DIGI DAY-with Circles added!

Wobbly Walker

So excited to be prepping for trip to Colorado for the 4^th. A couple of days off sounds great. I am actually leaving my craft stuff at home-I would typically pack a bunch up and take it with me on the road. My husband is not sure I will survive without it on hand. I think I will be fine and dandy and if it gets really bad I can head into my mom’s craft room and get me “fix” in.

So before I hit the road for our 12 hour drive I thought I would get my challenge on…

My digi is from Mo Manning. As usual these digital images are so wonderful.  Show me a stamp with kids or critters and I am hooked.  I finished this little guy a while back but he deserves to be showed off.

I apologize in advance for the slightly blurry front shot of the card.

On to the Deets:

Tri fold card with scalloped edge. Papers are from one of my many Mat stacks packs. I loved the circles in the paper, mirroring the front buttons. I think the circles carry through the “wonky” look of our little guy taking his first steps. 

Sentiment is from Stampin UP, used my nestabilities for the back ground. Punched the stripped paper for the for the front of the card and added the big blue bow. 

My little guys is colored with copics and prisma pencils.

Thanks for taking a Peek

Challenges:

Stamp Something-Digi

Pile it on-Circles

Book Fairy...

I was so thrilled to see the 2 Sister’s challenge this week. I have wanted to show off this card for some timeJ.  This is the same artist as the Girl with Rose under Glass (Hannah Lynn). I LOVE these images. All the little details are just fantastic, the pencil in her hair, cat eye glasses, and the little bookworm all add something extra. 

I am a voracious reader. If I am not crafting them I am certainly reading. If you dug through my purse (if I let youJ) you would find at least 2 paperback books that I am working my way through. I often re-read many of my books-to me it is like re-watching a favorite movie or TV show. I just finished Smokin Sixteen (Evanovich), laugh out loud funny! This love of reading is something I have passed along to my kids, my daughters in particular. It is fun when we are reading the same authors and can have our own mini book club! Needless to say any stamp or image with reading referenced will suck me right on in.

On to the Deets:

Standard easel card in purple. Some fun left over paper I had in cream, purple strip and blue. Purple Polka dot bow (Emily’s favorite) with big white button and purple bling for embellishments. I like the pop of yellow with the punch to hold the card up. Discover sentiment, because isn’t that what reading is all about.

My fairy is colored with copics, prisma and gamsol with sipca used to bling it up a bit more-I love adding the glitter pens to the eyelashes-I smudged around the background with blues, gray, black and purple. She cried out for purple highlights; wish I could rock the purple highlight!

Thanks for stopping in and taking a peek!

Something for the boys!

 BACKYARD BOYS

Good morning-Something for the boys challenge today. This is another set of the cards that were part of my backyard picture taking event. Hopefully this weekend will allow for another crafting frenzy and photo shoot.  I am sorry to admit that I am still in mid clean up and out in my craft room-inspired by Creative Spaces Magazine. I still have a bit to accomplish. But it seems that I am experiencing, well, not a loss of momentum so much as…well okay loss of momentum.

I am glad I had this group of cards to work with this week so I could get back into the blogging and challenge “routine”…

On to the Deets:

These are all the same Magnolia stamp on 3X3 cards. The guys are colored with copic markers. Matt stack papers used for the coordinating circle and square on each card. The little sticker words were again some leftovers I had on hand.  I think these could be good little invitations to a boys birthday party, or tag’s for gifts…

I know this is short and sweet-but I hope to have all sorts of things accomplished this weekend-while reading the new Janet Evanovich book! Waaa-hoooo!!!!

Pretty papers-silly kitty...

More Backyard Photo's

I love this week’s Stamp Something challenge. Nothing better than digging through and playing with all the papers I have-and the number is legion-and using as much as I want on my design. The challenge is pretty papers and I have to say that if I have purchased the paper I already think it is pretty! So now I get to share my idea of pretty with others.

I am all about the kitties. To say that we are a cat family is a vast understatement. We are currently owned by four little friends-Fireball, Fred, Fiona and Finley (do you detect a theme? I am married to an engineer). Mr. Fin can be seen at the bottom of my blog asking to go outside. There are a couple of rules in our acquiring of cats-all must be rescue kitties, all have to be spayed or neutered and snugglers. We have been really lucky in that every pal that has come home has loved us unconditionally and put up with other animals, a lot of hugging and petting and on occasions being utilized as a dress-up or nap buddy. I took one look at this Mo Manning image and thought, “YEP, I know that kid AND that cat”. Several of our past and present four legged family members have been that lovely orange sherbet color. You can just tell that these two are the best of buddies…J

On to the Deets:

I have four different papers here- the easel card is made from some Doodle bug design papers, the orange circles are three dimensional, fuzzy. Next I used some old paper I found which had a paint splatter effect (oranges, yellows, peachy) I cut the flower border from one of the hundreds of matstack packs I have on hand. Finally punched the orange strips out of “plain old” orange cardstock.

Little Miss Sassy and her cat are colored with copic markers. I sponged the background and edged with distressed ink.

The stickers are just great random ones I had left over (again from my cleaning spree) and I was so thrilled that they matched the flower paper. Flower and kitty charm added for fun.

The card absolutely hits the mark with the sentiment-laugh!

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look!

Backyard-the only thing I have managed to Grow!

So Mother Nature reminded us of her powers last night here in Denton. We had 75-90 mph winds, nickel and larger hail, rain and a truly spectacular light show. Cool? Certainly! Cool at 1:45-3:00 am with the sirens going off –not really. Up late, then making it in to work was an adventure of closed roads, downed trees, fences and miscellaneous debris in the road as well as contributing to bad hair day AND late to work.

On the plus side the girls are home from their vacation with big brother in South Carolina. Both are a bit pink (SUNSCREEN) but had a great time. Poor things had a very rough flight home experience-but American Airlines saved the day and they handled the trauma of it all pretty well. On to the challenge…

The Krafftin Kimmie challenge is to make something for the kid(s) in your life. My kids aren’t really kids anymore (unless gifts are involved) but I have a host of nieces and nephews celebrating birthdays over the next few weeks. I like to keep my “kid” cards generic enough in the age department that if the person is 6 or 16 it will work.  I love these fairies and bought them as the set, so many uses for them!

On to the Deets:

Side step card-using Clarabelle, Isabelle and Lilybelle. The gals are colored with prisma pencils and copic markers.

Card is on a Mosaic table I made a few years ago

Card is made with some old black and white card stock I had on hand, for both the black on white card and white on black backing for the images-I love it with the pop of lime green. Frames for the ladies are made with nestabilites and embossed for contrast. The embellishments were part of my clean out the craft room find. I basically based the entire card off of those two mushrooms! Grass with my Fiskars punch, three dimensional flower and sticker sentiment to round it all out. I think any of the kids in my life would like to get this card! J

One more for the road!

Thanks for taking a peek!!

Oh and here’s hoping the postal strike in Canada is over this week, I am dying for my new set from Kimmie-Annie’s Asian Inspired Girls!!!

Challenge-1/2/3

Well I thought one more for the road today and how appropriate my third post and it is for a 1/2/3 challenge-I was BUSY! The cards I posted today were part of the group I made while my mom was here visiting so we could spend money at the GASC. Since I managed to get all these photos taken Monday-why not share! I am a posting fool today so I will keep this one short and sweet-

The deets:

This last one is for 2 Sisters-1/2/3 challenge. My one image is Mama Roo from Meljen’s Design’s at Whimsy Stamps. So very sweet. Two papers are the polka dot under Mama and the sentiment and the brown check behind the frame. My embellishments are brads, frame and bling/pearls and gems. Mom and baby are colored with Prisma pencils and mineral spirits to blend-I think this gives them a soft focus touch. Some white gel pen to accent and it is ready to go.

So I think that covers it for today-thanks for dropping in and taking a peek.

Totally Gorguss-Flowers

It is certainly is quite around our house. The girls are off visiting their big brother in South Carolina and Christopher is still in Huntsville. Just the hubby and I, well and of course our four-four legged friends. This is what we are heading toward, with our youngest graduating HS and moving on to college it will be a big empty house! Well the quite time has allowed me to participate in more challenges.

This is my entry for Totally Gorgus-Flower Power challenge. This awesome image is Frosted Rose Angel from Hannah Lynn. I love the rose under the glass-reminds me of Beauty and the Beast.

So the deets:

She is colored with copic markers I added glitter accents in her hair and her eyelashes are also glitter’fied

I added the crystal glue accent over the rose so that it does look under glass and has a 3D feel.  The card is clear and I choose the papers to coordinate with her hair. The flowers along the side are cut out of one of my mat stack paper sets, pop dots were added on some to give dimension.  I held the main image on with the bronze gems. I was really happy with the color palette here. (My youngest has been trying to die a small section of her hair blue for a while now so I am on a multi colored hair kick) Used one of my spellbinders for the flourish at the bottom. There is a bit of white cardstock inside for the sentiment-also held down with the bonze gems. Overall I am pleased with the results.

Thanks for stopping in and taking a peek!

Crazy 4 Challenges-Boy theme

Monty and the Dragon

Masculine card challenge. I think that I do pretty well with masculine cards. There are not always the best choices out there for boys and I know it is often more about what is in the card than the card. :) Typically when I find a "boy" image I tend to use it often.   When I was a senior in HS we did the play Camelot. I found it vastly amusing that it was more about the swords than much else for the guys in the play.  This little guy reminds me of them. My future husband was one of the knights-and I clearly remember him growing a full beard for the show. This is my tongue in cheek homage to him since his birthday was Wednesday.

I think this image makes a great, any occasion card, for the knight in shinning armor in your life.

On to the deets:

Colored with copic markers

He is mounted on the front of the card with small squares of red and black paper The other papers are from one of my (many many) mat stacks-used numbers since I made this a birthday card and coordinating black and white square piece added on top. Some small embellishments-no bling needed :) I like to take the less is more approach to my boy cards.

I hope you enjoyed-thanks for stopping by!

7 Kids-Something Hot-and it is HOT in Texas

Kraftin Kimmie girl is for the 7 kids challenge...something hot. I might have varied a bit on the theme-I think this gal is a Hot Southern songstress, with her big hair, shades and smoken' shoes! I know I have said how much I love the Kraftin Kimmie stamps-this one is especially perfect. My daughter Emily sings, beautifully if I do say so my self, and her favorite color is blue...

My Songbird Emily

As to the details on this one: She is colored with my copics. Glitter used to accent her music notes and shades. Hints of white in her dress, hair and cheeks for accent.  Random papers, with the lighter blue embossed with music notes.  I used my spellbinders to cut two of the layers and then thread a thin piece of ribbon through-with a larger blue ribbon to accent. Sorry the picture is a bit blurry-I was in a rush and did not have my glasses on; so it looked good to me! while taking it :) The picture is taken in my craft room on my hubby chair. It is the chair my mom bought me for Christmas with the express purpose of my husband being able to come and sit and hang out with me while I craft. Sweet- heart that he is he actually uses it for that purpose.

I love the way this turned out! thanks for stopping and taking a look....

You gotta have friends...Mo Challenge and Guest Designer

FUN WITH MY FRIEND

I have not been on my blog for a bit. Lots of things happening. Big girl work-rough. Mom and nieces visited-went to the Great American Scrapbook Convention THAT was lots of fun. Youngest finished school and is now a SENIOR which is a tad overwhelming. Went up to take a look at the church, reception and possible rehearsal dinner venues for oldest son's wedding, YIKES. So many things on my mind that the blog has taken a bit of a back seat.

Then when I finally make up my mind to get pictures of the cards taken and work on my blog I also determine   it would be fun to change up the look of my blog a bit...WOW big mistake and not at all fun! I have mentioned (several times) I am learning as I go on the blog front. I gave up and finally went to bed, in what can only be called a "snit" to think on it another day. Scarlet has nothing on this Yankee girl. I did manage to find my mistakes and change up my blog. Not sure that will happen very often.

ON the plus side of things the long break has really allowed me to just create and finish bunches of cards. I really wanted to stretch myself and try new things as often as possible. So I have a bunch of great new projects to show off. :)

Close up shot

First for Mo Manning's challenge-and to throw my hat in the ring again as a Guest Designer-an easel card honoring friendship. I love this image and can image the conversation and trouble these two can find on their adventure. Basic easel card, using my grass punch and some flowers I found in the dollar bin to "hold" up the friends.  I used my Prisma pencils (LOVE THEM) with mineral spirits for the coloring. I do like the copics for the skin tones so in fact both my pencils and markers are used here. I like the pencils for images such as this one because I think it gives a nice soft focus tone to the color. A little distressing and ink on the edges of the image. I loved the papers and cut apart one of my bling stickers for the leaf edge. I was really happy with how the card turned out and thrilled that the format was not as hard as perhaps I was thinking it would be-I found the how to on Split Coast Stampers and step-by-step on YouTube. I hope you enjoy my froggy friends.

Thanks for taking a look.

Multiple Challenges...

Really excited to hit multiple challenges with today’s card! Again another first for me, I was making a card for each and every challenge I was looking at and getting a bit overwhelmed. My husband asked me the other day if I was having fun…I was not so sure of my answer. Starting the blog, starting to enter challenges, being a bit intimated by what I was seeing from others J was not giving me the sense of fun I always had when being crafty.

So it seemed important with this post to hit some of the highlights –and really make it more about my joy in crafting then what is due when and how to post that and does this fit…

I think this little girl from Tina Wenke is just great. I love the sense of fun with “rubber rain” boots and the tutu. My daughter Kaitlyn had a red pair of cowboy boots that she “purchased” when we first moved to Texas. She wore those things to death. One of her old elementary school teachers bumped into her and asked about those red boots-said no matter what Katie was wearing she had those red boots on.  I though making these boots red added the perfect accent. J

And the deets:

Image-Colored with copic markers. Her hair with my prisma colored pencils and gamasol (I like the black hair better using that medium)

Round card

Ribbon and accents

Thanks for stopping in!!!

Challenges:

7 Kids – Circles

2 Sisters – Garden

Totally Gorgus – Not a Square

Pile it On- Boys and girls

Also just for fun I added my other fun one-love letter purse. :) Magnolia image and a purse template. 

Stamp Something-Anything GOES!!!

Miss Emily Kay

I completed my first blog hop with the Stamp Something challenge and blog hop that was taking place this week. I have only been blogging for a few months and entering my cards in these challenges for less than that so it is pretty fun to accomplish something new each time.

The card for the anything goes challenge is to honor my youngest-my baby girl (not so much a baby anymore at 17) Emily.  I finished making this card Sunday and held it up to those sharing my craft space…”Who does this remind you of?” I asked with a smirk…immediately Emily chimed in with, “well it certainly isn’t me.” Alas my poor darling drama queen of a daughter everyone disagreed (including ALL the kitties).

 Emily may be a drama queen but with good reason. (Proud Mom!) She also has a beautiful voice and a love of the theater and the drama of this image completely fits.  We attended her Choir variety show on Friday and Emily sang solo’s from Les Miserable’s, Phantom of the Opera and The Sound of Music. Her solo from Phantom was so wonderful her dad and I along with several other audience members got choked up. Today she received some really great news in choir and reached a goal she had been striving toward since  her sophomore year…so to honor my DRAMA QUEEN…this one’s for you kiddo.

On to the nitty gritty-

Colored-copic marker(s)

Round card with music notes embossed and accent paper is also music notes that carry through with the circle theme

Mo Manning digital image-(everyone should check them out and get some of these wonderful images)

Ribbon and note brads to finish it all off-oh and for fun the picture background here is the program from the variety show.

Thanks for stopping in!!!!

King of the Mountain!-Mo Manning Challenge

Wow, rough day today keeping the peepers open. Stayed up WAY to late watching a movie and waiting for baby boy #2 to make it home from college, he made it, but it was LATE Sunday evening. Boy I am glad I was able to spend so much quality time in the craft room this weekend. Allowed me to get many card projects completed and not be behind the eight ball this week in challenge posting.

Mo’s challenge this week is here comes summer.  My image and card choice is a homage to Christopher Mark who successfully completed one of his last semesters’s of college and is heading into summer break. Yeah for Chris!!!

I think anyone can agree that one of the best parts of summer is getting out into the fresh air and getting dirty.  I love this image, it certainly demonstrates all the fun; dirt, army men, trucks, blocks and a bit of imagination can bring. Christopher had a great time, when he was little, allowing his imagination to take over –his transformers were forever pitted in a battle for world domination. (They still are, somewhat, now via computer with a bit more violenceJ) In Mo’s image you can just tell that this guy is so ready for the summer and to let his imagination run free. He is definitely king of the mountain.

This young man is colored with copics and then I sponged blue around him with a bit of gray cast. I made sure that grass and dirt stains marked the “kings” shorts, shirt and a bit here and there on his face, because what’s the point if you are not getting DIRTY?!

For the card-I stamped the background squares with some of my old Close to my Heart stamp sets. This set is called “All about Boys”. The sentiment, “ALL BOY” is from this set as well. I free hand cut out the clouds and then added a bit of color with my copics airbrush (gray and a bit of really light blue) I thought these were a great topper for my frame.  Finished it off with some fun rainbow ribbon and gave it an overall block like look.

I had my darling husband take some pictures of the card outside on bits and pieces of the old fence that blew down in the last storm. I really like they way these turned out the fence adds to the rough and tumble aspect of the card.

The picture taking matching the theme of the card is something I want to try to do more. If you look through the last few postings I have card with cookbook, candy and now the fence. I am having fun dreaming up the theme to compliment the card. I think a photography class might be in my future…

Thanks for stopping by