Dreaming In Color

Digital Tuesday Challenge - Think Green

2010-03-16T07:57:00.004-04:00

Tomorrow is St Patricks Day and Digital Tuesday is going green. That's right. Our challenge this week is to use lots and lots of green... or even make a St Patricks day card.

My card is a delightful image from The Stamping Boutique... this week's sponsor who is offering up a great rubber prize for the winner. I colored with Copics and layered her on Garden Green cardstock. The paper, ribbon and lace are all from my stash. I thought this lace had such a lovely celtic feel that it went perfect. The punch is from SU.

Don't forget to visit the challenge blog and check out the other great DT inspiration. Then play along with a card that has lots of green and a digital image!

Thanks for looking and have a wonderful digital Tuesday!

Anna's Card for Karen's Doodle Kids Challenge

2010-03-14T20:00:00.004-04:00

Karen's Doodles has a new challenge blog just for kids! My DD Anna was so excited and jumped on making a card right away. Here's her card and here's Anna's to tell you a little about the card:

I used Karen's "I didn't do it" image. This image is a lot like my dog Copper. I
really like blues and greens. This was a recipe challenge to use 1 Karen's
Doodle, 2 pattern papers, 3 buttons and something black. I hope
you like my card!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love when I have a chance to stamp with my kids but for this one, Anna did it all on her own while I was baking the cake for her brother's birthday. Hopefully, for the next challenge, we can work on our projects together. Thanks for looking everyone and hope you had a wonderful weekend!

Digital Tuesday Challenge - Try a Little Piercing

2010-03-09T00:51:00.000-05:00

What a fun challenge this week at Digital Tuesday! Come play along:

1) Use a Digital Image, Sentiment or Paper

2) Use Piercing

3) Submit your entry on the challenge blog and get ready to win

Our sponsor this week is Digital Stamp Oasis and this little critter is one of Ellie's new releases. Isn't he adorable? The image is printed on Neenah Classic Crest, colored with Copics and cut out using a circle nestie. The piercing is done using a circle template. So fun and I just love being able to line up all those dots! Papers are SU Chocolate Chip and Garden Green and DP from my new 6x6 Cosmo Cricket pad. Love it! You might wonder how to make this grass... do you recognize the punch? It's Martha Stewart's icicle punch turned upside down! I also got to try something new for this card. I knew I wanted my brads to match the yellow of the flower centers and I just didn't have anything suitable in my stash. I just went ahead and colored the closest ones with Copics -- voila! What a neat trick that is!

Well, thank you so much for looking and have a wonderful Digital Tuesday kind of day.

I've Been MIA....

2010-03-07T08:59:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone, just wanted to share some news. You might have noticed that I've been almost completely MIA this week..... no posts, no comments, no cards... I haven't even managed to say hello on most of my PCP groups.

Well, my DD Anna has been working on a group program called Odyssey of the Mind and the competition was yesterday. We've had intense practices (3 hours a day) for the last week helping the kids get ready. The great news is that they did FANTASTIC! They placed 2nd out of 20 teams for the Regional competition. I'm so proud of all these guys.

If you haven't heard about Odyssey of the Mind, check out the website here. It's a wonderful program for kids that teaches them to think outside the box and explore different ways to be creative. My DD's team "the Odyssey Eagles" worked on the Nature Trail'r problem -- they had to make scenery, build a person powered vehicles, a camper, write a skit, make costumes and act out an 8 minute solution where they encounter obstacles that the vehicle clears, meet wildlife and repair the vehicle. Dang, they all did so good! Proud mama here!

Well, I'm hoping for some creative time today so we'll see if I can sneak in a card later. In the meantime, I hope you are all well and having a wonderful weekend!

Digital Tuesday Challenge - Scallops

2010-03-02T07:43:00.004-05:00

What a fun challenge this week at Digital Tuesday! Our wonderful hostess Maria is asking us to use scallops on our cards with a digital image. Oh, I thought, I LOVE scallops. And, I have to make a baby card.... scallops are just perfect for baby cards.

I had a wonderful set that our sponsor My Grafico let us play with but I just could not make it work. I'm like that sometime.... I have a stamp that I absolutely love but, for whatever reason, I cannot make a card with it. Do you have stamps like that? So, after a few attemps....

I pulled out this wonderful Sleepytime Fairy from Michelle Perkett. I love her designs and she's become one of my go-to artists when I need an image that I know will color up well and look fantastic on a card. And, she's having a 50% off sale this week so I just had to pick up a few items! I added a little bit of Barely Banana cardstock and some Pink Pirouette. I like to keep baby cards relatively clean and simple so there's no dp, just a lot of pin-dots and lots of scallops. Voila with a couple of ribbons, one of my new Prima roses and the sentiment from SU.

I'm so happy with how this turned out! I hope the mom-to-be will love it too.

Now, it's your turn. Go ahead, check out the challenge blog and all the awesome inspiration this week. Then play along by making a card with a digital image and Scallops. You can win a prize from My Grafico.

Thanks for looking and happy tuesday!

You Are My Sunshine

2010-03-01T10:02:00.003-05:00

Happy monday! I wanted to share this card with you and, surprise, it's not for any challenges or any dts. I made it just because I felt like it. How fun is that?

The image is from All That Scraps. Isn't she sweet? The impetus for this card is actually the ribbon. I LOVED this ribbon and wanted to make a card to go with it.

Hope you all have a fun day!

Welcome to Wonderland!

2010-02-27T10:58:00.003-05:00

For this Digi Day, Michelle Perkett asked us to come up with our own version of wonderland.

Here's my entry! Wonderland is bright and sunny. It's a little bit classic (scallops); it's a little trendy (the ribbon); there's just a little glitz (on the teacup, shoes and flower center) but lots of flowers and ABSOLUTELY NO SNOW!!!!!!! Of course, Alice has to be right in the middle of it all! This Alice is a digital image from Michelle Perkett, available in her Etsy store. Isn't she sweet?

I grouped her with Pacific Point and Tangerine Tango cardstock and some old DP from Daisy D. The ribbon is SU, flowers are Prima and brad is from Recollections.

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Digital Tuesday Challenge - For Mum

2010-02-23T08:24:00.004-05:00

This week's challenge at Digital Tuesday is to make a card for your mum, since Mother's Day is in March in the UK. Play along and you can win a wonderful prize.

For my card, I used another darling image from Sassy Cheryl. I just loved the way the little girl is totally focused on her mother.... she's not sure if she's having fun or ready to cry. Isn't that the way motherhood is? Giving your children new experiences and being there to catch them. Just perfect! The image is colored with Copics, paired with paper from Cosmo Cricket Everafter and SU Buckaroo Blue (my last sheet!) and Night of Navy. The flowers are Prima and the brads are from Recollections. Ribbon is from my stash.

Thanks for looking and hope you all have a wonderful digital tuesday!

New Find... Sassy Cheryl Digital Stamps!

2010-02-22T08:30:00.000-05:00

Oooh, I just found this new artist and I'm in love with her artwork. Have you seen Sassy Cheryl's images yet? Go check them out, I'll wait.

Now, aren't they gorgeous! I want to share my first card using these fun images. They're so great to color! I'll have another sneak tomorrow for my Digital Tuesday Challenge DT Card, so be sure to come back then!

This image is called "Missing You" and is one of over 200 different images Cheryl has created. Wow! She's colored with Copics and looked so sad that I had to give her a bright and cheery background. The colors are Buckaroo Blue (old SU In Color), Pretty in Pink and Green Galore. Flowers are Prima and brads are from my stash. The inside of my cards says, "I might look bright and cheerful on the outside, but I'm just so blue without you."

Thanks for looking and have a great Monday!

A Bright Spot of Color in an Otherwise Dreary Day

2010-02-21T16:50:00.005-05:00

Ever have one of those days? Kids woke me up way too early; spilled coffee everywhere; I've got sinus issues and cramps; broke my cuttlebug (aaaackkkkk!) and, if that wasn't enough, had to work on taxes. Just yuck, yuck, yuck.

But, I did manage to put the finishing touch on my card for Michelle Perkett's color challenge this week. The combo is Magenta, Pale Pink, Orange and Green. How perfect for a spring card! I actually ended up coloring three different images for this challenge until I could get one near where I wanted it. I was having a little trouble blending my magenta. I think here it's finally how I want it to look!

The image is Michelle's sisters of spring and they're colored with Copics, paired with SU Only Orange cardstock and Bazzill dp. The butterfly is made out of Green Galore with a Spellbinder Die (right before I broke the bug!). Dang, who knew those things could explode like that. My sandwich was a little too big and I tried to force it - duh. The side just jumped off that thing with such force it knocked down my little flower bottles! LOL!

So, now, I'm left with the question of whether to replace the Cuttlebug or get a Wizard instead. Any thoughts? I use the bug mostly for Nesties and embossing and think I might get cleaner lines with the Wizard. Love to hear if you have tried either and your opinions!

Getting Girly with Digital Tuesday Challenge

2010-02-16T08:06:00.004-05:00

Happy Tuesday! Just wanted to share my DT card for this week's Digital Tuesday Challenge. We're getting Girly! How fun is that? I think very feminine cards are among the most fun and easiest to make. It's a chance to go all out with our favorite embellishments and all the fancy cuts and punches.

I decided to go Parisian with my design and used this lovely Pure Innocence image from Heather Ellis Digi-Stamp Characters. The colors are Purely Pomegranite and Black and the DP is from Making Memories. The image is colored with Copics and stardust stickles are added to the bathwater to give it real dimension and shimmer. After cutting the image with my nesties, I lightly sponged the background with pale pink ink before removing the frame. Such a cool technique and I tend to forget about it when I'm designing but it adds a lot.

The card uses a standard size A2 front with a 5 1/2 square back panel. The inside is white for a message with a black blorder made with an EK Success punch and a row of tiny pearls.

For some reason, I had the hardest time photographing this card. PP is HARD to photograph, it either looks red or orange. The stickles wouldn't really show and then I couldn't get a clean look showing both the front and back panels. Despite the poor photo, I hope you enjoy the post and take the time to play along in our Digital Tuesday Challenge. Make a girly card using a digital image. You can combine challenges but your card must be a new creation. Enter at Digital Tuesday Challenge and you could win a $10 prize from this week's sponsor DigiSparkle.

Under the Wire with Michelle Perkett Studio Challenge #16

2010-02-15T17:46:00.005-05:00

I didn't think I'd get a chance to finish these projects in time for this week's challenge (which ends tonight!). But somehow the stars aligned and I had a few hours this afternoon to create.

This is Serena from Michelle Perkett Studio. Isn't she marvelous? These mermaids have been colored for a while and I thought they'd be perfect for Challenge #16 - to use blues and greens. I made the first into a journal and the 2nd a card. I love how versatile she is.... even with the same image the projects turned out quite different.

Journal uses SU Green Galore and Pacific Point papers. Coloring is with Copics and focuses on shades of light yellow and yellow green. I added some liquid pearls and a startlingly yellow ribbon. It's bright and simple.

For the 2nd project, the process was a little more involved. In addition to the coloring, I added lots of little rhinestones to the mermaid's outfit. In different shades of blue, green and yellow, they highlight the tones of the DP. The colors are again Pacific Point but this time paired with Taken with Teal and some lovely Basic Grey DP. I hand cut the waves out of Taken with Teal and sponged on some Pacific Point ink to get the shading. A simple blue ribbon, a spiral clip and just a little silver Dew Drop in the corner finish it off.

I hope you enjoy the entries and, as a reminder to all of us, just breathe!

My Big Wish - Make it Stop!

2010-02-15T13:12:00.003-05:00

I can't believe the weather we've been having! It's been foot upon foot of snow. Now, I love me good winter shower, but this is WAY out of hand. My big wish today is for it all to go away so that the kids can go back to school and life can get back to normal. They've only had 2 days of school all month and it's seriously cramping my creative time!

I did manage to get a card made to show you today. This wonderful image is a freebie from Mo Manning's Digital Pencil available on her PCP group. So cute! Papers are So Saffron and Basic Gray from SU and Basic Grey's June Bug paper. I think this is the first time I've broken out the June Bug -- it's so pretty but I have a hard time using it! The sentiment is from SU. Star is triple punched for a chipboard effect and then sponged around the edges. I'm not sure where the silver ribbon is from! Hope you enjoy looking and that your wishes all come true!

Digital Tuesday Challenge -- All About the Animals!

2010-02-09T07:25:00.003-05:00

I'm such a sucker for animals! When this week's challenge over at Digital Tuesday was to showcase an animal on our cards, I had such a hard time because there are such a ton of cute animal digi's out there. I finally decided to color up this lovely valentines turtle from Karen's Doodles. He's soooo cute and I hadn't had a chance to use him yet.

He's colored with Copics and cut out using nesties. I added some Ruby Red and River Rock cardstock and this cute DP by Debbie Mumm that I picked up when we had a break in the snow. The flower is prima, ribbon and brads are from my stash. I decided this was the perfect project to try an easel card with since the sentiment just didn't fit anywhere. The sentiment is Verve. I hope you enjoy seeing my project as much as I did creating it!

The sketch is from a new challenge site (at least, it's new to me) called Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge. I loved their layout!

I hope you'll hop on over to the Digital Tuesday Challenge site and check out all the other wonderful inspiration cards. The DT outdid themselves. We've also got Digital Stamp Oasis, maker of some of the cutest ever digital animals, as a sponsor. Check out the challenge rules and you could win 3 digi from DSO!

Happy tuesday, and for those of you in the Midatlantic, good luck with the 2nd wave of the snowstorm!

Love Letter Blog Hop Sponsored by Michelle Perkett

2010-02-07T00:30:00.001-05:00

Happy Hop Day! I'm so excited that I got to play with this wonderful image from Michelle. It was a freebie for people participating in the hop but it's also available in her Etsy shop if you just NEED to have it!

If you're coming here from Melissa's blog, you're in the right place. If not, you can start at the beginning of the hop HERE.

We're supposed to make a card with lots of red, pink, gold and bling! And then to write a love letter that goes with it. Well, my first card is for my dear husband and I'm a little embarrassed to share a love letter to him.... this is, after all, a pg-rated blog! So, I made a second version of the card with a little less black, a little less bling and a little more blue and it's for my two kids Anna and Matthew.

And, here's my little love poem to them....

I love you with your spotless faces,

all dressed up when we're going places.

You're polished bright and at your best

You get the goal or pass the test.

I love you with your messy hands and grimy toes

With tear streaked cheeks or muffled woes.

I love you when you're sad or angry

Too hot, too cold, or just plain hungry.

I love the excitement that lights your eyes

When new ideas to the surface rise.

I love the laughter that bubbles through

When a silly jokes gets to you.

I love you when you're fast asleep

So soft and loose and dreaming deep.

I love you when you're hyper, wild and loud

Even when you're actions don't make me proud.

I love you

Through the morning, noon and night

I love you

With a love so bright.

I know all of you with little kids can relate! I hope you enjoyed the poem and cards today.

The next stop on the amazing blog hop is Lee.

Have a great trip!

Digital Tuesday Challenge - A Different Kind of Fold

2010-02-02T07:54:00.003-05:00

Good morning! Just wanted to quickly share my DT card for this week's challenge. The hostess is... ME! I want to see all your fun cards with different folds. You know the type I mean -- tri-panel, shutter fold, easel card and all the rest. These are soooo fun to look at!

My card uses a Bee Crafty image and is a Joy Fold. Love the wrapped up look this gives and the extra decorating space. Papers are from My Mind's Eye Be Loved and SU Barely Banana and Sage. I found the tutorial here.

Hope I can inspire you to try your hand at something different. Just use your favorite digital image and dream it up. Post to the challenge blog and you could win a Bee Crafty prize.

Is It Spring Yet?

2010-01-31T11:53:00.004-05:00

We ended up with another few inches of snow yesterday and let me tell you, I am sooooo over it. It looks lovely but with the mess on the roads, shoveling and cleaning up boots and mittens and hats -- ugh. Wish I could just sit inside by the fireplace and read!

Since that isn't happening, I thought I'd think about spring today and share a spring-ish card. I used an adorable image from The Stamping Boutique called Farmer Audrey. She's colored with Copics and paired with Buckaroo Blue cardstock and My Mind's Eye Bloom and Grow DP. The sentiment is from Stamping Up. How cute is she?

I'm entering this card for Stef's sketch challenge #4 and well as A Spoonful of Sugar and Fab N Funky. Both of these are sponsored by The Stamping Boutique and have some GREAT prizes available.

Michelle Perkett Studio Challenge and Digi Day

2010-01-29T20:34:00.003-05:00

I told you I've started to create again and here are some of my first cards from "after." It's amazing how a break of a few weeks can leave you picking up a marker and wondering which way is which! But, I'm really pleased with how these few turned out! Happy viewing!

This first card is for a sketch challenge on Michelle Perkett Studio's challenge blog. Papers are Basic Grey Wisteria, Old Olive and Pale Plum.

These next two card are also for Michelle Perkett challenges. These are over on SNR for Digi Day, which ran yesterday through tonight. The first is a challenge to use the lovely Dream dragonfly, a freebie available right now! I paired with Sahara Sand, Basic Gray and Basic Grey's Wisteria. Isn't the dragonfly paper a perfect fit? How lucky was that?

Challenge 2 was another sketch challenge. I used this lovely image called Pearl. She's got a few pearls on her but also a whole lot of bling. I started adding and found I just couldn't stop! I don't photograph sparkle so well, but trust me, this thing has DIMENSION! Her gown and hair are bejeweled with pearls, rhinestones, and stickles. Colors here are Taken with Teal, Cool Caribbean and Basic Grey DP. The embellishments are actually old ones that I snapped up from the Target Dollar section ages ago -- they were meant as cell phone stickers.

Thanks for looking everyone and have a great evening.

It's Been a While...

2010-01-29T20:09:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone, I disappeared from blog world for a while there. It's been a sad few weeks. Right after the holidays, we found out that my father was ill. He had mild Alzheimer's for a few years and it began to deteriorate rapidly into dementia this winter. His heart also weakened considerably and he was hospitalized for a while. I had the chance to go visit with him in Virginia Beach and shared a few lucid moments in the days I was there.

It appeared the immediate danger was over and he transfered to home hospice care with his wife (my step-mother). Unfortunately, a few days later his heart gave out and he died peacefully in his sleep. His time had come and he joined my mother and brother in heaven.

I'd love to share one of my favorite photos of him. This is my dad when he visited shortly after my DD was born. Handsome guy, huh?

I'm starting to recover from the shock but have been having a hard time focusing. It took a long time for me to get any mojo flowing at all. I think I'm finally back and had some wonderful creative time yesterday and today. It's true that creating is a great therapy.

I'll be back a little later with a few cards but for now, remember to tell those you love how much you care.

A Digital Tuesday Sketch

2010-01-19T08:58:00.004-05:00

Just a quick post today to show you a card I made for this week's Digital Tuesday sketch challenge. Our hostess, Suzie, came up with a wonderful sketch that was just so much fun to work with. Check out the sketch here and play along to win a generous prize from The Cutting Cafe. Remember, you must use the sketch and a digital image.

My digital stamp this week is from a relatively new player in the digital image market names Phindy's Place. Isn't this little mouse the cutest? Image is printed on Neenah classic crest, colored with Copics. Sentiment is from Verve. Papers are SU Close to Cocoa, Riding Hood Red, Wild Wasabi and Basic Grey Nook and Pantry. I've been looking for an excuse to use the Basic Grey and thought it was a perfect match for the lovely strawberries in the image.

I'm also entering this card in Phindy's Challenge to try something new for the new year. For me, the new technique is the strawberry I created using a heart punch and some freehand leaves. What do you think? Does it look strawberry-ish?

Thanks so much for looking and I hope you have a wonderful digital tuesday!

Let the Sun Shine In!

2010-01-18T08:42:00.005-05:00

Isn't color amazing? Cool blues can calm; reds can excite; here, I use shades of yellow and orange to create a cheerful vista. I love creating with yellows when I'm feeling down; they really do let the sun shine in!

This bright gatefold card uses the new image called Posie from Michelle Perkett Studios. She's colored with Copics and paired with Tangerine Tango, Marigold Morning and Basic Grey papers. The ribbon is SU, flowers are prima and brads are from my stash. I'm entering this lovely in a sketch challenge from the very talented Jana (Carlie's Mom) on Michelle Perkett's PaperCraftPlanet challenge and for Flutterby Wednesday which is an open challenge as long as you use a butterfly or fairy.

I hope you enjoy some sunshine in your day!

Bella Hearts Bronte.... and I heart Challenges

2010-01-17T19:43:00.006-05:00

I loved the Mojo sketch last week and almost didn't get a card done because of some problems at home. Luckily, I already had this image colored and thought it would work perfectly for the MojoMonday #121 challenge and also for the Copic Buzz Challenge to use pink and red!

So, yes, there's a lot of pink and red in here! The image is from Mo's Digital Pencil -- it's a freebie available to members of her PaperCraftPlanet group. If you haven't joined yet, sign up! The sentiment is from an MFT set.

Paper is from Basic Grey and paired with Real Red and Pretty in Pink. Little hearts are a Martha Stewart Punch and ribbon is from Dots N Dashes. The little heart brads have been in my stash FOREVER and I was so glad to finally find a design they worked with. Now, I think I only have about 50 of them left. LOL.... I have to wonder what I was thinking with that purchase.

Thanks for looking everyone at my card that just slid in under the wire! Have a great week!

Digital Tuesday Challenge -- Emboss It!

2010-01-12T08:59:00.004-05:00

Good morning everyone! Did you see today's challenge over at Digital Tuesday? Shelley is challenging us to use embossing on your card. The DT did a great job of highlighting all the wonderful things you can do with this technique.

Lately, for me embossing means to use a CB folder. There are soooo many great ones out there and they add such delightful texture to a card. For my card, I HAD to use a CB folder but I wanted to highlight one of my other favorite uses for embossing. That's to get a white image or sentiment onto dark colored paper. I think the suprize of white text adds an extra zing.

To achieve this look, I swiped my cardstock with my embossing buddy, stamped my text in Joann's white craft ink and then used white embossing powder. The result is the whitest white!

My image is a digital freebie from Karen's Doodles. I love this little mouse and he does look just sooooo excited. He's colored with Copics and the balloons are coated with Crystal Effects for a little extra shine. Soft blue is sponged along the edges of the image and it's paired with My Mind's Eye Girlfriend DP and Tangerine Tango and Blue Bayou cardstock.

(I so love some of the old In-Colors that I just can't let them go. What will I do when I run out! LOL!)

Thanks so much for looking and have a great day!

Papertake Weekly Challenge - Something New

2010-01-10T11:32:00.004-05:00

Hello everyone! I hope you are all staying warm -- it amazes me how much of the U.S. is freezing right now. I wanted to share my quick card for this week's Papertake Weekly Challenge - the theme of which was something new.

I've got a lot of new things to share! Papertake Weekly is new to me.... it's my first time playing in this wonderful challenge. The image is from The Stamping Boutique and is a lovely freebie called Audrey's new dress that is available to their group members on PaperCraftPlanet. The background embossing is a new folder I just got in the mail on Friday and the sentiment is a new to me stamp from Verve. Wow, lots new going on here.

I hope you enjoy the card and have a wonderful and restful Sunday.

A Copic Buzz Challenge 24 -- Ribbon!

2010-01-07T09:03:00.005-05:00

Copic Buzz is taking it pretty easy on us this week. The challenge is to use some sort of ribbon treatment on your card. I love ribbon! I'm addicted to ribbon! I swim in ribbon! I... well, you get the idea.

Their sponsor is the wonderful and generous Linnie of Cute Daisy Mae who is offering not only a free digi to players but FOUR (4) sheets to the lucky winner. Come on, 4 sheets and a ribbon challenge? I had to play along.

I used this sweet little Cute Daisy Mae image which I've had for a while. I just love the little guy trying to look so grown up with his layered shirt and baseball cap but not quite ready to leave the stuffed bunny behind. It captures something special about growing up.

My image is colored with Copics, paired with Blue Bayou and old SU DP. The ribbon is all SU too! Thanks for looking!

Digital Tuesday Challenge -- First Valentine of the Year

2010-01-05T07:43:00.005-05:00

Today at Digital Tuesday, our hostess Paula is asking us to think Valentines. Make a Valentine for a loved one and be sure to use a digital image and you can be entered to win a prize from our sponsor this week Shirley's Two Girls. Have you seen their stuff? Too too cute!

They graciously gave us an image to use and I feel terrible that I couldn't get to it. Had some paper problems and I decided to use this sweet freebie from Mo's Digital Pencil that I already had done. This card is for my son, an affirmed choco-holic!

Colored with copics and used Real Red and Creamy Caramel cardstock. I added some DP that I found at my LSS last week, a little ribbon and a sentiment from Amuse. (This by far and away is my favorite valentine sentiment because it describes me to a tee!)

Thanks for looking and I hope you have a great Digital Tuesday!

Have You Been to Copic Buzz on Papercraftplanet Today?

2010-01-03T17:52:00.004-05:00

There's a huge party going on..... lots of chatting, lots of games, lots of challenges and lots of prizes. And, some freebies! You've got to check it out HERE.

Wanted to share the cards I did for the challenges.... let me know what you think!

The first card includes a super-sweet freebie from The Stamping Boutique. The challenge was to make a card with Red, Pink and White....

A Challenge from Michelle Perkett Studio to make a card with pink and lots of bling....

A Challenge sponsored by Mo's Digital Pencil to use at least 3 buttons....

There's more coming.... but I'm getting pretty tired right about now. We'll see if I have the energy to keep playing!

Take care everyone and thanks for looking!

A New Year, New Dreams to Follow

2010-01-01T11:33:00.004-05:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful new year's eve. We had a quiet night in and let the kids stay up to watch the ball drop on TV. It's their first time staying up and boy, were they excited!

The new year means fresh starts. New resolutions. New dreams. I thought my card for Michelle Perkett's challenge was an appropriate first post for the year! The challenge was to make a card in a non-traditional shape. Since I'm usually a straight flat card kind of girl, this definitely was a challenge for me and pushed me out of the comfort zone just a little. I've always admired the Tri-fold shutter cards and decided to give one a try. The tutorial on Splitcoaststampers is excellent!

How pleased was I that although it looks so complicated, it was a simple cut to use! I paired it with Michelle's forest fairy image and lots and lots of greens and yellows from the new Basic Grey Origins line. I loved the bright and fresh feel for the brand new year! The cardstock is SU Garden Green and So Saffron. Most of the embellishments are Basic Grey although I did throw in some Prima Flowers, Recollections Brads and a few borders cut from a Martha Stewart punch.

I hope your new year's dreams come true!

Happy New Year!

2009-12-31T17:57:00.003-05:00

Wow! I just can't believe 2010 is almost here. The year has flown past with the good and bad. Despite many changes and a few heartwrenching losses, I have truly been blessed this year with the love of family and friends. 2009 taught me the gift of taking life as it comes and letting go of the things I cannot change. I hope I can live 2010 the same way.

I'll leave you with this little card for Mo's Digital Pencil Challenge #12. The challenge was "something new" and I think the year definitely qualifies. The image is a sweet freebie from Mo!

Have a wonderful and safe New Years Eve!

May the new year bless you and yours!

Digital Tuesday Challenge - Sparkling Snow

2009-12-29T03:00:00.000-05:00

Well, most of the country has certainly seen a lot of snow this year so this week's Digital Tuesday Challenge is definitely appropriate. Our very own Michelle R. is challenging us to pull out our Dazzling Diamonds, Glitter, Embossing Powders to create snow scenes. Our generous sponsor Softpencil let us all pick one of her images to work with and I selected Welcome Winter.

How cute are these little guys? For my scene, I used lots and lots of "stardust" embossing powder. The hills and frame are all embossed and very sparkly in real life (unfortunately, my camera skills can't capture it!). The images are actually printed twice with the embossing on the bottom layer and the colored versions snipped out and popped up.

Papers are SU Chocolate Chip and Pretty in Pink as well as SU DSP. Ribbon and brads are from my stash. The sentiment is computer generated. I do love the ability to just pop on and print out any sentiment you need!

Hope you all check in at the Digital Tuesday Challenge blog for some more inspiration and to play along. Our sponsor Softpencil is offering up a lovely prize for one lucky winner!

Mojo #119 -- or, Into Every Life a Little Laundry Must Fall

2009-12-28T13:54:00.002-05:00

Okay, so I should be doing laundry this morning. I have a never ending pile from over the holidays, but I'm procrastinating. No really, I HAD to do the Mojo Monday sketch this week. I did, really, really.

But, at least I incorporated laundry into my card. I've had the cute Greeting Farm image for ages but had never inked it up. Today was the day..... She's colored with Copics and paired with SU Buckaroo Blue and Kiwi Kiss as well as some yummy Basic Grey. Hope you enjoy!

If you're looking for my Sugar Bowl entry or my Michelle Perkett card, please scroll down. In my procrastination, I've managed three cards for today!

PS. Did I mention I hate laundry?

Sugar Bowl #25 - Love Birds

2009-12-28T13:46:00.005-05:00

I finally had a chance to play in the Sugar Bowl! It's been ages and ages and I feel like I keep missing the deadlines but this one was extended because of the holiday! Yeah! So, here's my entry for Lillian's sweet sweet sketch challenge.

I used Diane Duda's winter birds and the "out of the box" technique to cut them out with Nesties. They're mounted on Memory Box papers with SU Chocolate Chip. Various ribbons and the charm are both from Micheals. I love this stamp -- I think it works for general winter cards as well as Christmas or even Valentines. I think this card might be a non-traditional valentine.

I hope you enjoy looking as much as I did creating!

Just a note: if you're looking for my Michelle Perkett image, scroll down... this is my second post for the day!

Namaste, My Friend

2009-12-28T08:53:00.005-05:00

Good morning! Hope everyone is having a wonderful day today.

We're officially done with all the Christmas festivities and I spent yesterday cleaning. My goodness, Christmas generates a lot of trash! I think I left 6 tons out there for our garbageman today. But DH and the kids spent the day with his family so I actually had a chance to craft and to start thinking about the new year and my resolutions.

Do you have any yet? I'm starting to pile the up like the recyclables outside. My first one is Yoga. My sister has been urging me to give it a try. I had the chance to take a few classes before Thanksgiving and I really enjoyed it -- then the holidays happened and I haven't been since. So, my first resolution is to start up with a Yoga program again.

Have you heard the traditional yoga greeting, Namaste? I think the meaning is just beautiful and wanted to share so here it is:

an ancient Sanskrit greeting still in everyday use in India and especially on the trail in the Nepal Himalaya. Translated roughly, it means "I bow to the God within you", or "The Spirit within me salutes the Spirit in you" - a knowing that we are all made from the same One Divine Consciousness.

For my card today, I used a Michelle Perkett image and colored it with Copics and a generous layer of Copic Spica pens. I paired it with Basic Grey Ambrosia paper, SU Summer Sun cardstock and some lovely red shimmer paper that I actually found in the Christmas section at Target. The tiny rhinestones decorating the dress are from Michaels; the flower is Prima and the big rhinestone brad is from Michaels too. The sketch is by Jana on Michelle's Paper Craft Planet group for Challenge #9.

Well, that's it, so Namaste my friend, and have a great day!

Dancing in the Snow

2009-12-23T19:42:00.005-05:00

I promised another card with a fabulous Michelle Perkett image today and I haven't forgotten, just got caught up in the about million things to do before the holiday! A few of you may have seen this on the Papercraft Planet group but I hope you will enjoy the review.

The ballerina is printed on Neenah classic crest and colored with Copics. I used Ranger ink to sponge some color around the image and then stamped the swirls with Versamark. A quick dusting of translucent sparkle embossing powder stuck to both just a little to give an overall shimmer. I again paired the image with Memory Box dp. Cardstock is SU Basic Gray and Very Vanilla.

Thanks for looking everyone and, if I don't get a chance to post again before the holiday, have a very very merry Christmas!

Digital Tuesday Challenge- Snowflakes! and Michelle Perkett Sketch Challenge

2009-12-21T23:31:00.005-05:00

Today over at the Digital Tuesday Challenge, our hostess is asking us to show her some SNOW! Well, we've had a lot here and I was tempted to ship that over but I figured a card was what she was really after.

I started with this wonderful image from Michelle Perkett -- oh, if you haven't seen her stuff yet, head over there right now. I'll wait for you to get back.

Okay, glad you made it back.

Now, if you're like me, I often get bored coloring the same image twice in a few weeks but this one just really grabbed me and there are so many ways highlight the lovely fairy! She's printed on Neenah paper, colored with copics and mounted on Blue Bayou cardstock with some love DP from Memory Box thrown in. Memory Box paper is just perfect for Michelle's images, because as one of Michelle's followers said, "The images are just so grown up." and I think the same can be said of Memory Box DP. It's definitely more sophisticated that cute.

I added lots and lots of snowflakes like the challenge asked using both the Martha Stewart border and snowflake punches. I loved a little silver DP thrown in too! Finally, the charm sentiment and the rhinestones are both from my stash. The terrific sketch is from Michelle Perkett's group over on Paper Craft Planet and I'm entering it there as well!

I've been busy coloring some more of Michelle's images and will have another card to share tomorrow. But for now, please check out the other inspiration from the DT members and join in by making a card using a digital image and lots and lots of snowflakes! You could win a prize from our sponsor this week, Dustin Pike!

A Sledding We Will Go

2009-12-21T11:09:00.002-05:00

I figured I should finish my winter cards before I get snow overload! Here's one using Mo Manning's wonderful sledding duo Bella and Bronte. Happy snow day everyone!

Chocolate Lab Christmas

2009-12-21T11:03:00.005-05:00

I wanted to make a special Christmas card for the wonderful breeder where we got our puppy Copper. I had this stamp from Northwoods and thought it would be perfect if I could somehow make the image look more holiday-ish. I paired it with Basic Grey paper, Chocolate Chip and Always Artichoke cardstocks and some branches from my Martha Stewart punch. A greeting from Stampin Up and I think the whole thing works!

I'm going to include this snowy picture of the pup. Not sure if we'll have mail service today but I'm gonna rush and try to get it in the post!

If you're here to see my Taylored Expressions Sketch card, scroll down. I've got a ton of posts today!

Sweet Sweet Snowman Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge

2009-12-21T10:57:00.005-05:00

I loved the sketch over at Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge this week but was set on using this sweet sweet snowman from Stampavie. I modified the sketch a little but the basics are still there. Can you see them?

The image is stamped on Neenah with Momento ink and colored with Copics. Paper is Basic Grey and cardstock in Pretty in Pink and Wild Wasabi. I do love this green and still have a little bit of a stash! Thanks for looking and enjoy!

Just a Quickie for Today

2009-12-20T21:26:00.006-05:00

Whew! What a day! If you haven't heard, Virginia got hit with a little bit of snow over the weekend -- about 20 inches! Between shoveling, sledding, drying clothes and making cocoa for the kids, I feel like I've barely had time to breathe.

I think that's why kids love snow and parents not so much. We're the ones who do lots of extra work while they just have lots of extra fun! That's okay though. It's what being a kid is all about and they just got news that our schools are closed for the next few days so that means winter break starts NOW!

I'll share a few snow pictures with you here and also my quick card.

This is a thank you for my music-loving neighbor who watched the kids sled for a while so I could warm up. Isn't the image adorable? It's from Heather Dennis at Fresh Brewed Designs. She's got a host of lovely digi-images and I was lucky enough to win this and a few more in her recent blog hop. If you haven't seen them yet, do pop over and have a look --- she also has some just hysterical snowmen/snowball images!

Signing off and heading for a hot tub to try to work out some of the shoveling aches! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

It's White..... All White

2009-12-19T20:02:00.004-05:00

Not just the weather but my card today too! This is my entry for Mo's Challenge #11 this week to make an all white card. I had to cheat just a little with the ribbon. I think that's okay, don't you?

The delightful image is from Mo Manning, of course. Paper is Neenah Classic Crest. The sentiment is from a little dollar stamp. Cuttlebug folder, border from Martha Steward edge punch and pearls from Kaiserkraft.

I thought this would make a wonderful christmas card to send to our dog trainer. She spent so much time with us this summer helping Copper learn to behave!

Digital Tuesday Challenge - Birthday Wishes

2009-12-15T09:47:00.005-05:00

Wow! How nice it was to take a break from Christmas cards and projects! Now, don't get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE the holidays. I'm just saying a change of pace did me good and now I'm up and eager to finish off all those Christmas cards!

The Digital Tuesday Challenge this week is Birthday cards! Use a digi-image and make a birthday project to win this week's prize from Ildi Co.

For my card, I pulled out some of my favorite DP from My Mind's Eye and paired it with some Soft Sky and So Saffron cardstock. I think this is just one of my favorite color combo's ever. The wonderful image is a digi from Heather Ellis. Her art is just amazing and she seems like the nicest person ever. Do head over to check out her other wonderful designs!

Don't forget to leave some love for the other Digital Tuesday Challenge designers who outdid themselves this week with fab projects and great digital images.

Have a great day!

Michelle Perkett Party Challenge

2009-12-13T16:07:00.005-05:00

Did you see that Michelle Perkett is having a party over on Paper Craft Planet? There's a great sketch challenge and some chatting going on as well as a very cool snowman freebie to use in the challenge.

Here's my card. Relatively quick and simple since it's been a busy weekend but I wanted to share! Hope the rest of your weekend is wonderful and relaxing!

Very Punny Christmas

2009-12-10T15:44:00.003-05:00

Today I have a really quick Christmas card to share with you. It's from a fun freebie by Whimsie Doodles over on Paper Craft Planet.

I'm in a very punny mood! Enjoy!

A Carol Inspired Digital Tuesday Challenge

2009-12-08T09:20:00.006-05:00

For this week's challenge at Digital Tuesday, our hostess Lorraine is asking us to be inspired by a Christmas carol! The first song that popped into my head is an old favorite that I've loved since I was a little girl taking French classes -- Un Flambeau Janette Isabella.

In my neck of the woods here in Northern Virginia, it's not the most popular song and you don't hear it very often. If you haven't heard it before, do give a listen HERE -- trust me, it's well worth it!

The carol inspired me to pull out this image from Cute Daisy May and to pair it with this light Victorian design. With lace, and Basic Grey Wassail paper, a soft shiny pearl and some delicate Prima flowers, I just feel the song when I look at my card. I hope you enjoy the card and the carol. Oh, if you get a chance, there's a stunning freebie available today on the Daisy May blog!

Don't forget to stop by Digital Tuesday Challenge to play along and find out how to win some fab images from this week's sponsor Digital Oasis!

And, to share, here are the wonderful lyrics in both French and English to Un Flambeau, Jeannette, Isabelle.

Un flambeau, Jeannette, Isabelle,
Un flambeau, courons au berceau!
C'est Jésus, bonnes gens du hameau,
Le Christ est né, Marie appelle,
Ah! ah! que la mère est belle,
Ah! ah! ah! que l'Enfant est beau!

Doucement, dans l'étable close,
Doucement, venez un moment!
Approchez! que Jésus est charmant!
Comme Il est blanc, comme Il est rose!
Do! do! do! que l'Enfant repose!
Do! do! do! qu'Il rit en dormant!

Bring a torch, Jeanette, Isabella
Bring a torch, come swiftly and run.
Christ is born, tell the folk of the village,
Jesus is sleeping in His cradle,
Ah, ah, beautiful is the Mother,
Ah, ah, beautiful is her Son.
Hasten now, good folk of the village,
Hasten now, the Christ Child to see.
You will find Him asleep in a manger,
Quietly come and whisper softly,
Hush, hush, peacefully now He slumbers,
Hush, hush, peacefully now He sleeps.

Christmas Wishes

2009-12-07T08:44:00.003-05:00

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! We had snow here this weekend and the kids were just beyond excited. So was our lab since this is his first snow! Despite spending lots of time outside, I had the chance to make some Christmas cards and I want to share one of my favorites with you.

Isn't this fairy gorgeous? She's a digital image from Michelle Perkett and I knew I had to have it the moment I saw it. I love the delicate lines and the beautiful scene she's surrounded by.

I have her colored with Copic markers and a gold Copic Spica pen. The background, which is a little hard to see blends from pale green to blue to pink. I do love to blend with these wonderful markers!

Thanks for looking and I wish you all the peace, joy, harmony, friendship and love this holiday season.

Digital Tuesday Challenge - Christmas Sparkle

2009-12-01T07:35:00.004-05:00

Good morning! It's a wonderful day here in Northern Virginia! After lots of clouds and rain yesterday, we finally have some sun and it's making me smile!

I'm really excited about this week's Digital Tuesday Challenge because the sponsor is Mo Manning of Digital Pencil Too. Love love love all her images and I just love what the DTC Design Team did with them. I'm a little nervous about my card because it really pales in comparison to their fab designs! The theme this week is Christmas Sparkle.

Who doesn't love a little shimmer and shine on their holiday cards? My card is relatively simple this week. I think it's a result of turkey overload. I used the oh-so-cute Penguin with Present image and colored it with Copics and Spica Glitter Pens. The whole card is mounted on Bermuda Bay with Real Red accents and ribbon. The image is recessed into a Cool Caribbean panel decorated with embossed snowflakes. My picture makes it difficult to see the shine from these sparkly white and irridescent flakes but, trust me, it's there!

Thanks for visiting today and I hope you'll play along with this week's challenge for the chance to win some fun images from Mo!

A Sugar Bowl #24 - My Guardian Angel

2009-11-25T19:57:00.005-05:00

I actually finished a challenge in time for the Sugar Bowl! It's been a crazy day but I got to finish tonight while DH gives the kids a bath and we wait for our guests to arrive. Talk about sneaking in under the gun!

For this week's Sugar Bowl sketch challenge by Marlene, I used one of Sugar Nellie's charity images. Drawn by Diane Duda, all proceeds from the image went to charity. I love feeling good about a purchase!

The image is stamped in Momento ink and colored with Copics. I then tried the stained glass technique to give it a softer vintage feel. I love the technique but don't think I've quite mastered the mechanics of it yet! The main colors are Baja Breeze and Creamy Caramel. DP is from my stash. To add extra interest, I dry embossed the side panels and used a Zig Zag punch with texture on the back panel. I added a few pearls and some lovely punched out snowflakes using the Martha Stewart snowflake punches. Finally, soft sheer ribbon in ivory and gold finish off my little Guardian Angel card.

Thanks for looking and best wishes for a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Digital Tuesday Challenge - Give Thanks

2009-11-24T08:35:00.004-05:00

Our challenge this week at Digital Tuesday is to make a Thank You card. On this week of Thanksgiving, I have so much to be grateful for and so many people to say thank you to.

One of them is a wonderful teenager in the neighborhood who sometimes watches my kids. When I saw this digi-image of Fall Miss Anya from The Greeting Farm, it immediately reminded me of her. I tried coloring the image to reflect her Indian features. It's my first time trying ethnic skin tones and it was a challenge but definitely something I'm going to use more in my cards. Did you notice the boots? I couldn't help but turn them into Uggs!

The card uses Tangerine Tango cardstock and Marrakesh papers by Basic Grey. The flowers are from Prima and I coated the top one with Stickles to give it a little sparkle. Sentiment is from SU's Make it Count set.

Don't forget to check out the rest of the DT cards and learn more about the great prize from our wonderful sponsor Creations by Penny.

Hope you enjoy!

A Complete Case of a Wonderful Card

2009-11-23T12:51:00.004-05:00

One of my dear friends just became a Grandma for the first time. How excited is she? Can you say bursting! The little dear was born last Thursday and I'm so behind in getting out a card.

I wanted one before she leaves for Thanksgiving so had to rush, rush, rush to get it done. I ended up doing what I always do when I need something quickly and have minimal time.... finding a card I love and casing it.

The original of this card was made by the wonderful Aunty Sue from PaperCraftPlanet as a christening card for a little boy. The image is one of a series by Mo's Digital Pencil where she has both a little boy and little girl. I changed it up to a birth card for a girl. The design transfered wonderfully and I'm really pleased with the result. Don't stop here, please visit Aunty Sue's original and give the credit where it is truly due.

Thanks for visiting today and have a wonderful short week before the holiday!

A Very Mojo Christmas - Mojo 113 Meets Gorjuss

2009-11-20T08:55:00.005-05:00

I love extending the range of my stamps and using them in unexpected ways. This is "Little Miss Attitude" from Sugar Nellie Gorjuss Girls. Now, she's certainly not intended as a Christmas stamp but her expression and stance just reminded me of my daughter when she used to get into the "Was Not" Was Too" arguments with her brother. I think it's almost a universal banter. I pictured her having the same argument about Christmas.

Little Miss is colored with Copics on Neenah Classic Crest and cut with Nestability Ovals. She's mounted on some Real Red and Garden Green Cardstock with a touch of Real Red DP. Ribbon is from my stash and the sentiment is computer generated. The sketch is from Mojo Monday!

Hope you enjoy your day and that you have to "was not" "was too" arguments raging in your family.

Missed the Deadlines but Love the Cards

2009-11-19T08:55:00.005-05:00

Ever have one of those days when you're always two or three hours behind? That was me yesterday. I just never seemed to be able to catch up and couldn't get to uploading some of my challenge cards yesterday. And, unfortunately, both challenges closed yesterday.

Sigh. BUT, on the plus side, I got to play with some new images; I'm happy with the results; and, most important, I had fun! So, I'm going to share these two with you anyway!

My first card was for Bella and Bronte's Challenge Blog Challenge #6. They provided a wonderful sketch and the inspiration for my Christmas card. The colors are Real Red and Always Artichoke. DP is from SU and the poinsettia actually comes from a flower bush from Michael's that I pulled apart. I feel like maybe the card needs something in the upper right corner but am going to let it go. Isn't this image wonderful? It just screams Joyful to me!

Second is my card for last week's Sugar Bowl Challenge #23. I just got this fab Diane Duda image in the mail and thought it would be fun to change the season up. After coloring with Copics, I trimmed the image and added leaves where the flowers are in the original. My kids always love playing and tumbling in the leaves so I thought it was appropriate! I paired it with the sketch from Sugar Bowl, some Memory Box DP and a sentiment from Stampin Up So Many Sayings. I'm thinking this will make a cute Thanksgiving card for my kids' art teacher.

Thanks for looking and stay tuned. I'm hoping to play along with both challenges again this week and actually, maybe, hopefully, make the deadlines this time!

Digital Tuesday Challenge - A Color Combo

2009-11-17T07:55:00.003-05:00

This week's, Digital Tuesday Challenge's Ellie is challenging us with a color combo - use purple, white and either gold or silver on your card. The DT has cooked up some fabulous creations. For my own piece, I selected silver and decided to pair it with some yummy Basic Grey and Rich Razzleberry.

Do you like the snowglobe shape? It was a tutorial on Splitcoaststampers here and I just thought it was so much fun. And the tutorial is super easy to follow!

My image is from this week's sponsor, Cute Daisy May, who was sweet enough to give all the DT a sheet to play with. Isn't that generous? And the image is adorable. Here blog today also has a great freebie with some wonderful sentiments. Don't forget to check it out!

Thanks for looking and come play along. You could win a prize from Cute Daisy May!

Flourishes Challenge - Silver White Winters

2009-11-12T16:29:00.005-05:00

Have you seen the new release challenge over at Flourishes? It's an inspiration challenge to create a card based on the song Favorite Things from The Sound of Music. I love that song and just had to play along.

Here's my card for "Silver white winters that melt into spring". The tree image is from Flourishes, stamped in Versamark and Night of Navy and embossed with Stardust transparent embossing powder. The papers are Night of Navy, a velvet blue from my stash and Memory Box. I had a really hard time capturing the depth of the blue and the sparkle of the tree in the picture. (you know how it can be on a rainy, rainy day)

My daughter Anna played along too.... here's her card featuring a fun snow globe from Stampendous.

Hope you enjoy!

My Digital Tuesday Challenge for You - Holiday Wishes

2009-11-10T07:50:00.004-05:00

Care to join in? It's my turn to host the Digital Tuesday Challenge and I choose to ask for Holiday Cards and Projects! Come join us and post your project.

Here's mine using Holly Fairy from Mo's Digital Pencil. Isn't she gorgeous? The image is colored with Copics and (even though it's hard to see on the picture) Spica glitter pens. IRL, there's a big sheen on the wings, hair and red of the dress. I coupled it with papers from Memory Box, a few rhinestones and a big lovely flower from Kaiserkraft. The border and holly punch are from Martha Stewart. I'm also entering this card for Bella and Bronte's Challenge Blog to use three different types of sparkle on our cards.

Hope you enjoy the card today!

Anjou

Thanks Coach!

2009-11-06T20:07:00.004-05:00

Tomorrow is the last game of my daughter's soccer season. We're all kicking in a few dollars to get the two volunteer coaches a gift card as a thank you. I wanted to put together a few quick cards to hold the gift cards. Our team is the Pink Panthers, hence the sweet pink uniform on these Soccer Anya digis. I left the rest rather plain so it doesn't look to girly for Coach Dave and Coach Gunner.

What do you think? Will they like them?

I'm hoping for a win for our last game, so maybe the cards will help bring us luck! Hope you have a winning weekend too!

Digital Tuesday Challenge - Flowers

2009-11-03T10:07:00.005-05:00

Don't you love flowers? This week's Digital Tuesday Challenge is to use some sort of flower on your card (along with a digital image of course!).

I had so much fun with this one that I decided to make two cards. The first is this lovely flower pot from our sponsor this week Fred, She Said. She's offering a great prize for one lucky winner so check out the challenge and play along.

I thought this image would look lovely with some bright colors so I paired it with Crushed Curry from this year's Stampin Up In Colors and then toned it down a little by using Sahara Sand and Soft Suede. The image is colored with Prismacolor pencils and gamsol and the flower is by Prima. Brad and ribbon from my stash (not sure of the brands though!).

My second card uses a digital image I found on my computer from Nina B. I can't find the link anymore but loved the pretty pretty picture. They are supposed to be hydrangas but I colored as violets to go with the purple theme I wanted. What a fun image!

This card uses Perfect Plum, Certainly Celery and Black cardstock. Image colored with copics, ribbon from Hanna Stamps, brad from Recollections. I thought the card needed a little extra and got inspired by the wonderful artwork of Markie's Mom on Splitcoaststampers. Not nearly up to her standards but I love the dots made with my Ranger Inksentials White Gel Pen.

Thanks for looking today and I hope to see you over at the Digital Tuesday Challenge blog!

Happy Belated Halloween!

2009-11-01T18:52:00.004-05:00

I can't believe how the week has rushed by! Happy Halloween everyone!

I hope your holiday was as fun as ours. The festivities actually started Friday when both my children had parties at school and then the-school-wide Harvest parade. I made some cute little treats for all the classmates and they drank witches brew (with dry ice!), ate eyeballs and worms, skeleton bones and lizard scales. Add a few games and then going back to school in the evening for Fall Ball and I was already Halloweened out before it even began!

Aren't these treats the cutest? I love the test tube idea and couldn't resist the stamp from Amuse. It's filled with mini-M&Ms. So simple to make and too yummy too!

Yesterday, we had a huge group of girls here and a few friends of my DS too. Even with a slight drizzle, they trick or treated for hours and everyone had a blast. I'm expecting the sugar high to last at least a few days!

Two for One Digital Tuesday

2009-10-27T08:57:00.007-04:00

Good morning everyone! Happy Tuesday!

I'm back after quite a long haitus. First we were on a wonderful vacation to Disneyworld and then I came back and caught pneumonia. I'm feeling better now and happy that I can start to catch up on my blogging yet again.

Today's Digital Tuesday Challenge is a color challenge -- to use orange, kraft and ONE other color. Read all about it HERE and check out the wonderful inspiration by the design team. Our sponsor this week is Digital Stamp Oasis and by playing along, you can win three images!

I used this sweet squirrel from Digital Stamp Oasis, printed on Neenah Classic Crest on an HP laser and then colored with Copics. Lots of people have asked about printing digital images and I find that Neenah is really the best paper for me. The image is cut out with Nestabilities and layered on Always Artichoke paper. The orange I chose is Dusty Durango -- such a great fall color! With DP from K-Ology, a sentiment from Stampendous and some cute little embellishments, this card is ready to go. Quite simple and I love the sentiment. Really, there is so much in life to be thankful for!

I also thought I'd share my card from an old Digital Tuesday Challenge to make a Halloween card. I never got to post it and thought you might enjoy the lovely (and free) image from Digital Pencil Too.

Thanks for looking and don't forget to play along!

Digital Tuesday Challenge - Music to My Ears

2009-10-06T04:00:00.000-04:00

Happy Tuesday everyone! You know what that means -- another Digital Tuesday Challenge! This week, our challenge is to incorporate an image or embellishment representing music on our cards. The DT has cooked up some splendid samples and our sponsor this week is The Little Yellow Company. Join in by making your own musical card and use a digital image someone and you could win a randomly selected prize from our sponsor.

For my card, I just had to color up this wonderful herald from Mo's Digital Pencil. I pictured a Christmas card and thought she'd fit just perfect. She's colored with Copics and Copic Spica glitter pens. To help set off the image, I stayed with neutral cardstock and DP. Now, black and gold aren't my traditional holiday colors but I think they work here to set off the deep red of her dress and the bright floral elements. I hope you enjoy my card and enjoy your week.

All the best!

Digital Tuesday Challenge - Show Me Your Heart

2009-09-29T04:00:00.000-04:00

This week's Digital Tuesday Challenge is to use Hearts! Show your love and submit your card with a digital image and a heart somewhere and you could win a wonderful prize from this week's sponsor, our very own Digital Stamp Oasis.

I was dying to use Ellie's wonderful Love Birds for this challenge but didn't want to duplicate myself (since I used them for a challenge just recently!), so I branched out and found this wonderful image from Inger Harding. So sweet and warm and wintery -- I knew it would be just ideal.

The image is colored with Copics. It's popped up on a piece of Basic Grey (can you tell this is my favorite dp?). Simple white and Buckaroo Blue cardstock, as well as a simple ribbon from the spring nest at My Favorite Things set off the lovely heart button. The image and card made me smile and I hope you do too!

Have a great day and don't forget to stop by Digital Tuesday Challenge for some more inspiration for the dt!

Mojo #106 - I Get to Play This Week!

2009-09-28T16:46:00.003-04:00

It's been ages since I've gotten a chance to do a Mojo sketch and, after a rough morning, I decided to take a break and stamp a little. How rough, you may ask? Pup got some stitches out at the vet, trekked all over Northern Virginia trying to find the Girl Scout store and then, about 3 driveways from my house I swerved to avoid a trash can blowing in the street and pup shattered our windshield. (Thank goodness he's fine, but it's a repair I just don't want to have to deal with right now!)

Anyway, I manage to find time in the stamp room and am now much more happy and relaxed. I colored in this lovely Whiff of Joy image and paired it with a sentiment stamp I've had for a while and never used. Don't they go terrific together? The sketch is from Mojo Monday Week 106. Colors are Close to Cocoa, Soft Sky and Purely Pomegranite. DP is from Basic Grey. Prima flower and Recollections brad.

Thanks for looking and for being a friend!

An Unexpected Saturday Post

2009-09-26T16:59:00.002-04:00

Are you suprised to hear from me on a Saturday? It's been so busy I haven't had much chance to get cards loaded but I did today. Here's a sweet fall card inspired by my nephew Jack who is visiting this weekend. This image from Mo's Digital Pencil looks JUST like Jack -- really, I'm not kidding!

The image is colored with Copics and cut using Nestabilities. Cardstock is Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie and Old Olive. The lovely lovely DP is from Basic Grey and the felt cutouts are from Target's dollar spot. Hope you all enjoy and have a wonderful fall Saturday!

A Fall Fairy for Digital Tuesday Challenge

2009-09-22T04:00:00.000-04:00

The challenge this week on the Digital Tuesday Challenge blog was Falling Leaves. I'm a big fan of fall -- I love the crisp days, warm colors and the promise of the holidays coming up (and, of course, back to school time!). But I couldn't decide what I wanted to do for this challenge until I came across this wonderful fairy image from Mo's Digital Pencil.

I could just picture this sweet fairy blowing in the crisp weather and softly coaxing the leaves off their branches.

I colored her in with Copics and used a good coating of the Sakura glitter pen on the wings, bubbles and accents on the dress -- the sparkles aren't as bright on the picture but look very vibrant in real life. I coupled the image with the new Indian Summer paper from Basic Grey and pulled out some Dusty Durango, Rich Razzleberry and Chocolate Chip papers to match. A good bit of gold Stickles, some sheer taffeta ribbon and a few wonderful sparkly leaf buttons finish it off.

Thanks for looking and head on over to this week's Digital Tuesday Challenge blog for some more inspiration and to find out about the generous prize you can win from this week's sponsor McMahon5Designs!

Can You Do Me A Favor?

2009-09-17T08:55:00.004-04:00

I wanted to share a quick project with you today. Last week, I got a call from my son's teacher from last year. She and I just clicked and she's an awesome lady. Her daughter decided on a quick wedding with very little notice and she needed some favors in a short amount of time. Together we came up with this cute little seed packet. It's a tri-fold with slots that hold the seeds on the middle panel, a poem on the inside left and a signature page on the right. How adorable!

The main panel is stamped with SU's Carte Postale in Riding Hood Red, the monogram is from Justrite.

These came together so fast -- 3 days to make 40 of them and they were very easy. I think they'd make great favors for all sorts of things - weddings (of course), open house, baby showers or even the holidays!

Hope you enjoy and have a great day!

Digital Tuesday Challenge #24 - Clean and Simple Fall

2009-09-15T04:00:00.000-04:00

I love fall but it's always such a busy time of year. With back to school, soccer, baseball, girl scouts, homework... jeez, it seems the day never ends. But I also love to send fall greetings so I was thrilled when Martha issued the Digital Tuesday Challenge of a clean and simple fall card.

Our sponsor this week is KLM Designs and the owner Kathryn was sweet enough to let us select an image to play with. I just loved this pumpkin scene. I colored it with prismacolor pencils and gamsol and matted it with Soft Suede and More Mustard cardstock using Nestabilities labels dies. The DP is from Basic Grey's mellow line and the sweet sentiment is one of my favorite from Flourishes. Thanks for looking and happy fall everyone!

Check out all the great DT cards at Digital Tuesday Challenge and play along to win a lovely prize from KLM Designs!

My DD Turns Nine!

2009-09-14T15:41:00.004-04:00

So yesterday was my DD Anna's birthday. Nine years old. WOW! I can't believe she's almost double digits. Anna's dearest birthday wish this year was to get an iPod. Well, we got her one but determined to keep it a secret. Everytime she asked we told her to dream on....

Little did she know that we'd found the last orange Ipod nano in the DC area last weekend. (Orange is her favorite color)!

So, when she opened her card yesterday, she was really surprised! Here's the card!

Digital Tuesday Challenge - All about the kids

2009-09-08T09:59:00.003-04:00

Loved the Digital Tuesday Challenge this week -- all about the kids. It's certainly been about the kids here as we had our first day of school today. I just got back from getting everyone on the bus (yeah!) and the kids were so excited. I'm just very glad that they love school.

My card today uses a cute Kiki image from CC Designs. Isn't she adorable? I was working on this over the weekend and wanted to make a card that was bright and cheerful. With all the SU in-colors from this year and a couple of sheets of Basic Grey, I think this turned out maybe to bright for even me! Enjoy and don't forget to join in at the Digital Tuesday Challenge blog. Our sponsor this week is Cut it Out Paper Crafts and she's offering a great prize!

I'm Back But My Mojo is Missing

2009-09-06T10:56:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone! I'm back! The month of August turned into a very hard one with the sudden death of my brother. My whole (extended) family was hit hard and we're having a hard time adjusting. You have to understand that my brother was a super fantastic guy.... he was always there for all of us and always supportive. At just 60, he was in overall great health and took terrific care of himself. Although he'd been under the weather for a few weeks, none of us expected this. As of now, we think he died of a stroke or heart attack in his sleep. The whole event has really made me think about the suddenness of life and death. So a reminder to everyone to tell those you love how you feel every day.

I've been back home for about a week but am having a difficult time creating. So, well, no card for today either but I hope to be back in the swing this week with some fun things to share. Thanks to all my cyber-friends for you wonderful wishes and cards. I appreciate your thoughts and prayers.

Digital Tuesday Challenge #20 and Some Sad News

2009-08-18T06:44:00.006-04:00

This week our friend Emma has a real challenge for us over at the Digital Tuesday Challenge Blog -- Male cards. Create a card for a male of any age and just ensure you use at least one digital image. I made my card for my son who LOVES Halloween!

I used one of the awesome cutting files from The Cutting Cafe -- I've never tried these before but they're excellent and after seeing the DT samples I'm definitely going back for more. My image is from All That Scraps. The Cutting Cafe is our sponsor this week and the random winner will get to select some of their products! Hope you enjoy the little scene and that it keeps you thinking fall!

I've also got some very sad news. My wonderful brother Michael passed away suddenly this weekend. I'm extremely sad and feeling rather useless since he was in his home in Montreal and I can't go up or do anything until the final arrangements are made. I'm not concentrating on much but keeping it together so my already sporadic blogging this summer will continue. Everyone please add a prayer for my niece Valerie offering her strength and comfort.

Mojo #98 Or How My DD Blew Me Away

2009-08-05T08:45:00.006-04:00

We had one of those moments this week. You know the ones.... you look at your child or something they've accomplished and are completely blown away. Now, I know my kids are gorgeous, wonderful, talented, funny and smart. (I mean, all moms know that right?)

But sometimes, you catch a glimpse of something that's so beyond what you thought they could do. My son did it when he got his first belt in TaeKwanDo; my DD did it with a Powerpoint presentation on Ancient Mali. This week my DD did it with a card for the Mojo Monday sketch. We decided to work on cards together since my son was in baseball camp but Anna did the card by herself. Picked the image, picked the papers, did the coloring, cutting and assembly. (I did give her the measurements!) Okay, I'm blown away. I actually like her card for this sketch waaaaaay better than I like my own. Can you guess how old Anna is? Just shy of 9! Okay, I'm blown away.

Anna's Card

Please leave her a comment on her card. She's so proud of herself. Oh, yeah, here's the card with Teacher Anya, Night of Navy, Blue Bayou and Wild Wasabi cardstock and some Wild Wasabi DP. Colored with Copics, Michael's ribbon and a button from my stash.

And, here's mine.... Magenta image, Soft Suede, Soft Sky and Sahara Sand cardstock and ribbon from my stash. The image is colored with copics and the flowers with a Sakura stardust pen then popped up.

Thanks for looking and have a wonderful Wednesday!

Digital Tuesday Challenge #18 - Bling in Up

2009-08-04T00:30:00.000-04:00

This week's Digital Tuesday Challenge is hosted by Carisa she's asking us all to bring on the bling. Make a card or project featuring a digital image and your best bling and you could win a prize from our terrific sponsor My Grafico. A lot of the design team used a My Grafico set called Slumber Party to get you inspired and let me tell you, this set is just perfect for bling.

I needed to do something a little different. My dear sis Gaby is having her 63 (yes, gasp) birthday and is just a little bummed that she now officially qualifies for social security. (Me, I'm not one to dwell on years but I can certainly feel for her). So, I decided to make her a blingy birthday card of her own.

I thought this wonderful image from, yes, you guessed it, Mo's Digital Pencil hit the mark perfectly. This is Dancing Mummu and she shows such grace and joy, I thought it would be a great pick-me-up.

I colored this image with Copics and a Spica glitter pen, combined it with Riding Hood Red and Basic Black cardstock. The DP is from Studio 45. I took a regular Prima flower and coated it in glue and then Dazzling Diamonds for some bling; added a Recollections brad for some more; and then finally threw on the stickles for that final touch. The sentiment is a quote from Chili Davis that I found over the internet and printed on the computer. I think that's it. I hope you enjoy the card and I hope you'll join us this week at DTC.

Thanks for playing along!

Another Freebie from Mo

2009-08-02T20:01:00.008-04:00

Okay, I'm officially hooked on Mo Manning's illustrations. I spent a lot of this half rainy/half humid/half yucky day in my basement stamp room coloring. I did quite a few of Mo's and some others which I'll make into cards later this week.

For now, I want to share this cute "Harry Helps Out" image -- one of her great freebies. It was a blast to color and I got to use some of my new White Flower Soft for the snow. I think I'm going to be doing a lot of snow this year! Anyway, the image is of course Mo Manning (from Mo's Digital Pencil); the cardstock is Kiwi Kiss and Real Red; DP is Memory Box; the sentiment is SU, as is the clear button; not sure on the ribbon. Hope you enjoy!

My kids decided to craft today too and they both made fabulous cards. Here's Anna's:

And Matthew's:

I did help them out with trimming and adhesives but the design and stamping and lovely alcohol ink backgrounds are all their own.

Hope you're all having a wonderful weekend. See you Monday!

Official Anni-VERVE-sary Blog Hop

2009-08-01T11:00:00.004-04:00

Welcome to the first ever official Anni-VERVE-sary Blog Hop. Verve turns two today and they're celebrating with a hop, hop, hop! The party kicked off over on the Verve blog, so if you’ve just happened along, be sure to hop on over there to start from the beginning! And to make this party a real shindig, there’s a mystery jackpot hidden at one of the stops along the hop. One lucky commenter on that blog will win Verve’s entire August release! But of course, it wouldn’t be a mystery if you knew which blog, would it? So if you’re feeling the love, give a little shout out to the bloggers in the hop and you just might have a reason to jump for joy!

One of the things I absolutely LOVE about Verve is that even though their stamps are so simple, they are so elegant -- just like their sketches. This card pairs a simple sentiment from the Plain Jane collection with a Mojo Monday sketch from a few weeks ago. That Julee has got some talent!

The sentiment is stamped on Whisper White cardstock with True Thyme ink (the closest ink match I had for the new Dusty Durango paper!). It's paired with Blush Blossom and My Mind's Eye DP. Added a few flowers and some pearls and I was done. Just a simple card with (I have to admit) a lot of style.

Thanks for stopping by! Now it’s time to hop on over to:

Melissa's blog

for a little more Verve-y goodness.

Card Holder Template

2009-07-30T13:53:00.002-04:00

I finally had a chance to make the template for my card holder from the other day -- this one.

I haven't been able to figure out how to get an attachment onto blogger so it's posted in the download section at SCS HERE. Hope someone can use it!

New Digi-Image Company - Mo's Digital Pencil

2009-07-30T13:24:00.004-04:00

Wow! I'm so excited that I just came across this brand new digital stamp company. The illustrator's name is Mo Manning and she has some fabulous and really unique images available. I made this card with one of her freebies and I'm hooked. So fun to color! Now I've got to work hard to narrow down what to buy from her store. Yikes!

This card also works for two challenges -- yesterday's SCS Sketch Challenge and the Flourishes Timeless Tuesday challenge to use monochromes.

Don't you love it? Check out Mo's Digital Pencil HERE.

Digital Tuesday Challenge #17 - Simplify

2009-07-28T05:58:00.010-04:00

Guess what? It was my turn to host the Digital Tuesday Challenge this week! I wanted to do something different for the summer, so I thought I'd host a challenge to make a Clean and Simple card. That's right... we're asking everyone to simplify. To play along, make a clean and simple card using at least one digital image and post it on the Challenge blog.

Check there and you'll see some terrific inspiration from the design team. And, you'll find out our sponsor is Dustin Pike -- he's got 3 digi-images for a lucky winner! Head on over and I can't wait to see your creations!

So, on to my card. For me, one of the great things about clean and simple is that it is easy to reproduce. This card is actually easier to make it muliples than alone. I started with a simple sheet of SU Whisper White card stock and penciled off the top half of the sheet into six 2 1/2 x 2 1/2 squares. Using a trusty sponge and my ink pads (I used Really Rust, Cameo Coral, Barely Banana, Perfect Plum and Baja Breeze), I applied lines of color across my squares. This is the sheet I will print my images on.

I found this fun sillouette from Blackleaf at My Grafico. It's a freebie and it's fantastic. I used Microsoft Powerpoint as my layout program and placed the image six times in the size I wanted to correspond with my squares. Print and trim.

The rest of the card is pretty self explanatory. A black border and sentiment (this from Verve), Barely Banana and Dusty Durango cardstock. Voila. Five quick cards done.

I love the little set of cards and decided that since I had all the extra time I'd make a holder for them. Here it is. Uses same image and again a very simple design.

I meant to make up a template for the card holder but ran out of time. Both kids have camps this week and I'm driving all over Northern Virginia dropping off and picking up children. So, I might post one later if I get a chance but for now here are the card holder directions in case anyone is interested.

- Start with one horizontal sheet 8 1/2 x 10. Score at 5 3/4" and 6"

- Score vertically at 4 3/4" and 5 1/4"

- Cut out center notch where scores meet

- Trim fold up edges to 1/2" on inside

- Decorate as desired.

Thanks for visiting today and I hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday!

Digital Tuesday Challenge #16 - Christmas in July

2009-07-21T10:15:00.004-04:00

Before I started crafting, I always wondered what Christmas in July was all about. Now, when I hear the phrase it reminds me that it's time to start planning for all the handmade gifts and cards I want to send. This week, the Digital Tuesday Challenge asks us to try Christmas the digital way.

For my card, I used this wonderful image from Digital Stamp Oasis. I know it's not a traditional Christmas image but the addition of a few red berries on the branch (drawn in with Copic markers and a white gel pen) sure do make it feel like the holidays. I paired the image with some leftover Basic Grey Wassail paper, Always Artichoke, Riding Hood Red and gold colored cardstock.

The leaves are punched using what has to be my very favorite Martha Stewart punch and adhered using a quickie glue pen. A few tiny red pearls are added for a pop of color. And finally, a scrap of red velvet ribbon and pearl brads hold on a sentiment from SU's Peaceful Wishes set.

Are you ready to get crafting for the holidays? I've still got a ton of planning to do but I consider this card a good start. I hope you'll join the challenge this week -- check out the Digital Tuesday Blog and the great inspiration by our design team members. Also, don't forget to check out our sponsor this week Digital Stamp Oasis. One randomly selected winner will get to select three image of their choice!

A Digital Tuesday Challenge Recipe - Easy as 1-2-3

2009-07-14T05:52:00.004-04:00

This week my good friend Shelly over at the Digital Tuesday Challenge is asking us to use a recipe for our digital image card. It's as easy as 1-2-3. That's one digital image, two types of designer paper and three embellishments.

For my card, I just had to use some more of My Mind's Eye dp. It's just too pretty to hoard! And the sweet (and free!) image from Crafting in Croatia goes with it just perfectly. My three embellishments are two flowers and a popped up butterfly I made use a Spellbinders die. Colors are Soft Sky and Purely Pomegranite.

I think this would have worked wonderfully with the new Rich Razzleberry color too, but I just placed my SU order on Saturday and it won't be hear for a while yet! I can't wait to try all the lovely new colors!

Thanks for checking out my card and I encourage you to go visit and play along with the Digital tuesday Challenge. Today's sponsor is The Character Cafe and you could win some of their great digis.

Have a wonderful Tuesday everyone!

A Gorjuss Mojo on a Thursday

2009-07-09T09:12:00.003-04:00

I'm just loving the new Basic Grey Lemonade Papers! They are so versatile in which colors you can pull out and highlight. For this week's Mojo Monday 94 (talk about late this week!), I paired these Lemonade papers with the Gorjuss Flower Girl from Sugar Nellie.

Talk about color combos! I love how this came together with Barely Banana and Pink Pirouette and don't look at all washed out. (I have that problem on a lot of pastel cards). Thanks for looking and have a wonderful day!

Digital Tuesday Challenge - Sweet Birthday Wishes

2009-07-07T05:29:00.003-04:00

It's time for another Digital Tuesday Challenge and this week Paula has come up with a great challenge for us. The theme is Sweet Birthdays.... cupcakes, cookies, cakes.... oh my. Well, you get the idea. Create a birthday project using at least one digital image that features some sort of sweets. With all the wonderful digital images out there, this is an easy one.

For my card, I used this cute little sundae image from Squigglefly and added my own computer generated sentiment. Add a little of the new Basic Grey Lemonade paper and a few dew drops and I was done. A quick but really sweet wish for someone.

Hope you'll visit the Digital Tuesday Challenge to check out all of the Design Team's great creations and come play along. The sponsor this week is My Grafico and one lucky winner will get the chance to select the set of their choice!

Farm Fresh Friday - Dotty Challenge x 2

2009-07-02T16:36:00.004-04:00

I was working on my card for The Greeting Farm's Farm Fresh Friday Dotty Challenge today and my DD decided to stamp with me. So here are both of our cards featuring Hope and Grace Peace. Isn't my little one talented? She did a great job on this Bday card for one of her BFFs! Enjoy our dotty creations and have a wonderful day!

Anna's Card

Anjou's Card

Sweet Dreams - SCS Color Challenge

2009-07-01T05:00:00.001-04:00

Just a quick post for today. My hubby has the day off and the weather promises to be nice so we're taking the kids to Kings Dominion -- a local amusement park. They've been bursting with excitement about it for days and are climbing the walls that it's actually here!

This card has the adorable HG Snuggle from The Greeting Farm. I loved this image the first time I saw it and it just keeps getting sweeter every time I color it. I'm in serious trouble with The Greeting Farm because there new releases are always so wonderful that it's very hard for me to pass them up. There's another new release later today and I'm going to have to bide my time for that order!

This card is for yesterday's SCS color challenge (#225) to use Night of Navy, So Saffron and Kraft. The DP and ribbon are SU. Thought it went really well with the snuggly image. I added a few Kaiserkraft flowers and some Recollection brads as centers. Have you seen these brads at Michael's? They come in a package of 21 for $2.99. An excellent deal -- especially if you're looking to use a coupon!

Thanks for visiting today and have a wonderful Wednesday!

Winner Announcement for Creatively Cute Blogger Challenge 8

2009-06-30T18:57:00.003-04:00

Thanks so much to all the wonderful ladies out there who participated in my Creatively Cute Bloggers Challenge to make a card with PINK. I loved all the entries and loved meeting some new faces! You can check out all these fun pink-a-licious cards by searching the Splitcoaststampers gallery for CCB08!

I'm very pleased to be able to announce a winner. We put all the names in a hat and this time, I let my DS Matthew take his pick. He pulled out.....

blackbirdcreations

....as the winning entry. That's Laura from Creations on the Island. And the link is to the sweet pink card she created -- isn't it just adorable? Lovely bella going to the beach!

Congratulations Laura! Email me with your address and I'll get the super sweet pink prize out to you!

Digital Tuesday Challenge #13 - Celebrate Summer

2009-06-30T01:00:00.000-04:00

This week's Digital Tuesday Challenge celebrates all the wonders of summer. Won't you play along? Make a creation with a summer theme and use at least one digital stamp. You could win a trio of fabulous images from Dustin Pike! Dustin has a great line of images -- you'll have a hard time just picking three!

My card uses this sweet little lounging cat from TimboHunter - you might recognize him as one of the illustrators for Hambo Stamps. Well, now he has a great digital line too! This kittie was freebie that I snagged a while ago so I'm not sure if it's still available. Anyway, I've been dying to get some color onto him and this was the perfect opportunity. Cat is colored with Copic markers on Neenah classic crest paper. Image is mounted on Tangerine Tango and Baja Breeze and uses My Mind's Eye DP. Ribbon is SU; buttons are Making Memories. The scallop border and flower are My Mind's Eye punch outs. I found the little epoxy sticker in my stash and couldn't resist adding it as a spunky little flower center.

I think this card will go to my dear friend Leslie. She's invited us over to her pool a ton this summer and I think this will make a very sweet thank you.

What does summer mean to you? The pool? The beach? Tall cool drinks with umbrella glasses? Flip flops or sand castles? Share your digital image card in this week's challenge and let us know!

Card Recipe:

Sketch - Stamps and Smiles Sketch Challenge #8 (from March 09)

Stamps: digital image from TimboHunter

Papers: Baja Breeze, Tangerine Tango, My Mind's Eye

Ink: HP Laser printer

Coloring Medium: Copic

Accessories: SU In Color Ribbon in Baja Breeze, Making Memories Button, My Mind's Eye Punch Outs, unknown epoky sticker

Mojo #93 - A Dudadaze Cutie for My Friend

2009-06-29T12:05:00.005-04:00

I haven't had a chance to play with my new Diane Duda stamp from Sugar Nellie since the blog hop. This morning, since DH took the kids for a bike ride, I thought I'd bring it out to play. I used today's Mojo Monday sketch. Have you seen it yet? It's definitely a stunner!

Today's card is for a sweet friend who had a very bad week last week. I'm going to bring it over this afternoon with a cup of tea and try to spend some cheering her up. Hope the card will help.

Card Recipe:

Sketch: Mojo Monday 93

Stamps: Frog Prince by Diane Duda for Sugar Nellie; sentiment from Memory Box

Papers: Pacific Point, Basic Grey Marrakesh, Neenah Classic Crest

Ink: Momento Black

Coloring Medium: Copic Markers

Accessories: Petaloo flower, Queen&Co pearls, Misc Ribbon, SU Scallop Oval Punch

Great American Scrapbook Convention Update

2009-06-26T21:06:00.003-04:00

Wow! I had an absolutely fabulous day at the convention. Lots and lots to look at and (lots to buy, too)! I picked up a set of Nesties which I've been wanting (the blossom one), lots and lots of bling and flowers, quite a bit of paper, and splurged in the My Favorite Things booth. (I love their stamps but have this weird thing about buying paper, ribbon or embellishments online if I haven't seen it in person -- after seeing it in person, I can definitely say I'll be buying their kits online from now on!)

My camera battery is charging or I'd share a picture. I'll try to update with one later this weekend. We're heading out of town tomorrow but should be back by Sunday night!

I want to thank all of you for giving me great ideas on additional things to search for.... I added several to my list and even found some (like the flowersoft and more primas!). So, before it gets too late, I want to share the winner of my little drawing. I put all the names from the last post in a hat and my DD picked one out -- the winner is........

GINA! from Makings and Musings

Gina suggested I look for my different sizes and colors of pearls. It was a great suggestion since all I have right now is pink, white and some baby blue. I had a lot of luck with this hunt. Gina, email me with your address and I'll send you out a few extra packets!

Thanks again to everyone for their suggestions!

An Almost Timeless Tuesday Challenge

2009-06-25T08:31:00.003-04:00

I just loved the wonderful sketch over at the Timeless Tuesday Challenge this week and was really trying to play along but I couldn't get my sentiment to fit in the correct spot. So, here's my "almost" card for the challenge. The image is from Flourishes Poppy set and the sentiment from SU's Warmest Regards (which I still think is one of the most versatile sentiment sets of all time -- a definite must have for the stamp closet!).

I stamped the image on SU Whisper White, colored with Copics and framed it with Marigold Morning and Ruby Red papers. The DP is from Making Memories. Pearls are from a Target dollar spot kit and the lovely trim is from my stash.

Speaking of stash.... I'm making my list. Tomorrow is the Great American Scrapbook Convention in Chantilly VA. I've got my child care all lined up and my bag packed. I can't wait to see all the wonderful products and inspiration. I've decided I definitely need: the new Basic Grey paper pads, more rhinestones and pearls and some charms. Maybe some of the new Nesties too if they have them. Of course, if that's all I come home with, it will be a miracle. Stay tuned on Saturday and I'll try to post a picture of my score.

My question is: what else should I be searching for? What's on your list that I need to add to mine? Let me know and I'll pick a random post to mail out a special little surprise from the show.

I hope you enjoy the card and have a great day!

Mojo #92 - Quick Sympathy Card

2009-06-24T16:05:00.004-04:00

I had to put together a quick sympathy card for one of my husband's co-workers and I thought this week's Mojo sketch would work perfectly with SU's Thoughts and Prayers set. The tree and sentiment are embossed in Baja Breeze on white, the papers are Basic Gray, Soft Sky and Blue Bayou. The ribbon is from my stash and the brad is Basic Grey.

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Digital Tuesday Challenge #12 - Use Your Scraps!

2009-06-23T03:00:00.000-04:00

If you're like me you have a huge bag, basket and/or pile of scrap paper floating somewhere around the top of your stamping desk. This week's Digital Tuesday Challenge encourages us to dig through that pile and make something beautiful! You'll be amazed at what the design team created to inspire you. Visit the blog here and play along -- you could win some great images from this week's sponsor Squigglefly!

My card uses all scraps -- there's the left over Pink Pirouette, some My Mind's Eye DP, a wonderful image from The Digi-Shack that I've had printed forever. The sentiment is newly stamped and is from Verve. You can't tell from the card, but the Sage Shadow has a design stamped on the back -- I ended up not using it and it, too, went in the pile. Even the ribbon is from my ribbon scrap bin.

I've been using Copics a lot lately, but thought this image really lent itself to Prismacolor Pencils and Gamsol. Once I'd colored the image, I just rummaged for items that would match and it came together super quick. A 20 minute card is a minor miracle in my scrap world!

Hope you enjoy the card and play along! I'd love to see what you create!

Stamptacular Corner Greeting Roses Challenge

2009-06-22T12:00:00.006-04:00

Wow, what a mouthful! My card today is for four different challenges:

1) Roses on Paper - to pick any challenge and add flowers
2) Farm Fresh - The Greetings Farm new Friday challenge - to use three stamped images
3) Stamptacular - to use red/white/blue and a star
4) Our Creative Corner - to use stars

I also thought I'd throw my hat in the ring for the guest design spot at the new Belles N Whistles.

The wonderful stamps that let me fulfill all these challenges are The Greeting Farm Angel Anya and the Hero set. I combined these stamps with Vintage Violet, White and Real Red DSP. In addition to a bunch of stamps, this card shows off many different techniques.

- Angel is colored with Copic markers except for her dress and bow which use paper-piecing

- the flag uses SU markers in Night of Navy and Real Red to color direct on the stamp

- the star is embossed with Versamark and Night of Navy Ink -- did you notice the flagpole? (it's actually a q-tip!)

Finally, I added the star punch, ribbons, rhinestones and big lovely prima. Thanks for looking and hope you have a wonderful week!

Sugar Bowl Goes Goth - Challenge 13

2009-06-21T23:19:00.003-04:00

Well, the Sugar Bowl challenge this week wasn't to go goth but my card sure did! Here's sweet Goth Gorjuss Girl using the amazing sketch by Lilian with the twist of adding Kraft cardstock. I based my colors on Basic Grey papers and went from there. Short write-up tonight because it's late but I hope you enjoy the eye-candy!

Blog Hopping with Sugar Nellie

2009-06-18T22:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the 2nd stop on the Sugar Nellie blog hop. You should have arrived here from Mindy's blog. If not, please go back and start there to ensure you are eligible for the prize. We're still at the start of our trip, but are you loving the new Dudadaze stamps yet?

I have to tell you that when mine arrived in the mail, I was so excited I dropped everything to play. This stamp is SOOOO fun to color! I've done 3 or 4 so far, but the one I used in this card is by far my favorite. The image is called Frog Prince and will be available at Funky Kits this weekend. (BTW, even though their store is located in the UK, their customer service is unbelievably fast! Every order I've placed has arrived in Virginia in under 1 week! WOW!)

So, to make my card, the image is stamped on Neenah classic crest with Momento Ink and colored with Copic markers. I love Diane Duda's style and wanted to try to emulate it, so I also sponged in Pink Pirouette and Sahara Sand ink on the background. The horizon line and cloud outline is then drawn in with a black Prismacolor pencil and the cloud is colored by using a dry brush and white craft ink. Great effect don't you think?

My papers are Sahara Sand, Pink Pirouette and the wonderful new line by My Mind's Eye called Pretty Please. How gorgeous is that blue? After lightly sponging all papers with Basic Gray ink, I assembled the card. I thought this wonderful pink ribbon went great but I was having a hard time with the color of the blue showing through. I solved it with a thin strip of Pink Pirouette hidden behind. I added the sentiment from Memory Box, a pretty KaiserKraft flower and some delicate pink pearls (also from KaiserKraft). Not at all a complicated card but it does pack a lot of punch. (Can you tell I'm happy with my creation today?)

I hope you enjoyed your visit here and are anxious to see more of Diane Duda's lovely creations. To continue on the Blog Hop, head on over to see Jenny HERE.

CCB08 - I'm Tickled Pink to Host

2009-06-18T10:18:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the bad pun this morning! I wanted to share with you that I'm hosting this week's Creatively Cute Blogger Challenge.

The challenge is PINK. Any kind of pink, hot or soft, in a color combo or alone. Stamps from any company are acceptable! Digital stamps are welcome. Anyone can play and anyone can win. I've been collecting an great selection of stamps, papers and embellishments for the random winner. (Just a hint, I have a few copics....some new My Mind's Eye paper and a Sugar Nellie stamp or two). Here's the catch.... the more people who enter, the bigger the prize. So, tell all your stamping buddies to stop by and upload something PINK!

Here's the deets:

Challenge Starts: NOW

Deadline: Monday June 29th

Prize Announced: Tuesday, June 30th

Upload to SCS: Keyword CCB08

Hope you enjoy the inspiration and I hope you'll play along.

Hop, Skip and Jump! Sugar Nellie Blog Hop

2009-06-18T10:12:00.003-04:00

You might have noticed that I've been using a lot of Sugar Nellie images recently. I just can't seem to get enough right now and I'm so excited to announce that I'll be part of their new release BLOG HOP right here tomorrow, Friday June 19th.

You have to stop by and travel along with all the talented stampers to see the wonderful new stamps by artist Diane Duda that Sugar Nellie will release this weekend. I've also heard a rumor that there'll be prizes!

Here's a sneak at Diane's art blog!

A Digital Tuesday Recipe Challenge

2009-06-16T06:25:00.007-04:00

Have you visited the Digital Tuesday Challenge yet this week? Wow wow wow!

This week's challenge is a recipe - blue, brown and bling! And, the wonderful sponsor is Doodle Palace who's offering a selection of images for the winner! You have got to stop by and check it out!

Now, blue and brown is definitely one of my favorite color combos but I have to admit I was a little challenged to really bling up this combination. Then, when I least expected it, I had a brainstorm about a product that's been sitting in my drawers since Christmas. Keep reading and I tell you more about it.

But first, want to know who makes this adorable ark? Our sponsor, Doodle Palace of course. They were nice enough to give us some samples to play with and I thought this image was just perfect for a baby card. After printing the image on Stampin Up Very Vanilla, I colored with Copics and then cut out using my circle nestabilities. I paired this with Bashful Blue and Close to Cocoa paper. The DSP in the background is from American Crafts.

The next step in making the card isn't very visible in the picture. Here's a close-up but unfortunately, it's still a little hard to see. The entire circle is covered in a light layer of tacky, clear drying glue using a one-inch foam brush and then is coated with Martha Stewart clear glass glitter. In real life, this gives the whole image a wonderful sparkle and texture while still letting the picture show through.

To finish the card, a cuttlebugged a panel using the tapestry embossing folder, added sparkly flowers from Prima, rhinestone brads from Recollections and a selection of fun ribbons from Michael's Sweet and Sassy line. The sentiment is from Stampin Up.

I hope you enjoy the card and that inspires you to play along with this week's Digital Tuesday Challenge. Thanks for looking and have a wonderful, wonderful day.

No Sketch, No Challenge - Just a Card

2009-06-12T09:31:00.004-04:00

I've been working on so many challenge cards recently that I thought I'd try to make a card just for me. This is a sweet Leeann Ellis image from Sugar Nellie. She's stamped with Momento ink on Neenah classic crest (this really is my favorite paper for Copics!). I pulled out some wonderful papers I won as blog candy and added a little simple ribbon from Michael's Basic Basic line. A little basic stitching. The brad is from Recollections and the sentiment is Stampin Up.

A little simpler than usual but it came together quickly and I proved that I can still make a card all on my own!

I'm not sure how much I'll be around this weekend and next week, lots of end of school activities. We'll be done by noon on Thursday and I'm actually looking forward to some quiet restful days without schedules or activities. (Although I'll probably be done with that after the first week! LOL!)

Here's to summer and a happy weekend. Take care!

Playing in the Sugarbowl

2009-06-10T09:54:00.007-04:00

I've been truly going nuts for Sugar Nellie stamps. They are all so sweet! I decided to play along with last week's Sugarbowl Challenge #12 -- there's a great (although challenging) sketch to follow.

This was one of those cards that just didn't come together for me. I started it over the weekend -- had my image colored, my papers selected and I pretty much knew what embellishments I wanted to use. But I just couldn't figure it out. Well, I left it for a few days and had a lot more luck this morning. Here's the end result. Hope it can provide some inspiration for a sunny Wednesday morning!

Digital Tuesday Challenge - Box or a Bag

2009-06-09T09:26:00.005-04:00

Welcome to my weekly Digital Tuesday Challenge post. The DT has a great line-up of wonderful boxes and bags for you today. Check it and the challenge out HERE.

For my project, I decided to alter this sweet little lunchbox I picked up at Target's dollar spot on clearance a few months ago. I have tons of stuff like this hanging around my scraproom and don't dig into it enough!

I think these boxes are perfect for all the little cards kids collect. My son has been getting into baseball cards and they've been everywhere (I even found one in the bathroom!). I used Baseball Ian from The Greeting Farm and combined him with a cute little Baseball Delights digi-kit from Scrapbooks.com. I think the end result is adorable and now Matthew has a place to keep his cards.

This project would actually work for any number of things - playing card deck, YuGiOh, any sports cards, movie cards.... maybe even Bakugan... and could make a fabulous present for a young man in your life.

You're invited to play along with the Digital Tuesday Challenge this week by decorating your own box or bag using digital images. The prize is sponsored by My Grafico and they have some wonderful choices out there!

Blog Candy Alert

2009-06-06T08:40:00.003-04:00

Happy Saturday everyone. I'm hoping I'll have a chance to post a card later on today but I just wanted to leave you a quick note to check out Lacey's blog Hand Stamped by Lacey. She's offering the most amazing blog candy to celebrate 75,000 hits. Lacey's projects are always wonderful -- you should check out the fun Father's Day gift she has posted too!

A Black & White Sketch by The Greeting Farm

2009-06-04T09:39:00.004-04:00

Do you love Anyas and Ians? I sure do and right now the Greeting Farm Blog is having a sketch challenge to win a secret goodie bag. I love secrets too, so I had to go ahead and enter.

Those of you who visit my blog regularly know that I'm a big fan of color -- lots and lots of color so this one was a little tricky for me. On top of that, it's pouring rain so I couldn't get a good picture to save my life. Well, anyway, I did do the challenge and I'm actually really pleased with how the project came out.

Here's Skateboard Ian, he's stamped on Neenah paper with Momento ink and colored with Copics. I used all the greys and just had to add skin white (see it's called white so it still counts as not being a color!). I used every type of grey paper that I had in my stash! The background is cuttlebugged for a little grunge effect, the edges are sponged with Basic Gray ink, the border is an EK Success punch, the sentiment is computer generated and the brads are from Gina K Designs. I tried to add a lot of texture to make up for the lack of color. I think it works.

I hope you enjoy this card and have a happy day. If it's raining there, I hope your skies clear soon.