Gleefully Yours

When I saw the current challenge #4 over at Joan's Gardens, I immediately thought of this dp from the Lime Ricky collection, from Basic Grey. That is how I built this card. I knew I needed a good sketch, and today just happened to be the day for a new sketch over at Stamp TV. How is that for luck?

My card base is created using the ever popular Pure Luxury card stock, from Gina K. Designs. The colors are Fresh Asparagus and Green Apple. Then there is my BG paper, including a sheet of there solid yellow with distressing. The stamp set I used, is from Nina Brackett, and is called Gleefully Yours. It is available from GKD. My trim is left over from my Rose Challenge to create a bookmark, and was sent to me by Connie Rose. My EF is from Sizzix.

Joan's recipe is as follows:

Use green and yellow.

Use a trim.

Use embossing.

Frame your focal image.

Hope you like how this came out! Have a creative day!

January Rose Challenge

Our challenge this month was set by the lovely Betty Rose. She asked us to use a childhood photo on a card. My photo is my Christening photo, and I chose this because my Godmother passed recently and I had her on my mind.

My card just happened. It is a 6x6 card but I am thinking I will turn it into a small scrapbook page. I inserted my photo into a pretty digital frame from Raspberry Roads and just started building from there. I used an assortment of Prima's and Making Memories flowers and added pearls, gems, and Dew Drops. There are also MS punches of branches and butterflies. I also added a bow of pink gingham and a pearl head pin.

Make sure to check out all of the other lovely Rose's in our bouquet. I had a fun time creating this, and thanks again for the idea, Betty! Have a wonderful Sunday!

EDIT: I just checked out that file I used as a base, and the prefix on the name is OSS, so may not be Raspberry Roads. Sorry about that.

Tired Of Snow!

Yesterday it snowed all day but only managed to wet the pavement. Today, they are calling for a coating. They are not committing to what is coming on Tuesday, and that is a bit scary. Everyone I talk to is in a blue funk. My poor DD in upper NJ has nowhere else to pile snow. She sent me a photo and I started laughing... she started crying! There is a hint that Tuesday will bring her 2 more feet. I sent this to a few friends already but I though I would share it here. The poor thing!

Anyhow, when I sat down and started coloring some digi images, I found this birdhouse in my stash. It has no name listed, so if anyone knows who the illustrator is, please let me know. It had me thinking Spring, and we can all use a little thought of that! I blew up the image until it was approx. 5 inches, colored it with pencils, oms, and Copics. I took a sheet of Pure Luxury card stock in red, folded it in half, and placed the roof line along the seam, moving it in slightly. After the image was adhered, I cut out the shape leaving a 1/8 inch edge. I added glitter, Glossy Accents, Prima's and Gems. I would have liked to have added some ribbon, but I was not sure where. I will use this for one of my RAK birthday cards this month. I thought it came out cheerful.

Thanks again to everyone who designed or visited the Valerie's Gift Hop! It was so nice to see Colleen's excitement!

A Special Little Hop!

Right before the holidays, a special stamping, scrapping, blogging friend, named Colleen Dickinson (her blog is The Creative Paper Room), contacted me to tell me she had something special to share. She had entered a contest at Whimsy Stamps to name one of their up coming release images. The image of a little girl, had reminded Colleen of her DD, Valerie, who had lost her life in a car accident about 10 years ago. Whimsy contacted Colleen, stating that she had not been the winner, however they were releasing another stamp of the same little girl, and would love to name that stamp Valerie's Gift, in memory of her daughter.

With Christmas so close, and everyone so busy, I had to temporarily sit on the idea for this hop. After mentioning it to a few friends, everyone seems to want to join in! Thus, the Valerie's Gift Blog Hop was created. I hope that if you stumble upon this little RAK, you will hop along, and leave some comments for the sweet stampers who have joined in to honor Colleen's, Valerie.

My card was created from mostly scraps from my bin. Seems that we have all been on a mission to use up some of our stash! The sentiment is from SU!. Coloring was done with Copics, stitching is with my new machine which I have not mastered, pearls, swirls, and a sugared flower are my accents. This sweet little image called Valerie's Gift, is the star of the show!

I believe we have 14 blogs for you to visit! Isn't it amazing how awesome people are when it comes to doing something nice for another? We meet so many wonderful people with this fun hobby! A special thanks to Olga, for helping me put this together. Colleen, I know you saw hints on blogs about something special happening, surprise, it was all for you! So without further ado, let's hop over to Patti J.'s blog, Cherish Each Precious Day, to see what she has created for us!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cute As A Button!

Cocoa decided he did not want to hang onto his apple today, but rather, peek through some pretty roses that will be a nice gift for Valentines Day. The challenge this week, at Crazy for Cocoa is #9, Cute As A Button! Here is what I have come up with.

My card base is Black Onyx Pure Luxury from Gina K. Designs. The dp is a digital that I printed. Flowers are from Doodle Pantry and colored with Copics, highlighted with Stickles, and popped at the tops for dimension. My accents are 2 rows of loop edge black ribbon and threaded buttons in assorted pinks and red. Of course, the star of the show is Cocoa from my Autumn Lovin Cocoa set.

I just wanted to say thanks to Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps for bringing us all of these great challenges and wonderful examples from the talented Design team!

Joan's Gardens Box Challenge

Oh my, It was 2 degrees below zero this morning when I woke. If it weren't for creating I would be going wacko! I believe we have warmed up to about 10 now! I guess I tend to be a few degrees less then everyone else local because I live with the lake in my backyard.

Joan's Gardens has a great challenge #3 this week that includes creating a box. Other elements include adding a butterfly, adding a flourish, and creating or using a flower. I chose to use a template I have had for years, that makes a double pyramid box. The template is from C-Thru.

I used a double sided designer paper from Creative Imaginations. I was worried about what pattern to use, because of the way you fold the panels, but this paper worked super! My butterflies are MS punches, with flourishes of Sizzix Sizzlets as their tails. I did wimp out and use sugared Prima flowers, but they added such great sparkle. I had this fancy trim with pearls that I just had to use and added it with strong adhesive tape. My hanger is made with a bright pink satin ribbon. Here is a shot of how the box opens for filling. I think it might just need a nice piece of jewelry for someone special, tucked inside. Soooooo many special occasions coming up!

I forgot to mention that I have been without Internet for hours, this morning also. Called the cable company and they were clueless (as always). Finally reset every box in the house and it came back on. Woo Hoo! Stay warm, and I will see you soon!

Dear Friend

I needed to create a very special card for a dear friend who lost her mother. I didn't want it to be a typical Sympathy card, but rather one to show us how we get through all the tough times. She was there for me when I lost my mom, and before that, she would stop in just to say a quick hi to my mom and give her a smile. My mom lived with us and my friend lived 2 doors away. When she moved away it was sad, but we still lean on each other for some soothing words and friendship.

My card is started with an ivory base, and touches of Chocolate Kiss card stock. The dp is a floral list from K&Co and is over stamped with a hydrangea stamp, which is an Anna Griffin design by All Night Media. I stamped it with Memento, Rich Cocoa, and also used that to sponge round the edges. My sentiment is from Gina K. Designs. The butterfly is an MS punch with a row of tiny pearls. As a special touch, I added the last of a very special strip of diminutive buttons sewn on brown velvet, which was from my mom's collection. I have hoarded them for just the right card. I thought that this was the perfect time to use them.

I would like to enter this card for :

Speedy the Cat's Friends Challenge #39 - Sympathy Card

Thanks for stopping back.

Still Working on Valentines.

Here is a little card I created for a challenge my friend Olga told me about. It is over at Create with Bubbe, and it is to use ribbon on your project. I just love to add a bit of ribbon here and there to add to texture and pattern on my cards. It does not always need to a big fancy bow. Just a little knot will do the trick.

My card started with Pure Luxury card stock from Gina K. Designs, in Ocean Mist, Soft Sand, and Chocolate Kiss. I created ticket corners using a small circle punch. My stamp set is one I received from a friend, and is called See With The Heart, 2004 SU!. I stamped my image in Rich Cocoa ink from Memento, also using it for sponging, and added touches of Copic Marker. I punched 2 sizes of hearts with my Marvy punches, running the larger one through the Cuttlebug with an EF. For accents, I added gems and some polka dot ribbon.

Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate each and every one of you!

You're Hot!

Lol, or not! This weeks Cocoa Challenge #8 is to use Pink and Red. I decided to use my Cup of Cocoa set from Sweet n' Sassy Stamps. I removed the candy canes and marshmallows that stick out of the cup, so I could have any hot liquid to go with my sentiment. The You're Hot sentiment is from TCP. My card stock is Pure Luxury and my pink, dp is from the new Basic Grey collection called Hopscotch. For embellishments, I used some red and white ribbon, an MS border punch, paper lace and sticky hearts from K&Co. Coloring was done with Copic Markers. There are touches of Enamel Accents from Ranger.

Thanks for taking a peek, and I hope to be back a bit later.

Morning!

I have lots of things going on with this card. First I find it difficult to create a card for a female friend for Valentines Day, that is not mooshie gooshie. Here is my attempt at that. Next, I used an old stamp from my stash, called Floral Design by Embossing Arts Co. The third idea going on, is a technique that I never think of using. My friend Linda, from Payne Holler Cards, is the person that I always catch stamping right onto her designer papers and then coloring the images. Well, I really like the effect it gives, and I will be using this more often.

I used Pure Luxury card stock for my base, topped it with Memory box striped paper, stamped using the above mentioned stamp, and colored with Copic Markers. My hearts were punched with the same card stock, and embossed with a Swiss Dot EF. My scattered words are from a K&Co, Words to Go, Take Out Box. I added a lavender gingham bow and a fancy vintage heart button from my stash. There are Prima's with Dew Drops and touches of Stickles added to the stamped flowers for sparkle.

I would like to enter this card at:

Speedy the Cat's Friends- add heart/hearts

Joan's Gardens Challenge # 2- Recipe button, bow, heart, striped dp

Craft Your Passion Challenge- Button it up

Tuesday Throwdown #32- Valentine

Really Reasonable Ribbon #16- Heart Theme

We are covered in an icy shroud, so you know this girl is going nowhere! Have a happy, creative day y'all!

Happy Monday!

Good morning, friends! Today I would like to share a card with you that I made for 2 wonderful challenges. The first is Speedy the Cat's Friends Challenge #38. We are asked to have a heart on our card. I used their stamp set called Stinky Situation and turned it into a Valentine. The second challenge is Joan's Garden's Challenge #2 which is one of Joan's famous recipes. This week she has asked us to use a striped paper, which I think I have done by using a Sizzix wood grain EF. I also used a stamp of a stand of birch trees which forms a stripe. We are also asked to include a bow, button, and heart. Check, check, check! I was so excited to use something old from my stash. Remember the old school plastic stencils? Yup, I pulled one out to create my large heart. The rest of the card is pretty much self explanatory.

I was so thrilled to have been a winner in the recent Mark's Finest Paper Blog Hop. I can not wait to see the set that will arrive, as it will be one from their next release. I only own a few, and this will be a great help with creating for challenges. Thanks, Mark's!

It's a dark, dingy day in PA. We have an icy storm on it's way. Another great day to work on some Valentines! Hope all is well in blogland, and thanks for peeking in.

To A Souper Friend!

When I did the Crazy 4 Cocoa Challenge last week, I was sure I would run out of ideas quickly. My stamp supply of Cocoa stamps,from Sweet'nSassy, is slim. This week, the theme is "In The Kitchen". How lucky was I, that one of my two sets had veggies in it! I also found a really cool sketch over at Card Positioning Systems, that I thought would work well.

I stared with Sweet Mango and Soft Sand Pure Luxury card stock. I embossed the panel of Soft Sand with the diagonal stripe EF. My pattern papers are from my scrap bin. I found this neat 3D soup pot sticker and bow tie noodles to add to the sketch. I think they are cute, how about you? When it came to my Cocoa image, I used one from my set called Autumn Lovin Cocoa. I did alter him a bit to fit my needs. The complete stamp, has leaves sticking out from underneath. Snip, snip and gone. Since my soup pot has glittery steam, I add some to the tips of the corn and squash. Cocoa's ears, nose, and tail are coated in Glossy accents. I read a tip that I used to keep his tail from ripping after fussy cutting. Just add a coat of Glossy Accents to strengthen! Worked great! My sentiment is a stamp from Stamps n' More.

Glad I was able to get back with entries for these challenges.

Crazy 4 Cocoa #7 - In The Kitchen

CPS #200 - sketch

Thanks for stopping by!

Heart You!

This mornings card is a digi valentine. My image is from Designed to Delight (D2D). Even the lacy heart paper I used for the background is digital! I popped my flowery mug off of a black Nestie cutout from the Labels Fourteen set. My little sentiment is from a Gina K. Designs set called Sweetest Memories. I used black, loopy edge ribbon and lots of Diamond Stickles for sparkle. Yes, I used my creative freedom, and the ladybug is purple in my little world! Oh I almost forgot, the polka dots on my mug, are Enamel Accents from Ranger. They add a bit of texture.

Well it is hard to believe, but the temperature here has actually gone up a bit. Last evening we were at a balmy 8 degrees. This morning it is reading 13. Even my black lab is not interested in going walkies in this! Usually I have to bribe her back in with cheese. LOL. Stay warm, stay safe, and have a creative day!

Blossoms Abound Valentine

Yep, I am back with a Valentine made with an older stamp set. This card is using Blossoms Abound by Stampin Up! I used a couple of the pastel shades of card stock from Gina K. Designs. My striped paper is from my scrap bin. I used Versamagic chalk inks to do my 2 step stamping and then cut it out offset with a Scalloped heart Nestabilities die. I sponged with soft blue before removing the heart from the die. I added some Dew Drops, butterfly punch outs, and deep purple ribbon as my accents. Just a simple Valentine. I really enjoyed using this set!

Expecting a very frigid day here today. My car is still in a shroud of ice and snow, so I guess no work for me again today, darn. Spent the evening rolled in a blanket, on the couch, watching Eat Pray Love w/ Julia Roberts. Hubby actually made it through the movie! Glad I recorded the premier of Off The Map, cause I fell asleep. I may be back! Hope all is well in your little part of the world!

A Couple of Cards for RAK's

My first card was created using a recently acquired set called Asian Plants. It is from Clear Dollar Stamps, LLC. I used a white base card and added Sweet Mango PL card stock. My striped dp is from Francis Meyers Co. My image was cut out with Classic Squares Nestabilities and sponged with Taken with Teal ink from SU!. The image itself is colored with Copic Markers. I created the fancy punched piece with an MS Iron Gate, corner punch.I added ribbon and pink pearls for embellishments. The vase and Asian character are both coated with a Sakura Glaze Pen.

For my second RAK card, I used an older SU! set called Art of Life. I stuck with the black, grey, and white theme to give the card a classy look. Again I started with a white base with a layer of dp from Making Memories. I used a scrap Nestie cut out as a frame. My accents are fine checked ribbon, black twine, flat black sticky dots, and a silver watering can charm. My flower head is covered in Stickles for a little sparkle.

I will document both of these sets used in my new journal. *Grin*

I hope to pack up some Christmas decorations today and ship them back to the attic. Why is it always harder to pack away, then it is to put up? Ugh! More snow coming my way tomorrow. It would be nice to give the furnace a little break with a warm day. 45 degrees would be lovely!

Okay, I am done moaning, or you may not stop back again. Hugs, my friends!

My Stamping Journal

I decided to case an idea that one of my blogging friend posted on her blog. She has personally challenged herself to use stamp sets that have been shoved to the back of the closet and have not seen ink in ages. Please stop over and check out Wendy's blog, WeeBeeStampin4Fun. Her journal is just gorgeous. I think my plan is to date and write in sets that I know the name of, as I use them, but if I use an unmounted that I am clueless about, I will lightly stamp the image. Lord only knows, that I have zillions of unmounteds. What do you think? Cool idea? It is time for them to see ink! This is my pledge!

My basic idea came from the color challenge this week at Stamp TV. It is not a normal combo of colors for me, but hey, I figured I would give it a try! The colors are Red Hot, Turquoise Sea, and Sweet Mango. I found some really cool designer paper in my stash that had the right colors. Next I took a set from Gina K. Designs called Happy Hearts and stamped heart images over the dp with Tempting Turquoise ink from SU!. I computer generated the label for my journal and again stamped the same hearts but this time I colored the design with Copic marker. I added a Red Hot card stock binding and assorted die cuts from K&Co.'s Que Sera Sera collection. I ran some sticky trim that was left over from last months Roses Challenge project (thanks Connie), and turquoise 1/4 inch satin ribbon around the binding. I tied and knotted on a couple of vintage beads, covered the inside covers with coordinating papers and that completed the task.

We are getting slammed with Round 2 of snow today. It will be a good soup day! Maybe make some potato soup, or perhaps broccoli cheddar? Yum, yum. DH has to work, so home alone and lots of play time! Thanks for taking a peek at my project, it was really fun!

An Apple A Day......

This weeks Crazy For Cocoa Challenge is about Resolutions. As my Cocoa stamps are on the very limited side, I used the apple design stamp from Autumn Lovin Cocoa. This card will go into my stash I am gathering of apple cards for the farmers market in the Spring. I have about 10 made so far. Some new stamped apple images arrived before Christmas from a stamping friend, and I will be diving into them soon. Okay, back to the challenge at hand. There are lots of digital parts to my card, including my dp and sentiments which I created on the computer. Coloring was done with Copics. Sponging is done with Old Olive ink from SU!. I added some bakers twine, which is a new love of mine, and some Amuse gems to set off my sentiment. My date was punched, glazed and popped for dimension. I also added a couple butterflies which were inside punches from a border.

Here is my inside edge, which I though looked pretty cute. I don't know about your house, but the diet is totally back in focus in mine. Time for healthy eating!

Sounds like snow is on it's way again. DH stopped and grabbed me glue last night, in case it's a stay in and create weekend. Thanks for coming around. I just love reading your comments. There is a new release at Gina K. Designs tonight if you are looking for some chat and fun. Some of the new sets are awesome! Bye for now!

Fresh and Fruity Birthday!

I started out to make a birthday card for one of the RAK groups I belong to, and along the way turned this mission into one for using something new that I received for a gift. My DD gifted me with a complete set of papers, embellishment, ribbons, and doo dads from KI Memories, called Juicy Summer. There are so many adorable elements in this group that I didn't know where to start. There are even chipboard words! My image is a digi cupcake that I have had for a long time. I am unsure of the creator but they have the faint initials ES next to them. There are other cuppies in the set. My coloring was done with Copics. I added tiny green gems from Amuse stamps and Paper Glaze to the yummy fruit. The card base is Grass Green Pure Luxury card stock from Gina K. Designs.

Since I have used all new materials that were a gift, I would like to enter this card over at Speedy the Cat's Friends Challenge # 36. This week we are suppose to use something NEW!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful winter day! Hope you won part of the Mega Millions payout! LOL....

Quick Post

Morning all! I just wanted to share a card I made for someone very special in my life. My DS recently moved into his first apartment, so I thought a little card was in order. This holiday season has really set me back when it comes to creativity. I must get with the flow!!!! One of my New Years hopes, is to create with more purpose. I have too many cards that have just been made to suit a challenge but not mailed.

This card uses computer printed sentiments combined with stamps from an SU set from 2004 called Right At Home. My base is Green Apple PL card stock from Gina K. Designs. The DP is from KaiserCraft and the collection is called Secret Bird Society. I bought it from a recent sale at Joan's Gardens. I really love this paper, as it has gloss to some of the circles. I punched out my sentiment with a new EK success punch that Santa brought, and used my circle Nesties for the image shape. Coloring was done with assorted Copic Markers and I added some bakers twine to finish off the project.

This was so much fun! I really must pull out more of these older sets and get to using them! Have a wonderful day!