My Creative Expressions

Hey Piper

2012-01-25T23:02:00.000-06:00

Wow, I actually had some more crafting time and got to play along with yet another challenge over at The Greeting Farm... Friday Spy Day #16 and here is my card:

For my card I used Piper (once again). I love her hat...really makes me wish I could wear hats but I just can't find any that I look good in and I've tried so many. Anyways...back to the card. Piper was colored with copics. The papers are from Basic Grey's Max & Whiskers collection. I used TGF's Splotchy stamp on all the background papers as well as on the twill ribbon. For a change, I decided to distress the edges of all the papers and then sponged them with Memento Rich Cocoa ink. I usually always mat my layers, but I really like how this turned out without doing that.

I am entering the following challenges:
All That Scraps - Blue, Brown and Tan
Basic Grey Challenges - Favorite Things (TGF stamps, the color blue)
Craft Your Days Away - Distressing
Creative Inspirations - Anything Goes

Crop Stop - A Bit Old (Distressing)

Simon Says - Anything Goes

That's Crafty Thursday - Kraft paper

Stamptacular Sunday - Seeing Spots

Thanks for stopping and have a fantastic day!

TGF Night at the Bookstore

2012-01-23T12:40:00.004-06:00

The Greeting Farm had a fun Customer Challenge and Chit Chat on Friday night (in the SCS forum) and the theme was "A Night at the Bookstore". I learned about a new book series during the chat that I think I may just have to check out....The Black Dagger Brotherhood Series....sounds interesting. There were three different challenges and I actually made a card for all three of them!

First up was Favorite Book. I read sooooo much that it is really a hard one for me to choose just one favorite as I have come across so many books that I truly love. In the end I decided to base my card off Diane Mott Davidson's Goldie Swenson Mystery series. Since Goldie is a caterer, what more appropriate than Birthday Anya II holding her yummy cupcake.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:
Card Positioning Systems - sketch challenge
Anyone for Anya - Bling (stickles, pearls and twinkling H2O's).
Crafty Calendar - New News (use new items) and Buttons/Bows optional - new items are Anya Stamp and Ribbon ~ I also included a button and a bow
Crafty Catz - Buttons and Bows
Crazy 4 Challenges - Child's Birthday Card
Lady Bug Crafts Challenge - Bows

Penny's Paper Crafty - Ribbons & Buttons

Second on the list was Favorite Book turned Movie....hands down that would have to be Twilight. So I used Flirty Edward and even made him all sparkly.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Anyone for Anya - Bling (lots of dazzling diamonds)

Aud Sentiments - include the word Love

Creative Card Crew - Seeing Red

Cupcake Craft Challenge - All You Need is Love

Fairy Tale Challenge - At the Movie (movie inspired) - Twilight

I Did it Creations - Love

Simply Create Too - Love is in the Air

The Corrosive Challenge - I {Heart} You - include a heart

The Pink Elephant - Photo Inspiration

Wags and Whiskers - Valentine's/Love

The final one was Favorite Kids Book. Again, so many favorites, but I chose one that I remember from when I was really little....The Pokey Little Puppy. I used the cute Oliver image from the Buddies set.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges
I♥Sketches - January sketch
Basic Grey Challenges - Favorite Things (TGF stamps, Pearls, Ribbon, Nesties, Border Punch) Used BG Max & Whiskers paper
That's Crafty Thursday - Kraft paper

Thanks for stopping and have a fantastic day!

Hugs and Kisses...Be Mine Miss Anya Love

2012-01-20T01:00:00.000-06:00

I'll admit it....I am a procrastinator....I usually wait until the night before I actually need a card for one of my kids before I start it....and, if I don't get it done that night I am frantically trying to finish up before they come home from school. Well, I decided to actually try and get their Valentine's Day cards done before the actual day and finished one of four. Now let's just hope when the time comes I remember where I put them ;)

I bought this paper last year before Valentine's Day, but never ended up using it....so instead of buying more new Valentine's Day paper, I decided to use what I had. Good thing I still have a bunch of SU's retired Mauve Mist Cardstock....it is a perfect match for this collection! I decided to use this stamp from the Miss Anya Love set because she had hearts on her dress and bows. Anya is colored with copics and I added some stickles to her outfit as well as Crystal Effects on her shoes. The chair and rug were paper pieced and I added some hear pearls to the arms of the chair in place of the "buttons" that were on there. The second layer of the chair (bottom and arms) was put on with dimensionals. I added some rhinestones and a bow to finish it off.

Now to decide which of my daughter's will receive this card....

I wanted to enter TGF's Friday Spy Day challenge, because I really loved the layout of it, but I didn't finish in time, so I am entering this in their Retro Fresh: Lucky in Love challenge. I would also like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Bunny Zoe's - Photo Inspiration

Crafty Creations - Valentine Themed

Do You Stack Up - Patterns (Patterned Paper)

One stitch at a Time - Anything Goes

Papertake Weekly - Buttons, Bows, Bling and Bloom - use any of these

Paper Play - Ribbon

Paper Sundaes - Pick your favorite challenge I chose #89-Lots of Layers

Stamp and Create - Anything Goes

Stampin for the Weekend - Out with the Old

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Recipe ~ all items SU unless indicated
Stamps: Miss Anya Love (The Greeting Farm); Chair (All That Scraps)
Ink/Coloring:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics
Paper: Mauve Mist; Gina K Pure Luxury (White); DP - KP Valentine (K & Co)
Embellishments:  Ribbon (Making Memories); Rhinestones (Michael's); Pearl Hearts (Darice's); Stickles (Stardust)
Tools/Misc: Crystal Effects; Bow Easy; Dimensionals

TGF Spy Day with Piper

2012-01-04T22:55:00.003-06:00

It's time to get back into the swing of things, so I decided to join in The Greeting Farm's Farm Fresh Challenge....Spy Day. Here is my card:

I love this flocked paper and didn't want to cover up the flowers on the left side so I adjusted the sketch a bit. I added some little rhinestones to the background paper, trim and a vintage button. I also did a new technique for me, which is the challenge at 7 Kids, and that is using an uncolored image ~ I stamped Piper on a piece of coordinating paper and am actually pleased with the result.

The challenge was to case this card by Shaela:

I would also like to enter the following challenges:
All That Scraps - Anything Goes
Aud Sentiments - Any sentiment but use your scraps
Papertake - Anything goes with option of something new (new stamp, new trim)
Simon Says - New something (new stamp, new trim)
Southern Girls - Show us your Sparkle (lots of rhinestones)
The Paper Shelter - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping and have a great day!

Recipe ~ all items SU unless indicated
Stamps: Piper (The Greeting Farm); Sentiment - Grandparents (The Greeting Farm)
Ink/Coloring:  Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: Naturals Ivory; Basic Black; DP - La Creme Stack (DCWV)
Embellishments:  Ribbon/trim (Trimtations); Rhinestones (Michael's); Vintage Button
Tools/Misc: Scallop Border Punch; Dimensionals

Take a Bow with Deconstructed Sketches

2011-10-08T13:28:00.000-05:00

It's been awhile since I posted a project, but I have been working on them. I have been doing the weekly HeArt Journaling with The Greeting Farm, but just have not shared them here....perhaps I will get busy and start adding those. But for now, I have a card to share with you.

Christmas already....yep, I decided to get a little bit of a head start this year. For my card I used the sketch at Deconstructing Sketches. At first the triangle shape intimidated me, but I really like how it turned out.

The image is Take a Bow from Tiddly Inks ~ I love Christy's images ~ they are just so cute and fun to color. The challenge over at Tiddly Inks is to use paint so I used some shimmerz paint on the flowers. The papers are from the Tinsel and Twigs Collection from The Girls Paperie ~ these are some of my favorite holiday papers and am kicking myself for not buying more of them at the time. The lace trim and ribbon were pulled out of my vintage trim collection.

Looking forward to Monday...DI Season begins for the Elementary level! I am managing two teams there....Hold It (Structural challenge) and Built to Last (Rising Stars). I am excited to see what the kids have prepared for their tryouts. The Middle School has to wait until November, but that will be here before we know it. There I am managing Coming Attractions (Fine Arts challenge). I am really excited to be starting another DI season and can't wait to see how the kids decide to solve their challenges.

Well, the weather here is beautiful, so I am off to enjoy it for a bit with the kids.

Have a great day!

Back 2 School

2011-08-31T09:00:00.009-05:00

Today my term as a Design Team member for Claudia & Company comes to an end. I would like to thank Claudia for inviting me to be a part of the team for these past 6 months and will definitely miss working with her and the other girls.

Today I will be running out to pick up last minute school supplies and then heading over to the Middle School with the kids so Alicia can set up the locker shelves she and my husband made. Tomorrow my kids are headed back to school...summer went by way to fast and I will really miss them being here all the time! For my last project I decided to make a back to school card.

Once again I used Puddle Jumper Lucy (what could be more perfect for a back to school card?), and paper pieced her dress and bag. All coloring was done with copics. The papers are from the Cosmo Cricket Odds & Ends Collection...definitely need to get some more of this! I added rhinestones to the center of her bows, pearls to her dress in place of the buttons and colored over her shoes with a clear glaze pen. The sentiment is from a Unity Stamp set. I was so happy to find some polka dotted ribbon that was a close enough match that I could use it on here.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:
Fussy and Fancy Friday - Sketch
The Pink Elephant - Paper Piecing
The Pixie Cottage - Back to School
Allsorts - Back to School
Paper Play - Back to School
Sentimental Sunday - Back to School
Stamp Something - Back to School
StampInsanity - Back to School
City Crafter - All Dressed Up
Catch the Bug - Warm colors and paper piecing
Creative Card Crew - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Back with a Claudia and Company post

2011-08-24T09:00:00.005-05:00

After a brief summer hiatus, the Claudia & Company Design Team is back. It was nice to have a break since we had so much going on these last few weeks as you can tell from my lack of posts lately. Since the kids are back to school next week :( we decided late last week to take the kids up to Wisconsin Dells for a few days ~ we all had a great time and the weather was perfect!

For my card I used Puddle Jumper Lucy and colored her with copics. I added some rhinestones to the center of her bows and some silver "pearls" to her dress for the buttons. To add some shine to her shoes I colored over it with a clear glaze pen. The papers are from the Pink Paisley Soiree collection. I added a green ribbon and some bakers twine along with a green button.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Christmas in August with Daisy

2011-08-02T14:34:00.002-05:00

We have been so busy running the kids around to tennis lessons, acting lessons and playing outside that I haven't had much time to play along in challenges lately. Now, with the exception of band and flute lessons, there isn't quite so much running so I found some time to head into the craft room. Since it's been awhile since I've played along in challenges, I decided to check out a few and see what I could come up with.

Squiggle Stamps currently has a challenge to make something for Christmas. I used the image Daisy with Gift (which happens to be a freebie right now in the shop), colored her in with copics and added some stickles. I followed this weeks sketch over at Mojo Monday but modified the sketch elements to fit the size of my image.

I would also like to enter the following challenges:
Totally Gorjuss - Christmas in July
Crafty Catz - Christmas in July
Sweet Stampin' - Christmas in July
Fussy & Fancy Friday - Christmas in July
Allsorts - Free and Easy

Thanks for stopping and have a great day!

Recipe ~ all items SU unless indicated
Stamps:   Daisy with Gift (digi stamp) Squiggle Stamps; Sentiment - Amy R Stamps Winter Sentiments
Ink/Coloring:  Rose Romance; Copics (E00, E01, E21, E23, E25, E27, R81, R83, R85, YG11, YG13, YG91)
Paper: Rose Romance; Gina K Pure Luxury (White); DP - Provo Craft Winter Stack
Embellishments:  Ribbon (rose);Stickles (stardust); Rhinestones
Tools/Misc: Circle Nesties; Circle Punches, Dimensionals

Lollipop Love - Sophie and Dylan

2011-07-25T09:00:00.002-05:00

Lori, owner of By Lori Designs, is celebrating Lollipop Day with a digi giveaway. How appropriate, since one of her stamp lines is none other than "Lollipops". In addition to the Lollipops, she has Puddle Jumpers, Sugar Sticks, Elephants, Special Editions (which are images already combined for you), Spoonfuls (which I believe her mom created) and Bug & Roo which were created by her daughter Hannah (what a talented family). I just love these images ~ they are so fun to color, they always bring a smile to my face and they make the cutest cards.

Here is a card I created using Lollipop Sophie and Lollipop Dylan. Don't they make a cute couple?

I merged the two images in photoshop and colored them with copics. The designer papers are from Basic Grey. I machine stitched each layer, added some punched hearts, ribbon and pearls.

Thanks for stopping and have a great day!

O Scrap meets Cupcake Anya

2011-07-22T00:43:00.001-05:00

I came across the O Scrap blog the other day and saw that they were giving away a free digi kit and had a contest to make something using the kit so I decided to make a card and a few 3x3 note cards.

Along with the digi kit I used the digi image of Cupcake Anya from the Greeting Farm. I used the floral paper for Anya's dress and bows while the rest of Anya was colored with copics. I cut out some of the flowers from the kit and added buttons to the centers. The little circle embellishments were punched from the floral paper as well. The sentiment is from the Happy Chef set by the Greeting Farm. I also followed the Which One Wednesday Challenge at The Greeting Farm's Farm Fresh Challenge Blog which happened to be a sketch challenge this week.

These four note cards use different items from the digi kit. On the two flower cards I added buttons to the center of the flowers. The Happy Bird-day sign that the bird is "holding" I made myself.

Thanks for stopping and have a fantastic day!

Claudia & Company Biannual CHA Sale

2011-07-08T09:00:00.001-05:00

Hello everyone! Can you believe it is that time again...CHA is almost here! I can't wait to see all the new goodies, but in the meantime, Claudia and Company is having their Biannual Getting Ready for CHA Sale!

Now is a great time to stock up on all those wonderful crafty goodies that have been on your wishlist, but still haven't made their way into your craft room. In the Claudia and Company store you will find items marked down 25-40% off regular price in almost every category; including the super popular 6x6 sampler packs! Prices available while supplies last and through July 15th.

Claudia also has a fantastic giveaway for you this week. How would you like to win this Cinch Binding Machine?

All you have to do for a chance to win is help spread the word by posting about the "Getting Ready for CHA" sale on your blog (in an actual blog post and not a sidebar addition) by July 14th; go back to the Claudia and Company blog, and link your post. Please feel free to use the blog banner at the top to add to your post.

Do you want a second entry for the Cinch machine? No problem, just add the sale blog button below to your sidebar and leave a comment on the Claudia and Company blog after you have done that.

Complete details of the sale are available on our store website: www.claudiaandcompany.com

The winner of The Cinch Binding Machine will be announced on July 15th.

Have fun shopping!

2011-06-23T09:00:00.001-05:00

Today is an Inspirational Day for Claudia & Company. Both Joy and I are up today and have created projects showcasing the newly released digital stamps. I chose to use the Seahorse image and paired it up with the Heart of a Card Sentiment set.

I went with some bright summer colors for this which was nice to work with since we haven't seen much sun around here the past few days. The image was colored with copics and I used a clear glaze pen on the eye to give it a little more realistic look. For the little bubbles in the water I used some rhinestones that I had colored with a copic. The pearls in the upper corner and the pearlized button on the lower left corner were again colored with a copic. The larger turquoise ribbon was recycled from a gift and a bit too plain for me so I dressed it up it by layering some turquoise ribbon with silver threading on the top, middle and bottom.

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

You Inspire Me

2011-06-14T09:00:00.001-05:00

Today is an Inspirational Day for Claudia & Company. Both Joy and I are up today and have created projects showcasing the newly released Little Miss Mia stamp set.

Today I paired Mia up with some paper from the October Afternoon Detours collection Mia was colored with copics and then I added some stickles to the band on her hat as well as the flower. To finish off the card I added a button from the Basic Grey Kioshi set that I threaded with some linen thread.

There will be no challenges for Claudia and Company in June, but there will be inspirational posts twice a week by various members of the Design Team showcasing this month's releases.

Thanks for stopping and have a fantastic day!

Claudia & Company Blog Hop

2011-06-09T10:00:00.008-05:00

Welcome to the last stop of the Claudia & Company blog hop. You should have arrived here from Piali's blog, but if not, please head back to the Claudia & Company blog to start from the beginning. We even have two guests with us for this hop...welcome Arlene and Jamie!

Now onto the cards.....

This card uses the dolphin image from John Grutta and one of the sentiments from the Claudia & Company Heart of a Card sentiment set. The image is colored with copics and the rhinestones were colored to match the paper.

This card uses the seahorse image from John Grutta and one of the sentiments from the Claudia & Company Heart of a Card sentiment set. The image is colored with copics and the rhinestones were colored to match the paper. I added some linen thread as an accent.

This is a set of notecards using various sentiments from the Claudia & Company Heart of a Card sentiment set (designed by Claudia herself) and some papers from the Echo Park Springtime collection. All the rhinestones were colored to match the paper. Below is each card individually.

I love how versatile this sentiment set is....with so many possible combinations you can't go wrong with this one!

And last, but certainly not least, is a card using the Little Miss Mia set by Jane's Doodles and papers from October Afternoon's Farm Fresh Collection. Mia is colored with copics and since she is perfect for paper piecing, I did just that. I added some brown pearls (and even used some for her eyes), an actual flower to her hat and some vintage lace. I added some faux stitching to the image and sentiment panels as well as some kraft hearts that I had covered with Crystal Effects.

Please be sure to leave a comment by Friday June 10th. One lucky person (who has left a comment on all the blogs participating in this hop) will win a $15.00 gift certificate to Claudia and Company.

Here is the Blog Hop List:

Claudia and Company

Taylor

Joy

Arlene

Tanya

Kadie

Jamie

Piali

Jodi

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

By Lori Designs Final Challenge Entry

2011-06-01T22:54:00.001-05:00

Today is the cutoff for the final challenge at By Lori Designs blog and I am cutting it really close. Here is my card:

~~I will be back in a few minutes to type more, but only have about 5 minutes left to link it up.....be right back~~ OK....got it linked with two minutes to spare.

The challenge was to use this sketch (which I rotated):

The image is Lollipop Lil' Chef and I thought that the Modern Homemaker collection from October Afternoon was a perfect match for her. I love how these papers look against Kraft cardstock. The only embellishment (aside from the rolling pin, pot holder and oven mitt that were cut from one of the papers) was some thin pink ric rac ribbon. Now I need to start scrapbooking some more....I have a few pictures of my girls making cookies that this image would be perfect with.

Today my husband and I got to chaperone Tyler's class field trip to Old World Wisconsin. I love going there, it is just so neat to see and I think the kids enjoy it as well ~ they even got to play tug of war with a pair of oxen. The weather was beautiful and we got lots of exercise with all the walking...and lots of sun which I loved...however right now I'm not loving the sunburn I got....my arms and chest are quite sore. I always take pictures on class field trips, but when we arrived I tried to turn on my camera and found out that the battery was totally dead. No problem, I always carry a spare...well, at least I did until today ...last minute I decided to change purses this morning and completely forgot about the camera battery. So, unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures today.

Thanks for stopping and have a great day!

Cheeky Beach Scene

2011-05-31T09:00:00.002-05:00

Happy Tuesday....and welcome to another challenge with Claudia & Company. Today our challenge is to make a card with a Fancy Fold. A few ideas would be an Easel Card (which is what I chose), a Gatefold Card, a tent card or a stair step card.

I chose to use Cheeky Beach and made a beach scene with her. I used papers from the My Minds Eye Good Day Sunshine Boy collection...just goes to show you you can use these papers for more than just boy projects. The panel behind the image is made from kraft cardstock which I roughed up to look like sand (thanks for the idea Jenny), some torn blue paper for the water and then some lighter blue paper for the sky. I also rubbed a Palette Ink New Canvas pad over the water and sky. Cheeky was colored with copics and I added some Crystal Effects to the beach ball to make it more realistic. I used some Teal Bakers Twine and attached a starfish charm and a bow to it. As you can see on the "inside" of the card, I again roughed up some Kraft cardstock to look like a beach and added a few seashells. I really had a lot of fun with this card and love how it turned out. I followed the sketch over at Sketch Saturday, but I did rotate it.

I also used the challenge at Wee Memories to be inspired by a picture on Etsy or Pinterest. Here is my inspiration picture from pinterest:

We'd love to have you join in our challenge. You have until Saturday, June 11th to link up your entry. For more inspiration from the Design Team, head on over the the Claudia & Company blog.

Keep an eye out, we have some great new releases coming up next week!

Yesterday we went over to my brother's house for the day and couldn't have asked for better weather. We spent the entire day outside and had a great time (and some great food too). Now I'm hoping this weather is here to stay!

Fancy Anya

2011-05-24T09:00:00.007-05:00

Sorry this is posting late....I just got back from my son's play and noticed that blogger never published my post when I had it scheduled...

Today is an Inspirational Day for Claudia & Company and the Design Team has some wonderful projects to share with you.

For my card I used Fancy Anya from The Greeting Farm, colored part of her with copics and paper pieced the rest. The designer papers are from the Lily Bee Picket Fence collection. I made the lace flower from some vintage lace, placed a button in the center and finished it off with some ribbon. A piece of ribbon down the side and some pearls complete the card. I followed this weeks The Deconstructed Sketch.

I had wanted a shimmery background for this card so I sprayed each panel of the card with some Baby's Breath Shimmerz Spritz that I picked up awhile back. After letting it dry, I don't see any shimmer, just a few splatter marks on the cardstock...I'm hoping this spray will work better on canvas projects. Yep, even though I know nothing about "altering" a canvas, the kids and I decided to pick up a few canvas panels the other day...now I need to get daring and actually take one out of the bag and just have fun with it...after all, you can always paint over it ;)

Make sure you visit the rest of the Design Team to see their beautiful projects.

This weekend Tyler had one of his friends sleep over Saturday and then we went to the bowling alley for his birthday party on Sunday. He had so much fun with his friends! Last night two of his friends came over to make costumes for their class play and today I get to see them in action ~ looking forward to it!

Thanks for stopping and have a fantastic day!

Happy Birthday with PJ Lily

2011-05-17T09:00:00.002-05:00

Happy Tuesday....and welcome to another challenge with Claudia & Company. Today our challenge is to make a Girls' Birthday Card.

For my card today I used Puddle Jumpers Birthday Lily and colored the images with copics. I added crystal effects to the balloon and since this is a girl card I jsut had to pull out the stickles as well. I used Echo Park Springtime papers and made the banner by cutting some triangles and attaching them to a length of Teal Bakers Twine which I tied into bows at both ends. I pulled out the stickles once again and added it to the top of the banners for a little definition. I used a border punch on the embossed blue cardstock and added a strip of white ribbon which was colored with a copic marker to match the papers.

We would love to have you join in our challenge. You will have until Saturday, May 28th to link up your entry. For more inspiration from the Design Team, head on over the the Claudia & Company blog.

Challenges entered to be updated....

Thanks for stopping by and have a fantastic day!

Recipe ~ all items SU unless indicated
Stamps: Puddle Jumpers Birthday Lily (by Lori Boyd for Claudia & Co.)
Ink/Coloring: Memento Ink (Tuxedo Black); Copics (E00, E01, E11, R20, Y21, Y23, Y26, E13, E31, R81, R83, BG10, BG11, BG72)
Paper: Cool Caribbean, Mauve Mist; Gina K Pure Luxury (White); DP - Echo Park (Springtime)
Embellishments: Ribbon (white - colored with R81 copic); Bakers Twine (teal); Stickles (stardust); Crystal Effects
Tools: Petite Oval Nesties; Oval and Scallop Oval Punch; Cuttlebug Embossing Folder (Swiss Dots); Martha Stewart Border Punch

Hope Your Day is Full of Smiles

2011-05-10T09:00:00.002-05:00

Today is an Inspirational Day for Claudia & Company and the Design Team has some wonderful projects to share with you. Today I made a scene with Twirl Anya.

I colored Anya with copics and cut her out (cutting off the pinwheel she was holding as well). In place of her pinwheel, I added a toothpick that was cut at the ends and made my own pinwheel. I have a brad holding the pinwheel together and it is going through the background, so it does turn, but it doesn't spin because there isn't enough room behind it for the brad to move freely :( I should have put the scene panel on dimensionals and then it would have spun.....oh well, live and learn. The grass is cut with a border punch, the clouds were cut free hand and the little flowers in the grass were cut out from one of the patterned papers. The papers are all October Afternoon, from both the Detours and the Farm Fresh collections. The sentiment is from So Random Sentiments and I highlighted the word smiles with a copic.

I hope you enjoyed my project....I know I had a lot of fun making it!

I would like to enter this in the following challenges:
The Pink Elephant - sketch

Southern Girls - Let's Hear it for the Girls
Whimsie Wednesday - Make your own embellishment
Mami Doodles - Let's Get Girly
By the Cute and Girly - Anything Goes
All That Scraps - Anything Goes
Catch the Bug - Anything Goes
Catered Crop - recipe items used: Polka Dots, copics, stickles, all occasion card
CES Challenges - Favorite Color Combo...I don't know about you, but my favorite combo changes depending on my mood and the beautiful patterned papers out there...so I chose blue and green
Sentimental Sundays - Anything Goes
The Crafty Pad - Spots and Dots
Pear Tree Designs - Spring

Thanks for stopping and have a great day!

Unity Chick

2011-05-06T10:59:00.002-05:00

I had a little time to hit the craft room and since I haven't used my Unity Stamps for awhile decided to pull those out. No coloring on this one...I just stamped the chick from the April 2011 KOTM on some patterned paper, cut it out and added it to the circle panel. The chicken wire background on the circle panel was embossed in silver ~ I just thought it was a cute touch. The papers are from the Lily Bee This and That collection. I also tried something new on this one with the ribbon and like how it turned out. I added a button, some ric rac trim and a few brads to finish it off. All in all, I love how this card turned out.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:

Unity's KOTM sketch challenge - ♥Love♥ this sketch and will defintely keep it on hand to use again.

Unity Monthly Challenge - "Tweet Tweet" - use a bird
Try it on Tuesday - Something old (chicken wire background/embellishments) and something new (unity stamp/designer papers)
Papertake - Anything goes
Creative Inspirations - Embossing
Lollipop Ladies - photo inspiration (ribbon candy) with ribbon - gathered ribbon
Papercraft Star - use any sketch
Catered Crop - used Polka Dot patterned paper; the color yellow; ribbon; die cuts
Sweet Stampin Challenge - Try something new - ruffled ribbon
Totally Gorjuss - 1,2,3 your choice - 1 button, 2 stamps, 3 designer papers
All Things Unity - Get Felt Up - use texture ~ heat embossing, different ribbons
One Stitch at a Time - Emboss it
Really Reasonable Ribbon - Use 2 ribbons
Stamp with Fun - Lace or Ribbon
Cupcake Craft Challenge - Something with a C - Chick, circles, chicken wire
Pear Tree Designs - Anything goes
Let's Ink It Up - Embellish It
Phindy's Friday - Embossing

Wags & Whiskers - Use a die or punch
Paper Play - Show us your style

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Recipe ~ all items SU unless indicated
Stamps: Unity April 2011 KOTM; Chicken Wire Background
Ink/Coloring: Memento Ink (Tuxedo Black); Versamark; Silver Detail Embossing Powder
Paper: Barely Banana, Riding Hood Red; DP - Lily Bee (This and That)
Embellishments: Ribbon (wide - Very Vanilla; narrow - Cream); vintage Ric Rac; vintage Button; Brads (Making Memories)
Tools: Circle Nesties; Heat tool

2011-05-03T09:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Tuesday....and welcome to another challenge with Claudia & Company. Today our challenge is add a butterfly to your project. An image, a die cut, a punch, patterned paper, a chipboard shape....it doesn't matter, as long as there is a butterfly somewhere on your project you're good ;)

For my card I used the butterfly image that was released yesterday and paired it up with some October Afternoon Farm Fresh papers in the 6x6 sampler pack. I LOVE these packs, just enough papers to satisfy your craving for something new....and they average $3.00 a pack....can't beat that! On the bow I added a Basic Gray Kioshi Button and some Brown Bakers Twine.

Take a peek at what the rest of the Design Team did with this challenge by clicking on their links (located on the left side of my blog).

I would also like to enter this card in these challenges:
CCEE - add a butterfly
AI FActory - anything goes
Digi Doodles - anything goes
Moving Along With the Times - anything goes
Stamp Something - Something with Wings
Wags & Whiskers - Use a die or punch
Paper Cutz - Anything Goes
Pear Tree Designs - anything goes
Stamp with Fun - Lace or Ribbon

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Flowers and Butterflys....

2011-05-02T09:00:00.006-05:00

Spring Break is officially over and my kids are back to school today ~ I love having them home all day and sure will miss them! It is also time for this month's release at Claudia & Company. Today we have two new images to show you by John Grutta.

I colored this image with copics and added some stickles to the flowers. The dew drops were also colored with a copic to match the papers.

I think this one might be a first for me....I started coloring the butterfly and like how it was highlighted against the black and white so I didn't color the leaves ~ I don't think I've ever not colored an entire image before. I colored the butterfly with copics and then colored over it with a Spica clear pen for some subtle shimmer. To border the image panel I used a Copic multilner to trace along the inside of the nestie. The papers are from the Lily Bee This & That collection. I added a satin ribbon and a trio of brads to finish it off. I also followed the sketch over at Papertake.

I would also like to enter this card in these challenges:
CCEE - add a butterfly
AI FActory - anything goes
Cute Card Thursday - Use any sketch (Papertake)
Digi Doodles - anything goes
Moving Along With the Times - anything goes
Stamp Something - Something with Wings
Wags & Whiskers - Use a die or punch
Paper Cutz - Anything Goes
Totally Gorjuss - 1,2,3 your choice - 1 Image, 2 Embellishments (ribbon & brads), 3 papers
Catered Crop - I used the following from the recipe: Pattern Paper - polka dots; Colors - Yellow, White; Stamps - Leaves; Color Mediums - Copics; Embellishments - Ribbon; Tools - Die cuts
Sweet Stampin Challenge - Try something new (coloring only small portion of image)

Pear Tree Designs - anything goes
Stamp with Fun - Lace or Ribbon

We are not having a blog hop this month, but please stop by the Claudia & Company blog to see what the rest of the Design Team has cooked up for you using these new images. While you are there be sure to leave a comment because one lucky commenter will win these two images.

Claudia and Company's May Release

My Minds Eye Lime Twist, Hip Hooray, and American Made

The Greeting Farm's May Release

Basic Grey's Sweet Threads and Lauderdale

Thanks for stopping and have a wonderful day!

Celebrate Today with Hazel

2011-04-29T17:10:00.003-05:00

Lori posted a special challenge today on the By Lori Designs blog. It is "In Honor of the Royal Wedding". Since I really don't need a wedding card right now, I decided to make a celebration card using the colors red white and blue.....well actually aqua in my case (but to me it's still a blue). I also had to throw the heart border punch in the mix as well.

I used October Afternoon's Modern Homemaker Papers, and paired them up with this adorable image Hazel, in the Bug & Roo section. I added some ribbon, a flower, button and some rhinestones I colored with copics.

I will come back and update with a recipe and a few other challenges, but I need to head outside with the kids for a bit since we finally have a nice day.

OK, I would like to enter this card in these additional challenges:
Sketch & Stash - Sketch #40

Scrap Creations - Flowers
Fab N' Funky - Red, White and Blue
Simon Says - Anything Goes
The Paper Variety - Polka Dots
Quirky Crafts - Right Royal Affair - Red, White and Blue/celebration
Stamptacular - At least 5 layers
Creative Inspirations - Digi Images
Crafty Cardmakers - A Royal Wedding - Red, White and Blue

Recipe ~ all items SU unless indicated
Stamps: Hazel (By Lori Designs - Bug & Roo); Sentiment - So Random Sentiments (Claudia & Co.)
Ink/Coloring: Memento Ink (Tuxedo Black); Copics
Paper: Naturals Ivory; Pure Luxury White (GK); DP - October Afternoon (Modern Homemaker)
Embellishments: Ribbon; Flower (Prima); Button (Making Memories); Rhinestones (Recollections) (colored with copics)
Tools: Ovals and Scalloped Oval Punches; Photo Corner Punch (EK Success); Martha Stewart Border Punch; Nesties (Petite Oval and Petite Scalloped Oval); Linen Thread

Thanks for stopping and have a great day!

Celebrate Today with Cupcake Fhiona

2011-04-27T08:00:00.018-05:00

Today starts a new challenge at Your Next Stamp.

The challenge: To use a charm on your project.

For my card I used Cupcake Cutie Fhiona and paired her with MME Stella & Rose papers and this time I used the Hazel Collection...and I love how it looks with Kraft paper! I colored Fhiona with copics and then added some subtle sparkle, pretty much everywhere, with a spica clear pen. I mentioned using a new hair color on my last post....well here it is again ;) I added a few pearls, some taffeta ribbon and a butterfly charm attached to my bow. The bow took me the longest to make, but there is a reason for that. I had my Bow Easy on my desk from the other day and when I went to use it I could not find it anywhere. After a lot of searching I was ready to give up and tie the bow myself, but decided to go through my new paper pads I had put away....well good thing I did because I finally found it sticking to the bottom of one of them where a sticker had been....

We'd love to have you join in this challenge and see how you incorporate a charm into your project. The challenge runs for two weeks, so stop by the Your Next Stamp Challenge blog for tons of inspiration from the Design Team and then again to link up your entry.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Sketch Saturday - sketch

Colour Create - Pink, Blue and Brown

That's Krafty - Kraft Cardstock

Delicious Doodles - Anything Goes

Mami Doodles - Crazy for Kraft

Catered Crop - FTR10 recipe: Pattern Paper-stripes, miniprints; Colors-pastels; Stamps- go digital, bunnies, butterflies, and flowers; Color Mediums-Copic markers, paint, white pens; Embellishments-burlap, pinwheels, twine, buttons, eyelets, brads; Tools-sewing machine, Cropadile, die cuts; Techniques-sewing, distressing; Theme-Spring
Stamptacular - at least 5 layers
iCopic Lover- pastels
Simon Says - Anything Goes
Copic Creations - Favorite paper for copic coloring - Gina K Pure Luxury

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Creeper Crew Tyler

2011-04-26T09:00:00.005-05:00

Today is the day for some wonderful inspiration from the Design Team at Claudia & Company. I decided to change things up and do a card for a boy since most of my projects tend to be girly.

I used Tyler from The Greeting Farm's Creepin Creeper Crew Kit and paired him up with papers from Studio Calico's State Fair collection. I distressed the edges of all the papers and then sponged them with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Tea Dye. The cardstock strips were embossed with a Distressed Stripes folder. I added a few brads and a ribbon tab using some May Arts Wrinkle Ribbon (Ivory) that was also sponged with the Distress Ink. Instead of my "normal" blonde, I tried out a new hair color for Tyler and I like it ~ it's not so yellow. So I think I'm going to have to do a lot more playing with hair colors....I tend to use the same ones over and over.

Visit the rest of the Design Team (links are on the left side of my blog) to see some more wonderful creations.

I would like to enter this in the following challenges:

Meljen's - Masculine
Crafty Catz - Children's Cards
Delicious Doodles - Anything Goes
Catered Crop - FTR10 recipe: Pattern Paper-stripes, miniprints; Colors-pastels;
Stamps- go digital, bunnies, butterflies, and flowers; Color Mediums-Copic markers, paint, white pens; Embellishments-burlap, pinwheels, twine, buttons, eyelets, brads;
Tools-sewing machine, Cropadile, die cuts; Techniques-sewing, distressing; Theme-Spring
Stamptacular - at least 5 layers
Pollycraft - Fun and Games
Creative Card Crew - Child's Play
Bunny Zoe's - One for the Boys
Copic Creations - Favorite paper for copic coloring - Gina K Pure Luxury
I ♥ Sketches - sketch

Thanks for stopping and have a fantastic day!

Make a Wish with Fairy Tink

2011-04-21T01:52:00.002-05:00

-Tonight the girls went with my husband over to my parents house and I was home with the boys. Since they were engrossed with Club Penguin, I decided to hit the craft room for a bit and play in a few challenges and this is the result......

Since the Farm Fresh Which One Wednesday Challenge this week is" No Pink" I pulled out my MME Stella Rose Papers Mabel Collection for this card (the colors remind me of the older MME Bloom and Grow Collection). Aren't these papers absolutely gorgeous!?!? I followed the Sketch from The Sweet Stop with a few minor additions. The twist to this sketch was to use Winged Things so I used Fairy Tink (now does anyone know where I can get a hold of a Fairy Chloe?).

Tink was colored with copics and then I added some Angel Wings Shimmerz to her wings and to the flowers. Here is a close up to show the shimmer.

I would also like to enter this in the following challenges:
ABC Challenge - S is for Sparkle
A Spoon Full of Sugar - Let's Celebrate
AI Factory - Flowers in Bloom
Birthday Sundaes - Anything Goes
Copic Creations - Favorite Paper for Copic Coloring - Gina K Pure Luxury White
Critter Sketch Challenge - Punches/Dies (2 different)
Cupcake Craft Challenge - Lots of Layers
Everybody Art Challenge - Pearls
Flutter By Wednesday - Anything Goes
Fussy and Fancy Friday - Card for a Child
Inky Impressions -Flowers
Papertake - Spots and/or Stripes
Pile It On - Smells Like Rubber - use a rubber stamp
Totally Papercrafts - Springtime

Thanks for visiting and have a fantastic day!

Recipe ~ all items SU unless indicated
Stamps: Fairy Tink (The Greeting Farm); Sentiment - Anya Says (The Greeting Farm)
Ink/Coloring: Memento Ink (Tuxedo Black); Copics (E000, E00, E01, YR14, YR20, YR21, YR23, YR24, YG61, BG000, N2, 0)
Paper: Apricot Appeal; Pure Luxury White (GK); DP - MME Stella Rose (Mabel)
Embellishments: Ribbon (Apricot); Flowers (Prima); Pearls (Recollections); Shimmerz (Angel Wings)
Tools: Oval and Scalloped Oval Punch; Martha Stewart Border Punch; 3-D Dots (EK Success)

Hello Clean and Simple

2011-04-19T09:00:00.002-05:00

Happy Tuesday....and welcome to another challenge with Claudia & Company. Today our challenge is to make a Clean and Simple Card. For me, this was a definite challenge as my cards are generally anything but CAS.

For this card I used the My Minds Eye Lush Collection in Navy and punched out the squares with a paper punch making it a breeze to put together. I layered the squares on a piece of navy cardstock and then added that to my card base. The sentiment is from the Puddle Jumpers Sammy Mini Set and was punched as well.

For this card I used papers from Cosmo Cricket's DeLovely collection. I just love the bright cheerful colors of these papers and how they pop against the white. I punched flowers from the papers and in the center of each flower added a mini button. I trimmed the front of the card down and added a scalloped border on the bottom.

Both of these cards were really quick and easy to make and are a great way to use up your scraps of paper.

We would love to have you join in our challenge. You will have until Saturday, April 30th to link up your entry. For more inspiration from the Design Team, head on over the the Claudia & Company blog.

October Afternoon's 5 and Dime

Echo Park Paper's Summer Days and new 6x6 paper pads

Prima Marketing's new April Release

The Girls Paperie Jubilee, Kitch, and Vintage Whimsy is back in stock

Thanks for stopping by and have a fantastic day!

YNS

2011-04-13T09:00:00.003-05:00

Today starts a new challenge at Your Next Stamp.

The challenge: To use at least one texture on your project.

For my card I used the special edition stamp ScrapFest Shopper Fhiona and colored her with copics ~ love how cute she is and she was so much fun to color! I paired her up with some of my new Lily Bee Picket Fence papers and I have to say a few of the newest copic colors match these papers beautifully.

The easiest way to add texture is by embossing, so each of my patterned papers has been embossed (I used 2 different folders). I also added some ribbon, flowers (which I colored with RV25), pearls and stickles to finish it off.

We'd love to have you join in our challenge. The challenge runs for two weeks, so stop by the Your Next Stamp Challenge blog for tons of inspiration from the Design Team and then again to link up your entry.

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Recipe ~ all items SU unless indicated
Stamps: ScrapFest Shopper Fhiona (Your Next Stamp)
Ink/Coloring: Memento Ink (Tuxedo Black); Copics (E000, E00, E01, R00, R20, E55, E57, E59, BG53, V20, V25, YG21, YG23, 0)
Paper: Perfect Plum; White (GK); DP - Lily Bee (Picket Fence)
Embellishments: Ribbon (Eggplant); Flowers (Prima); Pearls (Recollections); Stickles (Stardust)
Tools: Petite Oval and Petite Oval Scalloped Nesties; Cuttlebug Embossing folders (Swiss Dots and Polka Dots); EK Success Border Punch; 3-D Dots (EK Success)

Hippity Hoppity Anya

2011-04-12T09:00:00.017-05:00

Today is the day for some wonderful inspiration from the Design Team at Claudia & Company. As you can tell, I chose an Easter theme this time around. Here is my completed project:

I made an Easter Basket using Easter Anya. I colored Anya with copics and added some stickles to her dress, bunny ears and the Easter eggs. She was attached using 3-D dots. The Designer paper is from the Echo Park Springtime collection. The grass was cut using a border punch and for the little flowers in the grass I borrowed one of my kids punches ~ it was the perfect size. I added some Ivory Wrinkle Ribbon to the handle and a rose in the center. The basket is actually a wood box that I had in my "things to be altered" cabinet and I painted it with an Antique White acrylic paint.

Visit the rest of the Design Team (links are on the left side of my blog) to see some more wonderful creations.

I would like to enter this card in the following challanges:

The Greeting Farm - Spring Colors
Anyone For Anya - Photo color Inspiration
The Pink Elephant - Easter
Fun with Shapes & More - Easter
Stamp with Fun - Easter
Ooh-la-la Creations - Happy Easter
Everybody Art Challenge - Easter
Stampin for the Weekend - Easter
Delicious Doodles - Use Ribbons for Easter
Meljen's - Easter
The Crazy Challenge - Easter
Pollycraft - Easter
Daisy Doodles - Easter
Quirky Crafts - Sparkly, Punchy Easter
Cutie Sunday - Easter
Creative Inspirations - Easter
Simply Create - Egg-tra Special
Creative Inspirations - Punches and Dies
For Fun Challenges - Bunny
Aly's Sunday Challenge - Hippity Hoppity Bunnies
Copic Creations - Your favorite copic technique (Brunette hair)
Simon Says - Spring Colors/Easter
All That Scraps - Anything Goes
Really Reasonable Ribbon - Use dies or punches and ribbon
By the Cute and Girly - Cute and Girly
Ellephantastic - Anything but square or rectangle

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Recipe ~ all items SU unless indicated
Stamps: Easter Anya (The Greeting Farm)
Ink/Coloring: Memento Ink (Tuxedo Black); Copics (E00, E01, E11, R20, E21, E23, E25, E27, B02, B04, Y18, YG06, YG07, R81, R83, R85, RV10)
Paper: Mauve Mist; White (GK); DP - Echo Park (Springtime)
Embellishments: May Arts Wrinkled Ribbon (Ivory); Flower (Prima); Dot Sparkler Stickers (Stampendous); Stickles (Stardust)
Tools: Martha Stewart Border Punch; Flower Punch (unknown); 3-D dots; Wood Box (Michaels); Folk Art Acrylic Paint (Ivory White)

Happy Birthday with Fhiona

2011-04-08T00:58:00.000-05:00

This month I have been asked back as a Guest Designer for Your Next Stamp. I am so happy to be working with this great company again~ thanks for inviting me back Karen!

Today I would like to share a card I made using Flower Bouquet Fhiona.

I loved the sketch at Mojo Monday this week, so I followed that and paired up Fhiona with some papers from the DCWV Citrus Stack (which, sad to say, I've had for quite some time and have just removed the stickers holding it closed...at least I know I'm in good company). Since I seem to always be in need of Birthday Cards, I decided to go that route with this card.

I'll be back next week with another Your Next Stamp creation for the new challenge, but in the mean time, you can still get in on the current challenge.

We have yet another busy week ahead for us....the DI State Tournament is next weekend, so in addition 4 more practices, we also have a 1st grade concert to attend, Family Night at the Book Fair a Middle School introductory event and then packing up the vehicles to take all the backgrounds/props/costumes to State...not one free night, but it's worth it!

I would like to enter this in the following challenges:
Mojo Monday - Sketch
Birthday Sundae's - Anything Goes Birthday
Catered Crop - I used the following from the recipe: Striped patterned paper, the colors red and yellow, stamping ink, bling (rhinestones and stickles), ribbon, scallops and circles
Really Reasonable Ribbon - RRR21 Dies/Punches & Ribbon
I Did It Creations - Anything Goes
CCEE Stampers - No buttons, bows, brads or buckles
Catch the Bug - Anything Goes
CES Challenge - Children
ABC - R is for Ribbon
Papertake - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping and have a wonderful day!

Fun in the Sun!

2011-04-05T09:00:00.001-05:00

Happy Tuesday....and welcome to another challenge with Claudia & Company.

Our challenge is to make a Monochromatic Card. The Design Team is showcasing the My Minds Eye Lush Collection and I am using papers from the Navy collection. These papers are perfect for monochromatic cards and are double sided (with the exception of the flocked papers) giving you so many choices. The image is one of the newer releases from The Greeting Farm, Cheeky Beach (which unfortunately is out of stock right now). I colored her with copics and added a few pearls to the center of her flower. The ribbon is Ivory grosgrain from May Arts and the flowers and paper are also ivory (not white like they appear). I created the sentiment on the computer and added some more pearls to finish off my card.

We would love to have you join in our challenge. You will have until Saturday, April 16th to link up your entry. For more monochromatic inspiration, head on over the the Claudia & Company blog.

October Afternoon's 5 and Dime

Claudia and Company's April Release

The Greeting Farm's April Release

Websters Pages Bloomers, Sparklers, Push Pins, Trendsetter, and more

I would like to enter this in the following challenges:
Totally Gorjuss - Sketch
Lexi's Creations - Monochromatic
One Stop Craft Challenge - Spots and Dots
The Crafty Pad - Flowers
The Crazy Challenge - Flowers
Allsorts - Blooming Blossoms
Catered Crop - I used the following from the recipe: Polka Dot patterned paper, the color blue, stamping ink, bling (pearls), ribbon, scallops and circles
Double Dutch - Something Old (Flowers), Something New (Stamp, Designer Papers), Something Borrowed (Pearls from my daughter), Something Blue (Cardstock, DP, Pearls, Coloring of image)
Really Reasonable Ribbon - RRR21 Dies/Punches & Ribbon
I Did It Creations - Anything Goes
CCEE Stampers - No buttons, bows, brads or buckles
Catch the Bug - Anything Goes
Wags & Whiskers - Ribbons & Pearls
7 Kids - Seeing Spots
Stamp Something - Digi Somethings - sentiment
Copic Creations - Favorite Copic Technique - Had to go with Brunette hair
Frosted Designs - Fab Friday Challenge - Bling - lots of pearls

Thanks for stopping by and have a fantastic day!

Recipe ~ all items SU unless indicated
Stamps: Cheeky Beach (The Greeting Farm); Sentiment - computer generated
Ink/Coloring: Memento Ink (Tuxedo Black); Copics (E000, E00, E01, E55, E57, E59, B91, B93, B95, B97, B99)
Paper: Night of Navy; Ivory (GK); DP - My Minds Eye (Lush Collection - Navy)
Embellishments: May Arts Ribbon (Ivory); Flowers (Prima); Pearls (KaiserCraft/Queen &Co)
Tools: Oval Nesties; Circle and Scalloped Circle Punch

Spring Scenes Clean and Simple

2011-04-01T09:00:00.005-05:00

Welcome to the Claudia & Company Blog Hop. If you didn't arrive here from Taylor's blog, please head back to the Claudia & Company blog to start the hop. Remember to leave comments at each and every stop, because one lucky hopper will be chosen to win this Spring Scenes digi set by John Grutta! You will have until Sunday, April 3rd, 11:59PM, to comment. The winner will be announced on the Claudia & Company blog April 4th.

In case you get lost along the way, here is the complete blog hop list:

Claudia and Company

Kadie

Piali

Taylor

Jodi

Tanya

Joy

Guest Designer - Sarabeth

I wanted to keep the focus on the images, and after going back and forth with designs and various papers, I decided to go with something totally out of my comfort zone...a clean and simple card with a lot of white and a splash of color. I think these would make a really nice set of note cards and the fact that they were quick to make is an added bonus. I colored the images on both cards with copics.

For this card I added some pearls in the corners of the image panel. To finish it off I wrapped some Blossom Baker's Twine (this is one of the newest colors in the store and it is just gorgeous) around the white panel and then gathered the twine with a flower and button.

I used the same cardstock and embossed paper for this one but added an extra panel. In lieu of the Baker's Twine, I added some Pink Ribbon and a flower from my stash.

Your next stop is Tanya, but before you head on over what she has in store for you, remember to leave a comment below.

Thanks for "hopping" by and have a fantastic day! :)

Destination ImagiNation - State here we come!

2011-03-29T14:31:00.000-05:00

The DI Regional Competition was held this past Saturday and everyone did such a great job! I am happy to say that all 4 of my kids are going on to the State Tournament! This was Tyler and Trevor's first year in DI, Alicia and Ashley's second year. They are all so excited! Unfortunately I didn't get very many pictures (and half are kind of blurry)....I was video taping, so I had other people take pics for me (Alicia did a good job with the Rising Star pics...but someone, who shall remain nameless ;), not so good with the other pics...at State I think I will have them video tape and I will take the pictures!

Tyler's team in Challenge E - Verses! Foiled Again! (structural) took 1st place out of 9 teams!

Alicia's team in Challenge C - Triple Take Road Show (fine arts) took 2nd place out of 12 teams!

Ashley & Trevor's team - Big Bug's Bad Day (Rising Stars) were given the option of going on to State, which was new this year (last year it was a lottery draw), so we jumped on the opportunity.

Now we are just crossing our fingers for Globals!

You may be wondering exactly what Destination ImagiNation really is (I know I had no clue when I first heard about DI and wish I had more information on it so my kids would have had the opportunity to participate earlier) so here is a link to the DI website (www.idodi.org).

But here is a brief rundown of the program....

In DI teams solve an open-ended challenge. The teams are tested to think outside of the box, work together and come up with creative, original solutions to satisfy the requirements of their chosen challenge.

The competitive teams (Elementary, Middle School, High School levels) have 5 different challenges available to choose from at the beginning of the season and the categories are technical, scientific, fine arts, improv, or strucural.

Rising Star teams are made up of K-2nd graders and are non-competitive. This gives the younger kids a chance to learn what DI is all about and go through the same experiences as the competitive teams.

After working on their solution for a few months, the teams present their solution to appraisers at a tournament and are scored on how well they met all the requirements of the challenge as well as on their creativity and teamwork. In addition to their main challenge, they must also participate in an Instant Challenge (usually 4-10 minutes in length). This is task based (ex. build a structure out of given materials that will hold a golf ball), performance based (ex. present a performance in which your team uses 6 imaginary props of your choice to rescue themselves from an avalance), or a combination of the two. The Instant Challenge is also scored on how well they met all the requirements of the given challenge, their creativity and teamwork.

At the 3 competitive levels, the 1st and 2nd place teams from each challenge move on to the next level of competition. There are 3 levels of competition...Regionals, State and then Globals (which, as it's name implies, has teams from all around the world).

I really believe in this program and what it does for the kids. So much so, that I decided to be a Team Manager this year, and not to just one team, but two. Next year I plan on returning as a Team Manager, and, hopefully again, to two teams.

Have a great day!

Sweetest Day Ever

2011-03-29T09:00:00.001-05:00

Today is another Inspiration Day at Claudia & Company .

For my card I used Jillibean Soup's Chilled Strawberry papers, and what better image to pair them up with than a co-branded Unity Stamp Co. Itty Bitty Stamp set Sweetest Day. I tried something different and stamped the image on Kraft Cardstock and colored it with copics. I like how it turned out and may just need to try people images on Kraft cardstock next. After coloring the strawberry I added rhinestones to it. I added some Red Satin Ribbon, and decided it was a bit too fancy for this card, so I then added some Brown Baker's Twine over it. The Basic Grey Kioshi buttons were threaded with Red Baker's Twine and some linen thread. The image and sentiment are both adhered with 3-D dots.

Making this card made me about think about strawberry picking. I started taking the kids strawberry picking after Trevor was born and we have gone each year since. We go to a farm about 5 minutes away (can't beat that!) and after picking strawberries (and eating a few on the tractor ride) have an ice cream cone or a strawberry sundae. Fresh strawberries are the best!

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

All Things Unity -Bling it Up
Friday Sketchers - sketch
Wee Memories - Anything Goes
The Spotted Chick - That's Krafty Thursday

Thanks for stopping and have a great day!

Copics new 2011 Colors 12 piece set

The Girls Paperie Jubilee, Kitch, and Vintage Whimsy

Fancy Pants Its The Little Things

Pink Paislee Butterfly Garden, Soiree, and Hometown Summer

7 Gypsies Camden 6x6 paper packs

Melissa Frances 5th Avenue and Attic Treasures

Recipe ~ all items SU unless indicated
Stamps: Sweetest Day (Unity Stamp Co.)
Ink/Coloring: Memento Ink (Rich Cocoa); Copics (R29, YG21, YG23,YG25)
Paper: Kraft; DP - Jillibean Soup (Chilled Strawberry)
Embellishments: Satin Ribbon (Red); Bakers Twine (Brown); Bakers Twine (Red); Button (Basic Grey-Kioshi); Rhinestones
Tools: 3-D Dots

Happy Birthday Tyler!

2011-03-23T22:14:00.003-05:00

Happy Birthday to my oldest son, Tyler. Today he hit double digits....the big 10! He took brownies to school to share with his class and tonight's menu was Cousin's Subs (per his request) and then a Chocolate Cake with Buttercream frosting from a local cake shop.

Here is the card I made for him:

I used Jack from The Greeting Farm's Creepin kit and paired him up with some American Crafts papers. For the layout I followed this week's sketch at Club Anya but turned it sideways. This was a really fun sketch to work with....definitely will need to use it again and maybe next time I will even use it the way it is shown ;)

There are a few more challenges that I used for this card and add them later when I have a bit more time.
The Paper Variety - Tic-Tac-Toe - I chose Stamped Image/Sentiment, Make a Card, Use Scallops
Anyone for Anya - Birthday Card
Everybody Art - "Happy Birthday"
Birthday Sundaes - "Birthday"
Really Reasonable Ribbon - "One for the Boys"
Paper Cutz - "Anything Goes"
Totally Gorjuss - "Button It"
ABC Toys & Crafts - "Happy Birthday"
One Stitch at a Time - "Something for the Boys"
Pear Tree Designs - "Happy Birthday"""
Catered Crop - I chose the following ingredients - Striped paper, mini print patterned paper, the color blue, ribbon, die cuts, circles (although cut in half) and scallops.

Thanks for stopping and have a great day!

Recipe ~ all items SU unless indicated
Stamps: Creepin (TGF); So Random Sentiments Up/Down (Claudia & Co)
Ink/Coloring: Memento Tuxedo Black Ink; Copics (E000, E00, E01, Y21, Y23, Y26, E31, B93, B95, B97, B99, R24, R22, R24, R27, R29, Y32, Y36, Y38) - (I will check these for sure, I know I'm missing at least 2, and am not positive on some of the Y)
Paper: Night of Navy, So Saffron, Riding Hood Red; White (Gina K Pure Luxury); DP - American Crafts (Road Trip)
Embellishments: Ribbon, Button
Tools: Star Nesties; Epic Scalloped Circle Dies; Circle Cutter (Creative Memories); 3-D Dots

Claudia & Company Challenge

2011-03-22T09:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Tuesday....and welcome to another challenge with Claudia & Company .

The challenge this week was to use at least 3 of the following colors:

Butter/Yellow

Rose/Pale Red

Pale Green

Lavendar

Don't these colors just scream Spring to you?

For today's card I used papers from Echo Park's Springtime 6x6 sampler set and chose to use Puddle Jumper School Time Lucy. I thought that her polka dotted tote bag was a great match to the paper and then I decided to carry on the polka dot theme a little further by embossing the designer papers. I colored Lucy with copics and added some stickles to her hair bows and her tote bag. The image panel is raised using 3-D dots. I added some May Arts pink ribbon, tied a bow and then topped it with a little mini Kioshi button (love the size of it) threaded with some DMC floss.

We would love to have you join in our challenge. You will have until Saturday, April 2nd to link up your entry. For more inspiration with these colors, head on over the the Claudia & Company blog.

Spellbinders

Bella Blvd.

Echo Park Paper's Playground

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Recipe ~ all items SU unless indicated
Stamps: Puddle Jumper School Time Lucy (Claudia & Co. stamp by Lori Boyd)
Ink/Coloring: Memento Ink (Tuxedo Black); Copics (E00, E01, E11, R20, R81, R83, R85, YG93, Y21, Y23, Y26, Y32, Y35)
Paper: Certainly Celery, Barely Banana; White (GK); DP - Echo Park (Springtime)
Embellishments: May Arts Ribbon (Pink); Button (Basic Grey-Kioshi); Stickles (Stardust); DMC Floss
Tools: Cuttlebug Embossing Folders (Swiss Dots & Polka Dots); 3-D Dots

Tuesday Inspiration

2011-03-15T09:00:00.003-05:00

Today is Inspiration Day with Claudia & Company and I have a card to share with you.

For my card I used Jack and Sasha from The Greeting Farm's newest kit, Creepin. I colored Sasha so it looked like she was wearing a shirt beneath her dress since that is something my daughter would do (especially with a dress like this), and then added some sparkle to her boots, bracelet and eye shadow. Because they are overlapping layers, I attached them using both my atg gun and 3-D dots. The designer papers are from the Lili Bee Lovely sampler pack . I wanted to bring out the patterns of the papers throughout my design so I embossed the kraft panel with a houndstooth embossing folder and used a border punch. All layers of the paper have been distressed and then sponged with a chocolate ink. The buttons were a bit too clear, so I colored them with a copic (BG13) before adding the teal bakers twine (which I also sponged over with chocolate ink) to them.   I don't do all out distressing too often, but I think it worked out well with this particular card.

Stop by the Claudia & Co. blog for more inspiration from the Design Team and remember that you still have until this Saturday (March 19th) to enter our current recipe challenge.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:
Get Sketchy - Sketch
The Spotted Chick - Use Kraft Cardstock
Dutch Dare - Photo Inspiration
Creatalicious Challenge - Two tone

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Recipe ~ all items SU unless indicated
Stamps: Creepin (TGF)
Ink/Coloring: Memento Tuxedo Black Ink; Copics (E000, E00, E01, R20, E42, E43, E55, E57, E59, BG10, BG11, BG13); Chocolate Chip Ink
Paper: Chocolate Chip; Kraft; White (GK); DP - Lily Bee Lovely
Embellishments: Teal Bakers Twine; Button;
Tools: Cuttlebug Embossing Folder (Houndstooth); Martha Stewart Border Punch; Sponge; Distressing tool; 3-D Dots

Basic Grey's Hello Luscious and Life of the Party

Studio Calico's State Fair and Wood Veneer Shapes

Lily Bee Design's This & That, Happily Lost, & Picket Fence Tiny Tablets

The Greeting Farm's Creepin

Claudia & Company Challenge

2011-03-08T09:00:00.006-06:00

How exciting...my very first challenge with Claudia & Company as a DT member. To start things off, we have a recipe challenge. The recipe is: Stitching of some kind, 2 patterned papers, buttons, a sentiment, ribbon, circles, and scallops.

I chose Lollipop Ella and a sentiment from So Random Sentiments for today's card ~ isn't Ella just adorable with that polka dotted dress and ribbon? I colored the image with my copics and then created a little flowery grassy hill for Ella to stand on. The main image panel and sentiment are raised using 3-D dots. For my patterned paper, I used papers from Echo Park's Little Girl 6x6 sampler pack (and let me tell you, these sampler packs are absolutely wonderful and a great bargain). I know, looking at my card, you are probably thinking, ok, I see one patterned paper, where is the second....well if you look closely at the butterflies, those are punched from the second patterned paper (pretty sneaky huh?). I stitched along the circle on the embossed edge by manually using my sewing machine (no foot pedal, just hand turning) so I could be sure to get it even. The brown layer was just too plain so I embossed it and then colored over each of the dots with a white gel pen. I added some bakers twine over the ribbon and then also used it for a bow on the button.

We would love to have you join us with this challenge. Stop on by the Claudia & Company blog for some more fantastic inspiration from the rest of the Design Team and link up your creation by March 19th. Who knows you may be the lucky winner of some beautiful Prima embellishments.

Take a peek at the Claudia & Company store to see all the 6x6 sampler packs as well as some brand new items which include:

Crate Papers Emma's Shoppe, Toy Box, Portrait, and Neighborhood

Cosmo Cricket Upcycle, Social Club, and Salt Air

Jenni Bowlin

The Greeting Farm's March Release

S.E.I.'s Corinne, Couture, Sunny Day, and I'm An Athlete

My Minds Eye Lush and 6x6 paper pads

Bo Bunny Ad Lib, Gabrielle, Blast Off, Timepiece, and Vicki B

For my project I used the sketch over at Friday Sketchers which I really liked, and the color challenge at by Lori Designs.
I am also entering the following challenges:
Moxie Fab - Stamping with Markers Challenge
Cupcake Craft Challenge - Pink Polka Dots
Alphabet Challenge - R is for Ribbons
Aly's Sunday Challenge - Anything Goes
Fussy and Fancy Friday - Embossing or Paper Piecing (I chose embossing)
Stamp Something - Use something Digi (image)

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Recipe ~ all items SU unless indicated
Stamps: Lollipop Ella (Claudia & Co. digi stamp by Lori Boyd); So Random Sentiments (Claudia & Co)
Ink/Coloring: Memento Ink (Rich Cocoa); Copics (E00, E01, R20, E55, E57, E59, R81, R83, R85, YG93, YG95, BG0000, BG000, 0); White Gel Pen (Inksentials)
Paper: Chocolate Chip; White (GK); DP - Echo Park (Little Girl)
Embellishments: Ribbon (Pink); Brown Bakers Twine; Button;
Tools: Sewing Machine; Nesties; Scallop Punch; Cuttlebug Embossing Folder (Swiss Dots); Butterfly Punch (Martha Stewart); 3-D Dots

Claudia and Company New Releases

2011-03-01T09:00:00.002-06:00

Welcome to the Claudia & Company Blog Hop. If you didn't arrive here from Taylor's blog, please head back to the Claudia & Company blog to start the hop. Remember to leave comments at each and every stop, because one lucky hopper will be chosen to win the entire release! You will have until March 3rd, 11:59PM, to comment. The winner will be announced on the Claudia & Company blog March 4th.

In case you get lost along the way, here is the complete blog hop list:

Claudia and Company

Kadie

Taylor

Jodi

Tanya

Joy

Now here are my projects:

Hot Air Balloon (digi stamp Jane's Doodles); So Random Sentiments; Cosmo Cricket (DeLovely); Memento Tuxedo Black

When I saw this image it just made me happy, so I wanted my card to reflect that. I decided to layer the hot air balloon image and print it on blue patterned paper and then paper pieced it with bright patterned papers. To make the hot air balloons look more like they were actually in the air, I cut some clouds out of white felt, and chose turquoise and yellow as cardstock colors (representing sky and sun).

Bird House (digi stamp John Grutta); So Random Sentiments; Basic Grey; Memento Ink; Prima Flower

For this one I chose more of a "natural" color scheme. I colored the image with copics and after looking at it decided that I wanted more of a weathered look on the bird house ~ I played around with different copics and I think what I decided to use in the end turned out ok. For my embellishment, I made a looped bow, sewed on a flower and button and then added some more thread to the button so I could tie it in a bow on top. The "brads" are actually paper punched with a regular hole punch and then covered in crystal effects.

Your next stop is Tanya, but before you head on over to see her wonderful projects, remember to leave a comment.

Thanks for stopping by and have a fantastic day! :)

Exciting News!

2011-02-28T09:00:00.007-06:00

I am happy to announce that I have been selected to be on the Design Team for Claudia & Company. I have been shopping at the Claudia & Company Store for awhile now and playing along in the challenges every so often, so I am thrilled that Claudia has asked me to be a part of the Design Team.

If you are not a follower of the Claudia & Company blog, I invite you to join. There will be challenges, inspiration posts, updates on new goodies arriving in the store, and more ~ trust me, you don't want to miss out!

Here are a few of my past projects using Claudia & Company stamps:

Stop back tomorrow for the Claudia & Company blog hop to see some brand new images!

Now a quick update on us.....since my last post, my kids (and their friends) have just been passing germs back and forth. Tyler did end up having an ear infection, and then Ashley got one a few days later. I found out that I was right and did have a sinus infection, my husband had the flu, and then Trevor got it (again). I think things are now on the upswing as everyone seems to be getting better, but I said that last time too....so we shall see.

Thanks for stopping and have a great day :)

Happy Valentine's Day ~ First Love!

2011-02-14T20:14:00.005-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day! I wanted to share a card that I made for my daughter Alicia. This is her first Valentine's Day having a "boyfriend" so I thought these adorable School Boy and School Girl images were perfect, and since they are from Tiddly Inks and this card fits the challenge this week of Love is in the Air, I am entering it in that. I am also entering this in the Moxie Fab World Challenge of Stamping with Markers.

Well, since our last blizzard, it has warmed up quite a bit, but unfortunately that also means sick kids. Last week I had Trevor and Alicia home 1 day and then Trevor and Tyler home 1 day. Trevor is still coughing and Tyler will be staying home again tomorrow.....he came home with an earache, and a slight fever, and then started throwing up about an hour later. (and has been at it ever since....poor kid!) I have been sick since Thursday, but I think I have a sinus infection....I can't wait for all these germs to be gone!

DI is progressing well for all the kids, but there is still so much for them to do. This weekend was full of projects....costumes, props, paper mache, painting, practices and then add to that Tennis Lessons, a birthday party and Pinewood Derby cars for Saturday's race (hope no one is sick then) not to mention homework....We are now holding practices for both of my teams 2 times a week, and Tyler has practice 2 times a week as well, so that is definitely keeping us running.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:
For Fun - Hearts
Penny's Paper Crafty - Hearts a Flutter
That's Krafty Thursday - use Kraft Cardstock
Everybody Art Challenge - Valentine
Papertake - Have a Heart
Make it Colorful - Shadow and Depth
The Pixie Cottage - Ribbon
AI Factory - Valentine's Day/Love
C.R.A.F.T. Challenge - Valentine's
Crafty Sentiments - Valentine's/Love
Delightful Sketches & Challenges - Get Punchy
Do You Stack Up - Ribbon
Dutch Dare - Love is in the Air
Pixie Challenge - Be My Valentine
Crafty Catz - Valentine's/Love
Delicious Doodles - Valentine's Day
Easy Craft Projects - Love
Frosted Designs - Use the word LOVE
Fun with Shapes & More - Heart
Sew Many - Valentine's Day
Stamp Something - For your Valentine
Stampin for the Weekend - Valentine's Day
Winter Wonderland - To the one I Love
Catered Crop - White Cardstock, Repeating Pattern Paper, Copics, Ribbon, Brads, Hearts, Love theme
CES Challenges - Cute and Cuddly
Crazy 4 Challenges - Hearts
One Stop Craft Challenge - Love
Stamp Scrap and Doodle - Love is in the Air
Totally Gorjuss - Love
Wee Memories - Love theme
One Stitch at a Time - Make it pretty
Ooh La La Creations - For Someone Special
Paperworks - Hearts
The Crafty Pad - Hearts
Whoopsi Daisy - Free and Easy
Crafty Cardmakers - Hearts
Cupcake Craft Challenge - I ♥ You - at least 1 heart
Lollipop Crafts - Your favorite coloring medium (copics)
Pear Tree Designs - Valentine's Day
The Pink Elephant - Be My Valentine
Wild Orchid Flowers - Sketch

Crafty Calendar - Love

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Recipe ~ all items SU unless indicated
Stamps: School Boy and School Girl digi images (Tiddly Inks)
Ink/Coloring: Copics
Paper: Kraft; Gina K Luxury White; DP - K & Co (Wild Raspberry)
Embellishments: Taffeta Ribbon (Kraft); Photo Turn & Brad; Ticket (Tim Holtz)
Tools: Bow Easy; Martha Stewart Border Punch and Heart Punch

Sweet Snuggle Valentine

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

Wow, what crazy weather we've been having! It has been snowing and blowing like crazy since Monday night and right now we are in the midst of a Blizzard Warning, a Civil Emergency Warning and a Severe Winter Advisory Warning (not sure why we need all of those, but....). The kids have the day off school, so I think I will have them work on some DI projects .

The Greeting Farm had a CHA Relay Challenge posted yesterday and it sounded like a lot of fun, so I decided that I was going to participate in it. We had to go on a "scavenger hunt" and find the 10 ingredients that needed to be included on our project. I decided to make a Valentines Day Card for one of my daughter's and this is what I ended up with:

Not your typical Valentine's Day card, but my kids were always big cuddlers (both with me and stuffed animals) so I thought this image was perfect to use. I followed the sketch over at Midnight Madness. After my sewing issues the other day, I was afraid to try it again, but no problems this time. However, I forgot to close the cover on my buttons (which are nicely sorted by color in a divided case), you see where this is going???.....I hit the corner of it and knocked it on the floor, and yep, buttons everywhere.....ugh!!! After getting those picked up and resorted, my ATG decides to run out of tape....and then the new tape ended up breaking....at least I finally got it done, and I am really happy with it (although I just remembered that I have a "Love" ticket that would look great on here, think I need to see if I can add it in somewhere).

I would also like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Papertake - Anything goes with optional extra of flowers
Crafty Catz - Flowers
A Gem of a Challenge - Ribbon and Lace
Catered Crop - Used Kraft Cardstock, Flower paper, Copics, Black Ink, Sewing Machine, oval and scallop oval die cuts, and machine stitching
That's Krafty Thursday - use Kraft Cardstock
Crazy 4 Challenges - Vintage/Shabby Chic
Totally Gorjuss - As you like it
Ooh La La - 3 of a kind - 3 flowers, 3 buttons
Stamptacular - Whateva
The Corrosive Challenge - Button it up
Crafty Cardmakers - Flowers
Craft Your Days Away - Love
Speedy the Cat Friends Challenge - Valentine
Creative Inspirations - Love
Double Dutch - Love is in the Air
Pear Tree Designs - Flowers
The Pink Elephant - Pink, Red and Brown (although I went with a burgundy tone ~ hope that's ok)
Wild Orchid Flowers - Love is....(for someone you love)
Flourishes Timeless Tuesday - Valentine
Bunny Zoe's - Love is in the Air
Creatalicious - Love and use ribbon
Mami Doodles - The magic of Love
Simply Create - Give your heart away
Charisma Cardz - Love
Do You Stack Up - Patterns
Paper Play - Layer it Up
All that Scraps - Anything Goes
ABC Challenge - N is for Nesties
Simon Says - Love is in the Air
Pile it On - Punch It

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Recipe ~ all items SU unless indicated
Stamps: Hope & Grace -Snuggle (The Greeting Farm)
Ink/Coloring: Memento Tuxedo Black; Copics (E00, E01, E11, E40, E41, E42, E43, E44, E47, R20, RV000, RV00, RV69)
Paper: Kraft, Bravo Burgundy; Gina K Luxury White; DP - DCWV (Farmer's Market)
Embellishments: Flowers (Prima); Buttons; Linen Thread; Ribbon; Vintage Lace Trim; Rhinestones (Michael's)
Tools: Sewing Machine; Martha Stewart Border Punch; Nesties; dimensionals

Echo Park Paper Giveaway

2011-01-27T18:54:00.000-06:00

I just recently came across new challenge blog ~ Frosted Designs. They have Sketch Along Tuesdays, and Fabulous Friday Challenges. And just for spreading the word, they are giving away an Echo Park Paper kit to one lucky winner!

I know I wouldn't mind that showing up in my mailbox! So, why not head on over and check them out ~ they are definitely on my list of challenges to follow.

Just Be You

2011-01-27T10:53:00.002-06:00

I haven't yet had a chance to use my Unity Dec KOTM so I pulled out that set to play with. I paper pieced parts of the bee and added some shimmerz to the hearts and the wings. I started to to sew on it, and then a little bit into it, my bobbin ran out of thread....ok, I think I can cover up those few holes after I put a new bobbin in. So far, so good, until the bobbin thread decided to jam my machine, which made my stitching, well, not so nice. Aside from starting over, what can I do now....sew another border around the paper and make it look messy intentionally! OK, at this point I am thinking a distressed card is in order, so out come the sponges, ink, distressing tool, new trims and different buttons (of course by now my desk is a complete disaster). I sewed the trims on and then added the image piece. Finally done....and the finished project is completely different that what I had originally envisioned, but that's ok, life would be boring if it went as we planned. I'm still undecided on if I really like this one or not, but, hey, after all that I'm sharing ;)

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
Stamp Scrap & Doodle - Anything Goes
Wee Memories - Free your Creativity
Paper Sundaes - Distressing
One Stitch at a Time - As you like it
Sweet Stampin - Clear as mud
The Crazy Challenge- Dots and stripes
Claudia & Co - 2 sheets of DP, 3 buttons, 1 image and at least 1 piece of decorative trim
City Crafter - Sew fun
Do You Stack Up - Patterns
Paper Cutz - Your Choice
Catered Crop - Tools: sewing machine and sponges; Techniques: Machine Stitching

Thanks for visiting and have a great day!

Recipe ~ all items SU unless indicated
Stamps: Dec KOTM (Unity)
Ink/Coloring: Memento Rich Cocoa; Creamy Caramel
Paper: Naturals Ivory, Pink Pirouette; Gina K Luxury White; DP - Loves Me
Embellishments: Buttons; Linen Thread; Zipper Trim (Wrights); Vintage Trim; Shimmerz (Angel Wings)
Tools: Sewing Machine; Paper Distresser; Circle Punch; Nestie; Sponges

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-01-27T02:01:00.003-06:00

Today I am sharing my last project as a Guest Designer for PaperWorks Co. This month really flew by! For my final project I thought it was fitting to use the same set that I started out my Guest Design posts with, and that is the Freckle Love Collection. This time I chose to use the Standing Beneath a Tree image.

This tree was just screaming paper piecing to me, but instead of that, I fabric pieced. I stamped the top of the tree on some green felt, cut it out, sewed on a few bright pink buttons and done. I love the dimension it gives to the project without being overly bulky. I tried placing ribbon here and there, but in the end decided to just stick with the buttons as my only embellishments (well aside from a little stickles). I really love how this one turned out, and may end up framing it for my daughter's to put in their room around Valentine's Day, well.

I want to say thanks again to Peggy for allowing me to be a Guest Designer for the month and hope that I will be able to work with her again someday!

Quick break in post to say Congrats to The Green Bay Packers for making it to the Super Bowl!

Here is a picture of my kids ready to watch the Packers/Bears Playoff game (but not thrilled with mom having to take their picture):

We go up to Green Bay at least once a year and make it a point to stop at Lambeau Field. Of course, while we're there, we have to hit the Pro Shop and get the kids outfitted for the year. Here is a picture of all of us outside the gates at Lambeau this past summer:

Anyhow, I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:
Secret Crafter - "It's a Couple Thing""
Stamp Scrap & Doodle - "Anything Goes"
Totally Gorjuss -"Hot, Hot, Hot""
Wee Memories - "Free your Creativity""
Cutie Sunday - "Anything Goes"
I Did it Creations - "Card for a Child" (for one of my daughters)
One Stitch at a Time - "As you like it"
Pile it On - "Love is in the Air"
The Corrosive Challenge - "Use something recycled" (Felt was recycled from an old costume I had made)
Whoopsie Daisy - "Valentine/Love"\
Bunny Zoe's - "Love is in the Air"
Copic Creations - "Use anything new" - Buttons, stamp (never used)
Wild Orchid Flowers - "Let's Get Sentimental"
A Spoon Full of Sugar - "Valentine"
Everybody Art - "My Favorite Thing" (copics and stamp)
Aud Sentiments - "Love themed sentiment"
Creative Belli Blog - "P" - Pattern Paper, Punches, Piecing"
Charisma Cardz - "Valentines Love"
Delightful Sketches - "Have a Heart"
Do You Stack Up - "Patterns"
Meljen's - "Hearts"
Crafty Catz - "A forgotten stamp"
Paper Cutz - "Your Choice"
Simply Create - "Use your punches"
Stamp Something - "Cute Somethings"
Craft Your Days Away - "Love""
Stampavie & More - "Love"

Thanks for visiting and have a fantastic day!

Recipe ~ all items SU unless indicated
Stamps: Standing Beneath a Tree (PaperWorks Co); Sentiment (Michael's)
Ink/Coloring: Memento Tuxedo Black; Copics (E00, E01, E11, E13, R31, E35, E37, E39, E41, E42, E43, E55, E57, E59, Y21, Y23, Y26, YG63, YG67, G21, G24, G40, BG0000, BG000, BG32, BG34, V12, V15, RV32, RV34, 0)
Paper: Black; Gina K Luxury White; DP - K & Co (Ka-Zoo)
Embellishments: Green Felt; Mini Buttons, DMC Floss, Stickles (Stardust)
Tools: Photo Corner Punch; Circle Punches; Border Punch (EK Success)

Happy Birthday

2011-01-20T08:00:00.001-06:00

I really liked this weeks sketch at PaperWorks Co, so for my card today I decided to use that as my starting point.

This week I chose to showcase one of the first stamps Rachelle Ann Miller designed for Paperworks Co, Birthday Parade. You can't go wrong with this one as it is great for either a boy or a girl!

I thought I would do something different and instead of going with the bright colors I had planned, I decided to go with a more monochromatic theme, using blue and white. The image is colored with copics. I added stickles to the star on the balloon and on the flower, but decided I wanted some more sparkle. I took my spica clear pen and colored various parts of the image and didn't stop there, I colored each flower, the ribbon, the blue scalloped piece and the centers of all the dots on the DP and also outlined the image panel. Unfortunately I can't quite pick up the shimmer on my camera, but I promise you, it is there! Now for those rounded corners....my corner punch seems to be punching a bit strange, they look a little off.....maybe because I am using the same punch on both layers?

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
AI Factory ~ Anything Goes
Easy Craft Projects ~ Use your old stash (DP, ribbon, flowers)
Stamp Something ~ Anything Goes
Mami Doodles ~ "Use mostly blue"
Allsorts ~ "Blue and Brown"
Catch the Bug ~ "Blue and White Birthday"
Craft Your Days Away ~ Anything Goes
Stamp, Scrap & Doodle ~ Anything Goes
Totally Gorjuss ~ Cuddly
One Stitch at a Time ~ New (Stamp)
Pile It On ~ Anything Goes
Pear Tree Designs ~ Free for All
The Crafty Pad- Something New (Stamp)
Copic Creations ~ Use anything new (Stamp)
Creative Inspirations ~ Celebrate
I Did it Creations ~ "Brrr, I'm Turning Blue" - use blue
The Crazy Challenge ~ Buttons
The Shabby Tea Room ~ "White and Bright" - white and another color
My Time to Craft ~ Spots and Dots

Have a great day and thanks for visiting :)

Recipe ~ all items SU unless indicated
Stamps: Birthday Parade (PaperWorks Co)
Ink/Coloring: Memento Rich Cocoa; Copics (E31, E33, E35, E37, B0000, Booo, BG0000, B32, B34, N0, N1, 0); Spica Clear pen
Paper: Ballet Blue; Gina K Luxury White; DP - SU
Embellishments: Ribbon (Bluebird); Flowers (Bazzil & Prima); Button
Tools: Corner Rounder; Border Punch

Life is Too Short to Match Socks.....

2011-01-19T01:41:00.000-06:00

...and besides, how can you match them when they disappear into thin air? I will never figure that one out, seriously, where on earth do socks go??? I have a drawer in my laundry room with no less than 30 unmatched socks sitting in it right now.....and some have been there for over a year (because I think the minute the garbage men take them away the match will mysteriously appear and then I just wasted a perfectly good sock)......so yeah, I admit it, sometimes my kids wear unmatched socks (although the only difference is the color stitching of the logo). I also admit that it drives me nuts that there are missing socks out there...somewhere......

Now onto the card that inspired this little discussion:

I think this is just a really "fun" set to use. I followed the Unity Hip Hop sketch on SCS for this card. When I saw it I knew I wanted to play along because this is actually one of my favorite sketches and I have used many variations of it in the past. Since my background paper is a bit on the busy side, I added a simple knotted ribbon to the corner and then some brads to the sentiment in place of the o's.

I do have one more card that I finished today, but I can't show you that until Thursday. Now to type up and pre-schedule that post since I'm not sure when else I will have a chance to get to it.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
AI Factory ~ Anything GoesMeljen's ~ Square or Round Shaped Card
Easy Craft Projects ~ Use your old stash (DP, Cardstock, ribbon, brads)
Stamp Something ~ Anything Goes
Craft Your Days Away ~ Anything Goes
Stamp, Scrap & Doodle ~ Anything Goes
One Stitch at a Time ~ New (Stamp)
Pile It On ~ Anything Goes
Pear Tree Designs ~ Free for All
The Crafty Pad- Something New (Stamp)
Copic Creations ~ Use anything new (Stamp)

Have a great day and thanks for visiting :)

Recipe ~ all items SU unless indicated
Stamps: Matching Socks(Unity)
Ink/Coloring: Memento Tuxedo Black; Copics (BG13, BG15 (I think ~ I put them away before I wrote them down), YG23, YG25, YR21, YR23, YR24)
Paper: More Mustard; Gina K Luxury White; DP - unknown (from a Grab Bag at my LSS)
Embellishments: Ribbon (Mustard); Brads; Dimensionals
Tools: None

Get Well Soon Ruffles

2011-01-18T22:47:00.067-06:00

I decided to have a little play time in the craft room today because the next few days are once again crazy busy around here.

This card uses an adorable Stampavie stamp ~ I just love that puppy! I thought that this image would look really cute with the papers I decided to use and, quite honestly, I really do like how it turned out.

Now that I'm looking at this on the screen, I'm not sure why the brads look so dark since they are practically the same color as the paper, if not a bit lighter.....but then again, taking pictures at night will do that I guess.

I have always meant to play along with The Play Date Cafe Color Challenge but never got around to it, until today that is, so I am entering their challenge for the very first time.

I am also entering the following challenges:

Midnight Madness ~ Sketch (another challenge I always intend to do, but never quite get to)

Paper Sundaes ~ Use your favorite challenge of the year ~ Challenge #44 ~ Sundae Toppings Bar ~ use at least two of the following: Punches, Ribbon, Embossing, the Color Blue ~ 3 out of 4, not too bad (since the DP is a bit textured I decided to forgo the embossing
Stamp Something ~ Anything Goes
Stampin for the Weekend ~ "New and Blue" (Stamp and DP)
All Sorts - Blue & Brown
Totally Gorgeous ~ Cuddly
One Stitch at a Time ~ New (Stamp and DP)
Pile It On ~ Anything Goes
Wild Orchid - "Let's Get Sentimental" - include a sentiment

Wow, that was hard to narrow it down to 10 challenges....I had to take at least that many off my list....

Have a great day and thanks for visiting :)

Recipe ~ all items SU unless indicated
Stamps: Ruffles-Get Well Soon (Stampavie), Sentiment - The Greeting Farm
Ink/Coloring: Memento Tuxedo Black and Rich Cocoa; Copics (BG72, BG75, E41, E42, E43, E44, W00, N0, N1, N2, 0)
Paper: Baja Breeze, Kraft; Gina K Luxury White; DP - Parisian Breeze
Embellishments: Taffeta Ribbon (Kraft); Brads; dimensionals
Tools: Border Punch (Martha Stewart); Bow Easy

All Geared Up for your Special Day!

2011-01-13T09:00:00.000-06:00

Today I have a card to show you using the Tinheart Collection stamps from Paperworks . The image is from the Jam Tinheart set and the sentiment is from the Alfy Tinheart set. I will admit that this is another collection that I had to buy in it's entirety and I am glad I did because these robots are just so much fun to use (not to mention cute) and there are girl robots too.

I have quite a few robot themed papers to choose from but in the end decided to use these Scenic Route papers as I thought the gear paper was a good match for the sentiment. I colored the image with copics and added some Crystal Effects to his eyes, clock and heart. Since I don't have any gear type embellishments, I made my own. I cut one out from the designer paper, covered it in Crystal Effects and then added a washer to the center. I also placed a washer on each end of the sentiment. My youngest son looked at this card and asked if it was for him because he really likes it.....so I guess he will be recipient of this one.

Have a great day and thanks for visiting :)

Recipe ~ all items SU unless indicated
Stamps: Tinheart Collection (Alfy Tinheart and Jam Tinheart) - Paperworks
Ink/Coloring: Memento Tuxedo Black; Copics (BG000, BG72, BG75, YG23, YG25, YR21, YR23, YR24)
Paper: Confetti Cream; Gina K Luxury White; DP - Scenic Route (Hampton Collection)
Embellishments: Crystal Effects; Washers
Tools: Nesties (Inverted Scallop Circle); Border Punch (Martha Stewart)

♥ All You Need is Love ♥

2011-01-06T06:00:00.001-06:00

I was asked by Peggy at PaperWorks Co to be a Guest Designer for this month and since I love the stamps she carries I just had to say yes (the fact that she's so nice doesn't hurt either)!

Here is my first project for the month using The First Date stamp from one of my favorite collections, the Little Loud Freckle Love Collection. All of the Little Loud stamps are "retired" and currently on sale for 40% off!

I used some of my leftover BoBunny papers from last year and paired them up with Pink Pirouette Cardstock. After stamping the sentiment (which comes with the image stamp) I colored over the "love" with a pink copic marker and added a rhinestone for the o. I also added a few rhinestones to the designer paper and some stickles to the flowers and the hearts on the girl because you can never have enough bling.

As a side note, I can't believe I have been away from my blog for so long! The last few months have been crazy busy for us and here I thought that by taking a break from Design Teams I would free up a bit of time but still get the chance to craft.....Well, unfortunately for me, "no commitments" translated to basically no crafting and the "free time" I gained was instead filled up with guests, all kinds of meetings, dr/ortho/dentist visits, school events/parties, getting ready for the holidays, and the major one.....trying to clean out the kids rooms and organize all their outgrown toys so we can get rid of them. That is really hard for me ~ I still picture them playing with these things and it makes me sad that they are growing up so fast. I think the hardest was the Little People sets ~ they all loved playing with these and would make a whole town in one of our downstairs rooms with all the sets. I am still not completely done with sorting all these sets yet. Most of them are retired so it makes locating a picture of the complete set online a bit more difficult especially when you don't remember the name of the set. We also celebrated Ashley's 8th birthday on December 30th ~ where does the time go?

Have a great day and thanks for visiting :)

Recipe ~ all items SU unless indicated
Stamps: The First Date - Little Loud Freckle Love Collection (Paperworks)
Ink/Coloring: Memento Tuxedo Black; Copics
Paper:Pink Pirouette; Gina K Luxury White; DP - BoBunny
Embellishments: Sickles (Stardust); Ribbon (May Arts); Flowers (Prima); Rhinestones (Michael's)
Tools: Nesties (Petite and Petite Scallop Ovals, Circle and Petite Scallop Circle); Border Punches (Martha Stewart)

Christmas Wish

2010-11-09T23:08:00.001-06:00

Back again to share a card I did earlier tonight while the kids were in the craft room drawing pictures, working on homework, and making something for Grandpa. I decided to follow this weeks sketch over at Club Anya & Friends and I am also using The Greeting Farm challenge of tying something other than ribbon (linen thread). Now I just need to decide which of the two to enter. Since Christmas will be here before I know it, I decided to add to my meager stack of Christmas cards. I took a picture of this card two different ways. One with a tag, one without.....which way do you like it better?

Here is the sketch that I followed:

This was actually a pretty quick card to put together (especially since I had colored the image the other day) and that is a good thing....sometimes you need a break from those 2+ hour cards.

I would like to enter this in the following challenges:
Creative Inspirations - "Glitter, Glamour, Girlie"
Little Red Wagon- "Use the color Red"
One Stitch at a Time - "Winter Wonderland"
Whoopsie Daisy - "It's Christmas"
Flourishes Timeless Tuesday - "Use Glitter"
Crafty Cardmakers - "Embossing"
Pollycraft- "Doodling"
Meljen's - Use 3 different shapes (Recangle, Oval, Snowflake)
A Crafty Little Place - "Red, White and Green"
A Spoon Full of Sugar - "Snow or Snowflakes"
Scrap Creations - "Christmas"
Charisma Cardz - "Winter Love"
C.R.A.F.T. Challenge - "Dry Embossing"
Crafty Catz - Spots and Stripes (my DP has blocks of spots and blocks of stripes))
Easy Craft Projects - "Red"
Crafty Calendar - "Winter" optional extra - snowflakes
Stamp and Create - "Tis the Season"
Catch the Bug - "Anything Goes"
Oh Alice - "Use a ticket"
One Stop Craft Challenge - "Embossing"

Recipe ~ all items SU unless indicated
Stamps: Xmas Sweeties (The Greeting Farm)
Ink/Coloring: Memento Tuxedo Black; Copics (E00, E01, E11, R20, E35, E37, E57, R22, R24,, R27, R29); Marvy Silver Metallic Pen; Inksentials White Gel Pen
Paper: Riding Hood Red, Old Olive; Gina K Luxury White; DP - DCWV (older Christmas stack)
Embellishments: Sickles (Stardust); Button; Linen Thread; Tag (Tim Holtz)
Tools: Nesties (Petite and Petite Scallop Ovals, Snowflakes); Border Punch (EK Success); Cuttlebug Embossing Folder (Polka Dots)

Have a wonderful day!

Girly Notebook

2010-11-09T11:44:00.001-06:00

I have a little bit of time toay, so thought I would share an altered notebook I made for one of my daughters. I think the images in this newer Anya set are perfect for tween girls and can definitely see my daughter reaching for this set when making cards for her friends.

One thing I learned when making this, is that it really is very time consuming (at least it was for me) to take the covers off the spiral, put the DP on the covers (both inside and out), punch the holes and then put them back on the spiral. Note to self....leave the spiral area DP free.......or maybe I just need a binding machine and then I don't have to worry about it ;)

I would like to enter this in the following challenges:
Creative Inspirations - "Glitter, Glamour, Girlie"
Ooh La La Creations - "Remember, Remember"
The Crafty Pad - "At least one circle (hope the circle pearls count) and 2 ribbons"
Stamptacular - I picked Carolyn's Recipe book, but since I don't have an appropriate book to alter for this (or a binding machine to make one) I chose a notebook instead
Flourishes Timeless Tuesday - "Use Glitter"

Crafty Sentiments - "Make a Gift"
Meljen's - Use 3 different shapes (Recangle, Scalloped Oval, Flower)
Raise the Bar - "Let's See Those Curves" (scalloped oval, word window punch, border punch, flowers, ric-rac trim)
Copic Creations - "Browns" - hair and boots

Now, I did have my recipe written down, but I'm afraid I may have accidently thrown it away, so I am going by memory here.....

Recipe ~ all items SU unless indicated
Stamps: Lounge Time Anya & Sentiment (The Greeting Farm)
Ink/Coloring: Memento Tuxedo Black; Copics (E00, E01, E11, R20......and others)
Paper: Cool Caribbean; Gina K Luxury White; DP -We R Memory Keepers
Embellishments: Ric Rac trim; Organdy Ribbon (Offray); Flowers (Prima); Pearls-colored with copics (Recollections); Sickles (Stardust)
Tools: Scallop Oval Punch; Word Window Punch; Border Punch (Martha Stewart); Notebook (Michael's)

Have a wonderful day!

Destination Imagination and some Unity projects

2010-11-06T01:29:00.001-05:00

On Thursday all 4 of my kids tried out for Destination Imagination (DI) at their school. Ashley and Trevor are in the Rising Star age level and performed a poem the three of us worked on together about DI. Alicia and Tyler are at the regular DI level and performed a skit about recycling that they wrote themselves.

Ashley and Trevor made a Rising Star team and I am their co-coach. I've never coached a DI team before so I'm not sure what I'm in for, but I know we will have a fun time (and I know quite a few of the coaches from last year, so I'm sure they will help me along the way).

Now the older two, Alicia and Tyler, won't find out until Friday the 12th if they made a team or not.....that is such a long wait for me that I can't even begin to imagine how it feels to them! Alicia was on a team last year that placed 1st in Regionals and 3rd at State, and would be absolutely heartbroken if she didn't make it on a team this year. She was sad when DI was over for the year and has been counting the days until she could do this again. Tyler has not been on a team before, but after watching his sisters last year, he had his heart set on this and I know he would be really hurt if he didn't make a team. I do believe that they both have something special to offer and hope the judges saw that as well. So now it's a waiting game and all I can do is hope and pray that they both make it!

Last month I finally got my first Unity Stamps. They have been on my wish list for quite some time, but I'm sure you know how it is....a wish list a mile long with papers, stamps, embossing folders, nesties, punches, embellishments and more, but unfortunately no money tree to go along with it. But, waiting turned out to be a good thing for me because I picked up on some awesome "Deals of the Day".

Here are a few of the fall themed cards I did:

This card is one of my favorites ~ and although not a fall card, I did incorporate fall colors. I used one of the sayings in "The Artist in You" set:

This one is a mini card using the "Trick or Treat Peeps" Set:

These two use the "Harvest of Memories" set:

Note: This is my attempt at a one layer card (I still don't like doing these!)

This one uses the 12/09 KOTM:

I have oh, about 18 more cards to get up yet....sooner or later they will be here ;)

Have a great day!