I decided to color my image with a monochromatic color-scheme and let the red and blue pop out. I also decided to link this to the Sunday Sketch and Stamp challenge, so this uses their sketch because Busy Beauties is sponsoring this challenge. I used my Tiny Bubbles and Hearts EF's and the grad hat and sentiment are from Flourishes new set "Hats Off." I hope you have a chance to play along with our BB color challenge. Thanks for stopping by.

Tilda's Gift

2010-05-07T08:48:00.005-05:00

Happy Friday. I have a quick post of my Tilda for the Magnolia-licious Highlites May challenge. It is a sketch challenge, and I do love those. It definitely speeds along the process for me. My DP's are from Basic Grey's "Euphoria" pack and my image is Christmas Eve Tilda. I joined the Magnolia Yahoo Group and there is a lot going on there, so if you're a fan of Magnolias, that's the place to be. I hope you have a wonderful day. I'm hopefully off to do some gardening.

Copic Creations Challenge #27

2010-05-01T07:00:00.001-05:00

Good Saturday morning to you and Happy May 1st. It's time for another Copic Creations Challenge, and this one is a bit of a stretch. Stretching is good though, so I hope you'll give this one a try. The theme is Coloring on Other Surfaces, and it is sponsored by Marianne Walker from Copics. Be sure to check out the CCC blog for details on the prize for the challenge. I decided to see how it would work to color on a clay flower pot. I base-coated the pot with Gesso and then gave it two coats of a light-color acrylic paint. I had planned to do some Magnolia images, but the pot I painted was a tad too short for my sweet Tildas. I chose, instead, some flowers from Flourishes "Calendar 1" set. I stamped my images in Memento ink and then proceeded to color with my Copics. It actually worked quite nicely. I added a bee and a snail from a stamp set from Mark's Finest Papers called "Blackberries, Sunflowers and Bees." I used my Copic Multi-liner 0.3, to make the dash marks suggesting the bee's flight around the rim. I also adhered some flowers by one of the snails. Below are some other views going around the flower pot.

The trickiest part of all of this was stamping the image because of the curved surface. It is doable with patience and care, but I am going to try to find square clay pots and then it would be no problem. I used to paint on clay pots, but the Copics are much easier for me and don't require several coats. After I finished coloring my images, I sponged a light color of acrylic paint over the plain areas of the pot. I hope you'll get inspired from one of the tutorials and stretch your Copic abilities beyond paper. Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out the projects that the rest of the DT did for this challenge.

Tea, Cookies and a Sketch

2010-04-28T07:30:00.000-05:00

The Busy Beauties DT were invited to sponsor this week's Sweet Sketch Wednesday. The sketch was a great one to do and I used one of the new Busy Beauties releases called "Tea and Cookies." I'm loving my Basic Grey Kioshi papers and used them again for this card. I colored my image with Copics and I colored my flowers with Copics also. The sentiments on the circle are from PTI's "Tea for Two" and the sentiment at the bottom is from Flourishes "Christmas Tea." I hope you can join in on the challenge - I think you'll love the sketch. Thanks for your visit and your comments. They always encourage me.

Summer's Comin'

2010-04-27T07:30:00.002-05:00

This week's Just Magnolia challenge is "Anything Goes." I have so many Magnolia images I can't wait to stamp and color and this is one I've been wanting to do. This card uses 2 images: Tilda in Swimsuit sitting on Bathing Ring. I stamped Tilda first and then masked her to do the bathing ring. The image is colored with Copics. I incorporated colors from my Basic Grey Kioshi set, which I'm loving using. My sentiments are from Gina K's Lazy Days of Summer. My eyelet strip is punched with a MS punch. The flower center is a stitched brad that coordinates with Basic Grey's Eskimo Kisses paper. Hope your weather is growing warmer and you can taste those lazy days of summer comin' just around the corner. Thanks so much for stopping by.

Seeing Spots, er....."Dots"

2010-04-25T11:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Sunday to you! Today our Copic Creations DT members were invited to be Guest Designers for Crissy's second Sunday's with Crissy Challenge. This adorable image is one of Crissy's and the theme for the challenge is "dots." Do you think I captured the theme? I used several shades of my tiny polka-dot paper from PTI, and the 3 smaller stars were stamped with SU inks and a star stamp from SU's "In the Stars." I colored my sweet, happy couple with Copics and gave his kerchief some dots as well. My DH even weighed in with a suggestion to give them freckles which I jumped right on. I just loved this image when I saw it, and I didn't even take into account that her dress has "dots" all over it. I hope you can join this fun challenge. Thanks for stopping by and I wish you a wonderful week.

Welcoming Spring with a Twist & Shout

2010-04-22T08:00:00.001-05:00

Welcome!
We’ve got a “SPRING” in our step today and NEW Busy

Beauties Boutique images in our hands and we are delighted to have you along for the hop! If you are just starting out, please be sure to hop back to Carolyn’s blog so you don’t miss any of the fun! If you are arriving here from Barb's blog then you are right on track.

I loved all the new images but I decided to go with this one called "Eat Cake." Since I am a rather conservative-type person when it comes to going Green on my cards, I realized that I would most likely use buttons and ribbons recycled from somewhere/something. While there are many, many things you could employ to "Go Green" on a card, I chose to stick with the traditional items one might add without a great deal of trouble. That's what I did with this image. I sewed on buttons, and attached my sunny yellow ribbon. My solid CSs are So Saffron and Tangerine Tango from SU! My tiny dot DP is from PTI and my striped DP is from Cosmo Cricket. My Swiss-Dot embossed Tangerine Tango is sponged with Tim Holtz' "Rusty Hinge" Distress Ink. My sentiment is from SU's "Sweet Little Sentiments." I colored my whole image with my Copic markers.

We hope you’ll join us for a TWIST & a SHOUT! The “TWIST” being our new GO GREEN WITH A TWIST Challenge (in honor of Earth Day) at the Busy Beauties Creation Station! And the “SHOUT” being a RELEASE PARTY over on Paper Craft Planet this SATURDAY AT 8 P.M. EDT. We'll bring the Party Favors! *wink, wink*

Your next stop is Kadie! Thanks for bopping & hopping with us, and we hope to see you for the TWIST and SHOUT!

Meet the Tweedles

2010-04-20T12:25:00.004-05:00

Here is another one of those adorable images from the Busy Beauties "Alice Series". This one is "The Tweedles Dee and Dom." I used both sides of Cosmo Cricket's "Girl Friday" for the DP, and Tangerine Tango for my main CS. Be sure to check out the talents of our April Guest Designer Susan. Her link and details can be found at the Busy Beauties Creation Station challenge blog here. I hope you've had a chance to check out these great Alice images, and we have some new images we'll be sharing with you on Thursday. Thanks for stopping by.